WHAT IS IN A HAIR CONDITIONER?

Hair conditioners play a variety of functions. They make our hair look and feel good, increase elasticity and flexibility,     hydrate and lubricate, strengthen and repair. Applied on the hair, it improves manageability, reduces friction and frizz as well as fill in gaps left by broken cuticles temporarily.

About 87 percent of our hair is made up of the protein, keratin. The surface of keratin contains negatively charged amino acid fingers. Conditioners uses positively charged molecules (Cationic molecules) to stick to the negatively charged amino acid so that they will not wash out easily.

Shampooing and excessive combing can remove positively charged ions from the hair leading to static electric build-up and frizz. The positively charged molecules in conditioners prevent this from happening. When the conditioner is mildly acidic, it closes the cuticles of the hair, which protects the inner shaft of the hair. For more information, go to: PH AND YOUR HAIR

Acidifiers detangle hair and closes cuticles, thus preventing moisture lost.

Humectants moisturize hair by attracting water from the air on humid days. However, humectant is a double-edged sword.  Go to ‘MOISTURIZEHAIR + RECIPE’ to find out why.

Your hair needs balanced moisture and protein to be strong. For recipes to revive and strengthen your hair, refer to: HAIR STRENGTHENING RECIPES

People traditionally use various herbs that soothe itchiness as well as have antiseptic and antifungal properties to deal with dandruff and accompanying itchy scalp. For homemade remedies, go to: SOOTHING CONDITIONING HAIR RINSE

We shall cover other components of a conditioner in this series in the ‘Plants4Health’ section of the main site, Jumblebox Home in future.

HAIR TYPES & ETHNICITY (4)- Caucasoid hair

The characteristics of Caucasoid hair

The Caucasoid people are very varied. They ranged from the pale-skinned people of Scandinavia to the darker skinned peoples of Portugal and India.

Caucasoid hair exhibits a rainbow of hues from platinum blond, flaming red, brown to black in color.  They may be curly, wavy or straight. Texture may be fine, medium or coarse. The mix in ancestry resulted in very wide combination of genetic Influences. It is oval in cross section. Over seventy percent of caucasoids have fine textured hair.

Generally, blonds have finer texture and the most hair. Darker shades have coarser hair with redheads with the coarsest and least dense head of hair.

Caucasoid hair tends to have fewer layers of protective cuticle and is laid flatter than Asian hair.

The distance between cuticles  is farther apart from each other compared to Asian hair but the ‘glue’ is stronger. Therefore, when you stretch the hair, it  breaks off into small fragments. This is because although  the glue is stronger, the cuticle is weaker and breaks off individually.

Conclusion

The structure of the hair influences its characteristics. However, there are differences within each hair type due to genetic factors, health status, diet, age,  lifestyle, how well you handle and take care of your hair as well as external environmental conditions.  All these factors will influence your haircare routine and choice of haircare products.

There are various natural homemade hair care recipes at the main site, JUMBLEBOX HOME   in Plants 4HealthList

A hair recipe that suits one person may not be perfect for another since there are so many variables. Try to adjust the quantity of certain ingredients within a recipe, substitute or remove them  altogether if you think they are not suitable for you.