Archive for October 2014

Today at 11:09 PM

Hiya,
Been a min!! Hope you are all well. In my post about heat protectants, I mentioned that I have been quite intrigued about all the scientific words which in the past I used to term gibberish; words usually listed on the ingredient list of hair/beauty products. Upon my research, I stumbled on the common debate on whether or not 'cones' were good or bad for hair, this lead me to researching more in depth about cones and 2 cones stood out, I will list these two cones, their properties and why one should actually look forward to seeing them in your hair products because they are scientifically proven to be great for hair!!

They are Cyclomethicone and Dimethicone...before we go further what exactly are cones....they are man made compounds referred to as silicone specifically created mainly for hair, beauty, household products.

Cyclomethicone is a volatile, oil soluble liquid silicone that makes the skin feel soft and smooth and prevents frizz...How?

Because it evaporates, is colourless, odourless, has the consistency of water and is a great solvent for organic based oils, leaving the hair/skin feeling smooth and non-greasy.

Cyclomethicone is deposited at the surface of the hair or skin and spreads uniformly over the surface, coating the hair shaft or skin. It also is non-irritating to skin, the fact that it evaporates in hair care products means that it will help your hair dry faster, thus it is mostly found in anti frizz products like sprays and serums.

How it works is that when it is contained in a product, it helps to evenly distribute the product especially while combing then it delivers the active ingredients to your hair, then evaporates, which decreases your drying time.

In skin care products, it works as a barrier ingredient, emollient,lubricant and skin protectant from the elements.

Dimethicone on the other hand tends to stay on the surface of the hair or skin, forming a coating that protects your skin, but seals all the good stuff you've put into your lotion or conditioner to your skin or hair.

It does not evaporate and isn't used in water based products but rather used with emulsified products or oil based products because of this, it is great in maintains shine and manageability for hair. It also

It is also great in protecting the hair and skin from the harsh elements,helps porous hair stand up to humidity while helping it retain moisture.Find it mainly in hair puddings, moisturizers and souffles.

The only qualms with cones is that they cause build-up on the hair and scalp because they are often not water-soluble. This is why clarifying shampoos are so important when using "cone" filled products.
So there you have it, a little more knowledge for your arsenal...what new things have you been learning about hair? Feel free to spill below.

Thanks for stopping by,

Xxx,
Dabs

Hiya,
Hope you are all well! Two months left and the year is over!!! Who is retaining length!!! We will soon know the verdict!

Back to my topic, who like me has felt using an oil to seal your ends before you apply heat(blow drying, straightening, roller setting) is enough? You can imagine my reaction when I was browsing instagram the other day and came across a post that simply read in bold letters- OILS ARE NOT HEAT PROTECTANTS! I was like what?!

Went straight to consult with my friend google and to my greatest shock, the online resources were all saying the same scientific proven facts- using hair oils alone will NOT protect your hair from heat damage!

You see for the longest time after reading about smoke points of oils and how the higher the smoke point(meaning-the temperature at which an oil begins to break down into glycerols and free fatty acids and inevitably produces smoke) the better the oil's ability to tolerate heat, so for example Grapeseed oil and Olive oil have a smoke point of 485F and Avocado oil's smoke point is as high as 520F thus they have been advocated as great oils to prevent heat damage SOURCE.

So you'd think that'd be enough protection no? NO!Apparently it's not enough for the following reasons;

Every good heat protectant should help prevent full heat transfer to the cortex of hair, preventing degradation of the protein bonds that largely lead to split ends and breakage.
While oils are great as lubricants, apparently they slow down drying so that if you are using say a flat iron, you have to pass it through more times when using oils and could end up doing MORE damage than protection!!

You want to know what a good heat protector should have?

1. Silicones- yeah cones, I know?!! Apparently Dimethicone and Cyclomethicone are must have ingredients in any good heat protectant because they are both thin, water proof and heat resistant man made compounds that when applied on the hair strands, coat the strands then evaporate while allowing the oils and nutrients on the strands to absorb, Demithicone is also known to have detangling properties- SOURCE

2. Hydrolized protein/silk amino acids- heat breaks down the protein bonds of our hair strands as mentioned before so a good heat protectant should have protein fill in any broken protein bonds and strengthen the hair to withstand heat damage.

3.Glycerin or any form of humectant to help attract moisture to the hair as the heat is being applied.

4. Propylene Glycol is also a chemical compound that attracts moisture to the hair strands.

5. Cetrimonium Chloride to increase tensile strength- SOURCE

6. Then your carrier oils for all their nutritional goodness!

These above products should be listed among the top 5 to 6 ingredients on any good heat protectant's ingredient list.

I did my home work and found this to be true, most heat protectants have most of the ingredients listed above; CHI silk Infusion, Tresemme Heat Tamer and in Naija I've found Organics Olive oil extra virgin smoother and polisher serum

Of the 6 must haves mentioned above, it has Dimethicone as the first ingredient, it also contains Phenyl Trimethicone, olive oil, hydrolized oat protein and silk amino acids #winning!!! I think it costs less than a thousand bucks for this 6oz bottle so that's a plus...Now there is NO EXCUSE again, a perfect heat protectant can be found in Naija and I dare say other parts of Africa!! European and American residents, you are spoilt for choice and have no excuse.

If you decide you want to use heat directly on your dry hair with no protection whether its blow drying, flat ironing, thonging, crimping, rollersetting....what you are doing to your hair is what too much sun does to leaves, it dries the heck out of them, so that when you touch dry leaves they simply crumble to pieces....Do you want crumbled hair? I don't think so, note to self I vow not to use heat on my hair ever again without a proper heat protectant!!

Of course the safest option will be avoiding heat totally but when you want to give into the craving of silky straight hair or bouncy robust curls, then you know what to do!!

P.S You guys, I have been really into chemicals and stuff lately, next week I'll dedicate an entire post to all that I've learnt, till then have a wonderful weekend!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Xxx

Dabs

Hiya,

How's everyone doing?!! Hope well!Happy Sallah to all the muslim NHCG readers!!

I got this mail a while ago and I felt it had to be shared especially for ladies in hard water areas like parts of the UK and Europe, some areas in Lagos and Nigeria....

Here's the mail... Title- HAIR EMERGENCY!

Hi Dabs,

how r u n your family? Guess you arr all okay. Thanks for the awesome tips on your blog they have been very helpful. Actually the hair emergency is not mine but my sister's, she is in school in Turkey and they have hard water . Her hair is breaking badly so I thought I should ask if there is a solution to growing /continuing ones healthy hair journey even with the hard water situation. Thanks looking forward to a reply.

MY REPLY

Thanks for reading my blog and for being such a caring sister :) the way I know to combat hard water is;

To use clarifying shampoos once a month to ensure that there is no build up...

Available here

Get shower filter heads for when she wants to wash her hair to filter out the mineral deposits.

Use apple cider vinegar regularly to rinse her hair to balance porosity and clear deposit build up.

She can also try oil rinsing, by coating her hair with oils and allowing the hair strands absorb the oils before she proceeds to wash it out.

Here's a screen shot of the benefits of Oil Rinsing from Hairfinity- makers of hair growth vitamins;

Buy hair oils- HERE

How to know your water is Hard? Basically, hard water is caused by too many mineral deposits like limestone, calcium sulfate and Calcium carbonate in the water, aside from leaving hair feeling dull and dry, it leaves things like ceramic dishes, utensils scaly, whitish and chalky.

Because of the deposits, you also find that it's difficult for the water to get soapy- that's the sure sign, so if in doubt, test your water today to know if it's hard or not.

Hope this information helps...Thanks for stopping by!

Xxx

Dabs