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.