Today I have an interesting one for you, so grab a quick cuppa and lets get started,
This week in the salon we have had quite a few colour changes and I have been asked on a couple of occasions about doing a final rinse in cold water, does it really help with shine and is there really any health benefits of this for our hair? As this is not the first time I have been asked this I decided to delve in a little deeper and do a write up on it. This is a topic that I can say most likely divides the hair world a little. I see it pop up numerous times in hair feeds across social media platforms as well as blogs and tutorials. So today I am going to give you the facts (we get a little sciencey but don't worry it's only briefly and all explained) and you can make up your own mind before I give you my opinion.
Today there will be many people across the world finishing their morning showers with a, lets face it, very uncomfortable, heart stopping, take your breath away final rinse of cold water. You know the one where you try to avoid the water hitting your body, only your hair. Yes I have tried it in the past before joining the hair professionals and if you've never tried it, it's not a fun task, although maybe should be tried just to be able to put it down as a life lesson. Especially if you're like me and hate cold.
OK so WHY are people doing this? Well, It's because it is believed to make your hair shiny. But is it true? I decided to dive a little into this subject and did a little extra research for you which brought up an interesting point. First I looked into where the belief originates and if it has any merit. This idea comes from the fact: cold closes the cuticle (all be it minimally) Thus creating the belief that a cold water finish will close the cuticle - making it shinier. You can understand the idea, i mean, it does make sense when you put it like that. However there is more than just what meets the eye. Now we know the thought process behind this popular belief let's look at the facts to see if they back it up. When we talk of opening and closing the cuticle layer in professional terms, it's all comes down to the PH level of a product, the temperature of the water has a very minimal effect on the cuticle in comparison, think of the cuticle as a door if you will. Anything we do as professionals always revolves around manipulating the PH level to either open or close the cuticle layers. A higher PH level will swell/open the cuticle and a lower PH level will de-swell/close the cuticle. We should always rebalance the natural PH levels at the end of any service. So this is why when you visit a salon all the shampoo's, conditioners and styling products are PH controlled? Exactly! They are designed to either rebalance or maintain the healthy PH levels of our hair, pre or post service. Ensuring it stays healthy and shiny. The product used to finalise the cleansing process is the conditioner and this is primarily what is responsible for closing the cuticle and creating shine. Not the water temperature. A very interesting fact for you: once your hair has grown past the scalp it is no longer supplied with blood and is technically dead tissue. However because follicles need blood supply you could be causing damage to your hair follicles without realising as cold water will actually constrict the blood capillaries in your scalp. The capillaries carry vital nutrients to the hair follicles, so in theory, you could be constricting the growth and production of healthy hair. The idea of cold water aiding in shiny hair has never really made any sense to me, even before I understood what actually had an effect on our hair, because if we think logically for a moment - a cold water rinse is then usually followed by a hairdryer (heat) and possibly straighteners (heat again) or another form of (heat) appliances. So to me the best time to use temperature logic would be at the very end with a cold blast of the dryer to lock in your style, surely. Another interesting fact is one I learnt during my training all those years ago, all about how PH levels actually effect our hair and what PH certain items/products are. I was surprised to find out water has a PH slightly higher than our hair so hot or cold wouldn't really make a difference at all. Using a good quality conditioner will close the cuticle due to the PH level being designed to be perfectly balanced for our hair. So does a cold water rinse make our hair shiny? in short: No, No it doesn't, Not really.
So there you have it. You can stop with the horrible, heart stopping, take your breath away cold water rinses in the morning and just invest in a quality conditioner. My favourite ranges are Joico which is my salon chosen brand, and Sexy hair UK, Both are amazing ranges, designed specifically for your hairs needs and perfectly PH controlled. Speak to your stylist, they will be best suited to advise you on which is best for your hairs needs.
I hope you found this weeks instalment as interesting as I did. I just love this kind of thing. Science, colouring and hair theory are my fave topics. Let me know if you have any questions or ideas to talk about. I have over 100 in line but I may not have thought of yours so please do share. Until next time : Happy hair day. Nikki Iannetta. If you skimmed : The important bits - Cold water is uncomfortable and takes your breath - It is believed to close the cuticle creating shine. - It in-fact could be causing damage due to constricting the blood capillaries - PH levels effect the cuticle opening and closing - Conditioner is designed to re-balance. - Conditioner is primarily responsible for opening and closing the cuticle. - Best ranges I recommend are Joico and sexy hair uk. - Speak to your stylists for best advise for your hair.
Did you miss last weeks instalment? We talked about how you can DOUBLE the life of your shampoo and conditioner!
Jump on in to find out more
Hi, welcome to The Hairy Truth.
I hope by now you're getting in the swing of things once again and you haven't broken any of your resolutions just yet, but if you have, don't give up. Any change can always takes us some getting used too so remember, you can't fail if you never give up trying. This week I bring to you a very interesting realisation. One that seems to have taken America by storm and has slowly began to gain traction over here in the UK. It will also save you money.
What if I told you, you could double the life of your shampoo with just ONE product
would you believe me?
To correctly care for our hair we need to cleanse and condition on a regular basis. Some of us every other day, some every day, some every 2-3 days (like me) some once a week.
On average your shampoo should last around 3-4 months and your conditioner double this at around 6-8 months, based on 2-3 washes a week. 2 cleanses | 1 condition. OK so lets think about this for a quick moment, that means buying just 4 shampoos and 2 conditioners per year. Surely that can't be right can it? Well it is. With salon professional it's all about quality over quantity but that's a chat for another day. Today we are chatting about how you get even more from your cleanser and conditioner. So when they last this long why would we care to double their longevity? They already outrun any non-professional brand as well as being designed to work harmoniously with your hair. Well we all like to know how our money can stretch a little further. so... Would you like to be let you in on this little secret? It's all down to Joico's amazing Co Wash
What is a Co Wash?
Joico's co-wash is a whipped cleansing conditioner. It's a whipped formulae that has the feel and appearance just like a mouse, although it's not a mouse, it's a whipped conditioner that contains soft cleansing agents to cleanse your hair whilst it's conditioning. They are lightweight and only a very small amount is needed to perform each cleanse. You simply cleanse as you would with your shampoo, like I describe in the instalment 'are you cleansing correctly' if you missed it I've linked it so you can jump over to take a look. So you massage through and leave for 5 minutes then rinse. No need to condition. Your hair is left refreshed, Nourished, cared for and silky to the touch. Co-washes are designed to be used every other cleanse meaning they instantly double the life of your current cleanser and conditioner with the introduction of just 1 product which will also last around the 6 month mark and has amazing benefits to your hairs health too. There are 3 co washes to choose from, Curly for curly hair, moisture recovery for dry/thirsty to normal hair and colour for colour treated hair. So we have you all covered. Where can you find this miracle product? In salon, of course.
So there you have it. MY little tip that all my clients love. They get their favourite Joico cleanser and conditioner and it lasts them double what it will last everyone else by introducing just one more product into their routine.
You can thank me later. But for now get yourself to the salon and snap one up for yourself. Your hair and bank balance with both be very happy you did. I look forward to seeing you again next Sunday for our next instalment and if you haven't already, as you click off you should be given the chance to sign up to our mailing list to gain full access to The Hairy Truth. You will receive a quick e-mail every Sunday reminding you to jump over and have a read of what I have for you that week. Until next time : Happy hair day. Nikki Iannetta
If you skimmed - here's the important parts:
- Your shampoo should last you 3-4 months - Your conditioner should last you 6-8 months - You can double their life by introducing a co-wash - Co-washes are cleansing conditioners - They come in colour protect, moisture recovery and curly - They're a whipped conditioner that is light weight - You will find them in salons
Did you catch last weeks instalment? We spoke about Overnight Conditioning and the damaging effect it has on your hair.
Hi!
Welcome back, What a week it has been, straight back into it following all the festivities and new years break. I had a fantastic time in Italy, thank you for asking, recuperated nicely and the views were amazing as always. So, what are we talking about this week you may be wondering (or not, the title is a little clue after all). Do you leave your conditioner in overnight? You can be honest, you won't be judged. Maybe you have read it somewhere and are considering giving it a go if you haven't already. Before you do, you need to read todays instalment of The Hair Truth
In short
Unless your conditioner advises this - DO NOT LEAVE IT IN OVERNIGHT
OK I understand this is a bold statement but let me explain why this is.
I want you to take a moment and think of your skin for a moment bare with me it will all make sense in the end; Would you put one of those thick body clay treatments on and leave it on overnight? No, why? Besides causing yourself more washing or being uncomfortable all night, is it because your skin could become sore? Or that you may look like a prune come morning? Did you know the reason for this is that you would be - in effect - suffocating your skin. I needed to get you thinking about the fact your would be keeping your skin moist for hours on end whilst you dream about dancing with the fairies. Your nails are are a better example though; they reach their water holding capacity at around 10 minutes in water and at 15 minutes the hardened keratin begins to break down and they become soft, porous and brittle. Why is this important? Our nails are made from the same hardened keratin that the cuticle layer (protective outer layer of your hair) is. So a similar thing happens to your hair: By leaving conditioner/a treatment on your hair overnight you are in fact causing the keratin protein bonds to start breaking down and soften, this overtime causes breakage, becomes brittle and fragile, hair becomes porous (creating holes in the hairs internal structure), dries out and decreases in its tensile strength (it's elasticity), and curly heads sadly you will loose your curl pattern
It's just a BIG no!
Let think back to our skin again; using a mineral clay or any deep moisturising treatment we are usually advised to put them on for around 30 minutes and we feel amazing afterwards, our skin is so soft and nourished because it has absorbed all the nourishment and then we may moisturise after to lock it all in (or we are supposed to anyway). Hair is much the same, If your treatments advises you 2-5 minutes (many of our treatments are 2-5 for home use) then 2-5 minutes is all it needs. This is the time it takes for your hair to get the most from that treatment, any longer doesn't mean it gets more from it, quite the opposite but up-to an hour is just a waste of 55 minutes however it won't really cause any harm, One of our brilliant reconstructive treatments takes 20 minutes and is 4 steps of 5 minute treatments in tandem, Leaving any treatment on overnight or all day however is really damaging to your hair. Which I'm guessing is probably the opposite of what you're trying to achieve or at least I hope it is. You are right though - to try and replenish those nutrients in your hair from time to time, but you do this with a good treatment once weekly - usually timed between 2-30 minutes depending on the treatment itself and following with a hair oil and/or a leave in treatment which both are designed to be left on the hair.
Hopefully reading this will save some of you from causing unnecessary damage and stress to your hair, which can take months to repair.
Thank you for reading this weeks instalment. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you again next week. Until next time : Happy hair day Nikki Iannetta ?
In case you skim read - the important bits
prolongued damp conditions are damaging to your hair, nails and skin. Hair and nails are similar in a way you wouldn't expect. Do not leave conditioners or treatments on overnight. Use treatments as per their instructions once a week for the time specified Always rinse them off very well You can follow with a good hair oil or leave in conditioner if you want too.
Do you really wash your hair correctly and effectively? Last week we explained how you should be cleansing your scalp and hair properly.
Welcome to the first instalment of the hairy truth so let’s begin.
Have you ever been taught how to correctly cleanse your hair? Have you ever even thought about it? Probably not, however, I bet you have noticed how much it differs from a truly good salon cleanse, right. The beautiful scalp massage, calming and rejuvenating. I don't blame those of you who take advantage of our cleanse and style on a weekly basis, It's just not the same doing it yourself. But we should still make sure we're doing it right. Cleansing correctly brings so many questions, How often should you wash your hair? what products should I use? Are salon pro really better than generic brands? Why sulphate free? I surprised myself this weekend thinking of all the questions that fall under this umbrella. But first we need the basics. So today thats what I want to talk to you about, the basics in cleansing your scalp, conditioning your hair and any fun facts along the way. In short Cleanse your scalp. Condition your hair !
Cleansing
Cleansing your hair and scalp is a vital step in our hair care routine. This process removes any product build up, dirt, grease or grime and clears our follicles (where the hair grows) to ensure they are not blocked and hair can grow through healthily with no restrictions.
Conditioning
You may not believe it but there is also a process for conditioning your hair correctly. The Conditioners has a very important role. It's role is to smooth the outer layer of your hair structure, called the cuticle, and when you condition correctly your conditioner can aid in improving smoothness, shine, reducing tangles, reduction of fragile ends, protecting the internal structure of your hair, reducing split ends and prolonging the life of your colour. Quite an important roll really isn't it.
So there you go, that’s the basics of correctly cleansing your hair.
I bet you didn't think there was that much to think about when washing your hair did you? Neither did I until I started college, its the very first things we learn about and spend weeks mastering the correct techniques, how cleansing the hair is important and and the impact it has on your hairs health. If you start following these guidelines you will find your hair becomes much smoother and more manageable over time. Adding salon professional care to your regime will also work wonders so next time you're in with your stylist speak to them about what they recommend for your hair type. Thank you for reading this weeks instalment of the hairy truth Until next time : Happy hair day Nicola Iannetta
If you skimmed, the important bits:
- Cleanse your scalp, Condition your hair. - Rinse hair well, - Using a small amount of shampoo cleanse scalp - Rinse well - Repeat if necassary - Squeeze out water - Using a small amount of conditioner put through ponytail area - Comb through and leave 1 minute - Rinse throroughly |
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