Hair Having a good hair day does not happen by chance!! Hair damage results from both mechanical and chemical trauma that alters the physical structures of the hair.

The hair has 3 basic layers; the cuticle, the cortex and the medulla. The cuticle is the outer layer of the protective scales. It is the main hair structure and is responsible for the strength, shine, smoothness, softness and manageability to the hair. The cortex provides strength to the hair shaft, and determines the colour and texture of hair. The medulla is the innermost core of the hair where the body and strength of the hair is determined.

The cuticle can be damaged by chemical or mechanical means, such as dyeing or blow-drying. Environmental factors, such as exposure to sunlight, air pollution, wind, seawater and chlorinated swimming pool water can also cause damage to occur. When the cuticle is damaged, the protective scales are peeled away and the rest of the hair shaft is exposed. In some cases, even the innermost layer - the medulla - is exposed for further damage.

The best way to improve the cosmetic value of the damaged or weathered hair shaft is to use conditioners, which can repair the hair shaft and increase shine, decrease static electricity, improve hair strength and provide ultraviolet radiation protection. These are 4 factors that are very important for a healthy head of hair.


Static Electricity
Combing or brushing the hair allows the individual hair shaft to become negatively charged, creating static electricity and preventing the hair from lying smoothly in a given style. Fine hair is more susceptible to static electricity than coarse hair due to the greater surface area of the cuticle. Conditioners with suitable ingredients can minimize static electricity by imparting cationic properties or positively charged ions to the hair to neutralize the static.

Photo Protection
While the hair is made up of nonliving materials and cannot develop cancerous qualities, its cosmetic value can be diminishing through excessive exposure to the sun. UV exposure can induce oxidation of the sulfur molecules within the hair shaft, which are important for hair strength. If this oxidation occurs, the hair becomes weak, dry, rough, faded and brittle.

Shine
Shinny hair has always been equated to healthy hair, even though the health of a hair follicle cannot be determined due to its location deep within the scalp. The shine is due to light reflected by the smooth surface of he individual hair shafts. Conditioners containing polymer film-forming agents can increase hair shine by helping the cuticle "scales" lie flat against the hair shaft for a smoother appearance.

Strength
Increasing the hair'sstrength can be attempted by using conditioners with ingredients such as hydrolyzed proteins or hydrolyzed human hair keratin proteins, which have a low molecular weight. They can easily penetrate the hair shaft to replenish hair nutrients, providing a high degree of improvement.

These proteins can also be used to smooth down split ends. Split ends develop after the protective cuticle has been stripped away from the end of the hair fibers as a result of chemical or physical trauma or result from vigorous brushing.