Hi there,
Thank you for popping by, I'm sitting here enjoying the Italian sun whilst I write this weeks instalment of The Hairy Truth for you. listening to the crickets and drinking my water (I would liked to have said enjoying a glass of vino however I'm trying to be better health wise and well its wasted calories that I'd rather be used on food) and its hot here so water is the best liquid to keep me, my hair and my skin nice and hydrated. Today we are going to discuss how sulfates in our hair care effect our hair and skin. There's lots of comments around stating they may not be good for our health and others that claim they may be fading your colours and causing damage to your hair. So lets dive right in and find out what effect if any they are actually having.
WHAT ARE SULFATES?
Sulphates are surfactants that are found in almost all cleansing products, for skin, hair and general household cleaning. They are designed to separate grease and dirt from the host and as water passes over be washed away, they are also responsible for the foaming action we find when mixing them with water. They do this very efficiently and therefore are widely used across many brands.
The most commonly used sulfates are Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) and Ammonium Laureth Sulphate (ALS) and in many cases when a product claims to be sulphate free it's usually free from one of these not necessarily a surfactant itself. Most shampoos contain around 15% or less
DO THEY HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON YOUR HAIR, SKIN AND HEALTH?
There are quite a few rumours floating around regarding sulphates and how they effect our hair, skin and health. They are rumoured to be linked to cancer, be harmful to our hair and skin, cause irritation and fade your hair colour.
Are they linked to cancer?
This one is the scariest of the rumours and thankfully I can safely say that no, they are not linked to cancer and cannot cause cancer. There is no evidence that suggests they are linked to cancer, 'sulphate are not carcinogenic' says the American Cancer Association. Three further agencies have also rated sulphates as being non-carcinogenic; The occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), The National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Do they cause irritation? As they are the best at separating oil and dirt that will then be washed away, this also means they will remove natural oils from the hair and skin, this is not necessarily a bad thing as our hairs naturals oils will hold onto dirt. They can cause slight irritation if left on the skin for longer than required or for those with sensitive skin. Higher quality shampoo's will use lower quantities as possible to minimise skin irritation and contain conditioners and their own oil compounds to replace what the hair loses during cleansing. Are they harmful to hair? Some sulphates are harsher and more abrasive to the hair and skin than others. Sodium Laureth Sulphates are gentler to the hair and cleanse efficiently without causing damage, others are slightly more harmful but most shampoo and conditioner ranges will have conditioning ingredients to counteract this. Do they fade your hair colour? It's a very common miss-conception that sulphates cause your hair colour to fade. This is not the case and has been scientifically proven, Some ranges go sulphate free purely for commercial reasons.
ARE SULPHATE FREE BETTER FOR YOU THEN?
In order to be sulphate free but also do they same cleansing action there has to be a substitute ingredient, which will do the exact same job because after all they need to cleanse your hair and skin in order to be able to remove dirt and oil from your hair and skin. They have the same effect on your hair and skin and in some cases are as harsh or harsher on them. They can however be less irritating so there is a benefit in some ways.
So there you have it.
Sulphates are brilliant at why they do, some are slightly harsher to the hair and skin than others but all in all many of the bad press around them is not true and mainly hearsay. Your slylist can recommend the best product to suit your hair type however whether it is sulphate free or not shouldn't really need to factor into it. Until Next Time : Happy Hair Day Nicola Iannetta x
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Hi there and welcome back to the Hairy Truths.
This week I placed a poll up on my instagram account to see what you wanted to read about this week and the result actually came back 50:50, so I have decided to write this one first as it was the first that got voted for and next weeks instalment will be to go through and untangle the theories and ideas around salon vs high-street care and styling products.
So this week whilst we make the most of the beautiful sunshine here in the UK we are going to talk about how often you really should visit your stylists for your trims, colour touch ups and treatments in order to keep your hair in tip top condition and ensure it's as healthy as can be along the way.
Cutting - 6-10 weeks depending...
As briefly mentioned in last weeks instalment Does cutting your hair make it grow you should really have your hair trimmed every 6-8 weeks to ensure all split ends are removed and do not develop further, as this can lead to thin and fragile ends over time if left.
If you are growing your hair and you treat it well; this means you're following all your stylists product and care advice, then, you may be able to stretch your visit to 8 - 10 weeks but this is really best to check with your stylist as not all hair types can stretch that long. Finer hair may not be able to do this as they have 50% less protein make-up and internal structur than thicker hair types meaning they are more prone to damage and ware away quicker. So if you have very fine hair it is important you visit your stylist religiously every 6 weeks to keep your hair in as healthy condition as possible. Blonde Root Touch Ups - 4 weeks
Everyone always refers to blondes as being high maintenance, and they are! Keeping your blonde fresh is not an easy task and requires regular trips to the salon and a good home-care regime.
Firstly - your touch ups need to be every 4 weeks. This is to ensure your regrowth is at the optimum growth to avoid banding. The area needs to be around 1cm to ensure you get a nice clean and even result due to the heat from your scalp effecting your final colour result, further than this will create bands to form where the colour/bleach lifts slightly differently due to the heat indifferences and those bands will be warmer and/or darker than desired so if you leave your intervals longer than 4 weeks your stylist has to allow for this. The area furthest away will need applying first and then your stylist will need to go back through and apply a new batch of colour to your root area ensuring an even lift, this requires more colour and double the application time on your visit and will therefore probably be reflected in the cost too. Secondly - your home-care, Never ever cheat and go cheap, Blonde hair endures more stress than other colour so your home-care is even more imperative and will require more looking after than others, and sadly this is where most people slack. You've paid for your colour please don't neglect it now. Using lower grade products will leave your hair feeling dry, dull and brittle as they will not give your hair what it needs, your colour will have a lower longevity and when you re-visit the salon for your touch up your hair will have become more porous which will mean your colour will take unpredictably and your stylist will have to allow and plan for this when creating your colour formula. Your stylist can only give you the information you need to ensure you get the most from your beautiful blonde hair, what you do with that information is up to you. Those that follow their stylists advice reap the rewards with their blonde hair and future visits to the salon. Tint Root Touch Ups - 6 weeks
Colours on darker levels can benefit from 6 week intervals as a realistic timeframe to ensure optimum colour results. Longer than this will require your stylist to apply mid range area first, allow to develop for a short time and then go back through and apply from your scalp with a fresh mix, Meaning more time is required and more product so will most likely be reflected in the cost.
If you stick to 6 weeks you may find, like my guests do, that you won't need your whole colour refreshing so usually my guests can expect to have 2-3 regrowth sessions before a full refresh is needed. This is when you follow your stylists aftercare advice to keep your colour for longer. High and Low- lights in foils - 6-8 weeks
Foiling allows for heat to be retained a little better than non-foiling techniques so you can get away with leaving your visits a tad longer, 6 weeks is best but sometimes you can get away with up-to 8 weeks. Longer than this may require more time and product being used due to the heat indifferences so again will most likely cost more too.
Balayage, Ombré & baby lights - 20 - 36 weeks (6-9 months)
These low maintenance techniques usually cost more to begin with due to the timing they can take to do initially and the amount of product that is used during your visit however they have a much longer interval period between touch ups. This is due to their perfect natural grow out pattern and blended results so this means you can go as long as you like until you have your balayage / baby lights brought back up again. On average this is usually every 6-9 months for my guests.
However this doesn't mean you can neglect your hair in between, you still need to take proper care of your hair and have your trims as well as refresh your tones if your choose too. Many of my guests have fun with fashion tones between their 'full works' visit. Fashion Tones - 1-8 weeks
The best thing about fashion tones is that they change so frequently and keep you fresh. Usually they are on a much more pastel tonal level meaning the time in which they last is very low and very difficult to give a timeframe on their longevity. Usually they last 1-4 weeks depending on their strength and the health of your hair. Those with stronger tonal values will last much longer, usually around 8 weeks. Sometimes longer than this.
If your are like me though, this allows for you to have fun without too much commitment, Peach this week, violet next and silver three weeks later, the choice really is yours and you can have as much fun as you like with it. Conditioning Treatments - 1-12 weeks
This is a difficult one as it depends on the health of your hair and what treatment we are discussing, however, from my menu you have a choice of 3:
So there you have it, a guide to how often you should see your stylist. Your visit intervals will completely alter depending on what colours you have and your home-care so your stylist is always the best person to ask to ensure you are following the best timeframe and hair journey for you.
Until next time : Happy hair day Nicola Iannetta.
Hello!! This week I wanted to talk about the new craze that hit the market the back end of 2017, I thought it was nuts and paid no attention due to it being tresemme's idea (when I type that name my laptop wants to correct it to 'tiresome' which I find very adapt and amusing but thats for another day, Today, I want to talk fact, I like facts and science and science is fact so lets talk about hair and what effect this method really has on our hair and why you should stop doing it. Why is everyone shampooing after conditioning these days? We've had many a strange idea pop up over time. This is another of them and I have been scouring the internet to find some 'real talk' about the effect of conditioning before shampooing. What the believe is vs what the reality is and what really happens when we do this. I've seen it a million times. Mainly from non-professionals all talking about the reverse shampoo effect. This means conditioning before your cleanse. 4 weeks ago we talked about the correct way to cleanse your hair and scalp and now we're discussing the effect of doing this in reverse. Switching your routine is believed to create a voluminous, light weight feel to the hair and loved by all those fine heads out there, those with thicker coarser hair types are advised to condition, cleanse, condition. The teachings I've seen discuss how conditioning prior to shampooing can prime the hair ready for cleansing, but somehow magically keeping the nourishment from the conditioner and the shampoo knows not to cleanse it back off again, when that is a cleansers role. You may be able to hear my skeptical tone here. We have previously chatted about the importance of your conditioner and what it's real purpose is, and, why it's the final step to the cleansing process. It all comes down to the PH levels of our hair which control the cuticle layer (outer, protective layer) of the hair, rebalancing and neutralising or lowering any alkalinity within the hair to allow them to lye smoother creating a shiny, healthy , touchable finish, resetting our hair closer to it's correct, natural PH. Whilst cleansers clear our hair of any product build up, grease (natural sebum) and oils, anything that is lying on the hair, Most salon professional cleansers are minimally above or within the higher range of the natural hairs PH to allow it to open our cuticles slightly and pulls away any grime, dirt or product build up. Without following with a conditioner we are not rebalancing our hair. Which will leave it fluffy and feeling thicker, or even have a little more texture, however this also means it will be more knotty, tangly and rough feeling in some cases. Most fine haired ladies and gentlemen don't use conditioner, to help it feel thicker that and avoiding going greasy too quickly. But what is the real story here? Is it that all hairdressers are mad advising us we need both or can we really skip this step? So, I've explained what a conditioners purpose is and what a cleansers (shampoo) role is, so when we switch them up by doing the conditioner first, we are washing off our conditioner and leaving our hair cuticles raised by opening them up to the elements without any protection. If our cuticles are left raised our hair is prone to damage, it looks dull and lifeless and will not hold a style. Also it cannot protect our internal structure including colour molecules and our colours could fade a lot quicker. Finer hair is weaker and more prone to damage than thicker hair types meaning it actually needs a good condition more than most and ALL hair types need to be conditioned too. It's like toning without moisturising, your skin feels tight, dry and taught. You need to condition last. Fine hair contains 50% less protein than thicker hair types which is why it's prone to breakage and needs caring for more so if you think about it. The key to looking after your hair is knowing what it needs. The person who knows this is your stylist. I have found my JOICOs Body-lux range to be a big hit as this range is specifically designed for finer hair types wanting to create volume and lightweight finish whilst protecting and looking after their hair. Those of my ladies who are still undecided about conditioner do love our leave in treatments as they are super lightweight! So in conclusion, My thoughts on this idea are fairly straight forward... it's rubbish, but it is born through a need, a need that joico have cracked with body-lux. So if you're looking for volume and care we have you covered, they increase the density of your hair cleverly ensuring all your hair is protected.
I look forward to next week and I'll see you then Until next time : Happy Hair Day Nikki Iannetta xx
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.
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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