Perry Romanowski - Can You Get Hooked On Lip Balm?

Naturally shiny hair has a cuticle that’s smooth and flat; it’s plumped up with water (about 10 to 15% by weight) and it’s rich in natural oils that keep the whole thing “glued” together. Unfortunately, you’re stealing shine from your hair every day and you probably don’t even realize it. If you want good gloss, you should avoid these twelve things that can rob hair of shine. Or as we like to call them, the Dulling Dozen:

Flood damage

Even “harmless” water can be a shine stealer. That’s because too much moisture swells the hair shaft and causes the cuticle to buckle. The more frequently you wet your hair, the less shine you’re likely to have.

Shampoo scrubbing

Scrubbing bubbles seem cute but that rub-a-dub-dub lifts the cuticle even more. Using a conditioning shampoo can help because the hair shafts won’t snag against each other when you’re lathering up.

Careless underconditioning

OK, we don’t all need to condition every time we wash our hair. But if your hair is dry to begin with, it’s much more likely to be damaged during and after styling if you skip conditioner. You’re just giving shine away!

Death by towel-drying

So now your hair is wet. What do you do? Blot, don’t rub! A rough towel can cause an amazing amount of damage on wet hair.

The brush-off

Don’t fall for that old myth that you should brush your hair 100 strokes every night. While brushing does temporarily help by distributing natural oils, in the long run it strips off layers of cuticle and weakens hair.

Hot-styling appliances

Heat is the natural enemy of shine. That’s because high temperatures damage the natural lipids (fancy word for oils) that help keep hair flexible and shiny. If you do decide to heat-style, use protection, like the silicone-containing TRESemmé Thermal Creations Heat Tamer spray.

Protective product residue

Yes, you do need to use heat protection, but be careful what you wish for. Some leave-in creams and gels leave behind a dulling residue.

Color my world

Chemical coloring is very damaging because it breaks down the inner structure of hair protein. Even if you use the special conditioner that comes with the coloring kit, your hair never fully recovers.

Wave bye-bye

Permanent waving is another chemical process that’s highly damaging.

Twist and shout

Twisting and playing with your hair is a dangerous habit as far as shine is concerned. That’s because the torsional forces (fancy word for twisting and bending) loosen the cuticles.

I dig a pony

Wearing your hair in a ponytail may seem like a hassle-free style, but if you pull it back too tightly you may be creating microfractures in the hair that will reflect light unevenly and cause loss of shine.

Here somes the sun

And with the sun comes damaging UV radiation that can wreak havoc on natural hair lipids like 18-methyl eicosanoic acid. Without these lipids, hair dulls quickly. If you can’t stay out of the sun, make sure you’re protecting your hair with a good conditioner.

Wanda writes: I got hair extensions almost two years ago. I paid $4,000 for the kind that are put on individually with clips, which need to be put in and taken out with a tool that only salons have and they have to be adjusted every month.

After about nine months, as the stylist was adjusting the clips, I noticed that my hair was coming out along with the extensions! There was no more hair below the clip of hair extension hair. My hair was just gone. It all broke off at hundreds of different places where the clips were attached. It looked like a horror film!

I cried for months. Now my hair is still growing from my roots, but it’s not getting longer. Is there anything I can do to help strengthen my hair and stop it from breaking? If I were a multimillionaire, would there be some way? Do movie stars have some way that we don’t know about to repair their hair?

Based on her description, Wanda probably has a condition known as traction alopecia, a type of hair loss that is caused by pulling on hair. In some cases this can be caused by wearing your hair in a ponytail; in this case it’s caused by the weight of the extensions. Over a long period, this pulling stress can cause the follicle to atrophy and stop producing normal hairs. Depending on the intensity and duration of the stress, the follicle may or may not recover.

If the extensions are removed in time, the follicles will recover and begin producing thick, strong hairs again. But if the follicles were permanently damaged, there’s not much that can be done. Sadly, there is no secret millionaire’s product that can solve the problem; there is no known medical treatment for late-stage traction alopecia.

One thing that might help increase hair strength, though, is treatment with pure coconut oil. Coconut oil is one of the few natural oils shown to penetrate the cortex and provide some strengthening effect to hair. It won’t make hair grow any thicker, but it might help protect thinner, weaker strands.

Corinne asks: I’m in the market for a high-end straightening iron, and I feel completely overwhelmed by all the product choices out there! The major differences I see for most irons are the types of plates used, which include tourmaline/ceramic mix, ceramic and metal. While I’m presuming it’s the high heat (some heat up to 450°F) that helps straighten the hair shaft, how do these different plates benefit the hair? Are these newer kinds of straighteners with the tourmaline and ceramic healthier for your hair? I’m looking for an iron that works well, but doesn’t completely wreck and fry my hair shaft.

The number of choices for hair appliances is, indeed, paralyzing! But you don’t have to pay too much attention to all the hype about the different types of ironing plates. While it’s true that more expensive irons can be made from higher-quality materials, that really just means that the heating element is more rugged and the plates are built to take wear and tear. Cheaper flat irons may have inferior plates that can’t handle the heat and may snag your hair.

But whether it is tourmaline or ceramic, there’s nothing about the composition of the plate material that makes it intrinsically healthier for your hair. And don’t believe any of that crap about ionic straighteners. That’s pure marketing hype without a shred of scientific validation.

When buying a straightening iron, you’ll need to pay a bit more for high-quality construction, but you don’t need to pay extra for bogus scientific claims. There is no proof that tourmaline irons are better.