Your Hair on Chlorine

First of all, you need to know that your hair’s cuticle – the layer of protein “scales” which form its outermost layer have an additional covering called the epicuticle, composed of protein and fatty acids. An additional layer of protection.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Chlorine in water from your tap or in swimming pools diffuses through the cuticle of your hair. This causes hair proteins to break down beneath the epicuticle, but these proteins are too large to move out of the epicuticle – so frilly bubbles appear as the inward moving water and chlorine swell the hair and the degraded proteins cannot escape, despite the pressure caused by the swelling. This is difficult create when you want to photograph it! I have seen it before and I have a great picture which I cannot reproduce because it is in a copyrighted text.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Chlorine in your water or swimming pool breaks down your hair’s protective outer layers. This robs the hair of its ability to hold water (stay hydrated) and also strips away oils and fatty acids. In short, chlorine makes your hair more porous, dry and weaker.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

For a highly chlorinated home water supply, there are filters you can put on your shower which remove chlorine (your skin will like this too). The filter cartridges must be replaced 2-3 times per year and will not alter water hardness, but can remove some metals and some undesirable chemicals.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

When you are swimming, wear a swim cap. But only to keep your hair from tangling and to keep hair out of the pool’s drain. Swim caps do not keep water out!

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Recipe: Chlorine Odor Remover

To remove chlorine odor and metals which could cause discoloration from your hair, mix a scant 1/8 teaspoon of citric acid with 2 cups water (about 0.5-1 ml citric acid crystals or powder in 500 ml water). If your hair is long or very thick, double this recipe. Rinse your hair very well after swimming (shampooing is not necessary) – for at least 1-2 minutes. Then apply the citric acid rinse and leave it on for at least one minute. Then rinse and apply conditioner. Why would metals be in pool water? As a part of fungicides used to keep the pool fungus-free, or as a part of the local water in general. Copper (from fungicides) and iron are especially discoloring to hair.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

The Tests:

To keep chlorinated water from contacting your hair, you need to apply a protectant. I tested several and microscopic photographs will follow. I used no treatment (control), coconut oil, olive oil, conditioner with oils and silicones, and conditioner without oils or silicones. I rubbed these on dry hair and made sure the hairs were thoroughly coated. Then I placed the hairs on slides in water with enough bleach added to simulate swimming pool water. I erred on the side of too much. Swimming pools are also buffered to moderate their pH and I did not do that with the solution I made up, the pH was too high for hair. So when you see the untreated hairs below, don't panic - it's probably not that bad where you swim.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

At the outset, the untreated hair showed some lifting of cuticle scales and bubbles on the surface. The oil and conditioner samples were all coated with their respective treatments and protected from the water.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

The Results:

After 20 minutes:

-Untreated hair: Further lifting of cuticle scales

-Oil treated hair (both oils): oil coating remains, perhaps less robust, some water seems to be finding its way to the hair in the olive oil treatment.

-Conditioner treated hair (both with and without oils and silicones): Hair is still surrounded by conditioner, no water appears to be penetrating the conditioner coating.

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After 30 minutes:

-Coconut oil treated hair: Coconut oil coating is intact and repelling water

-Olive oil treated hair: Large bubbles are appearing in the oil coating – water has penetrated the oil barrier.

-Conditioner treated hair (with and without silicones): Conditioner barrier is intact and repelling water.

Untreated hair, start

Untreated hair at 20 minutes

Untreated hair at 30 minutes

Coconut oil, start

Coconut oil at 20 minutes

Coconut oil at 30 minutes

Olive oil, start

Olive oil at 20 minutes

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Olive oil at 30 minutes - small and large bubbles due to water penetrating the oil barrier
I believe the bubbles close to the hair are the moisture and proteins from the cuticle, pushing the
epicuticle outwards...

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Conditioner with oils and silicones, start

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Conditioner with oils and silicones, 20 minutes

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Conditioner with oils and silicones, 30 minutes

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Conditioner without oils and silicones, start

Conditioner without oils and silicones, 20 minutes

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Conditioner without oils and silicones, 30 minutes

Conclusion:©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Conditioner applied to dry hair (or wet if you prefer, I did not test this) seems to be good protection for hair against heavily chlorinated water. I suspect this is because conditioner is a wetting agent, so it is not repelled by hair as the oil was, and also because conditioner bonds to hair. Coconut oil either ties with conditioner, or is a close second place.

Note that if your hair is quite porous (damaged, bleached, chemically relaxed or permed) oil, especially coconut oil, will penetrate the hair better than for the hair used in this test, which has no chemical treatment.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Also note that this test was done with hair held on slides in chlorinated water without movement. When you are swimming, there will be some movement of water under your swim cap. But the swim cap will keep more of whatever treatment you use in place to protect your hair.

Another note: Conditioners and oils tend to make your swim cap slip off – you’ve been warned.

Managers of swimming pools want to have as few chemicals (lotions, oils, conditioners) added to their pools as possible because maintaining swimming pools is expensive and can be difficult. Use as little oil or conditioner as you need to protect your hair. Respect the rules of the facility you use for swimming as best as possible while taking care of your hair. I have never used any treatments on my hair while swimming because I'd been advised not to for the sake of the pool's maintenance. 

Take-home message: In this test, the best protectant against chlorinated water was conditioner applied to dry hair. Coconut oil was very effective, but olive oil was no longer repelling water by 20-30 minutes.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

If you want to use these to keep the chlorinated water out of your hair, make sure you have thoroughly coated all your hair with conditioner or oil. Leave no strands behind! Comb your treatment through your hair with your fingers, pat and press it into your hair. Dab off any excess with a towel. Then put on your swim cap and get swimming. (Or at least put your hair in a bun or braid/plait to reduce tangles and hair in the pool's drain).

After swimming, rinse your hair well with water, shampoo out oils or conditioner if you need to. Use a citric acid rinse if your hair picks up chlorine odor (recipe above).

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

There are swimmer’s shampoos and swimming protectant creams, but I wouldn’t waste money on them. Swimmer’s shampoos do not deodorize the hair as well as a citric acid rinse in my experience, and tend to be very drying to hair. I used inexpensive conditioners for this test and they worked nicely.

If you cannot use protectants on your hair because of pool rules, then rinse your hair well after swimming and use plenty of conditioner, consider using a conditioner with protein if your hair tolerates it.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Conditioners used: AG Hair Cosmetics Colour Care Sterling Silver and Suave Naturals Juicy Green Apple

Source: Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair 

Robbins, 1994. 3^rd Ed. Springer-Verlag, New York

Late Fall and Hair Shedding

Did you know that in the normal, healthy scalp the number of hair follicles in the "telogen" or "resting and falling out" stage is the higher in fall than at any other time of year? About 20% of your hair follicles have ceased growing and are preparing to fall out in fall, compared to about 10% in very early spring.

So if you are losing more hair now (late October) through December, this is normal.

Source: Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair 

Robbins, 1994. 3^rd Ed. Springer-Verlag, New York

Sensitive Skin Part II: Dry Skin

You know it’s coming. Winter. If you live in the more Northerly latitudes, especially away from the oceans, this means cold, dry air, indoor heating and generally a desiccated time for your skin and hair. Itchy skin, rough, cracking hands, chapped lips, windburn…

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This is going to be similar to the “sensitive skin” post because dry skin is sensitive skin – it’s more vulnerable to tearing and injury, loses more water, you want to scratch the itch which damages skin.

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The ability to respond to dry environments is where skin and hair diverge. Skin can try to respond to this but hair cannot. The stratum corneum (upper layer of skin) contains “Natural Moisturizing Factor” a blend of lipids and humectants (fats and water-attracting chemicals) which attract and hold water - the key ingredient that keeps skin soft, flexible and moist (as opposed to cracking, peeling and flaking). When the air gets dry, your skin starts breaking down proteins more rapidly than when the air is humid. As this happens, more Natural Moisturizing Factor is the result. Hyaluronic acids, lactic acids and other hydrophilic or water-attracting compounds released stimulate ceramide (lipid) synthesis to keep your skin acting as a healthy, moist, flexible barrier. Skin reacts to dry air by trying to improve its ability to hold water. And the amazing thing is that this occurs in cells which are no longer living.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Hair is made of proteins (which strongly attract water) and also hosts amino acids and lipids which hold water in the fiber. The oils from the scalp (sebum) are also meant to keep water in the hair. But hair cannot alter its composition in response to dry air.

About that sebum: Skin has a layer of sebum on the very top of your skin cells – cholesterol, glycerides, free fatty acids, wax esters, squalene, and cholesterol esters and lots of bacteria. This layer of hydrophobic (water-repelling) sebum protects skin from dehydration (and can spread through hair to prevent dehydration) and maintain a pH of slight acidity, protecting your skin from pathogenic or disease-causing bacterial and fungal overgrowth. You want to keep this on your skin! Soap or very lathery and foamy liquid detergents (antibacterial detergents/soaps are big offenders) strip away this protective layer and then your skin is as vulnerable as untreated wood in the outdoors.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Skin: Avoid washing your skin with soap or liquid detergents as much as possible. Keep the lather on your armpits, groin, feet, and face (and anyplace else that gets dirty or smelly). Washing (rinsing, really) with water alone increases trans-epidermal water loss (water moves from skin to air) and raises the pH of skin but washing with soap has a greater effect on trans-epidermal water loss and irritation of skin.

Keep showers short and not hot. If you simply must have a hot shower or bath on those cold days when your body aches from shoveling snow and shivering in the cold and wind, rub a little oil on your skin before getting into the shower.

Choose moisturizing soaps or liquid detergents and body washes which are not antibacterial and are meant for sensitive or dry skin – and use them sparingly.

Apply a generous amount of lotion right after showering – towel your skin dry, apply skin lotion, let it “soak in” for a couple minutes before dressing. This makes use of the moisture absorbed by your skin during the shower – lotion should seal this moisture in.

Choose a thick, rich lotion. Avoid fragrances, bright colors and exfoliating ingredients.

Avoid wearing any clothing which feels itchy or rough, this will irritate your skin, which leads to further barrier disruption and dryness.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Protect skin with long socks (to fight the up-the-trousers-leg draft), warm clothes, long sleeves, gloves and mittens, a hat and even a light scarf over your face. Human facial skin exposed to cold air and wind is in a constant state of irritation. The best defense is protection – if a scarf over your face is out of the question, use plenty of lotion.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Hair: As for skin, less-frequent washing is best, you want to keep the sebum and avoid dehydrating the hair fibers. Most of the ingredients listed that are good to look for in skin lotion are good for hair. Some people will need more emollients than others for their hair, but in general, humectants combined with emollients and emulsifiers are ideal for hair care. When the humidity drops very low, one may want to avoid humectants in hair care products because the hair cannot adapt like the skin can to dry air, so additional humectants cannot moisturize as well (but still may do some good). Extremely dry air will not allow the humectants to hold water and can probably compete with the humectants for moisture.

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Protect hair with a loose but warm hat. You can line the interior of a hat with a silky fabric to prevent rubbing on the hair and skin. This simple sewing task (it doesn’t have to look good) makes a huge difference in how your hair looks post-hat removal, in reducing hair breakage and preventing friction on the scalp and forehead. Hats keep the cold air off your hair and scalp, and hold some humidity in, preventing dehydration.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Know your ingredients: The top ingredients listed on a product are the most abundant. You want to look for these types of ingredients in the top 6-8 on the list. Water is usually one of the top ingredients. Lotions have more water than creams and ointments (thick and greasy) usually have no water.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Emollients/occlusives – hydrophobic or water-repelling ingredients to prevent loss of water from your skin and hair. “Repelling” in this case means they’re not only keeping water out, but they’re preventing the water in your skin from escaping:

Oils (vegetable/seed/plant oils and mineral oil)

Petrolatum

Dimethicone and silicones

Triglycerides

Squalene

Isopropyl Palmitate (can irritate skin or cause acne breakouts)

Cetyl esters

Alkyl esters

Jojoba esters

Butters (shea, cocoa, avocado)

Waxes (jojoba, beeswax)

Cholesterol

Ceramides

Humectants: Choose skin creams and lotions with humectants to attract and retain water from deeper skin layers and from water-moistened skin including:

Glycerin

Urea

Sodium lactate 

Hyaluronic acid

Sodium PCA

Amino acids 

Propylene glycol (can be irritating to sensitive skin!)

Oatmeal (colloidal)

Aloe vera

Sorbitol

Glycine betaine

Caprylyl glycol

Panthenol (humectant-like, skin-soothing)

Proteins

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Emollient thickeners work with emulsifiers to preventing separation and adding a creamy feel, allowing lotions and creams to glide over your skin. These can also leave a soft, silky feeling on skin and hair rather than an oily feel or tacky “drag”:

Cetyl alcohol (the definition of alcohol based on vegetable fats, the “alcohol” refers to the chemical structure, these do not evaporate quickly and dry the skin like ethyl or isopropyl alcohol)

Cetearyl alcohol

Stearic acid

Stearyl alcohol

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Cationic surfactants are “conditioners” with positive charges to bond to skin and hair, leaving a coating of “conditioning” bonded to skin and hair, as well as emulsifying and adding glide to products:

Cetrimonium chloride

Behentrimonium chloride

Behentrimonium methosulfate

Cetrimonium bromide

Decetyldimonium chloride

Stearalkonium chloride

Exfoliation: it seems counter-intuitive, but a little exfoliation on dry skin can be a good thing. When your skin gets ashy or dull-looking, feels rough, itchy and flaky and lotion is not doing enough, mix about half sugar and half vegetable oil (or mineral oil if vegetable oil makes your skin itchy). Gently massage this on the affected areas. Wash with a gentle detergent in the shower and use skin lotion afterwards. Your skin will feel soft for days. Do not use this scrub on injured or damaged skin.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Humidify!

In your house or apartment, keep the air humidified in cold, dry climates. Up to 45% humidity is ideal, but a reasonable goal is 30-35%. Greater than 45% humidity encourages mold and dust mite growth which is undesirable if you have allergies or asthma.

You can use a humidifier in your living room and bedroom to prevent itchy, dry skin and brittle hair. Take the time to clean them frequently – daily if you have hard water - they’ll last longer, leak less, and are easier to clean if cleaned often.

You can also buy a clothes drying rack and hang some or all of your laundry on it to not only add moisture to the air, but save money on energy and help your clothes last longer. If you hate the “crunchy laundry” feeling – toss them in the dryer with no heat for a few minutes when the clothes are dry to soften them. You can string a clothes line in your house or use a piece of very long dowel to hang them on. It's an inexpensive way to humidify.

Clothes drying rack

Clothes drying rack

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Sources:

Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2008 Water Distribution and Natural Moisturizer Factor Content in Human Skin Equivalents Are Regulated by Environmental Relative Humidity. Joke A Bouwstra, H Wouter W Groenink, Joop A Kempenaar, Stefan G Romeijn, Maria Ponec 

Journal of Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing. 2008 Jan-Feb;35(1):84-90.

The effect of washing and drying practices on skin barrier function. Voegeli D.

ICRP Publication 89: Basic Anatomical and Physiological Data for Use in Radiological Protection: Reference Values. Jack Valentin, ICRP

How to Tame a Strong Shampoo

If full-strength, inexpensive shampoos are harsh on hair, stripping off natural oils and leaving the hair without protection so that it can lose moisture and other vital components, then is the only solution to buy shampoos with mild detergents? What if they're all too expensive or smell bad? Can there be a compromise in a market in which vilifying ingredients and marketing the more-expensive alternative is lucrative and not necessarily beneficial to the customer?
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As I tried to show in this post, yes and no. If a “mild” detergent is highly concentrated in a shampoo, it will still be harsh (cause the hair to swell and remove too much oil). It’s the same with hot peppers, a lot of red chilies (pretty hot) are going to make your eyes water as much as a little Serrano (super-hot).©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Yes, I know - some people don't use shampoo at all and it's much better if you shampoo every other day or less often. But some of us need to remove product residue, wash off allergens, or keep the scalp scrupulously clean to prevent flare-ups of skin disease. Never the less, over-cleaning is bad for anybody's skin and hair and rinsing all that detergent down the drain isn't doing the Earth's water supply (or your local water treatment plant) much good. ©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Solution: dilute your shampoo. Before you go shopping for sulfate-free shampoos (and I bet you'll probably try 2 or more before you find one you like), consider the power of dilution. What is troublesome for the sensitive-skinned person about "sulfate-free" shampoos is that they can be hard to find, tend to cost more, and can have herbal ingredients or preservatives which can trigger allergies and skin sensitivities. If you have a shampoo you like and want it to be milder - you can make the shampoo you already have into a mild shampoo. Nifty!

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

How to dilute shampoo: 

I tested some dilutions on real hair to come up with a dilution for a standard commercial shampoo. I kept lowering the amount of shampoo in the shampoo-water ratio until the mixture did not cause visible swelling leading to cuticle “lifting” and therefore hair damage or drying.

I used “Prell” shampoo with Ammonium lauryl and laureth sulfate. The dilution rate I ended up with was 1 teaspoon (5 ml actually 1-2 teaspoons) shampoo in 1 cup (about 250 ml) water. I expect that a similar dilution is adequate for most commercial shampoos.

Here are some pictures to show the differences.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Full strength, "strong" detergent. Frilly, rough surface is the cuticles of the hair being pushed outward as the hair swells in the shampoo.

Same shampoo as above, diluted at a shampoo:water ratio of 25:75 or 1/4 shampoo and 3/4 water.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Strong detergent, diluted 1-2 teaspoons shampoo in
1 cup water showing much less disruption in the cuticle

A combination of "mild" detergents at very high concentration,
the "frilly" edges indicate hair damage.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

The same mild detergent combination diluted at a rate
of 1-2 teaspoons shampoo in 1 cup water. You can see that the
cuticles look more flat like shingles on a roof - this is normal. There
is some debris stuck to this hair that looks like cuticles sticking up.
It isn't - it's road dust. A little agitation will remove it.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

So can you use any shampoo without hair damage or drying? By the looks of it, you can. Only experience will tell you whether this cleans as well as you’d like or leaves your hair feeling stripped.

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This is ideal for is buying inexpensive shampoo and diluting it so it will be more gentle to your hair. If you buy a small bottle of an expensive shampoo to dilute, whatever conditioners and “goodies” have been added will be too dilute to do much good. But considering that conditioners are added to shampoos to help mitigate the damage caused by strong or concentrated detergents, diluting does that for you already, so why spend more?

Travel-friendly: This is also a good solution for when you are traveling and need to wash your hair but don’t have your usual products with you.

Harsh-feeling sulfate-free shampoos: If you have bought a "mild" shampoo and find it to be truly drying, try diluting it to see if you like it that way.

©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

I dilute shampoo in a large plastic cup in the shower, I pour in the shampoo, let the shower spray do much of the mixing, stir with my fingers, and pour it over my head in sections. It could be done in a plastic bottle with a cap to shake the mixture up. It will be watery and not as foamy – in other words, not what you’re used to in a shampoo. But if you can get over the watery texture, this is a great way to shampoo your hair with minimal damage and avoid paying more for "sulfate-free"shampoos.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

Cautions:

• Do not dilute dandruff shampoos if you are using them for itchy scalp or flaking. You’ll dilute the medication and render it less useful. 
• Do not dilute shampoos in their original bottles, this will dilute the preservative and can result in bacterial growth. 
• If you want to dilute a small amount of shampoo to leave in the shower, boil the water first (or use distilled water), mix the shampoo in gently when the water has cooled enough to touch, store in a bottle cleaned well with vinegar, rubbing alcohol or diluted bleach. This should be safe to use for a week or two, but do not use it if it changes in any way - in color, thickness, odor, or separation.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013

The take-home message: If you want to make a full-strength shampoo more mild and gentle, mix 1-2 teaspoons of shampoo (5-10 ml) in one cup water (250 ml). If this is more than you need, you can easily cut the "recipe" in half or fourths.©Science-y Hair Blog 2013