Home » Archive for 2013

Every Home Needs an Eye Wash

High school and college chemistry labs are equipped with eye wash stations. When I was a kid learning first aid, we were told that every home needs an eye cup. This horrified me greatly because let's face it - putting stuff in your eyes is scary. And no, I don't wear contacts, how did you guess?

Fast forward a few decades. I work in a lab some days so yes, we have the necessary safety stuff. But what really got me was spraying medicine on my dog's tail at home. I sprayed upwards to treat the underside (duh!) and lots of dog medicine landed on my eyeball.

On my sprint to the bathroom to wash hands first I realized I didn't have any sterile saline. I gushed eyedrops into my stinging eye. No good. I went to the kitchen, filled a glass with water and poured it over my smarting eye several times. Much better - but now my eye was sore and bloodshot from the saline-free tap water.

This sort of thing can happen any time. Spray-on products, preservatives or additives you might use to make cosmetics, vinegar or disinfectants, drain cleaner, sawdust, that eyelash that fell in your eye, small winged insects you can't extricate...

Every home needs at least one thing for eye safety: Sterile Saline (irrigating) solution. Absolutely not contact lens cleaner. Not in a spray can. In a bottle. It's just salty enough to make eye washing less painful. It's sterile. It has a long shelf life. And you can use it to wash other wounds because it hurts much less than washing with tap water.

If you can find an eye cup, great! Otherwise keep some small paper cups or a shot glass handy for eye washing.

I'm not kidding. We don't wear safety glasses nearly often enough when handling eye-damaging chemicals that you would be required to wear safety glasses to use in a laboratory.

Don't mess around with eye safety. Keep these things in the house. Use them. If you use cleaners or any sort of chemicals at your work - these things should be provided by your employer.

If something gets in your eye and it hurts, wash it out. Who cares if your face or hair gets messed up or your clothes get wet? Your eyes are more important.

Humidifying on the Cheap and Green

Where I live, winters tend to be cold and dry. I use an electric humidifier indoors to keep my nose and eyes and lungs and skin and hair happier.

But I also use a natural evaporative humidifier. Perhaps you've heard of it. It's called "Clean Wet Laundry."

I should add that when the temperature is below 50°F (10°C) laundry doesn't get fully dry if hung outdoors here and when colder than that, my fingers freeze before the laundry is all hung out.

If you buy a couple indoor laundry racks or are able to string a clothesline in your dwelling and not pull out the drywall, you can save several dollars (or more depending on your family size) per month on power. Your stretchy jeans won't shrink as much. Your clothes will actually last longer. I like to set my drying racks over the floor heat vents so the air passes around the clothes, drying them faster and spreading the humidity around.

Laundry racks are a bit of an investment up-front, but they pay for themselves over the course of a winter - and last for years.

If you're not a fan of all air-dried clothes, you can just hang some shirts or towels or all those things that should not be dried in the dryer in your bedroom to dry and add humidity to the air.

What's great about it:
1) Saving money
2) Using less energy
3) Humidified air for free
4) Drying laundry doesn't grow mold or bacteria like leaving water out to evaporate or a rarely-cleaned humidifier.
5) Put off for another day cleaning the hard water residue from the electric humidifier.
6) Burn calories, tone arms and keep your spine flexible hanging laundry. Did I go too far?

What's not so great:
1) Crunchy laundry (the crunch goes away upon use)
2) Extra labor (But see #6 above. Work is good for us. But sometimes time wins).
3) Space!!! This does take some space, but usually it's only temporary.
4) Cats. I don't have any - but might they be tempted to climb a tower of laundry?

Do You Need a Micro-Trim?

What do you do when you get those in between haircut blahs, but you're not ready for a full haircut or you want to let yours grow?

Micro-trim! Some people call it "dusting the ends" but that's hardly accurate. Hair doesn't grow evenly. The ends that were once neat and tidy get a little fringe-y and that can cause your entire look to get a little more shaggy than you like.

This video is the clever and lovely Pedaheh of the Wavy Library to show you how to do a micro-trim and what a big difference it makes immediately.

Cheap. Easy. Fun. Great hair at home.

Polyquat or Not?

I'm one of those people with silky-feeling hair that accumulates products like a lollipop dropped in the lint trap of a rarely-cleaned dryer. Some people and some products don't get along. For this post, the focus is on Polyquaternium products.

This curl asks, "Are poly-
quats for me?

Polyquaterniums (and a few other things in this post) are "active ingredients" or functional ingredients in hair care. They're not there to make the product look pretty or smell nice or feel nice, they're used because they actively condition or detangle or because they form a film that creates "hold" in a product. Some of these ingredients help your hair hold on to hair dye longer or provide UV protection.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

All of the ingredients that will be listed below with moderate to high build-up potential resist washing off with water and with shampoo (or anything else you use to clean your hair - conditioner, acids, baking soda…) unless noted. They are created with cationic (positive) charges so they bond with your hair rather than just forming a passive film. That is good for hair that needs a lasting film for hold or a slippery film for detangling. It's also great if you want all-day-long or humidity-resistant hold in a styling product. But it is not helpful if the product accumulates on your hair. Some people can use polyquaternium ingredients with no problems, but some of us get build-up from them.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Not everybody's hair will accumulate build up! All conditioning ingredients have the potential to build up. ALL OF THEM. That doesn't mean you should not use them, it doesn't mean they're necessarily damaging. It just means that if you find your hair becomes stringy or sticky or dull or rough or too soft or spider-webby or unusually frizzy or just generally weird feeling that one of these ingredients may contribute to the problem and because you know that, you can make better choices and avoid spending money on products that won't work for you. All these ingredients have potential benefits! This post should not make you want to avoid them, this post is to help you understand what happens when you have problems with products. There is no reason to avoid these ingredients unless you know you have a problem with them, or unless you already know that everything under the sun builds up on your hair and you just don't want to deal with trial and error.

Film-formers are more likely to cause crusty or dull or stringy-hair type build up. This has to do with the ingredients used to make the final Polyquaternium product. Conditioning Polyquaterniums probably have a build-up that is more like overly-soft or overly slick hair.

Worth mentioning: The numbers assigned to these products have nothing to do with their chemical composition, so no opportunity to do any sleuthing by the numbers! Darn.

One last word: You can't always condemn an ingredient based on one product or a product based on one ingredient. Many products have multiple ingredients that could cause build-up and you cannot just blame one ingredient. The combination of ingredients in a product (or that product, combined with other things you put in your hair) may be causing a problem.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Higher Build-Up Potential

Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride - A cationic conditioner often used in conditioning or mild shampoos. High potential for build-up, but is also very good for detangling, especially detangling wet hair which is why it is used in shampoos.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Polyquaternium-4 - Cationic conditioner that has film-forming properties. Usually used to provide "hold" in styling products and also thicken a product. Moderate to high potential to build-up.

Moderate Build-Up Potential

Polyquaternium-7 - A cationic conditioning ingredient which has moderate potential for build-up, used to lessen the drying effect of detergents and add a "conditioned" feel to products so hair or skin feel soft. It helps detangle wet and dry hair and may help create shine.
Polyquaternium -11- A cationic conditioning ingredient which has moderate potential for build-up. Often used in hair mousses because it provides light hold. The film-forming plus the cationic nature of this ingredient can give hair a tacky feel while on the hair and after rinsing.
Polyquaternium-55 - Cationic conditioning ingredient which is an excellent heat protectant, film-forming to help hair retain dyed color longer. Has build-up potential, possibly as "over-conditioning."
Hydroxypropyltrimonium (fill in the blank, Honey, Wheat Protein, any other protein, Starch). When "Hydroxypropyltrimonium" precedes an ingredient, it means it has been modified to have a cationic charge so it sticks to your hair and that means it can cause build-up. In this case, it may be over-conditioned or too-soft hair. These ingredients provide slip and softness and help reduce frizz.
Polyquatermium-59 - Cationic conditioner with UV light absorbing qualities - sun protection! Moderate build up potential, but in this case you probably want sun protection that stays on in water and sweat and taking hats on and off, so I don't feel that build up of UV protectants is such a bad thing. It won't last forever. Likely to feel over-conditioned.

Lower Build-Up Potential©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Polyquaternium-10 - A cationic conditioning ingredient which may have slight to moderate build-up potential, depending on the source you consult. This may be removable with a polyquaternium-free, anionic (sulfate or olefin sulfonate) shampoo. It is often used in shampoos for detangling. May be used in styling products because it provides light hold.
Polyquaternium-69 - Weakly cationic film-former for hold in hair products. Slight potential for build-up. Likely to be removed after 1-2 shampooings.
Polyquaternium-37 - Used for conditioning for limp, thin or "fine" hair. ("Fine" is often used to refer to thin hair). Reported to help improve volume and body in hair.
Polyquaternium-44 - Cationic conditioner/detangler used in some shampoos. Has slight potential for build-up, it was designed as an alternative to Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride and other more build-up provoking ingredients.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Polyquaternium-87 - Amphoteric (can be positive or negatively charged) conditioner for shampoos created as an alternative to Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride for detangling, soft feel and helping hairs align (frizz control). Will be removed after 1-2 shampooings.
Polyquaternium-47 - An amphoteric conditioning ingredient which has moderate potential for build-up. Used for detangling wet hair and dry, softens hair. Not a lot of information available yet about this ingredient. I'm putting it in the "lower build-up potential" category for now based on the variable charge. I'll update if I find out more.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

What's Cookin': Oil Blend Recipe for Hair

Science-y Hair Blog Oil Blend or SHB Oil Blend Recipe

This natural oil blend is a pre-shampoo treatment, a sealer, a frizz-controlling shine pomade/serum, can be added to your conditioner for a deep conditioner. This oil blend adds softness and flexibility to your hair. It helps your hairs align with each other for gloss and definition. Adds weight to control frizz or reduce the volume of "poufy" hair.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

This mixture is blended to be similar the fatty acid component of the oils from your scalp, but still using oils that are fairly easy to find. It works differently than any single oil alone.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Recipe: (makes about 1/4 cup)

Extra Virgin Olive oil 2 1/2 teaspoons (12 ml)
Coconut oil 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons (7.5 ml to 10) (1 1/2 tsp if liquid, 2 if solidified)

Shea butter or Cocoa butter * 2 1/2 to 3 well-packed teaspoons (12 to 14.75 ml): for cocoa butter, see *

Jojoba oil ** 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml)

Grapeseed oil 4 teaspoons (20 ml)

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Essential oil or fragrance oil (optional)

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

* If you use cocoa butter, you may want to use just 2 teaspoons or even 1 1/2 teaspoons. Cocoa butter is harder than shea butter and may be more likely to cause build-up. If you know your hair loves cocoa butter - go crazy! Otherwise, use caution.
** If jojoba oil makes your hair static-y and flyaway and you want to use this on dry hair, replace it with canola oil or use more olive and grapeseed oil.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Measure oils into a double boiler or a heat-resistant bowl which you can place over simmering water or in a pan of hot water. Allow the shea or cocoa butter (and coconut oil if yours has solidified) to melt and blend for a few minutes.

Remove from heat. Store in the refrigerator. This will become semisolid in the refrigerator, but will melt in your hand. Refrigerating the mixture helps prevent rancidity. Alternatively, keep a small amount in a squeeze bottle at room temperature in a cool-ish, dark place (not in your bathroom). This oil blend should stay reasonably fresh (not rancid) for 2-3 months, depending on how the oils you used to make it were stored. Wipe the bottle to remove drips and keep water out.

Each oil adds something special, mainly they were chosen for their lipid profile. Olive oil contains squalene, and is a good lubricant and shine-enhancer. Coconut oil penetrates the hair shaft for softness and flexibility and helps porous hair resist swelling in water - swelling stresses your strands. Shea butter or cocoa butter soften hair from the outside and add "weight." Jojoba oil is a wax chemically speaking and waxes are a natural part of your skin's sebum, it's in this recipe for shine and lubrication. Grapeseed oil penetrates the hair somewhat, softens and lubricates. As with oils from your scalp, this blend is not made for heavy-handed use unless you know your hair can tolerate lots of oils and butters without unhappy side effects.
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Ingredients prior to melting.

Here is a link to a post with more about the oils.

How to Use SHB Oil Blend:

Pre-shampoo: Apply oil to dry hair before shampooing (or conditioner-washing or whatever you do to wash your hair). If your hair is fine, thin or silky or not very porous, use just enough to make it shine. If your hair is dry and rough and static-y, use enough to make it feel good and greasy. Leave it on for anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight (protect your pillow)! Then cleanse.

This oil blend does not leave a high shine after shampooing, hair should have luster and feel soft and pliable. Experiment with how much to use - your washed hair should not feel overly oily when wet or dry.

Sealer: Apply this oil to damp hair or over a leave-in conditioner to

All oils melted and blended.

trap moisture and control frizz.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Serum/Pomade: This oil blend is heavy. Applied to dry hair and smoothed through, it will add weight, gloss and definition to curls and coils. Works well to control flyaways and shape styles both natural and "set." But it may flatten fine curls or waves. Be warned if you have allergies, oils on dry hair can accumulate dust, pollen and mold spores. Will add shine to your hair, but the shea butter in the recipe can lead to build-up which dulls hair. If this occurs, a gentle shampoo and plenty of warm water should remove the excess oil.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Semi-solid, refrigerated oil blend.

Conditioner enhancer: Add a few drops (or more) of this oil blend to however much conditioner you use, mix well and condition for extra softening and flexibility in your hair. Don't add it to a bottle of conditioner - the oils can go rancid or make the product separate.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Protein treatment enhancer: Add a drop or two (or more) of this oil blend to your favorite protein treatment.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Removing crunch from hair gels: Use a very small amount of this oil blend (1-3 drops), rubbed in your palms, to smooth over your hair as though you are making a ponytail. Squeeze through to the ends to break up the "crunch" of hair gels for a soft finish.

Polyquat build-up

If you're the kind of person whose hair reacts badly to hair styling products sometimes, often something like polyquaternium is to blame. These ingredients provide hold, may reduce frizz and can condition the hair. But they also bond to the hair and do not rinse or wash off easily. They don't build up for everybody - so I want to show you what it might look like if they build up on your hair. Because my hair is light-colored, it's easy to see.

This is my hair on day one with a hair gel containing Polyquaternium-4. I liked it fairly well and was excited about the product. I was new to hair styling and cutting my hair to wear it down when this photo was taken. Wow, I must have been out in the sun a lot too. Blonde hair loses color fast in UV light!

Day one with polyquaternium-containing gel.

I used it again for the photo below, probably just rinsing my hair in between. Apparently that shirt passed the sniff test, because I'm wearing it again too.

But the second use revealed the ugly side of polyquaterniums. I did everything the same as the day before. But the result was quite different. Stringy, crunchy, less volume, dull, less wave definition, kind of sparse and a little frizzy.

Second use of polyquaternium-containing gel.

So now you know. If this happens to you and your hair gel (or shampoo or conditioner or mousse or styling cream) contains polyquaterniums, you might want to avoid them and see if your hair behaves more nicely.

It doesn't always happen on the first or second use, this is a cumulative process. They all build up for me right away. No sleuthing necessary.

To find out more about which polyquats and other similar ingredients *may* build up on hair, refer to this post.

Allergens in your hair!

As a result of doing hair physical analysis (shop link on the right), and especially working with my and my husband's hair, I am learning about which allergens stay in your hair and why.
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
What do I find the most? Mold. Mold is fungi and fungal spores (the fungal equivalent to pollen) are very small and very "sticky." I'm finding spores that are common mold allergies like Alternaria, but also other species.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

I have seen some weed pollen from plants with air-dispersed pollen (ragweed, lamb's quarters).
I have also seen starches (the foods you touch leave starch on your hands).
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Tree pollen not as much, but it's not tree pollen season here and that is bigger, so it probably won't stick to individual hairs, though it definitely gets caught in your hair as a whole.

Fungal spore stuck to a hair.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Keeping allergens out of your hair
About those fungal spores and pollen grains - they're sticking the most to hair which has had oil applied when dry. In fact, they're often stuck in visible oil residue. Bad news allergy sufferers! If you're carrying those allergens around all day and taking them to bed with you, you're bound to feel worse all the time.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Better to avoid oils as a leave-on during allergy season; conditioners don't seem to attract the mold spores and pollen as much. It helps a lot to rinse your hair daily if you can while your allergies are at their worst. If daily rinsing equals hair disaster - you might get relief from wearing a sleep cap or scarf over your hair so the allergens are not rubbing off on your pillow, to be breathed by you later.

If you have allergies, you've probably heard all this before. But you've probably never seen it. And it's always worth repeating.

pH Testing at Home

If you mix up your own hair rinses or protein treatments or hair gel, at some point you need to have some pH test strips or paper. You can read why here and here. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

There are 2 brands I use. I often buy them online because I can get the brand I want at a good price.
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
One is Hyrdion (also labeled as pHydrion). Make sure to look for test strips or paper with a range from pH 0-13. Don't get pH test strips made for urine and saliva testing, the range is not great enough.
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
A brand that reads very clearly is ColorpHast with a range of 0-14. There are differently-colored pads on each strip that you match up to a scale on the case. This assures a better match than only one color. That's good for use with indoor lighting or in products with a slight color. While they may seem pricey up front, one package should last a long time unless you get very interested in testing pH and it is better to test pH now than to deal with damaged hair later!©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

ColorpHast pH test strips.

Hydrion pH 0-13 test paper on a roll.

These products should be stored in a dry place, out of direct light. Very old pH strips tend to be inaccurate or at the very least difficult to read. There are other brands out there. These are the ones I buy again.©

Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Important Note: When you test pH, test room-temperature liquids. Testing hot liquids is likely to give you the wrong reading.

Update to Penetrating Oils Post

This is the original post, with the updated list. I've done a little more research and this may be more accurate. Because all these oils have not been tested side-by-side using the same technology, it's a little tricky to guess which ones actually will do what is predicted.

And of course, your hair will be the best judge of which oil may work best for you.

Different Porosity, Same Hair

It's fairly common to have hair that is porous on the ends, but not at the roots. That means different parts or your hair require rather different care. How easily your hair becomes porous with just normal wear and tear and weathering depends on a lot of things. In fact, the kind of porosity your hair accumulates can be very different from person to person.

How can the ends of your hair become porous? The ends of your hair are the oldest - they have had the most time to accumulate damage. While you up to 11 layers of cuticles covering your hair, if your hair is long there may be few layers left on the ends. Brushing, combing, detangling, sleeping, wearing hats and collars, blowing around in the wind, wearing ponytails and braids and barrettes; these activities cause cuticles to chip or break away completely. Even more dramatic is over-washing the hair (especially if using strong or concentrated detergents), bleaching, highlighting or lightening the hair, permanent dyeing the hair (when they dye includes ammonia and/or peroxide), chemically relaxing or permanent waving the hair. Spending lots of time in the sun causes cuticles to shrink so they cover less area. Using high heat hair styling tools can cause cracks that increase porosity.

Hair that curls or has kinking (or both) "wears" or weathers more unevenly than straight hair because there are certain areas which accumulate more friction than others, so it is more likely to become porous. Anything that sticks out can be broken off easily - and that goes for cuticles on your hair where it kinks and curls.

Fine and medium hair is more flexible than coarse hair and tends to become porous more easily because it bends around things (like other hairs) readily and therefore accumulates more surface-contact with objects and that means more friction!

What's the problem with porous hair?

Porous hair loses water more quickly than low porosity hair. Think of the function of the cuticle of low porosity hair as a plastic bag. Not very porous. Water doesn't get in or out easily. But if you punch holes in a plastic bag or rip tiny cracks, water can get through. When your hair is porous, water gets in and out easily. So when you put your hair in water, it takes on water and swells. Swelling is bad for hair because it creates stress within the hair. When porous hair gets wet, it can lose soluble proteins to the water. Bad news - because those proteins in the outer portions of your hair help keep it hydrated. When porous hair is dry (dry meaning not wet), because it has no tight barrier against the environment, so it can lose more moisture than is good for it when the air around the hair is drier than the hair itself.

Hair may grow out of your scalp with low porosity. It may not stay that way for long, depending on what you do to it and what your hair is like. For whatever reason hair becomes porous, porous hair becomes dehydrated easily and dehydrated hair is more brittle and prone to breakage, less shiny, does not hold a curl as well, frizzes easily.

What to do

Low porosity hair is water-repelling. Not as much as the back of a duck - but it does not swell with water quickly when wetted and it does not lose water very readily to the environment around it when dry. Because normal-porosity hair is so resilient to the environment, and because it tends to stay resilient, it's a good idea to encourage more-porous hair to act like less-porous hair. Water-repellant hair does not swell in water, accumulating more stress and more damage. It resists damage. It does not become dehydrated quickly! It does not absorb humidity rapidly and frizz immediately. We want our hair to repel water somewhat.

If your hair is porous on the lower portion, what can you do to balance out your hair's porosity?

Pre-shampoo (pre-cleansing) oil treatments on the porous areas - ends and probably the top layer too. Especially with oils like coconut, sunflower, grapeseed, avocado or olive oil. Enough oil to add shine - or enough to make your hair look greasy - that's up to you. Oils will repel water during cleansing to prevent the swelling that can cause further damage. You'll know you used the right amount when your hair, post-washing does not look frizzed out and extra-poofy, nor greasy and lank when dry. If just your ends are porous - use this treatment only in those places.
Condition-wash-condition. Pre-shampoo conditioning also buffers hair from shampoo and water, but conditioners can build up in a way that liquid oils do not. If the idea of using oils in your hair make you say "yuck," this method can give you wonderful results. The conditioner before washing can be applied to wet or dry hair.
Use shampoo, conditioner or styling products which contain proteins or amino acids or film-forming humectants. This link has a list of products based on film forming humectants. Proteins and amino acids are hydrating to hair and can help hair that tends to be dehydrated, hold on to moisture. Film forming humectants (flaxseed gel, okra gel, aloe vera gel, pectin, celluloses) are not especially affected by ambient humidity and can seal in moisture all day to keep porous hair hydrated.

How can you prevent your hair from becoming porous?

Comb, don't brush. Or skip the comb entirely and just use your fingers. Brushes are great for shredding cuticles of your hair! A wide-tooth comb will get the job done. If you have tangly hair, detangle starting with your fingers, then a wide-tooth comb and work from the ends, up. Don't tug or yank on hair! Once you over-stretch a hair, it's damaged forever.
Use ammonia-free and peroxide-free or low-peroxide, semi-permanent hair dye or plant dyes like henna.
Shampoo only when your hair needs it. Switch to "sulfate free" shampoo or dilute your shampoo to make it more gentle to the hair.
Use lower-heat hair styling tools.
If fabric touches your hair and your hair becomes porous easily - make sure it's silk or satin or at least slippery-feeling fabric.
If you use henna in your hair - make sure it has plenty of lubrication because henna increases friction in hair.

More About Protein

I have been researching protein for use in hair products to see whether there is any background for predicting which proteins will work well for which hair (if they are helpful at all). ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

What have I found? Not much that is well-tested. What does that mean? You're on your own?! I think there are some guiding themes not so much in your hair's thickness or density or curliness - but in the effect you want and the composition of the proteins themselves. I don't believe I can create a "mix and match" guideline, but at least you'll have more information to explain your hair's reaction. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Proteins condition your hair.

First of all, protein is regarded as a conditioning ingredient in two respects. One in that it can in some cases bond to hair and also that it can soften, reduce static and improve the feel and luster of hair. Being oil-free and not waxy nor oil-based makes proteins well-suited conditioners for hair which is easily weighed down. Protein is a hydrating conditioner. Oils and "fatty alcohols" and creamy conditioning ingredients that are the base of most conditioners soften and create flexibility and may prevent water loss. But protein grabs water and hangs on to it. Protein doesn't release water quickly, either. That doesn't mean, "hair that takes forever to dry" - it means, "hair that doesn't get dehydrated as easily."Well-hydrated hair is shinier and less frizzy and more flexible. Not bad. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Whose hair needs the extra boost protein can offer?

As a generalization: ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

1) People whose hair is losing more water than it should - porous or damaged hair.

That means:

Bleached or highlighted hair

Chemically relaxed or permanent waved hair

Hair that has been frequently brushed

Hair you take swimming frequently in chlorinated pools or salt water

Hair that spends several hours each week under the full sun (winter in higher latitudes might not matter as much)

Some hair that tends to be dry no matter how much oil and conditioner you use
Hair that has been styled with high heat - flat irons, curling irons, hair dryers on "hot."

Sorry, active people who like to be outdoors - we're making our hair more porous. But at least we're having a good time doing it.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

People who have kinking in their hair sometimes (not always!) have slightly increased porosity for 2 reasons. First is that the kinking areas are uneven, the cuticles cannot lie quite flat. When a cuticle does not lie flat, it sticks out and cuticles that stick out are likely to be broken off! Broken cuticles equals more porosity. Kinking hair suffers far more damage from daily life than non-kinking hair - it is more likely to become porous as a result. Curly hair also presents an uneven surface in that it "wears" unevenly against other hairs, your collar, your pillowcase. If this is the hair nature gave you - you have to fight your hair's tendency to become porous. It probably grows non-porous and pristine from your scalp. And then life happens. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

No matter why your hair is porous, it will lose water more rapidly than is good for it. Protein fills up those gaps for a while, and it does it in a water-grabbing way that is good for your hair. An oil or silicone or "fatty alcohol" conditioner just blocks the gaps and softens the hair - they may prevent water loss to some degree, but they do nothing in the way of improving hydration. As a side-note, porous hair also loses proteins from the cuticle layers when it gets wet because the cuticle cannot seal them in - another reason to use both proteins and pre-cleansing oil treatments on porous hair.

Porous hair - see the jagged cuticles
on the left side.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

2) People whose hair needs conditioning, but cannot take a lot of added weight. That's you, fine-to-medium-haired people, or anybody with silky, soft hair. Protein can bulk your hair up a little and add strength.

Who needs to approach protein with caution?
If your hair is quite coarse (wide hairs), it may not tolerate protein very often. Or it may tolerate the smaller proteins and amino acids.
Coarse but porous hair may tolerate (and benefit from) protein more than coarse, lower porosity hair.

What does protein do to your hair?©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Protein is most substantive to hair (it bonds to hair the best) when it has a molecular weight of about 1000 daltons or less. At this size, they are weakly cationic and bond to hair. Smaller than 250 daltons can penetrate into the hair. Substantivity is what defines a conditioner - something that bonds to the hair to reduce friction and static. So proteins are conditioners! Protein in a shampoo or conditioner or styling product can work, and recently I've become a fan of protein in shampoos after seeing my husband's fragile hair become very healthy and breakage-resistant from using a protein-enriched shampoo.

Protein will bond best to hair between pH 4 and 7 (around pH 5 is best). In fact protein has pH-dependent charges, at lower-than-neutral pH, it has a positive charge to help it bind to your naturally negatively charged hair. So proteins are most effective in products with a pH around 5 or 6.

Same porous hair, blue in-
filling represents hydrolyzed
protein filing in porosities
and also forming a light surface
film.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

The larger proteins have more of a coating-glossing-moisture-hugging film effect that is present during use (for example oat protein or jojoba protein in a styling product). For porous hair, these fill in the gaps as well as lightly coat the surface. For not-porous hair and fine hair, they are mostly forming a film and providing a little extra body. For coarse hair, too much extra body might not be a good thing and protein needs to be used judiciously - though a little can be a great help.©Scien

Lower porosity, fine hair with blue
representing hydrolyzed protein
forming a film on the surface.

ce-y Hair Blog 2013

Proteins are made of amino acids. Hydrolyzed proteins are the source protein which has been broken down with acid or alkali or enzymes into smaller pieces (no longer a whole protein). Within that hydrolysate product, there are various-sized "chunks" or the original proteins. Some smaller, some larger. From the smallest (peptides) to amino acids to those other-sized chunks of hydrolyzed protein. But the amino acid component is very important, whether they are free amino acids or still bound to larger particles. Your hair has many amino acids in the cuticle that attract water to keep hair hydrated so it doesn't break too easily. Hydrated hair is great - it has more shine, it is more flexible, in hair with waves and curls, the curl pattern has better definition when hair is well hydrated because there is less frizz. If your hair-needing-hydration is like a soup recipe calling for carrots and onions and celery and peas, it's best if you can add carrots and onions and celery and peas. Or even just 3 or those 4 ingredients will be better than none, or the wrong ones. So take a look at the amino acids in the outermost surfaces of your hair.©

Get to know your amino acids:
Click to enlarge this table. Amino acids in the cuticle of human hair, and in hydrolyzed proteins from various sources. Amino acid content in these sources is indicated as "xxx" is the largest quantity, "xx" is medium to high quantity and "x" means the amino acid is present in smaller quantities.

Science-y Hair Blog 2013

It seems reasonable to try to use the amino acids that are abundant in the outer surfaces of our hair to try to hydrate our hair because we know they function well in the system that is our hair. If you already know your hair responds well or poorly or not at all to some of these proteins - see if you can discover a common link. For example, my hair responds very well to collagen, gelatin, keratin and oat protein, but I don't notice much from soy, silk and wheat. I also know that my hair is fine to medium width, so it tolerates most proteins. When I look at the information here, I see that the proteins my hair is responding well to have the most amino acids that are naturally in hair in the highest amounts. They are both hydrating and conditioning and film-forming and I need both because my wavy hair has some UV damage and tends to break easily without extra hydration - it also needs that little boost of "support" the proteins give it to stay bouncy. Somebody else's hair might have a different set of "preferences." That's why it is difficult to predict what will work well for this or that type of hair. Sometimes it is not how wide or narrow your hair is, but how porous is it, how hot the weather has been or how dry, or any number of other factors that can cause hair to respond well to protein all the time, some of the time, once in a great while - or never at all.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Refer to the table above for a visual aid to accompany the information below:

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Collagen is one of the few proteins to provide a lot of Proline, one of the more abundant amino acids in the cuticle - good for improving elasticity in hair that snaps and breaks easily and feels mushy when wet - like wet fabric instead of wet fiber. It is a hydrating protein, small to medium size and substantive. Collagen amino acids are smaller still. Gelatin is partly hydrolyzed collagen and therefore contains medium to large protein constituents and is both hydrating and film-forming.

Wheat provides abundant Cystine - but it is not necessarily the same Cystine as in hair. If it can function similarly to the cystine in hair, wheat protein is superb. Hydrolyzed wheat protein is fairly large and therefore more of a film-forming, porosity-filling protein.

Oat protein is both hydrating and conditioning and also film forming and porosity-filling. Some versions of hydrolyzed oats are engineered to be medium-sized, but you cannot always know if that is what is in your product. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Soy protein. Even though soy protein is a medium-size protein, it may not have the hydrating power of the other proteins. It's amino acid complement is more abundant in amino acids which are not as abundant in human hair. Soy protein is a small-medium size for conditioning.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Corn protein is often combined with other proteins. Corn protein has small-medium size for conditioning and hydrating.

Keratin Human hair-source keratin is even more similar to the protein in your own hair. Keratin is a small-to-medium protein so it has hydrating and conditioning potential and 6 amino acids naturally abundant in the cuticle of your hair.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Silk protein is a smaller protein and mostly hydrating and conditioning.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

So what's the take-home message? That depends a lot on your needs. I learned something about why my hair may respond well to certain proteins and not others - it's the composition, not just the size. In fact, I think now I know why small proteins and amino acids make my hair too soft if I use them too often - it's over-moisturizing. If your hair always needs more softness with its hydration - that should be an "aha!" for you. Maybe you need some small proteins and amino acids.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

I wish it were as simple as "X" protein works well for "Y" hair - but it isn't. UV damage is different than bleaching damage. Fine hair is different than coarse hair. All sorts of conditions in your hair and the world around you can make protein helpful or not helpful and that may vary with the seasons and what you do to your hair. Making prediction more complicated - the very products in which the proteins are contained can improve their action or interfere with it (for example, when protein is in a conditioner, the protein and conditioners will compete with each other for binding sites). If you have residue from other products on your hair, applying protein over those can give you a bad result whereas using protein on clean hair may not. Some people may be able to use protein in shampoos but not conditioners or vice versa. Some people use high-protein treatments to try to improve their hair's health and strength and some use protein in styling products for their hydrating, bounce-producing, shine-enhancing boost.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Proteins and amino acids are such functional ingredients, I hate to see people swear them all off when one or 2 don't work. As you can see - they are all different in size, in "ingredients," in application and in function.

Sources:
Hair and Hair Care. Johnson, D. 1997
Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair. Robbins. 1994, 3rd Ed.
Various sources from ingredient manufacturers and suppliers.

Update to Hydrolyzed Protein List

I have been updating my list of hydrolyzed proteins by weight, you can find the new list in this old post.

I also learned that hydrolyzed collagen and gelatin (partially hydrolyzed collagen) contain significant concentrations of amino acids which are beneficial to hair strength - many of which are found naturally in high concentrations in the cuticle of hair, already serving a functional role. Those include Proline (not found in most other hydrolyzed proteins), Glutamic acid, Valine, a little Cysteine and Histidine.
© Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Hydrolyzed collagen adsorbs (temporarily bonds to) hair, increasing it's resistance to breaking under tension. The more concentrated the collagen in a formula, the more will bond to hair - at least up to a point. The smaller the collagen molecule, the better it bonds to hair - so hydrolyzed collagen will bond to hair better than and longer-lasting than gelatin you can buy over the counter. If your hair is damaged (on the ends, for example) it will bond with more collagen protein than un-damaged hair.

So if you like the gelatin protein treatment recipe on this blog and you want it stronger, increase the gelatin without increasing the water. If you want it less-strong, decrease the gelatin and keep the water the same, or increase the water and keep the gelatin the same.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Collagen binds water to your hair - not just attracting it like a humectant, but holding it there. And it does that better at a pH of 5 than a neutral pH.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

You may note I have altered the gelatin protein treatment recipe because as it was written initially, it was too acidic. I strongly encourage you to invest in some pH test strips when adding acids to avoid damaging your hair.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

You can get a boost of collagen protein from the shampoos and conditioners on the "Product by Category" page - scroll down to the list of protein-containing shampoos and conditioners. The shampoos listed are "sulfate-free."

pH of Common Homemade Rinses

This post relates to a recent post about pH and your hair. It's best to stay between pH 4.5 and 7 under most circumstances.
Outside these limits of pH 4.5 and 7, hair is far more vulnerable to damage because it may swell rapidly and take the acid or base (alkali) into the hair, beneath the cuticle and this may damage proteins. It certainly removes some oils.

Homemade rinses are a fun, simple way to solve hair problems or try out ideas.
But acids and bases on hair can be damaging. The more resilient your hair (the lower the porosity), the less damaging a homemade rinse can be - but then again exposure to the wrong pH is one cause of hair damage. Most hair can withstand a slightly too-low or too-high pH for brief exposures. But if your hair is bleached, damaged, or otherwise especially vulnerable - even brief exposures to pH extremes can have lasting effects.

The treatments:
Citric acid: Excellent rinse for helping reduce chlorine odor after swimming and to reduce hard water problems with hair.

1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) citric acid in 1 cup (230 ml) water = pH 3
1/16 teaspoon (0.3 ml) citric acid in 1 cup (230 ml) water = pH 3.1
Stick with the lower amount of 1/16 teaspoon (0.3 ml) citric acid in 1 cup (230 ml) water or 1/16th to 1/8 (0.3 to 0.6 ml) teaspoon per 1 1/2 to 2 cups (350 to 475 ml) of water unless it does not give you the desired result.

Even when you reduce the amount of acid by half the pH stays low. The 1/16th teaspoon has less free "acid" to react with your hair - it's less active - but the pH is still low and it's still quite reactive.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C):

1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) ascorbic acid in 1 cup (230 ml) water = pH 3.6
1/16 teaspoon (0.3 ml) ascorbic acid in 1 cup (230 ml) water = pH 3.8
Better to use 1/16th teaspoon (0.3 ml) in 1 to 1 1/2 cups (230 to 350 ml), or 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) in 2 cups (475 ml).

Acetic acid (vinegar): Vinegar can dissolve calcium carbonate - so vinegar rinses may help remove hard water deposits from your hair if hard water makes your hair rough and unruly. But getting enough vinegar to actually do that without going too low in pH may be difficult.

1 tablespoon (15 ml) in 1 cup (230 ml) water = pH ~3.3
1 teaspoon (5 ml) in 1 cup water (230 ml) = pH 3.7
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) in 1 cup water (230 ml) = pH 4.5

Baking soda: Sometimes used to clean hair. When used as a laundry additive, it "softens" or at least alkalinizes hard water. Dirt and oil resist being washed away more by hard water than softened water.

1 tablespoon baking soda in 1 cup warm water = pH 8

Bar soap: Well-cured bar soap lather is what I tested - that's a very old bar of real soap, lathered up in my hands.

pH ~8 (too high)

----------------------------------------

While short-term exposures to pH below 4 and above 7 may not be a problem for healthy hair, repeated or prolonged exposure is likely to cause damage to hair that cannot be reversed. Get some pH strips and test the pH of your homemade solutions!

This post has been updated as of March, 2015 using a more accurate pH meter.

DIY Hair Analysis

This post contains 2 links for testing hair thickness and porosity, an elasticity test follows.

To calculate the mean thickness of your individual strands, I have a test through this link which requires good eyesight and a steady hand.
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
If you'd like to estimate your hair's porosity, this post may help.

To determine elasticity, here is a simple test. It is based on these averages:
1) A dry hair can stretch 20-30% of its own length before it breaks.
2) A wet hair can stretch up to 50% of its own length before it breaks.

If your hair is 6 inches (15 cm) long, if it has very good elasticity, it should stretch to 6.2-6.8 inches (~16 to 17 cm) when dry and up to 9 inches (~22 cm) when wet.

So grab several shed hairs, a ruler, a cup of water and try it out!

If your hairs are slippery, you need something for grip - latex or nitrile gloves or a pair of tweezers for one end will give you enough grip. If your hair slips even a little, the measurements will be off.

1) Measure the length of your dry hair pulled straight, but not stretched.
2) Hold your hair so it lines up with the end of the ruler, press that end down on a hard surface, Grasp the other end (be sure to note how much length is lost due to your grip) and pull steadily and gently until the hair breaks. Write down the measurement as "dry."
3) Repeat with a few more dry hairs.
4) Now for the wet-hair test. First soak your hair in water (preferably distilled or non-chlorinated water) for 2 minutes. Blot each hair to remove water before stretching. Then stretch and measure as before. Record these as "wet" measurements.
©Science-y Hair Blog 2013
Do the math. The number of inches or centimeters your hair stretched beyond it's original length (minus your grip) is the number to work with.
-Number of inches your hair stretched divided by original length x 100 = the percent of the original length your hair stretched.
- If your 6-inch long hair stretched to 8 inches when wet: (2/6) x 100 = 33%

If your hairs vary a lot in thickness, color, or texture, be sure to test those different hairs.

If your hair comes up a little short, say stretching 39 or 45% in the wet-test, that's good too. Those figures are not absolutes.

But if your hair is consistently breaking well below average, it is dehydrated and/or has a lot of vulnerable areas. Oils and conditioners can help prevent dehydration and add pliability. Proteins and amino acids can hydrate and/or form water-holding films to keep hair pliable and elastic. The smaller the protein (keratin, silk, amino acids) the more agreeable it is to more hair types.

Hair Swelling in Water

This subject came up recently on the Wavy Hair Community and I wanted to do a little research to find out how much water is too much - and for how long.

Hair does not take on water immediately, it is designed to repel water in it's unaltered state. Whenever I put hairs in water to photograph them, they do not swell dramatically to the point at which the cuticles are standing up and things look awful. The measurements you'll read about below are tiny. Your hair is probably more protected than the hair cited below by things like conditioner, hair gel and maybe oils - including those that protect your hair naturally. There are 2 ways to get hair to swell with water - expose it to high relative humidity and soak it in water.

When hair begins to swell with water, the swelling is initially distributed along the length of the hair and hair can actually increase in length (temporarily) as a result. But not very much. Think of the pressure exerted on a garden hose when the end is open and water is flowing freely.

When hair is maximally swollen, the pressure of the water strains against the perimeter of the hair shaft. Imagine garden hose in which the "open" end has been plugged. Swelling creates an increase in diameter.

Hair takes on water in high humidity, this causes swelling. At 40% relative humidity, hair can increase in diameter by 5%. At 60% relative humidity swelling can be 7%. When the relative humidity is 100%, hair can increase in diameter by almost 14% because it has taken on water from the air around it.

Things which dramatically increase swelling of hair (much more than water alone): sodium lauryl sulfate, thioglycolic acid (perms), other detergents when concentrated, high pH solutions. Glycerin actually causes less swelling than water!

Swollen hair has several problems. One is that swelling increases pressure and pressure tends to strain tissues. Strain after strain weakens hair over time. Swollen hair's increased girth means that the cuticles stand out - as though you glued tiny shingles on a balloon and then blew it up. That allows water into areas which should be protected by the cuticle. Swollen hair gains weight as well as girth. This causes it to either express its curliest version of itself if the curl is strong (then the curls lose definition to poufy frizz), or go limp when curls are present but not strong relative to the weight of the fiber+water.

Swelling and loss of proteins:

The area just beneath the hair's protective cuticle layers or "endocuticle" of hair may be the area most prone to swelling. It is also loaded with water-soluble, polar -therefore water-attracting- amino acids. It is covered by the membrane-like exocuticle and the sebum from your scalp, both of which provide water and chemical resistance, but both of which are also subject to chemical and physical degradation. In other words, when you get your hair wet, you lose amino acids (protein) from your hair.

How long is too long?

One study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology tested caucasian hair, African hair and Asian hair swelling when soaking in water vs. time. By about 150 seconds all hair had reached its maximum swelling. That's less than 2.5 minutes in water! Note: The authors did not mention whether the hair had been washed prior to testing, or had any other treatments. I think it's safe to assume it was washed first.

Heat, water and oils:

Water alone does not remove oils. Oils are non-polar, water is polar, so they repel each other. But oils are not all the same. Oils from your scalp, oils you apply to your hair (including conditioners) can be more-or-less solid at room temperature. Many oils from your scalp and in conditioners have high melting points - coconut oil is an example. Heat can melt certain oils. If they can be melted, they are more likely to be removed with any sort of detergent (even cationic ones) and they are more likely to be carried away with water if possible. Especially if combined with a long soak in which some of the oils might find their way free of the hair. This is why warm to hot water cleans greasy stains better from laundry.

What can you do to reduce water-damage?

Use emollients like coconut oil or other hair-penetrating oils to help make your hair more water-repelling to slow the movement of water into the hair. Conditioners may also be helpful. Here is a post with pictures of hair protected by various oils and conditioners in chlorinated (and high pH) water).
Use not-hot (lukewarm or cool) water for washing your hair. Your skin likes that better too.
Keep the amount of time your hair is in the water to a minimum. By the time you've been in the water for 2 minutes, your hair has swollen as much as it can. But I think you have a little more time than that, thanks to hair gel, and conditioners which form a film on the surface of your hair.
Wash your hair as infrequently as you can stand. The oils from your scalp are well-suited to keeping your hair healthy and hair is designed to repel water by itself if it is not damaged or over-handled.
Reconsider bleaching and highlighting and other chemical processes. These treatments make hair more porous - so it takes on water sooner. These treatments also erode the epicuticle, leaving your hair with less natural protection. If you do these to your hair, take extra steps to avoid getting waterlogged.

I don't know about you - I may have to start leaving my hair dry until the end of the shower. And I take fairly quick showers!

2003 Current research on ethnic hair

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 48 No. 6

A. Franbourg, P. Hallegot, F. Baltenneck, C. Toutain,and F. Leroy

Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair

Robbins, 1994. 3^rd Ed. Springer-Verlag, New York

pH and Your Hair. A little redox to make you happy.

Here's what I know and what I think about pH and hair products. This is "redox" chemistry (oxidation and reduction). One of my teachers said to our class, "Next week, we'll be doing redox," followed by an evil laugh. I love it because it applies to so many living systems we work with every day. I think you will too.

Get ready for a chemistry smackdown on hair cuticle folklore. Forget all that stuff you've heard about cuticles being open or closed as a result of different pH. Cuticles being "open" when it is the result of a solution you put on your hair is a side effect of hair swelling in the wrong pH, in strong detergent, or in just plain old water if it's wet for too long. Likewise for cuticles being "closed."

The shortest story possible: If you do not want to suddenly damage the structure of your hair in an irreversible way - keep it out of solutions with a of pH 3 or under, and out of solutions with a pH 9 or above. Especially do not leave your hair in these solutions for a long time. For that matter - keep those sorts of solutions away from your skin and eyes also!

These extremes will tend to cause the hair to swell, take on acid or base, and structural damage is the result.

Examples of things you might want to avoid putting in your hair to avoid those extremes: pH 2 is undiluted lemon juice, straight vinegar can be pH 3, so can soda drinks. Why you would put soda in your hair, I don't know. But you put it on your teeth when you drink it, which I find disturbing. To get to pH 9, you need (diluted) sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or guanidine hydroxide used in hair relaxers or ordinary soap (the kind made from fats and lye).

If you remember one thing from this blog post:

Rinse-out products are safest for hair between pH 4 and 6.

Leave-on products are safest for hair between pH 5 and 6 (or 4.5 and 6 for bleached or lightened hair).

Treatments which use heat or are meant to be more than superficial are safest between pH 5 and 6.

To prevent sudden and irreversible damage to hair, stay between pH 4 and 9.

The slightly longer story

Keep in mind that products marketed to the entire family are assumed to have contact with eyes, nose, and mouth during use and when rinsed off. So a neutral or near-neutral pH around 7 may be ideal for safety reasons.

You also need to know that certain preservatives are more active in a specific pH range. That means that the product pH needs to be kept tightly within a specific pH range to assure the preservative will work well and continue to work for the full anticipated shelf life.

These non-hair considerations are a big deal because irritating people's eyes and noses and mouths is dangerous and potentially litigious, and choosing a preservative which will work with the variety of ingredients in a product and stay stable for 1-2 years is one of the more difficult aspects of product formulation.

Electric hair

Your hair is mostly protein and oils and water (if you ground it up and measured what is in there - that's what you'd find). Those things carry charges - positive or negative. Hair tends to have a greater number of negative charges when you're running around during your day. We're dealing with the surface of the hair because that's where these solutions mostly act. Once hair has swollen in an inappropriate pH solution, you begin acting on the interior structure. Bad news!

Brown rectangle is a hair, at right the net charge
is negative because there are more negative
charges than positive ones.

Charge is sometimes pH-dependent. If you move an item from an acid environment to an alkaline or basic environment, it will switch to an opposite charge as it gains or loses electrons to the environment. It's electrons that represent charge in the first place.

Hair (proteins and smaller particles) have an "isoionic point." That is the pH value at which it is in balance between positive and negative charge - there is no "net charge," the same number of positive charges and negative charges exist at the surface. Your hair is taking up neither acid nor base from the solutions it is in contact with. It's stable under these conditoines. Everything is groovy.

If you put your hair in a solution lower than 5.6-6.2, such as vinegar or lemon juice or a citric acid rinse, it will take on acid (that's protons or + charges). If you put it in a solution higher than 5.6-6.2, it will take on "base" or OH- charges. That's right - when you use baking soda-water on your hair and it feels extra-soft, it's soaking up base and taking on that slippery, slimy feel shared by many bases. Shifting the electrostatic charge on your hair takes a toll because you can't do that without altering the chemistry of the proteins and oils that make up your hair in some way.

Hair at its isoionic point
between pH 5.6 and 6.2. Positive
and negative charges are in balance.

What is healthy hair's isoionic point hair? Around pH 5.6 to 6.2.

But there's more! Has your hair been oxidized by bleach (highlighting, permanent dye, swimming pools) or by the sun? In that case the isoionic point decreases because oxidation changes the chemical composition of the surface of your hair. You might be able to go a little lower in pH - and benefit from it. This is one reason why products for color-treated hair often have a lower-than-neutral pH and are marketed based on that feature.

So what!? We rinse a lot of these products off in pH ~7 water, right? Yep. Though even brief, repeated extreme pH insults would still be a bad idea.

Below pH 5, acids enter the hair if left on hair for a long time.
Hair loses its charge balance. Above pH 7 to 8, "base" enters
hair. The - and + charges above show how these charges are
added by the solution - it's a visual aid, not an absolute reflection
of the whole oxidation/reduction picture.

So why are some products formulated with a lower-than-5 pH?

Because bleached hair can go lower, and many people's hair can potentially tolerate a lower pH if they are quick about it. That's where the isoelectric point (different from "isoionic") comes into the equation. Your hair's isoelectric point is way down between pH 3.4 and 4.5. Isoelectric means the hair temporarily has zero charge. If you read about these things online or in the popular media, you will encounter the idea that a quite-low pH product, having knocked the charges away, leaves your hair with tightly-closed cuticles and therefore very resistant. That is not an adequate explanation for me! I prefer to think of it as the point at which your hair is "non-reactive." Non-reactive refers to what happens between hair and things you put on your hair. "Tightly closed cuticles" implies that once you close them, they cannot be opened like a locked door. Or something. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny, such as the question, "Okay, but then what will keep them closed?"

We must ask ourselves - if the hair is charge-free, how will it bond to cationic-charged conditioners for better slip? Indeed, it seems that cationic conditioners are more strongly adsorbed to hair (adhere more firmly) above pH 3.7. You need some negative charges on there, people! A lower-than-4.5 pH would be completely counter-productive in a cationic conditioning product.

Representation of conditioner bonding to hair based on the
attraction of opposite charges (left). Pink + charges at
right represent conditioner not bonding to hair at pH
values below 4.5 when hair has a "zero" charge.

The take-home message:

For short-term, superficial treatments like shampooing or conditioning or rinses the isoelectric point sets the very bottom limit: Below pH 5 your hair is out of balance, but not necessarily in danger. You're not going beneath the surface of hair with these treatments and they are short-lived. Stay above pH 4 and below pH 6 and you're in good shape. For a pH 4 or 4.5 hair product (like a gel) that will take many hours to dry in your hair - that might be a problem. It's still superficial or a surface-only treatment, but the length of time it stays wet and therefore active might cause problems. Probably better to be around pH 5.5 for that, unless you have lots of highlights or bleaching with hair dyeing.

It's those longer-lasting and more invasive treatments like permanent waves, hair bleaching, high-heated treatments in which you absolutely must keep hair in that 5.6-6.2 range, especially because it's not just the surface you're dealing with - perms and bleaching are deeper than the cuticles. Hence the "acid perm."

Why does my hair not respond well to acidic rinses?

So if low-ish pH isn't necessarily evil to your hair, then why can vinegar or citric acid rinses leave hair feeling dry and rough? Let's say your hair is porous (even if just the ends are) - those solutions with a less-friendly pH get into your hair more easily and have access to a lot of surface area. You just got a bigger dose.

Acids have corrosive action - they donate those "+" charges that lead to rusty metal. Acids can dissolve things like calcium. Acids can destroy fats and proteins. Think of what happens if you put lemon juice in milk (it curdles). Or if you put a nail in a glass of Coke. Weak acids like vinegar or citric acid can strip off some surface oils and proteins. Acids may interact with your water, with the mineral deposits on your hair, the ingredients in your products. The possibilities are endless. There's nothing wrong with an occasional vinegar or citric acid rinse as long as they're diluted properly but chemically, it can be a wild card.
Some people have very resilient hair that can tolerate acidic rinses whereas other people's hair will swell and take on acid immediately. Some people's hair can tolerate acids but not bases. Everybody's hair is different for so many reasons.

Test pH at home:

Get yourself some pH strips in the aquatic pets section of a pet store or the swimming pool section of a department store, or from your local drugstore. Make sure they measure below pH 7 as well as above. Test your homemade rinses and adjust accordingly. You can test other products also. Conditioner often gives a less-than-accurate reading because it's not all liquid (there are fats in there). But you can get a rough idea.

What you do with this information is up to you. In my world - if I wanted to chemically relax my hair, I'd do it and hope it didn't eat the skin on my scalp. If I wanted to wash it with bar soap, I would do that (but no thank you to the soap scum). And I'd be armed with the knowledge that my hair had been chemically altered and therefore I would need to give it extra gentle care. If you want to use a citric acid or vinegar rinse - go for it. If it's too strong the first time, whip out your pH strips and find a pH your hair can tolerate.

Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair

Robbins, 1994. 3^rd Ed. Springer-Verlag, New York

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