"Hair bonding" products are everywhere in 2024. The name implies you have been paying attention to haircare trends - like the brand Olaplex and their products that claim to repair many kinds of hair damage by patching up broken molecular bonds in the protein in the inner portion of the hair.
Calling them that is great marketing - and not entirely inaccurate. Most of the products labeled “bonding” contain some ingredients that give hair extra elasticity and strength on the inside. Or prevent hard water minerals from interacting with the product. The early 2000s bonding products' claims were to rebuild bonds in damaged hair, you can find my post about research investigating those claims here. Now it seems to mean more broadly that a product contains some ingredients designed for hair-health in the presence of chemical treatments, styling stress and wear and tear.
If an ingredient can find its way into your hair’s cortex, or even under the cuticles - it is likely to interact with the proteins and form temporary bonds that may help stabilize the proteins on a molecular level - if only temporarily. So there you go - bond building.
Not all these ingredients that do the job of bond building are new! Some of them have been in products for years already. Some of those products were already very popular. 😎
Ingredients that can enhance or create internal bonds in hair - that’s not a new thing either. Every time hair gets wet bonds are broken (and re-formed when dry). There are other bonds that happen within the protein structure of hair that can be influenced by products that can soak in.
I know you'll be wondering - can these ingredients work in things you rinse off? Market research and third party testing of products post-market for the ingredients indicates that they do indeed deposit in and on the hair and resist rinsing off. Staying with your hair for greater hydration and less breakage.
This post contain affiliate links for which I may receive a small commission when clicked, at no cost to you, and revealing none of your personal information to me.
The Ingredients
Isopentyldiol: (ISO) Smooths down damaged cuticles (smoother hair/more slip, less frizz), protects hair color by reducing color-loss during washing, reduces frizz in straightened hair (when used in shampoo and conditioner). This is a small enough molecule to penetrate into the hair shaft. Improves hair-strength (through hydration within hair shaft - this acts as a humectant).
Hydroxypropylgluconamide, Hydroxypropylammonium Gluconate: (HHG) This is a patented active ingredient that induces bond-formation / “bridges” between damaged areas inside hair, reduces breakage and strengthen hair. This is a small enough molecule to penetrate into the hair shaft. This benefit has been demonstrated in hair of people of European, African American and Asian descent. This also acts as a humectant.
Itaconic acid + arginine + Panthenol (ITA) This ingredient-combination has been found to increase strength / reduce breakage. This is a small enough molecule to penetrate into the hair shaft.
(INCI: Itaconic acid & Arginine & Panthenol & Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract & Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract & Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate)
Dimethyl maleate and bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate: (DMB) Olaplex's patented ingredient that is claimed to increase strength and "repair" damage. This is a small enough molecule to penetrate into the hair shaft.
Bis-4-PCA Dimethicone: (BPCA) Moisturizing, increases strength, "repairs" damage. PCA is a small enough molecule to penetrate into the hair shaft
Organic acids: (OA): Malic acid, Glycolic acid. In products. Where they have been pH-adjusted for hair and skin.
The Bond-Builders That Have Been With Us For Years
Lower molecular weight conditioners: Cetrimonium bromide and Cetrimonium chloride can seep into the cuticle layer and underneath. They may not penetrate as deeply as the itty-bitty humectants and amino acids, but they offer strength under pressure (force) to chemically processed or damaged hair.
Proteins and Animo Acids: Especially in damaged hair, proteins and amino acids can penetrate deeply into hair, depending on the amount of damage and the molecular weight (the “size”) of the protein.
- The specific amino acid matters. Some add strength, some may not. Arginine, Histidine, Cysteine and Phenylalanine in particular are known to add strength to hair.
-🌵 In LOW HUMIDITY 🏜, damaged hair receives the most significant benefit in breakage reduction and elasticity from Medium and High molecular weight proteins. This benefit has been tested in Type 4, relaxed hair specifically. If you have a different hair texture and curl pattern but have chemically damaged hair, your hair is likely to benefit a great deal too. The take-home message is that chemically damaged hair benefits more from proteins than un-damaged hair - in regards to managing elasticity and reducing breakage in a wide range of humidity!
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| Read this table: Start at the top and read down each column. The left-most column tells you what the information in each row refers to. This is a generalization, protein weights can vary. Click this table to make it more readable. |
Humectants:
- PCA (pyrrolidone carboxylic acid) - Sodium PCA, Zinc PCA hare also been shown to penetrate into hair to add elasticity / breakage resistance. It can also help with color-retention in dyed hair.
- Panthenol: A low molecular weight humectant that can penetrate skin and hair. Increases shine and elasticity / breakage resistance.
- Glycerin, Propylene glycol, Sorbitol, Honey: These are low molecular weight humectants that have polarity - so they are likely attracted to hair proteins and small enough to penetrate into hair. They can add flexibility and softness.
Now the lists! Folks, figuring out how to organize these list so they're useful is not easy. I would appreciate feedback about what list-organization is most helpful to you. Leave a comment, I check them frequently. This time, I'm indicating pricing (US dollars).
There are good products in nearly all PRICE RANGES! If you have hair that doesn't respond to a lot of other things you've tried, it might be worth investing in one of these vs. a bunch of styling products. Use 1) the dollar-sign code AND 2) the active-ingredients-code (in green) AND 3) the "does it contain enough" code (sunflower vs. shrug emoji) to find a suitable product.
$10-20: 💲💲
$20-30: 💲💲💲
$30 and up 💲💲💲💲
Product Lists
Shampoos
BondBar Shampoo (HHG) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 💲
BondBar Purple Shampoo for blonde or silver/white hair ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (HHG) 💲
BondBar Blue Shampoo for brunette or blonde, silver or white hair ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (HHG) 💲
Not Your Mother's Blonde Moment Purple Shampoo (ITA) 🌻💲
Hairitage Mend To Be Damage Recovery Shampoo (HHG, Panthenol, Rice protein, Oil-rich) 🌻💲
Minimalist Bond Repair Complex Shampoo (OA, amino acids, Hydrolyzed protein, Panthenol, Sodium PCA) 🌻💲💲
Verb Bonding Shampoo (HHG, Arginine) 🌻💲💲
Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds Shampoo - Fragrance free! (HHG) 🌻💲💲
Not Your Mother's Tough Love Bonding Shampoo 02 (ITA) (BPCA) 🌻💲💲
Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Bond Building Shampoo ( HHG) Propylene glycol, Arginine, Rice amino acids 🌻💲
Xmondo Recalibrate Shampoo (HHG, ISO) 🌻 💲💲💲
Olaplex #4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo (DMB) 🌻 💲💲💲
Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Shampoo (HHG) 🌻 💲💲💲💲
Conditioners
BondBar Bonding Conditioner (HHG) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 💲 [Protein-free]
Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Bond Building Conditioner ( HHG) Propylene glycol, Arginine, Rice amino acids 🌻💲
Hairitage Mend To Be Recovery Conditioner ( HHG, Glycerin, Rice protein) 🌻 💲
Not your mother’s Bonding Conditioner 03 (ITA) (BPCA) 🌻 💲💲
Not Your Mother's Blonde Moment Purple Conditioner (ITA) 🌻 💲💲
GVP Conditioning Balm (Propylene glycol, low molecular weight fatty acids, Cetrimonium chloride) 💲💲 for a LITER bottle. Generic for Matrix.
Matrix Biolage Hydrasource Conditioning Balm (Propylene glycol, low molecular weight fatty acids, Cetrimonium chloride) 💲💲💲
Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds Conditioner - Fragrance Free! (HHG) 🌻💲💲
Shea Moisture Amla Oil Bond Repair Conditioner (Amino acids, HHG) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 💲💲
Olaplex #5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner (DMB) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯💲💲💲
Xmondo Recalibrate Bond Repair Conditioner (HHG, ISO) 🌻💲💲💲
Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Conditioner (HHG) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 💲💲💲💲
Deep Conditioners / Intense treatments / Reconstructors
BondBar Hydration Mask (HHG) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯💲 [Protein-free]
Soapbox Let's Bond (Med. weight proteins, amino acids, HHG) 🌻💲
Pantene Miracle Rescue Intensive Bond Repair Mask 💲Panthenol, Histidine, Porosity-managing Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone
ApHogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor keratin, collagen amino acids 🌻 (contains Mineral oil) 💲
Creme of Nature Acai Berry and Keratin Strengthening Mask: Keratin amino acids, Panthenol 🌻💲
Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Bond Building Mask ( HHG) Arginine, Rice amino acids 🌻💲
BondBar Bonding Booster (HHG) 🌻💲💲 [Protein-free] - Not a deep conditioner - this is mostly the active ingredient and can be added to chemical processes or to products. Fragrance-free!
Mielle Babassu Mint Deep Conditioner (Sodium PCA, amino acids) 🌻💲💲
Minimilast Maleic Bond Repair Complex Mask: (OA, amino acids, Hydrolyzed protein, Panthenol, Sodium PCA) 🌻💲💲
Not Your Mother's Tough Love Intense Bonding Treatment 01 (BPCA) 🌻💲💲
Shea Moisture Bond Repair Masque (Amino Acids, HHG) 🌻💲💲
Verb Bonding Mask (HHG, Panthenol, Arginine) 🌻💲💲
ApHogee 2-Step Protein Treatment for Damaged hair (Hydrolyzed collagen) - This product is intense🌻💲💲
Curl Junkie "Repair me" keratin, keratin amino acids 🌻 💲💲💲
CurlSmith Curl Bond Rehab Salve (HHG)🌻💲💲💲
Xmondo Recalibrate Bond Repair Treatment (ISO, HHG, (BPCA) Cetrimonium bromide) 🌻💲💲💲
Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Treatment (HHG)[Protein-free] 🌻💲💲💲💲
L'Anza Rapid Bond Reconstructor (ITA)🌻💲💲💲💲
Pre-Wash treatments
BondBar Pre Shampoo Treatment (HHG) 🌻💲 [Protein-free]
Hairitage Big Flex Pre Shampoo Treatment ( HHG, Rice protein) 🌻 💲
Not Your Mother's Intense Bonding Treatment (BPCA) 🌻💲💲
Olaplex #0 Intensive Bond Building Treatment (DMB) 🌻💲💲💲
Coco and Eve Pre Shampoo Treatment (BPCA, OA, Butylene glycol) 🌻💲💲💲
Leave-On Products
BondBar Styling Cream (HHG) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯💲 [Protein-free]
BondBar Bonding Detangling Spray (HHG) 🌻💲 [Protein-free]
Marc Anthony Repair Bond Resculpt Leave-in Treatment (BPCA) 🌻💲
Hairitage Mend To Be Leave In Treatment ( HHG, Propylene glycol) 🌻💲 Oil-rich
Shea Moisture Bond Repair Leave-In Conditioner (Amino Acids, HHG) 🌻💲💲
Inkey List PCA Bond Repair Hair treatment (BPCA) 🌻💲💲
Not Your Mother's Bonding Leave-in Protector (ISO)(BPCA) 🌻💲💲
K-18 Biomimetic Leave-In Hair Mask (Medium molecular weight peptides and proteins, Propylene glycol) 🌻💲💲
Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds Mixing Drops (HHG) 🌻💲💲💲 (Use this to customize other products)
Xmondo Recalibrate Bond Repair Leave-In (HHG) 🌻💲💲💲
Living Proof Triple Bond Complex Leave-in Treatment / heat protectant (ISO) 🌻💲💲💲💲
Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Oil Serum (HHG, arginine) 🌻💲💲💲💲
Bumble and Bumble Bond-Building Repair Styling Cream (HHG)🌻💲💲💲💲
L'Anza Keratin Healing Oil Bond Smoothing Styler (ITA, HHG, Arginine, Glycolic acid, Hydrolyzed proteins, Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc and Manganese PCA) 🌻💲💲💲💲
Olaplex #5 Leave-in (DMB, Propylene glycol, Glycerin, Arginine, PCA, Amino acids, Hydrolyzed carob seed protein) 🌻💲💲💲💲
Surface Trinity Bond Repair Leave-In Treatment: PCA, Hydrolyzed proteins, amino acids, Panthenol
References
Strengthening the Hair Fiber from Within: Repairing the Cortex of Damaged Hair
Emmanuel PJM Everaert, Sheldon Zhang, Diem Tran, Bert Kroon, Guojin Zhang, Bill Thompson and Roger L. McMullen. 2015 Paper Presented at the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists.
Chambers LI, Yufit DS, Musa OM, Steed JW. Understanding the Interaction of Gluconamides and Gluconates with Amino Acids in Hair Care. Cryst Growth Des. 2022 Oct 5;22(10):6190-6200. doi: 10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00753. Epub 2022 Sep 20. PMID: 36217417; PMCID: PMC9542698.
Harper DL, Kamath YK. The effect of treatments on the shear modulus of human hair measured by the single fiber torsion pendulum. J Cosmet Sci. 2007 Jul-Aug;58(4):329-37. PMID: 17728933.
Malinauskyte, E., Shrestha, R., Cornwell, P.A., Gourion-Arsiquaud, S. and Hindley, M. (2021), Penetration of different molecular weight hydrolysed keratins into hair fibres and their effects on the physical properties of textured hair. Int. J. Cosmet. Sci., 43: 26-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12663
Oshimura E, Abe H, Oota R. Hair and amino acids: the interactions and the effects. J Cosmet Sci. 2007 Jul-Aug;58(4):347-57. PMID: 17728935.
Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair, Robbins, 1994. 3rd Ed. Springer-Verlag, New York
Thanks for the rundown. Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Bond Building is a wonderful and widely available line not listed above. A shampoo, conditioner & mask, all of which contain HHG as well as arginine & rice amino acids.
ReplyDeleteHello Galaria - Thank you for bringing that to my attention! I'll add it to the list. Much appreciated! -W
DeleteI'm no help with ordering the list, but I wanted to thank you for all the extremely helpful information on this blog. I can tell you put in a lot of work to make this easier to understand and it is much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHello Lorrwill, Thank you for reading the blog! I'm happy the information here is helpful to you. Best wishes -W
DeleteThank you Wendy, this is great information! If you have hard and high pH water, would it help to use a shampoo with EDTA before administering a bond treatment?
ReplyDeleteHello Texasleahgirl - that's a good question! I don't think most of these products will be negatively affected by hard water. But you've got a good point - if you have mineral residue in your hair, you may not get the absolute optimal result. --- Some shampoos with EDTA contain only enough to prevent hard-water-minerals from interfering with the product. Or just enough to stabilize the product. Still with hard, high pH water, those products are always a good choice so the shampoo cleans and rinses out well. --- If you wanted to use a chelating shampoo like a swimmer's shampoo or hard water shampoo before a bond treatment, you'd reduce the effects of mineral residue in your hair, it might be 1) easier to assess the effects of the product. 2) You might get a better result because you did 2 things that can make hair more flexible and elastic. Best wishes - W
DeleteI love the list and your info as usual! I've been trying out, Bumble and Bumble's Bond-Building cream and want to try out the serum next in my routine.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd ever like help making videos in the future (as an editor) I'd be happy to help you get this great info to a bigger audience.
I hope those products work well for you! Trying to find time to get more videos up, thank you for the feedback. -W
DeleteSo glad to rediscover this blog!! I bought the L'oreal Bond Repair on an impulse, while on the drugstore, but was so skeptical of it. I'm looking through the ingredients, and they none of those you listed here. Is it safe to put them on the "don't buy again" list?
ReplyDeleteHello Camilla - welcome back! I'll put a link to a post where the L'Oreal product gets some attention. You'll probably have to copy and paste it to go there. https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/hair-bonding-products-part-3-all-those.html --- It's absolutely worth a try. I don't know which product you purchased - I highlighted their bond-repair intense treatment with these active ingredients:
Delete+1 Hair-penetrating moisturizer (Glycerin)
+Citric acid: “Defends” against hard-water-product-interference
+Cetyl esters - may be hair-penetrating. A softening and smoothing emollient that is similar to the wax-like component of sebum - it detangles well
+2 extra conditioners/detanglers: Polyquaternium-10, Hydroxypropyl guar.
They're not splashy new bond-building ingredients, but they are effective. Ingredients that can penetrate into the hair's interior tend to increase strength (reduce breakage/stabilize the hair proteins), and this does contain those. Whether or not it performs well for you is down to the formula as a whole, and what you need from the product. It's not on this page because those are such common ingredients. The citric acid is interesting - that makes this potentially a good product for hard water. Best wishes -W
The name is so generic, L'oreal just called it "Bond Repair". Hard to reference. :-) But here it goes, in case you want to check it out, or provide a future review.
Deletehttps://www.lorealparis.ca/en-ca/hair-expertise/bond-repair/shampoo-with-citric-repair-complex-200ml
DeleteThat's the shampoo. Copying the ingredients here: AQUA / WATER / EAU • SODIUM C14-16 OLEFIN SULFONATE • COCAMIDE MEA • GLYCERIN • COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE • GLYCOL DISTEARATE • SODIUM LAUROYL SARCOSINATE • PARFUM / FRAGRANCE • HEXYLENE GLYCOL • COCO-BETAINE • SODIUM HYDROXIDE • SODIUM CHLORIDE • SODIUM BENZOATE • HYDROXYPROPYL GUAR HYDROXYPROPYLTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE • HYDROXYCITRONELLAL • PEG-55 PROPYLENE GLYCOL OLEATE • SALICYLIC ACID • POLYQUATERNIUM-7 • LIMONENE • BENZOIC ACID • LINALOOL • BENZYL BENZOATE • PROPYLENE GLYCOL [Propylene glycol is known to help dissolve ingredients and create a smooth and uniform product. It is also used to keep the product moist.]
Delete• CARBOMER • CITRIC ACID • HEXYL CINNAMAL ----------
That is a pretty straightforward shampoo formula - it should have good cleaning (degreasing). The detergent combination helps it be a little milder. The inclusion of Glycerin, Glycol distearate, Polyquaternium-7 help with hydration. Hydroxypropyl guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride is in this and a few other "bonding" products. It's a conditioner and detangler - but unlike regular Guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride - it's supposed to provide "moderate" conditioning without a heavy or tacky feel. It's a conditioning shampoo - and if your hair does well with it - great! I think it's a "bond-building bandwagon" product. ;)
I have a few questions! :
ReplyDeleteSo why didnt Olaplex get a sunflower or a shrug?
How do you feel about new-ish bond builder on the market called Epres?
Are there any products that received 🌻 that you believe are better than the rest of the products that recieved a 🌻?
Hello - that's a good question. Because that ingredient is patented and proprietary, there isn't information available to me about how much is in there. I imagine they're using enough, but they're not making it easy to find out, or confidently pass that information on to folks here. You could call it an editorial omission on my part!
DeleteThank you for replying!
DeleteThis is so interesting ! I put my hair through hell even though it's naturally fragile and I still have the audacity to want it to look fabulous so I am always looking for really helpful products and techniques and your blog is very helpful. I have tried Olaplex multiple times without any visible results (1 and 2 stand alone treatments with diluted number 1 as well 3) but it completely restored by hair's elasticity when I used number 1 undiluted. For K18, I tried the mask for the first 6 washes after a perm and my hair's elasticity was restored after the 4th wash. I now use the mist and it restores my hair within 2 treatments. They really work for me but concentration matters. How do ingredients like HHG that target hydrogen and salt bonds help knowing that these bonds reform when hair dries, cools down or gets to a normal pH range ? Do they create bonds that we naturally would not have ? Also, do you know how long the bonds created by products like Olaplex and K18 last if we have a minimally damaging routine after using them ? Last question : L'oreal professional has this line (absolute repair molecular) that looks super interesting to me but I absolutely do not understand how it works (what it repairs). They use amino acids and a bonder (more bonder in salon only products) and it's supposed to repair hair's molecular structure. Do you know more about this ? Thank you !!!
ReplyDeleteHello Chair! That's interesting about the cumulative uses being required to see benefits with K18. Olaplex #1 undiluted is an interesting result too. --- With ingredients like Hydroxypropylgluconamide, Hydroxypropylammonium Gluconate (HHG), you're getting a hair-penetrating humectant on the one hand, but it has also been demonstrated to substantially strengthen hair on the other hand. HHG can produce, "A range of intermolecular bonds including hydrogen bonds and ionic interactions are formed with amino acid residues in the keratin proteins." (Reference "copy and paste" source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9542698/) HHG forms a sort of polymer scaffold between proteins in hair - it will remain once hair dries and/or cools down. Which is also how Olaplex is supposed to work. --- But having used both Olaplex and HHG - I can verify they can perform rather differently! And that's just the nature of being a different ingredient. --- I can't answer for certain that bonds that are not normally in hair are being formed by any of these bond-building products. That may be true - but if so - the same thing was happening in the context of hair-conditioners that we were already using with Hydrolyzed proteins and amino acids and Propylene glycol, Honey, Glycerin, some conditioning ingredients that penetrate the hair, etc., based on some of the same research I've cited in other posts. The "bond building" label is new, but the effect is not. Some products amplify the bond-building benefits (Olaplex #1 for example) - there will likely be more study of how that works. I found one published and wrote a post about it earlier in this series. --- The benefits of all these products fades over time and washes/styling. Olaplex indicates that on their website, and IIRC, so does K18. All recommend various use-frequencies indicating they don't expect their products to have ultra-long lasting effects. --- L'Oreal Absolut Repair has the subheading "Peptides Bonder, 5 Amino Acids." The Amino acids *are* the "bonding" ingredient. Amino acids can strengthen hair - probably also by stabilizing the protein structure inside hair. Amodimethicone in the leave-in can form a protective film on hair that protects from heat, waterlogging (especially for chemically-treated hair). The rinse-out conditioner is Glycerin and Propylene glycol-rich (hair-penetrating humectants also stabilize the protein structure in hair). ---- So you saw benefits from Olaplex, and also K18, with are quite different in terms of active ingredients. I have posts about Olaplex, and also one including K18 (https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/hair-bonding-products-part-3-all-those.html).
DeleteThat's great in that your hair seems to have lots of options, it responds to both protein and non-protein-containing bond-building products. Those 2 products are also not deep-conditioners in the sense that they are enriched with oils or extra emollients. What I'm getting at - is that your hair seems to appreciate the strength-promoting ingredients. In the past, that would have been "protein-treatment-loving hair" because protein was the main option for strength. But now that we have all these new bond-building products, you have more options. ---- You can find other bond-building posts by scrolling back through recent blog posts. On mobile devices, the search window may not be visible, that works too if you can find it. Best wishes - W
I've been going through all your articles and I've learned so much. I'm looking at the Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Rinse out Conditioner and the Kevin Murphy Smooth Again, and I'm seeing a lot of these bond building ingredients and humectants, but is it that for the ITA, that all 3 have to be present in the product to get the results?
ReplyDeleteHello! For the one abbreviated as "ITA" - the additive that has the testing on hair has 6 ingredients! (Itaconic acid, Arginine, Panthenol, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Extract, Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract & Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate). But no worries, because each of them alone can do some bond-building. The first 5, anyway. One or 2 of those ingredients should have a benefit. All together they have a cumulative effect. But I can see having the first 3 in that list - without the protein - being an attractive option for hair that doesn't get along with much protein. Best wishes! -W
DeleteI recently rediscovered your fantastic blog, I really appreciate all of the detailed information. I’m wondering if you have an opinion on the “Harklinikken” haircare line, for hair loss/ thinning? I’ve been using it for almost 4 years now. I’m afraid to stop as I have a lot of loss/thinning. I used to use Ouidad Deep treatment but never found a good shampoo/ condition treatment that gave consistent results. I recently discovered the deep treatment is discontinued and this is how I circled back around to your blog. My hair loved a one hour deep treatment with a heating cap, but I got away from that to focus on the harklinikken system. My hair is curly/wavy and porous and falls out every 3/4 months, you can see my scalp at the crown and around my ears. I did get some new growth around the base of my head in the beginning but I can’t say that anything is improving. Dimethicone and glycerin make my hair flat and stringy. I tried a coffee rinse last night and got great results. Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated, I like natural products as well as homemade treatments. Thanks 😊
ReplyDeleteHi Christina - Hopefully within the coming year, I'll have a Trichology certification and can consult with people on these issues formally! I'm concerned that your hair falls out every 3-4 months. Cyclical hair loss could be a result of an allergy or sensitivity to something like hair dye or a chemical service or product sensitivity. We're exposed... It takes a minute for our scalps to react... Then hair starts to fall. I have a post here about over the counter treatments for hair loss - and the importance of understanding first why you're losing hair. I indicated products that have some good clinical testing behind them (copy and paste) https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/scientifically-tested-over-counter.html And where the evidence is not so good, I mention that! Harklinikken - their shampoo and conditioner don't seem especially beneficial. Their hair growth liquid has some possibly effective ingredients. Their supplement is similar to Nutrafol, which I'll be breaking down on the blog when I have some time. ------- Based on what you mentioned, it might be a priority to figure out if there is a trigger in your environment (allergies, medication, stress -the good and the uncomfortable kind-, hair color) that may be causing your hair loss. And if not - some people do experience cyclical shedding/chronic telogen effluvium, which a dermatologist could shed more light on. I hope something there is helpful! -W
DeleteHi WS,
ReplyDeleteI find your response so interesting. I’ve been trying to trace steps to when it seemed that my hair was doing better and started thinking about sensitivity…again. I randomly get scalp pimples even though I haven’t changed products ( which you indicated could be a problem) so I’ve started using Nizoral again, maybe a 6 month trial will tell me if this is what helped me grow new hairs. Would you recommend anything different, like salicylic acid? I’ve never used Rogaine as I’m unsure of possible side effects- preferring natural when possible but would be interested to learn more. The diameter of my hairs is getting finer and finer, vellus like at the crown and nape, do you think allergies could be contributing? I’ve been gluten and dairy free for about ten years and have always had skin sensitivity(yeast?fungus?)
I use natural soaps, no hair dye ever, home cooked natural foods probiotics etc etc. My hair has always been superfine but now at 60, I have to wear it in a bun to hide the thinning.
Is there a test that you recommend or is it trial and error to find the culprits?
Be well and thank you for such a valuable source of information, I’m interested to learn more about your “Trichology certification.”
Hi Christina - scalp bumps or pimples is a red flag that something is not agreeing! We can be a *little* sensitive to something, but it won't always show up. Not unless we pile on more than one irritant. Like sweat, or dry air, or allergies too. --- Nizoral can not only calm down an inflamed scalp, it may also help with hair density-maintenance. Double-product-score! (To borrow a term from Scrabble). ---- Salicylic acid can be great for clearing up bumps on the scalp quickly, but it can be drying. If you've used it for acne, you probably now how well you tolerate it. A salicylic acid shampoo can be a good product to have on standby if scalp bumps are a regular occurrence. ---
DeleteTesting for sensitivity: A dermatologist can do patch-testing to figure out if you have allergies to common ingredients. It's a process, but helps some folks a lot in learning what to avoid. A dermatologist can diagnose the kind of hair loss you are experiencing - which is critical information. You need to know why you're losing hair in order to treat it properly.
A Trichologist is a scalp-care and hair-loss coach. They have training in scalp care and hair loss science and treatments (including lifestyle). I have been doing hair analysis and product consulting for 11 years, it would be connected to that business. Unlike the 5-10 minutes you get with a dermatologist, a Trichologist covers a lot more territory and helps people find agreeable solutions that work. --- I hope the Nizoral helps! -W