Women's Beauty Secrets

Chapter 36: Hair Types and their Causes, Symptoms and Remedies

 

Dry Hair

·         Causes  – Naturally dry hair is usually coarse due to fewer follicles and fewer oil glands. Hair also gets drier with age as the production of sebum sows down. Most dry conditions are due to self-inflicted damage: perms, overzealous blow drying, and harsh shampoos. Also to insufficient washing and grooming of thick, curly hair because of the effort and pain involved.

Symptoms  – Dull, coarse, brittle and easily damaged. Scalp can be tight and flaky. Curly hair is often dry because the bends in the curls open up the hair shafts.

Remedies  – Wash regularly; dry dirty hair is fragile and snarls and splits easily. Before washing, massage the scalp with oil to aid circulation and prevent the build-up of dead skin cells which block the hair. Use conditioner at every wash. Avoid heated rollers or dryers, using gel instead and scrunch dry the hair to protect it and make it shiny.

Oily Hair

·         Causes  – Common with fine hair because of more numerous follicles pumping out sebum. Hormonal imbalances, especially in teenagers, also speed up oil production. Poor diet, stress, over-handling and cold weather all contribute to greasy and oily hair.

Symptoms  – Lank, dull and stingy; hold style poorly. Unless frequently washed, hair becomes smelly, as it traps sebum, sweat, dirt, dust, tobacco and stale food odors.

Remedies  – Nature remedies this condition, hair becoming drier with age. Until then, wash frequently and as often as you like. Avoid rich, fatty foods, expose the hair to fresh air for at least 30 minutes every day. Use hair conditioner.

Normal Hair

·         Causes  – Fortunate genetics, healthy diet and sensible precaution.

Symptoms  – Glossy throughout; fine hair may be static.

Remedies  – Maintain this happy state of affairs by washing every 3 to 5 days. Use conditioner to protect the ends; avoid perms.

Mixed Type

·         Causes  – As hair grows long, its condition often changes, the ends becoming dry and brittle. Harmful treatments, sun damage and rough handling exacerbate the mixed condition.

Symptoms  – Hair needs frequent washing which seems to make the ends worse.

Remedies  – Alternate a shampoo for greasy hair with one for normal hair, but apply shampoo only to the scalp; the rinsing water will carry diluted shampoo through the length of the hair. Use a conditioner as for dry hair, from the ears down only. Remove it with diluted lemon or vinegar rinse which will adhere to the unconditioned top of the hair. Then rinse with fresh water.

Hair Cutting

The cut of your hair should show it off to the best advantage whatever its characteristics. A good hairdresser will be able to find many different styles that will show it off to good effect. Hair should always be cut wet; it may then be re-trimmed dry to correct any minor faults or irregularities. A cut usually lasts for about six weeks in good shape before it begins to lose its definition as the individual hairs grow at different speeds. Whatever the specific style chosen, your hair will probably be cut in one of two basic styles: blunt cut or layered cut. Lots of hair cuts are being practiced nowadays and better choose the style that suits your face shape.

Blunt Cuts

Blunt cuts style the hair so that it is all the same length at any particular point of the hairstyle. The cut may be a short bob, a shoulder-length fall of hair, or even a waist-length style, and the hair may be cut with or without bangs. Whatever the style, the ends of the hair will all be cut to the same level. Blunt cuts look their best on straight hair, as the style stays in place more easily, but women with wavy hair can often have their hair cut and bow-dried into an even cut such as a shoulder-length bob or a pageboy cut.

Layer Cuts

There are many, many variations of the layer cut, but the basic technique is the same. The hair is cut shorter at the top and sides, and left longer at the back, or it may be cut very short around the back and sides to give a boyish look. Gel and mousse can be used to make the hair spiky or full; it can be "scrunch-dried" to give a random effect, or it can be blow-dried or tonged into curls, waves, or sleek head of hair. Layered cuts of different sorts can be done on any kind of hair.