Dryness and brittleness of hair are nightmare of numerous women. In the summer strands are affected by intense, burning sun; in the autumn and winter the devastation is made by air conditioning and dry air produced by the radiator. It is accompanied by blow drying with hot air, straightening or curling… Constant hydration is a base for the hair care.
To take the best care of your weak, dry hair is not enough to “just” moisturise them.
So that dry strands wouldn’t be subjected to more damage and to avoid frizz, they require perfectly balanced nourishing ingredients. To such belong moisturising humectants, which need additional support from right emollients.
What are humectants and emollients?
Humectants are small particles with hygroscopic properties. In other words, these are substances able to bind water particles in the inner hair structures. Thanks to it, they contribute to sustaining the right hydration level of hair. the most popular humectants are, among many: honey, aloe, panthenol, glycerine, hyaluronic acid and some natural oils.
Emollients are substances that create on the hair surface natural barrier, a fatty layer, which not only makes more difficult for water particles and other substances to “escape” inner hair structures, but also protects it against unfavourable external factors. Maintaining right level of emollients can make hair moisturised and resilient to damages.
The base for hair care is preservation of balance between humectants and emollients. The “moisturisers” alone in form of humectants could make hair absorb or lose too much water and lead to frizz. Their inner balance will then be disrupted and hair will be subjected to damages.
This is why, while using moisturising substances for hair, you have to back them up with emollients. Perfect for the job are natural oils, that are applied on dry or damp hair. These are helpful not only after hair wash, but can also protect strands against high temperatures and the devastating for hair, air conditioner or dry air produced by the radiators.
For exceptionally dry, high porosity hair great are oils such as: grape seed oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, pumpkin seed oil, black seed oil, sesame oil.
For quite healthy hair (medium porosity hair), but requiring constant care and moisture to avoid frizzing from large amount of humectants, best are following oils: almond oil, macadamia oil, argan oil, avocado oil, sesame oil.
For healthy and thick, low porosity hair are recommended these oils: coconut oil, babassu oil, palm oil. You have to remember that thick and strong hair also need moisture and protection. Otherwise, they can quickly lose their condition and gain medium porosity.
