HAIR IN ST. LUCIA

By Emile Williams Phaze 1

Caring For Split Ends.

Hair sensitive to the atmosphere may loose moisture rapidly, which can cause hair to break at the ends. Split ends occur in all hair types, but most of all in curly, fine hair.

If your hair is in bad condition, splitting and breaking can be due to over- perm, over bleach, constant use of heated appliances, severe exposure to sun, air conditioners, salt water and chlorinated water. Breakage of ends can never be mended. Ah, you may think, but I want to grow my hair long. Firstly, longer hair is more prone to splitting because of the weathering effect on hair that has been there for longer, but split end are not inevitable. Longer hair needs more care to maintain its sheen. You may ask. What is weathering? Weathering is years or even months of chemicals and heated appliances been used on the hair which may cause some damage. It is therefore very important to trim your hair at least every six weeks. Longer hair should be allowed to dry naturally sometimes when possible. The answer to dry brittle or dull ends is not to coat the hair shaft with heavy oils, as this often requires strong detergent shampoos to remove clogged hair follicles. Always use lighter and kinder shampoos.

A good shampoo will often tell you the PH balance, which is simply the level of acidity in the formula this is usually 4.5 to 5.5 PH balance. Since your hair is acid shampoos and conditioners which are acid based are kinder to the hair. Always follow the shampoo with a conditioner. It is also important to give your hair a moisture treatment, a protein treatment or oil treatment every month or fortnight. Today we colour, relax, plait, weave our hair and much more, and our hair is competing with so much atmospheric abuse that it is even more important to educate ourselves in product knowledge and professional to help combat the elements.

Here’s a little home recipe for preserving healthy hair. Whisk together:

1 oz of any heavy-conditioning cream

2eggs

1oz of a light vegetable oil

Apply over the hair in one-inch partings, paying particular attention to the ends. Leave under a shower cap for up to half an hour, then shampoo and condition as usual.