Silicones, Sulfates and Choosing the right Products for your hair.

As a stylist and salon owner I get to talk and interact with a lot of naturalistas about their hair journey, hair products and hair health. The one thing I have noticed time and time again is that a lot of people are fixated on 'Sulfate Free Shampoos'. They go natural, read up that sulfates are bad for your hair and then invest in sulfate free shampoos - which in and of itself is a great thing.

HOWEVER they begin to suffer from bad breakage, hair starts to thin and even though they seem to be doing the right things and using the 'right' products, their hair is not co operating! Most times when I hear this complaint, the first thing I ask is the name of the deep/leave in conditioner they are using and when you look at the ingredients you notice they have silicones and mineral oil high up on the list.

The thing is while sulfate free shampoos are great for natural hair as they are non stripping, a lot of silicones and other ingredients are non water soluble and can only be removed from your hair using a sulfate shampoo. The continued layering of these products on your hair without washing them out properly will cause build up on  your strands, no moisture will penetrate through and you begin to experience breakage as the hair becomes brittle from lack of penetrative moisture. This is why you will notice most brands that produce 'sets' will have sulfates in their shampoos where they have silicone rich conditioners.

Before we go any further, lets discuss what Silicones are, what they do for the hair and the type of silicones we have.

Building A Healthy Hair Regimen

I've probably spoken about this in different ways in different posts on the blog but I've noticed that a number of people still struggle with figuring out what to do and when to do it and what product to use at what point.

I believe the first thing that needs to be settled in anyone's mind before building a regimen is the level of commitment you're willing to make. There is no point in deciding to do so many things that will take up some 3 hours every other day in the week when you don't really have that time to hand. Some people have more time to give than others and that's fine. All that needs to be done is to tailor the regimen to suit your time and your needs.

The main steps to consider in your regimen building are:
1. Cleanse
2. Condition
3. Moisturize
4. Protect

Hair Growth, Length Retention and Good Hair Regimens: A Three Way Love Affair!

"I want something that will make my hair grow longer " is probably one of the most popular requests I get when people come into the store. With a smile, I always say to them that our hair is always growing so if you're not seeing length, the issue is not that the hair isn't growing but that length is not being retained.

Even if there was some magic pill or potion that would make the hair grow 3 inches or more a month, if the hair isn't being properly taken care of  and it is breaking off at pretty much the same rate at which it is growing, then it would seem like the hair isn't growing at all!

Building a good hair regimen is key in getting hair past any length plateaus one may have experienced in the past and also in getting hair healthy and strong. It's just like trying to get that dream body - no matter what miracle diet or pill is being touted, ultimately one discovers that a CONSISTENT regime of burning more calories than is being consumed is healthier and more sustainable.

Our hair grows on average about half an inch per month which means at the end of the year, we should be rocking 6 inches of extra length - thing is most times, we never get to see those extra inches because we either have no healthy hair regimens that ensure that our length is being retained or we have regimens that are actually counterproductive to our hair goals.