Hair plays an important role in our physical appearance. It ranks highest among the possible ways for women to express themselves, even found to be more important than smiling, clothes, complexion and makeup. It is also one of the few areas where women have some level of control by altering the length, style and color. By doing so, they can change the perception of themselves and ultimately showcase confidence and express their personality. Additionally, hair alters how women are perceived by others, their competency, individuality and character.

Hair health plays a large part in this created confidence and competency either from self-assessment or by others. These findings have been confirmed in research. For example, one study demonstrated that images of undamaged hair shown to 50 men and 50 women were perceived as younger, healthier and more attractive than images of damaged hair.1 There are many research articles and reviews that consider hair changes as a function of age, such as graying, diameter and density changes, but these articles do not link biology changes to hair, habit changes or even cultural environment associated with age and beauty.2 Thus, the objective of this article is to explore in more detail how perceptions of healthy hair vary as women age; what the contributing factors are, both culturally and biologically; and how this leads to different hair damage issues women face, as well as product solutions. The underlying premise is that perceptions of healthy hair and the product choices made are determined both by the cultural environment and the changing biology of hair.

Hair Damage Assessment

The first question is whether a women’s perception of their hair health changes as they age. A U.S. study of more than 500 women aged between 18-75 asked the women to assess their amount of damage on a five-point scale from no damage to severe damage. The percentage of women who answered "moderate to severe damage" was 20-25% for all age groups; the percentage decreased at ages 60-65, with 15% claiming "moderate or severe damage." In addition, 50% of this older group claimed to have no damage at all. Therefore, from 60-65 years, it appears women experience less damage but at all other ages, the level of perceived damage is consistent.

A related question was how concerned users were with hair damage and not unexpectedly, the older group was significantly less concerned about damage than all other ages. Most concerned were those in the 18-35 age group followed by the 35-60 age group. The younger age group also felt they had to work harder to get the style they wanted, indicating a generally higher dissatisfaction with their hair.
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Read more in the February 2022 digital edition >>>

A recent headline featured in The Daily Mail proves once again how impactful fearmongering is on unknowing consumers. "How your shampoo bottle could be making you FAT: Scientists discover 11 chemicals in common plastics that contribute to weigh gain," it reads. Throw another pick on the junk science pile; or at least, it's portrayal.

According to the story, scientists examined 34 different plastic products and identified 11 chemicals commonly present that can affect human metabolism and contribute to weight gain. The products included beverage bottles, kitchen sponges, yogurt containers and hair conditioners. Martin Wagner, a co-author and associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said their experiments show that "ordinary plastic products contain a mix of substances that can be a relevant and underestimated factor behind [being] overweight, and obesity."

The study itself, published in Environmental Science & Technology, describes how the authors characterized the chemicals and analyzed their joint adipogenic activities. Among some 629 unique compounds, 11 known metabolism-disrupting compounds (MDCs) were identified; including four phthalates and six organophosphates. Importantly, according the the article abstract, the chemicals extracted from one-third of the products caused murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes to proliferate and differentiate into adipocytes, which were larger and contained more triglycerides than those treated with a reference compound, rosiglitazone.

The Daily Mail reported that while some plastic products contained known metabolism-disrupting substances, or obesogens, others did not but still induced the development of fat cells. "It's very likely that it is not the usual suspects, such as bisphenol A, causing these metabolic disturbances," said Johannes Völker, one of the study's authors. "This means that other plastic chemicals than the ones we already know could be contributing to overweight and obesity."

Caroline Rainsford, head of scientific services at the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA), quickly jumped on this study and misleading headline. In a blog post, she wrote "It’s certainly true that the study’s authors looked at packaging samples and found some of these samples contained chemicals they suspect to have metabolism-disrupting effects....just not the shampoo bottles! In contrast to what the striking headline suggests." 

In her blog, she worked her way through the paper, critiquing the study design and describing, for consumers, how to "interrogate" media articles such as these to come to their own conclusions. For example, she questioned how relevant it is to real life exposure to extract chemicals from plastics, concentrate them in a solvent and test them on fat cells grown in a lab.

"The results from the study certainly give us a fascinating insight into the behavior of fat cells in the presence of certain chemicals," she wrote. "Although we do have to consider what might happen outside of a lab... Are we exposed to the same amount of chemicals from plastic packaging when using everyday products? How will the chemicals get into our bodies?"

Rainsford further explained how solvents are used to extract chemicals to get enough of a material to perform the tests but the reality is, products such as shampoos and beverages are much less effective at dissolving those chemicals; not to mention the fact that laws covering cosmetics, foods and other products already take into account the potential migration of chemicals from packaging into products.

Furthermore, by adding these chemicals directly to fat cells, the researchers have taken a "short cut" to how they would be processed through the body. And, personal care products in particular are applied to skin or hair, which makes it more difficult for chemicals to enter the body.

Notably, in the paper's conclusion, the authors also highlighted, "Given that we aimed at investigating whether MDCs are present in plastic products, we used methanol to extract the samples. This simulates a worst-case scenario. Thus, even though we demonstrated that potent (mixtures of) MDCs are present in consumer products, it remains to be investigated whether these will migrate under more realistic conditions into air, water, or food, or can be taken up dermally." 
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"It’s always exciting to see new scientific research, especially that which relates to the cosmetics and personal care industry—which has science at its foundation," Rainsford wrote. "... But this headline-grabbing story is a reminder that in every case, it is helpful to approach new science with a critical eye, an open mind… and to draw your own conclusions."

from Cosmetic and Toiletries

Should you shampoo before you come have your hair colored? Almost daily, someone will ask if they should wash their hair before tinting or highlighting.

The idea of not washing before a color service goes back to the old days, when color products were very harsh compared to the gentle colors we have today. A bit of natural oil on the scalp kept the tingling and staining to a minimum. This was especially important with bleaching services, which could be quite irritating to the scalp.

Fast forward to now, and many clients have been led to believe that the dirtier the hair, the better the color.

​Here are some guidelines to prep your hair for a perfect color service.
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1. Wash your hair 12 to 24 hours before your color. This will assure the hair is clean, but allow the oil in your scalp to create a protective barrier against irritation and staining.
2. Wash the hair, but don’t aggressively scratch the scalp. broken skin or scratches will definitely burn or tingle with color or bleach.
3. If you work out hard before a color service, wash your hair. Excessively oily hair lifts poorly, processes slowly, and doesn’t color well.
4. Make sure any cover up products you use to disguise your roots between services are out before you get to the salon, or arrange to come earlier to have it pre-shampooed. Otherwise you may not get coverage where you want it most.
5. Ditto for dry shampoo. It can create a barrier that color doesn’t penetrate well.
6. Shampoo especially well if you use oil in your hair such as coconut oil or olive oil. Heavy oil products make the color ineffective, and make highlights bleed all over the place.
7. Styling products are generally OK, unless you use loads of them. Hairspray can be brushed out before the service, and most non oily products are fine.
8. Come with dry hair, or arrive early to have it dried under a dryer, While color takes fine on damp hair, damp hair pulls a lot when your sectioning and you will be much more comfortable starting with a dry head of hair.

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Is it Spring yet?

Almost!
Spring is just days away.
Daylight Savings begins on March 13th.
March Madness, also starts on the 13th.
AND, fingers crossed - we might, just MIGHT, even have baseball soon.
Boy, oh boy, oh boy. I cannot wait.

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I hope this finds you heathy and in good spirits.

We are finally coming out of this 2 year “fog”. It’s been a challenge couple of years, that’s for sure, but we did it. Give yourself a pat on the back. We did what needed to be done (as best we could) and now have some of our “freedoms” back. The big one for me was dining out with friends last month for the first time in a long, long while. I knew I was OK, vaxed and all, but I still had to do a little coaxing to feel completely comfortable. I’m sure I haven’t been the only one working through these “new” social anxieties. I hope you’ve been managing your comfort levels, too. Baby steps, right.

Indoor mask mandates were lifted a couple weeks ago for those who are fully vaccinated. You should have received an email from me on how we’re proceeding at the salon. While all of us stylists working in the salon are vaccinated some may choose to still wear a face covering. You also have this choice.

Many of you will be returning back to the office soon, if you haven’t done so all ready. I’m starting to see a few of you again, which makes me very happy. I’ve also been seeing a few new clients because their stylist has either moved or “retired”. If you hear that a friend or co-worker’s stylist has moved or is no longer doing hair, please feel free to pass along my information. Here’s my digital business card and a QRCode you can share.

This month I have articles for you on a shampoo farce, the stages of hair in aging, deep conditioning treatments, why you shouldn't pluck your grays, and the humble history of shampoo bars. All that and more so please scroll down and check it out!

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As always, I am available by email, text or phone if you have any questions or concerns.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!
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Be Well and Take Hair!