Like your muscles, hair that’s strong looks better. Here’s how to bring its bounce, resilience and sexy back.
Like your muscles, hair that’s strong looks better. Here’s how to bring its bounce, resilience and sexy back.
To maintain your hair’s strength, you need to work on it as you would your body. That means avoiding damaging vices, giving it the right nutrients, and committing to weekly conditioning sessions.
The perfect strand of hair is built tough: The outer layer, known as the cuticle, protects the inner structural column, or the cortex. But over time, heat styling, sun exposure and even shampoo can wear down the cuticle, exposing the centre to damage.
To rebuild your hair’s va-va-oomph, take these fitness tests – meant to measure its elasticity, porosity and volume – then adopt the strength-training moves that follow.
The Stretch Test
You want your hair to have the bounce of a slinky. Pluck a wet strand from your head and gently tug it at both ends. “If the hair stretches a bit before it snaps, it has good elasticity,” says celebrity hairstylist Ron Williams, a national educator for Phyto Specific in the US.
If it breaks instantly, your hair is dehydrated and weak. The most likely culprits: your blow-dryer, flatiron or hair dye, says Charlene Deegen-Calello, the executive director of product development for Keranique. “All those aggressors can weaken the cuticle to the point that your hair loses its bounce.”
THE FIX
Try to limit your love affair with hot tools to once a week, and apply a heat protector like Alterna Caviar Repair Multi-vitamin Heat Protection Spray ($50, Sephora) to damp strands prior to this. Don’t let your hot tool exceed 180 deg C (the middle heat setting on your blow-dryer is a safe bet). To help hair regain its armour plating, infuse strands with keratin, a key protein that keeps it strong.
Find it in Kerastase Discipline Maskeratine ($69, hair-salons. kerastase.com). And here’s where a little heat won’t hurt: After using the treatment, let your shower get really steamy for five to 10 minutes. “The heat helps lift the cuticle, which allows the moisturising ingredients to penetrate better,” says Ron.
The Hydration Test
When your hair feels as dry as a burlap tote, it’s lacking moisture and is more susceptible to damage. Remove a single strand from your head and place it in a glass of water. If it floats for a few seconds, it’s well moisturised.
If it sinks immediately, it’s too porous – which is either a natural trait of your strands or a result of the excessive use of chemical procedures, like colouring and perming.
“That means the cuticle has microscopic fractures that allow moisture to pass through the inner layer, like a sponge,” Ron says. “That leads to dehydration, dullness and frizz.”
THE FIX
Products with heavyhitting butters and oils will lock in moisture. Try O&M The Power Base Protein Masque ($50, Sephora), which has apricot kernel oil and shea butter to nourish. A ceramide-packed treatment like L’Oreal Paris Everpure Sulfate-free Repair Remedy Mask ($19.90, leading pharmacies) can also hydrate and fill in gaps temporarily.
Also, don’t wash your hair more than you have to, says Jae-Manuel Cardenas, a stylist at Sally Hershberger salon in New York City: “Shampoos can contain harsh surfactants [the ingredients that give you a foamy lather] that strip hair of its natural oils, so sudsing up too often can weaken the cuticle.”
If your workout schedule means you have to wash more often, add a protective preshampoo like John Frieda Frizz Ease 10 Day Tamer Pre-wash Treatment ($21.90, leading pharmacies) to your routine. It acts as a sealant, forming a barrier over the cuticle to shield it from damage, Jae-Manuel says.
The Volume Test
If you suspect that your strands are peacing out – leaving your formerly full head of hair either thin or brittle – there’s a way to get to the root of the problem. Pull your hair into a ponytail.
“If you can wrap the elastic around three or more times, when it only used to go around once or twice, your hair is probably growing thinner,” Ron says. Keeping track of your ponytail’s density helps determine if you’re shedding more than the average 80 to 100 strands a day – a consequence often
THE FIX
If you’ve recently experienced a bout of intense stress – or are still in the throes of one – relax. As long as you chill ASAP, your hair should return to normal in a few months, Ron says.
Additionally, make sure you’re getting nutrients that promote hair-follicle growth, such as zinc, iron and protein. Ron also suggests implementing a well-rounded supplement as a nutritional safeguard.
Try Swisse Ultiboost Hair Skin Nails+ ($49, leading pharmacies), which contains biotin to boost the thickness of your hair. And start using a scalp scrub to kick-start growth.
Kevin Murphy Maxi Wash Detox Shampoo ($40, www.kevinmurphy.com.au/locator) has natural alpha-hydroxy acids to gently exfoliate and slough away excess oils and build-up that can block follicles.
