Hair School Lesson 5: Henna and Herbal Treatments

Now we're getting more onto alternative haircare!

Henna, indigo, katam, cassia and amla

Henna, indigo, katam, and amla are herbal dyes and treatments. They are extracted from different plants. Henna, for example, is extracted from the henna tree, Lawsonia inermis. It is a ground up fine powder that you mix with water (sometime acid also) and let sit for a few hours for the dye to develop. You then apply the gunk to your hair, let it sit for a few more hours, and then rinse out. For exact instructions, read the label on the packaging.

Dyeing properties

Depending on your original colour your henna hair will look differently. Black hair will still be black (perhaps with a slight red shine in the sun), while light blonde hair will be orange. You should do a test strand first to see what it will look like. If you apply henna again, the colour will deepen, and with several applications, it will deepen to a burgundy colour. If you do a similar treatment with indigo first, then henna on top, you will get a brown shade. If you apply henna first, then indigo, you will get pitch black! Indigo on it's own will give a blue-ish colour. Katam on the other hand gives a bluish-greyish colour, but can be mixed into henna to tone down the red or give brown tones. It's less intense than indigo, and works better on grey hair than both henna and indigo. Amla has a light brownish-greyish colour and can be used to tone down red tones in henna somewhat. On darker hairs it can be used without any colour change. Cassia has a bright yellow colour that only stains light hairs, and wash out in a month or so. It's sometimes used to dilute henna.

Important to note is that henna is very permanent. Your best bet to get it out is to cut it off. The amount of bleach needed to get henna out will, in most cases, fry your hair beyond saving. Katam and indigo are less permanent, but still stick to your hair quite well.

Treatment properties

Herbal dyes are also good for your hair, in difference to chemical dyes. The dye that henna deposits on your hair shaft is akin to a protein treatment in that it fills in cracks in the hair. The good thing here is that henna is relatively permanent, while protein treatments wash out. This conditioning effect may abate somewhat over time, but not entirely. Henna may relax your curl pattern a bit, but that's not for sure. Indigo and katam have less conditioning properties, but then again, they are rarely used without henna. Amla is considered to condition your hair and promote your curl pattern, and washes out after awhile. Cassia has similar strengthening and conditioning effects to henna, but less intense, and washes out after a few weeks.

These are the most common herbal dyes and treatments, but there are many more out there, such as rhubarb root, neem, and shikakai, that can be used for conditioning, strengthening, cleansing, dyeing, pretty much all you can think of! If this seems interesting to you, just hang tight, I'm currently researching for a post on specifically Ayurvedic herbs and haircare!

~ Siv

Hair School Lesson 4: Hair Bond Repairants

Mlpatton, Keratin creation red, CC BY-SA 4.0

If you're interested in how hair bond repairants like Olaplex and Fibreplex really work, but know nothing about the make up of human hair, I suggest you first check out Lesson 3: Proteins in the Hair School. If you just need a little reminder, however, following is a short recap. If you just want to know the answer to the question "Does Olaplex Really Work?", you can skim through this post to get a quick answer.

Mlpatton, Disulfide bonds, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hair Protein Recap

Hair is made of protein, called alpha-keratin. Keratin in turn, is made of amino acids. Keratin has the shape of a helix. The amino acids bond several keratin helices together vertically and horizontally in disulfide bonds. When these bonds break, you experience damaged hair. The bonds can break through wear and tear, dyeing, heat styling, among other things.

How Hair Bond Repairants work

Olaplex and other hair bond repairants purport to mend these disulfide bonds. This is what Olaplex has to say about how their product works:

Olaplex is a bond multiplier containing a single active ingredient, Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate. Olaplex works by finding single sulfur hydrogen bonds and cross linking them back together to form disulfide bonds before, during and after services. Disulfide bonds are broken via chemical, thermal, and mechanical processes. Bonds break when exposed to chemicals in colour, from heat, and mechanical force such as combing wet hair. 

(SOURCE: Olaplex.com.au 2017-08-05)

 Essentially, you can use Olaplex before doing something damaging to your hair, to fix damage that was already there. You can mix Olaplex into your damaging treatment (such as bleach) so that it immediately mends the bonds that are broken during the treatment. And you can again use it after your treatment/heat styling/etc. to mend damage already done.

Schwarzkopf's Fibreplex similarly claims to mend broken bonds: 

• N°1 Bond Booster – Protects the hair from damage during the colouration process. It interlinks with the hair fibres to enforce strong structural bonds
• Shampoo – Cleanses and restores the hair, creates bonds within the hair fibre and balances the pH level to lock in colour pigments. Provides intensive care, making the hair strong, supple and full of shine
• N°2 Bond Sealer – Creates new bonds within the hair fibre and seals the outer hair surface for noticable strength, suppleness and shine. Balances pH level to perfectly lock in colour pigments for long-lasting colour protection
• N°3 Bond Maintainer – Helps maintain the significantly improved hair quality, creates bonds within the hair fibre and balances the pH level to perfectly lock in colour pigments. Provides intensive care, making the hair strong, supple and full of shine. Protects against new mechanical damage at home   

(SOURCE: Schwarzkopf-professional.co.uk 2017-08-05)

The issue here is that there is no independent research published on the subject. Generally, in the scientific community research done and sponsored by a company that stands to gain money from a positive result is seen as more unreliable than independent researchers. Still, according to Michelle at Lab Muffin, the researcher behind Olaplex seems reputable despite not being independent in the matter of Olaplex, and apparently the research also seems solid in theory (I wouldn't know personally, since I know very little about chemistry).

Does it really work?!

So the theory behind Olaxplex, at least seems pretty good, and there are plenty of positive anecdotal stories and reviews floating around, but there are no legit scientific tests done on Olaplex. A few people anecdotally got bad results as well, but considering how different hair of different people can react, I'm not surprised. I haven't found any sources on the science behind other brands of hair bond repairants, unfortunately. The active ingredient in Fibreplex is different than in Olaplex, since Olaplex holds a patent on Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate. Fibreplex seems to use Maleic acid instead, if I understand correctly. Over at the SalonGeek forum, I happened upon an interesting discussion:

Maleiv acid, along with guar gum, are part of the precursors or ingredients used to manufacture Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate. There is obviously a big difference in Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate and maleic acid.

(SOURCE: SalonGeek.com 2017-08-05) 

They were pointing out the big difference in regards of patents and patent breeches. However, that does make me wonder if maleic acid is less effective than Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate since why, otherwise, would Olaplex go through the trouble to manufacture Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate if they could just use maleic acid? Fibreplex also includes a lot of added protein (the type that washes out) and silicones for slip, which may give the appearance of healthier hair. All in all, I don't think that the good theory behind Olaplex can be transferred to other brands that don't use Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate.

So does Olaplex work? There's no proof, but it looks pretty promising and it probably doesn't hurt to try (if you can afford it!)

Hair School Lesson 3: Proteins

The building blocks of hair, are protein. The specific protein that hair is made of, is called keratin, or specifically Alpha-keratin. The keratin, in turn, is made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. There are a few different types of amino acids in keratin, such as leucine and arginine. I'm not going to go any further into the different types of amino acids.

Mlpatton, Keratin creation red, CC BY-SA 4.0

As you can see in the first figure above, alpha-keratin looks like a helix. Two of these helices, as you can see in the second figure, twist together into a dimer. So, to clarify, a dimer is two keratin helixes twisted together. In a dimer, amino acids bond these helices together in disulfide bonds. The dimers, in turn, bond with other dimers both vertically and horizontally, also through disulfide bonds. And this is the very basic explanation of how hair is structured.

Treating damaged hair

Disulfide bonds can be broken through various things - wear and tear, bleach, heat styling, among others. The hair will feel dry, and brittle, and possibly break off easily. Until recently, no one had claimed that these bonds can be repaired. Then Olaplex was launched on the market. I'll go into hair bond repairants like Olaplex in a future post, but for now, it's fairly safe to say that for all that Olaplex claims to do, there are far more PR and marketing than actual research backing up Olaplex and similar products.

The more commonly used products to treat damaged hair, are products that coat the hair, such as silicone. They temporarily "glue" the hair together. After a few days, the products wear off, or you wash them out. So called protein products are another option. These products deposit protein in the cracks in the hair. Typically, this product sticks around a little longer, but it's still temporary since the added protein doesn't bond to the hair's natural protein.

Maintaining your protein

If simply masking the damaged hair isn't enough for you, your best bet is to cut off any damaged hair and start protecting your healthy hair from damage. Healthy hair will have some - but relatively little - broken disulfide bonds. So even healthy hair can do with some added protein. How much, is very individual. If your hair starts feeling stiff, rough, and brittle, you may be overdoing it. In that case you should add more moisture! I wrote a bit about moisture-protein balance in Lesson 2: Moisturisers and Sealants.

Aside from minimising damaging treatments such as hair dyeing and heat styling, you can start using penetrative oils. I also wrote a bit about that in Lesson 2. Penetrative oils penetrate the hair shaft and protects the disulfide bonds from breaking. Hair washing will break some bonds, and coating your hair in oil before will actually help protect it. If you know bleaching is damaging, but you still want to do it, pre-treating the hair with oil can help minimising damage. Coconut oil is the only oil so far (to my knowledge) that is scientifically proven to protect against bond breakage. The scientists thought this is because coconut oil has small, straight, molecules that can penetrate the hair shaft easily, and is also high in the fatty acid "lauric acid" which can form bonds with the amino acids in keratin. That's how coconut oil protects the hair's disulfide bonds. Palm oil is another oil that has small, straight molecules and a high content of lauric acid. In theory, palm oil should also protect against hair damage, but it hasn't been scientifically tested yet. Olive oil and avocado oil are two other popular oils that can penetrate the hair shaft due to relatively straight and small molecules, but both are high in oleic acid rather than lauric acid. I haven't found any science regarding whether oleic acid can bond with and protect keratin, but in my anecdotal experience, olive oil will leave my hair feeling nice if I pre-treat it with olive oil before washing. Over on NaturallyCurly they do indicate that oils like olive and avocado do attach to the hair proteins, but I don't know what source they have on that, so I don't trust it completely.

Even if penetrative oil without lauric acid don't protect the bonds in hair by bonding with them, they can protect against breakage. Some of the oil won't absorb into the hair shaft, but form a protective film on the surface. Like substances that dot not penetrate the hair shaft, such as non-penetrative oils or silicones, they will protect against breakage since they provide slip. Less tangling and easier detangling will minimise hair breakage.

Hair School Lesson 2: Moisturisers and Sealants

So what's the difference between a moisturiser and a sealant?

Moisturiser

A moisturiser penetrates the hair, and fills it with goodness. You hair feels soft and plump - not dry and brittle. You can have too much goodness, however. An over-moisturised hair will feel soft, gummy, and too elastic! If this happens to you, you need to balance your moisture with some protein. 

The main moisturiser for hair is cheap - it's water. Some oils also penetrate the hair shaft. Coconut and palm oil are the two big ones, but avocado oil and olive oil have some penetrating properties as well. These oils are great to utilise when you're suffering from hygral fatigue. When the hair is constantly swelling up with water, then slimming down as it dries out, the “swelling properties” (elasticity) of the hair gets “tired out”, sort of like a worn out rubber band. The hair becomes inelastic and may break. Applying penetrating oils – but not overdoing it – keeps your moisture levels more constant.

Sealant

Sealants coat the hair and create a barrier. This prevents the moisture in the hair from drying out as quickly. Sealants are also great for preventing hygral fatigue! A word of caution – applying copious amounts of sealants but not washing them out properly can cause build up which, in the long run, may lead to these sealants locking moisture out of the hair instead.

Silicones are artificial sealants, and are very commonly found in conditioners and other commercial products. Oils can also act as sealants. Many oils are non-penetrating, and therefore only coat the hair shaft. My personal non-penetrating favourites are sunflower oil and mineral oil since they’re light and easily available. Many people also like jojoba oil, shea butter, rapeseed oil, and castor oil.

Moisturiser/sealant combo

A nifty thing about penetrating oils is that if you apply only a small amount it will penetrate into your hair, but if you apply a little more, the excess amount will coat your hair as a sealant! The amount used is highly individual and depends on how porous your hair is – i.e. how well it absorbs moisture. Curly hair, dyed hair, dry hair, and damaged hair tend to be very porous and soak up moisture like a sponge. The moisture also leaves the hair quickly, if sealants aren't used. But this is not a certain fact; my hair is dry and non-porous, for example.