HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR HAIR

garance dore
I go back and forth between thinking that I want to just leave my hair alone and let it do it's thing, and thinking that changing up my hair on a weekly basis is an expression of my independence. (as I type, my hair is fire engine red.) I love to do crazy things with my hair – dying it, straightening it, curling it, pulling it up in crazy 'dos. but I also don't want my head to look or feel like a pile of hay...

taking care of your hair is all about simply (or not so simply) finding that lovely balance between making your hair look the way you want it to right now and minimizing future damage so that it will stay looking (and feeling) good until you cut it off. as you'll see below, most of the things you could ever think of doing to your hair – including just washing it and brushing it – will do some damage to it. but this doesn't mean you have to give up dying, blow drying and going outside (or washing or brushing for that matter). it's all about finding a balance between some damage and too much damage.

SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE!
your hair is primarily made up of tough, water insoluble protein materials called keratin (which is also what your fingernails and toenails are made of). the outside of each hair strand is called the cuticle, which is made up of little layers of protein all stuck together with a glue-like acid. the cuticle is a lot like shingles on a roof. these 'shingles', combined with oils in your hair, work to protect it and keep it strong. on undamaged hair, the layers of the cuticle lie flat, making the general appearance of your hair smooth and shiny. on damaged hair, the cuticle is roughed up a little as the layers have been lifted and buckled, causing hair to look frizzy.

each hair also contains water from the environment and oils from your scalp. oils lubricate hair and create a barrier that both locks in moisture (prevents water from evaporating) and protects hair from damage. how much oil is produced is determined mostly by hormones and genetics, but oil production also lessens with age.

because hair is dead as soon as it grows out of your head, it can't regenerate or fix itself, so once it's damaged, it's damaged -- despite what shampoo commercials might tell you, there is nothing you can do to fix or repair damaged hair except cut if off.

how does hair get damaged?

by pretty much everything:

1. wetting, washing and drying. every time your hair goes from wet to dry you're causing some kind of damage. water makes hair swell up and if you immediately dry it, it quickly contracts, causing the cuticles to lift and buckle. washing your hair with any kind of shampoo also strips some of its natural oils, which protect it from damage.

2. heat styling. heat styling breaks down the glue-like acid that holds together the protein layers of the cuticles, making it a whole lot easier for the layers to lift and buckle and leaving hair especially susceptible to damage. heat applied directly to hair also boils off the water inside each hair. it

3. chemical breakage caused by processes like colouring, bleaching, perming or relaxing. these processes all cause the protein layers of the cuticle to lift and buckle.

4. physical breakage. same deal here as with chemical breakage. physical breakage can be caused by teasing your hair, scrubbing your hair too hard when shampooing or towel-drying, over-brushing your hair, or wearing tight ponytails or twists.

5. sun damage. the beauty brains have an excellent post up about sun damage, which is actually the least serious form of hair damage considering all the other crazy crap we do to it!

6. your age, genetics and your hair's natural texture. you've got to work with what you've got, and some hair is just naturally more susceptible to damage. melanin (which gives your hair pigment) also helps protect hair, and because grey/white hairs (and bleached hairs) have little or no melanin, they tend to be a bit frizzier and drier. curly or kinky hair is also more prone to damage because of the way it bends, making it drier and frizzier as well.

3 SIMPLE RULES FOR HEALTHY-LOOKING HAIR

1. wash it less often. once or twice a week should be fine, and try to avoid getting your hair wet more often than that as well (use a shower cap when you shower). use baby powder or a dry shampoo at the roots and comb through to absorb excess oil between washes. when you do wash it, use a simple moisturizing (for dry or treated hair) or clarifying (for all other hair types) shampoo (more on choosing a shampoo) and let it slowly air dry as often as you can.

2. disguise damage with conditioners. you can't fix damaged hair, but you can make it temporarily look and feel healthier. get split ends trimmed regularly and condition when you wash (plain old pure olive oil and coconut oil have been shown to be the best at penetrating hair). leave-in conditioners (best for dry or treated hair) or their lighter synthetic counterparts, silicone-based serums (best for all other hair types) smoothed on to dry hair will slick down those roughed up cuticles and temporarily make them smooth and flat.

3. minimize future damage. the best thing you could do would be to just work with your hair's natural colour and texture... of course, that's can be rather limiting. colouring, perming or relaxing hair will damage it no matter what you do, but you can minimize heat damage while you're styling: leave-in conditioners or silicone serums used before you pull out the blow dryer or straightener can provide an emollient barrier and help protect your hair. also avoid scrubbing, tugging, pulling, and twisting your hair as much as you can. and give thanks that teasing went out with the 80s.