We hear the term ‘healthy hair’ on a regular basis and we are assaulted with an incredible amount of products on a daily basis that all promise to help us reach and maintain this ‘healthy hair’ state. But what is healthy hair? What are it’s main characteristics? and what are the basic steps we can follow to help our hair reach it’s ‘optimal health’?

Understanding what healthy hair should look and feel like and learning what REALLY assists in keeping it that way are the best tools you can equip yourself with for the best hair results, irrespective of products used. Technique (knowledge) always triumphs over product!

What are the characteristics of healthy hair?

Healthy hair:

• Is flexible yet strong, can stretch slightly and return to it’s original length without breaking
• Is able to withstand day to day handling without much breakage
• Has few split ends
• Has flat lying cuticles that makes hair feel smooth to the touch
• Has great sheen or shine
• Sheds about 50-100 hairs a day (shed hair has the white bulb still attached)
• Absorbs water slowly and holds onto moisture well

There are probably a few other factors to consider but this is a good list to start off with.

What is the key to MAINTAINING healthy hair?

There are three things that, in my opinion, are the key to successfully maintaining healthy hair, and they are:

• Moisture – Gives hair elasticity, bounce, and vitality
• Protein – Determines the hair’s strength, structure, and ability to maintain proper moisture levels
• Balanced pH – Enables hair to maintain its natural stability

Learning to balance the hairs moisture/protein and pH is the most effective way of growing and maintaining healthy hair.

In the next few posts i will be discussing the importance of learning to properly balance moisture and protein, exploring the hairs porosity, testing to determine the health of your hair and the role that pH plays in maintaining healthy hair.

Until next time!