| Repair Your Hair: Conditioners |
| Karen Marie Shelton - Copyright - All
Rights Reserved |
| Revised Date: 08/26/09 - Original
Publication Date: 09/05/2004 |
Introduction
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Image Courtesy
of Abba Haircare |
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Abba
All Rights Reserved |
Hair care products come in a dizzying array of brands and types.
One hair care category that could potentially fill an entire beauty
supply store on its own accord is conditioners.
The simple term "hair conditioner" can mean anything from pre-treatment
solutions to a full blown deep
treatment applied with heat to a light detangling leave-in
spray, cream or similar product.
Conditioners come in every size, shape and type. There are
infused into oils, masks, creams, pastes, sprays and liquids. They come in glass
bottles, metal cans, tubes, jars and spray bottles or other related
delivery containers.
There are also formulas specifically created for every imaginable
hair texture, type and condition ranging from very light to
ultra deep conditioners and restructuring treatments.
There
are even products designed for specific hair colors, ethnic types
and age.
Hair Porosity - Why Hair Needs To Be Repaired
When hair is
defined as "porous" it means it is much easier for liquids,
such as water, shampoo and various products to
actually pass down into the hair's inner structure through the
cuticle's scales.
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Image Courtesy
of Abba Haircare
2006 |
|
Abba
All Rights Reserved |
The overall condition of the hair's cuticle determines the ultimate
porosity. Sizzling hot irons and curlers, turbo-charged blow-dryers,
bleach, chemical hair treatments (color, perms, strengtheners) are the bane of shiny, healthy locks.
If the hair's cuticle has been damaged from chemical abuse or its
scales have been opened by excessive heat treatments, the porosity factor is
increased significantly.
When hair becomes mistreated from over processing or over-styling, it
because damaged. Tiny rips and tears actually develop in the
outer cuticle of the hair. As hair becomes more damaged it
then becomes progressively more porous.
What does overly porous hair feel like? When it is extremely
porous it has a sticky, spongy feeling. If it is extremely
damaged it may not dry easily or it may feel extremely rough or
waxy.
What Do Conditioners Do?
Any type of substance
that can coat the hair's shaft such as natural scalp oils,
conditioners, hair creams or even styling products that include
heavy lacquers or waxes, decrease the porosity of the hair.
Hair is actually more porous towards its ends due to the normal wear
and tear from daily handling, brushing, combing and environmental
abuse.
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|
Image Courtesy
of Abba Haircare
2006 |
|
Abba
All Rights Reserved |
Conditioning products are
designed to offer salvation to chemically treated, environmentally
and nutritionally damaged and under nurtured strands.
Just as
spackle is used as filler to plug holes in walls, conditioners are used to
fill in the holes, rips and tears of over porous, damaged hair.
High powered
deep conditioning treatments may actually penetrate all the way down
into the cortex layer of the hair and act as a type of putty to help
fill in the torn, weakened, fragile areas.
Myths & Misconceptions
Unfortunately, there are about as many myths and common
misconceptions about conditioners as there are actual types of
products.
One hair truth is eternal. What works
for one person may not work for all people and vice versa.
Like anything else involving hair care treatments, it is important
to select products that are most compatible with your own hair type,
texture and needs.
Major Categories
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|
Image Courtesy
of Abba Haircare
2006 |
|
Abba
All Rights Reserved |
Although some hair conditioners do not fit neatly into one of the
clear cut categories, most hair conditioners are designed to fit in
one of the following:
1.
Pre-Treatment such as various types of different
hot oil treatments
2.
Rinse-out treatments
3.
Express deep conditioners
4.
Deep conditioners formulated according to hair type,
texture or damage issues.
5.
Reconstructors deep and
express treatments &
environmental repair masks & special conditioners
6.
Detangling conditioners
7.
Leave-in
conditioners
8.
Color enhancing
9.
Chemical free products
or
mists
10.
Combination conditioning products
Note: To read more reviews on related products visit:
HairBoutique.com Hair & Beauty Product
Reviews - Visit this page for reviews on a wide range of hair
and beauty products.
The 411 On Conditioning Products
Listed below are some common tips for using conditioning products
wisely:
In some cases, but not all, conditioners may accelerate the
fading of chemically applied hair colors.
Yes it's true, some conditioning
treatments may actually accelerate color loss from chemically
highlighted or colored hair.
This is especially true of
products that advertise that they "pop open" the cuticle for deeper
penetration such as volumizing hair care products.
While
volume enhancing products may open the cuticle for deeper
penetration of the volume enhancing shampoo or conditioner, when the
treatments are rinsed out the hair, the water used in the rinse may
also carry newly applied hair colors with it.
Other conditioners that are highly acidic like products made with
high concentrations of olive oil may also cause a speedier fading of
chemically applied color loss.
Heat activated conditioners may open the cuticle for deeper
penetration but may also inadvertently help speed up color loss.
If
you chemically color your hair be sure to research whether a
particular type of conditioning product is safe for color treated
strands.
When a conditioning product does not specifically advertise it is
safe for colored hair, be sure to discuss the products with your
hair colorists, stylist or the product manufacturer.
When in doubt, take some
time and find out before you use the product.
Color treated tresses should avoid being covered during deep
conditioning treatments. Why?
It has been proven that
excessive heat can actually fade color pigments of the hair, making
color look dull and drab. Resist popping a plastic shower cap,
a hot steamy towel or a blob of plastic wrap over your deep
conditioner or else you may soften your hair but suffer some color
loss during the treatment.
Apply all conditioning products from the ears down
Except in special
situations, avoid applying conditioning products right at the root
of the hair shaft.
This is especially true for anyone with oily skin
or hair and acne prone skin or scalps.
The best rule of thumb
is to apply conditioning products at least 1 inch away from the hair
root.
Many hair experts actually recommend that any
conditioning products be applied to hair from the top of the ears
down to the ends.
Concentrate any conditioning products to the
areas of the strands that need it the most.
Deep Conditioning Hair Care Tips
One
side effect of chemically treated hair may include a new level of
dryness. To keep hair shiny and lush schedule at-home or salon
deep conditioning treatments to your hair care regime with products
like
Rene Furterer - Karite Nourishing Conditioning Cream.
The right deep
conditioning treatments can leave hair soft, supple and silky when
used on the right type, texture and condition of hair. Using
the wrong type of deep conditioner on the wrong type of hair can
result in lank, stringy oily strands.
PhytoSpecific - Intense Nutrition Mask is ideal for many people with coarse to very
coarse hair that requires heavier deep conditioning treatments.
Note: Click on the link to read a detailed review of the
PhytoSpecific Intense Nutrition products.
On the opposite end of
the conditioning spectrum,
PhytoBaume Conditioner is a very gentle conditioner
that offers some of the advantages of a deep conditioning treatment
without weighing fine, delicate or thinning strands down with
excessive conditioning properties. Phytobaume was formulated
with Mallow, which has proven softening properties and Keratin amino
acids.
Summary
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PhytoKarite
Ultra Deep Conditioner
2008 |
|
Phyto
All Rights Reserved |
Although
some products will advertise that they are
"deep conditioning", they may have a wide range of penetration
levels.
Phytocitrus and
Phytokarite are both deep conditioning
treatments from Phyto but Phytocitrus tends to be less moisturizing
then the heavier
Phytokarite
that was designed to help add moisture to locks with chemical
damage.
As
a rule deep conditioning products contain either amino acids,
protein, panthenol or a combination of all three to help soften and
strengthen chemically treated or damaged strands.
Not all products are created equally and some may require that the
product remain on strands longer than others.
Be sure to consider your hair's texture, type and condition
before slathering on any type of conditioning products.
If you're not sure what deep
treatments are best for your newly brunette hair, invest in the
smallest sizes and try a few conditioning products on for size
before going full speed ahead.
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