Iles Formula Hair Talk Featuring Corey Powell of Salon Benjamin West Hollywood is one you…
Celebrities and How They Get Healthy Hair
The health and style of hair play an essential role in creating an aesthetically appealing appearance. Healthy, attractive hair requires both a skilled stylist and an individualized home care regimen. By adhering to a few basic guidelines, an ideal head of hair can be attainable by everyone.
This post contains excerpts from Aesthetic hair care by Corey Powell in publication Comprehensive Aesthetic Rejuvenation: A Regional Approach.
Key Points to healthy, beautiful hair include a basic hair care routine that includes regular shampooing but not overshampooing. Overshampooing removes healthy lipids leading to dry, brittle hair. Hair should ideally be shampooed no more than every other day. Use instant conditioners with each shampoo and leave a deep conditioners on 20-30 minutes, 1-2 times per week. Conditioning helps replace the healthy lipids removed by shampoos.
Household remedies such as apple cider vinegar, baking soda, avocados, and lemons chamomiles can also be used as an alternative to expensive salon products.
Shampooing
Comb: Begin by combing hair from the ends to the scalp, removing any tangles or knots. Combing with a wide toothed comb has been proven to inflict less breakage of hair shafts than brushing.
Pre-shampoo treatment: Prior to wetting the hair, apply a pre-shampoo therapy. Natural oils are optimal for this step and different options exist for different hair types; for example, coconut, rice bran, hemp, pomegranate, and avocado oils all have beneficial effects. Begin applying the oil at the ends where the majority of damage occurs and work the oils into the hair using the hands, while moving toward the scalp.
Scalp brushing and massage: With the pre-shampoo therapy in place, first gently brush the scalp with a natural boar bristle brush. This will stimulate scalp circulation and remove dry, dead scalp, while loos- ening any dirt or buildup. After brushing, start mas- saging the scalp by using the index and middle fingers to perform gliding spiral movements from the hairline to the crown, slowly making your way around the entire circumference. Massage is restor- ative and revitalizing, further increasing blood flow to follicles and decreasing stress.
Shampoo: Place a quarter size portion of shampoo in the palm and add a small amount of water, rubbing the palms together to create suds. Begin at the scalp by applying the shampoo and gently exfoliating using your fingertips. Add water and more shampoo as needed to cleanse the entire length of hair, rinsing thoroughly when complete.
Protect: Squeeze out the excess water prior to applying the conditioner.
Conditioning
A conditioner should be applied following every shampoo. For daily usage, instant conditioners are ideal. They should be left on for one to three minutes and then thoroughly rinsed away. Most hair types also benefit from treatment with deep conditioning agents, applied one to two times per week. These agents must be left on for 20–30 minutes for maximum efficacy and are further augmented with heat. For hair that is naturally very oily, deep conditioning treatments should be spaced out over longer periods to avoid buildup of the product and weighed down hair.
General Grooming Tips
- Wet hair should never be brushed, as wet hair has a lower breaking point than dry hair (2). To initially style wet hair, a wide-toothed comb is preferred.
- Prior to blow drying, the hair should always be protected with either a leave-in conditioner or other styling aid to prevent permanent cuticle destruction and breakage
- Look for leave-in products that contain ultraviolet (UV) protection to avoid the detrimental effects of photodamage.
- When overly dry hair shafts produce static electricity, this creates flyaway hairs. This unattractive look can be prevented with the addition of moisturizing prod- ucts prior to drying (2).
Household Remedies
Surprisingly, numerous household goods may be just as beneficial for the hair as expensive salon products. Based upon the appearance and needs of one’s hair, various treatments may be utilized.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Rich in alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), apple cider vinegar is ideal for treating hair that is dull and lifeless secondary to excessive product buildup.
Baking Soda: Removes build up from the hair shaft. Adding a teaspoon of baking soda to any shampoo before applying it to hair will improve the detergent activity of the shampoo.
Avocadoes: Avocadoes contain more than 25 essential nutrients, including the B-vitamins and the natural antioxidant, vitamin E. Avocado can be mashed and applied directly to the heir to work as a deep conditioner, promoting restoration of the hair shaft and increasing shine, manageability, and tensile strength.
