I love being immersed in the world of hair color & care. Obviously, the modeling industry is highly centered around the concept of having a consciousness of one’s own looks. Likewise, a major focus within this industry is style & creation. I truly feel hair is finely incorporated within one’s style.
Have you ever had a question about hair or wondered about a hair myth ? We’ve got the answers here in this blog!
My personal story with my hair is as follows: 2 sets of bonded extensions left my hair so fragile & broken. 3 years ago I chopped all my remaining hair off uber short, & this began my forray into real hair health.
My hair has been growing beautifully ever since; the majority of my hair growth spurred by my incredible L’Oreal Pro Colorist expert who has educated me about my hair.
This blog is ultra special because he has agreed to offer powerful insight into ANY my most pressing hair myths & questions! We’ve also got incredible references to back up the fine points to this discussion & to shed additional light on how to get the most flair from your hair.
I would love to share with you one of my favorite quotes from L’Oreal’s own Eric Del Monaco. As the Official Hair Artist and Colourist for L’Oréal Paris Canada. His bio states “Eric is passionate about hair and how it can dramatically change a woman’s look or simply bring out her natural beauty. Renowned as a beauty trend-setter in Canada and across the globe, Eric is fresh and unconventional.”
His innovative hair styling and colour techniques are inspired by the belief that
“A woman’s crowning glory is her hair.”
I love that quote! It will serve as the basis for this post about hair care & repair. Eric Del Monaco affirms: “A woman’s hair is an extension of her personality. It’s amazing to see how a great hair style or colour can impact a woman’s mood and send her confidence soaring.”
& Now! Back to my ever-amazing L’Oreal Professional colorist/stylist expert who has helped educate me to properly grow my mane considerably over the last 2 years. I love my stylist…
I look back to the very moment our relationship truly blossomed: Me, post-drastic-hair-cut, proudly declaring my hair was ‘really starting to grow again’.
He took one look at my hair and replied ‘Really? It is?’,
*Gulp* He knew a lot that I didn’t.
A lot.
Thus, my journey into the ‘here and now’ commenced.
My hair is currently soft, healthy, long, luscious & blonde, blonde, blonde!
Post all your most pressing hair questions in the comment section of this post & your questions will be answered!
If you are on Twitter, you can also Tweet me your Hair Care Questions using the hashtag HairCareQs @Theresalongo & I will have them answered by my L’Oreal Professional Expert stylist!
Without further adieu, let’s talk about Hair Myths, Hair Care & most definitely Hair Repair.
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How do I make waves in long hair without spending an arm and a leg at the Salon?
Here’s How: Use your curling iron like a hot roller and wrap the base of the hair first, & then the ends.
Release the curl after 5-10s & allow the curl to cool. When all sections are complete run your fingers through the curls until the desired wave is achieved, & lightly spray.
What is ammonia? How does Ammonia affect my hair? Should I opt for Ammonia Free products?
Thank you for the great question, this is my understanding of the relationship with ammonia and hair. I hope it helps. It all started in 1909, by the great chemist Eugéne Schueller touring around town on a bicycle promoting the first ever hair dye he formulated and sold to Parisian hairstylists. Fast forward to today and his company is recognized as the largest most innovated beauty company and used by the greatest stylist world wide. In that beginning Ammonia, a colorless gas with a pungent smell contributed significantly by setting the stage for colour to penetrate into the hair, opening up the surface of the strand so that the dye can get through. Effectively lifting the natural pigment allowing artificial colour to penetrate. So ammonia became largely responsible for the alteration of natural pigment within permanent hair colour.
This permanent hair colour technology improved significantly over the years and that company Eugéne started got better, In 2008 the largest beauty industry launch in the history of hair, skin and body combined happened. A 100% ammonia free permanent hair colour was developed. The way it works is brilliant: by replacing ammonia with oil. Rather than open the surface of the strand, the oil simply slides the colour pigment into the hair. This process happens so effortlessly that under a magnifing glass the hair still looks like natural untreated hair. With more than 40 million applications world wide, 18 research centers and more than 3000 people in research and development representing 60 nationalities, the premier meeting point still located on 14 rue Royal Paris France.We thank that chemist Eugene Schueller for teaching us that researchers and stylists can work hand and hand to continually reinvent the most beautiful profession while respecting mother earth and giving each individual colour client their crowning glory. Thank you to the late Eugène Schueller for giving us L’ORÉAL.
Is drugstore shampoo as good for your hair as salon shampoo?
Thank you for the great question. Here’s our understanding of drugstore shampoo vs salon shampoo:
When I woke up today the first thing I read were notes from April. The top caption was ‘EARTH MONTH, more then a month…..A Philosophy.‘ and this made me think of this blog question. Is there a big difference between shampoos? My answer is yes.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Luaryth Sulfate (SLES) are the top two chosen surfactants (surface active agents) that make our shampoo lather up. In recent years there have been double blinded studies done to see if there is any link to cancer from these two ingredients and findings have shown that SLES is commonly contaminated with Dioxan, a known carcinogen. These studies also show the liver has trouble metabolizing SLES.
The food and Drug Association often receive reports on eye and scalp irritation, tangled, split and fussy hair and often the cause of this problem is SLS. These are the same ingredients used at the car wash or even the garage to degrease engines. So why is this chemical used so often in shampoo? Its cheep !
Drug store vs salon shampoo is often a question we ask our stylist . As well, why is the salon shampoo more money? First, not all salon shampoos are created equal. Pureology, the salon exclusive shampoo that we carry in our studio is comparable to drug store and most salon shampoos in that it is positioned categorically. Fine hair , thick, curly, straight, colored etc. However Purology shampoo is 100% SLS and SLES free. Using natural derived cleansing agents such as coconut, corn and sugar to gently cleanse. This should not be mistaken with a shampoo that claims it has natural derived ingredients in the formula.
By using a zero sulfate cleansing agent Pureology is able to use less water. The benefits of having less water in a shampoo offers the customer more bang for their buck. Delivering up to 70 shampoos per 250ml bottle. Less water also shows a commitment to water conservation in a world that has close to 1 billion people lacking access to safe drinking water. A natural surfactant apposed to a chemical surfactant removes dirt and oils in a more gentle way making this the smart choice for stylists and clients.
If the cleansing agent used in your shampoo still isn’t enough reason to consider a zero sulfate formula, the additional benefits in Pureology include full spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreens. 100% vegan formulas. Essential oil fragrances and even the bottles have the latest recycled plastic to preserve our precious planet.
We highly recommend you immerse yourself in the world of Pureology , your crowning glory deserves it.
Is there anything I can eat to make my hair grow stronger?
What a great question indeed.
True or false . Do naturopathic remedies, nutrition and lifestyle improve the quality of our hair and growth.
Before looking at the outside we need to first deal with the inside by stepping out of the bathroom and enter the kitchen to improve upon our hair.
What we put in our bodies creates a blueprint for our hair. Forensic science can unlock clues from what goes in our body with a single strand of hair as the strand grows out.
That strand of hair after leaving the scalp is nothing more then dead keratin protein and it has no ability to renew itself. That’s close to 100,000.00 dead pieces of fiber like strands on top of our heads. Keratin is considered the strongest natural protein on the planet. So strong that pound for pound it’s stronger then steel.
Lets go deeper and look at the dermis, the inner most layer under the skin surface where the follicle is. Each hair strand grows from a follicle within the scalp in the dermis. Before emerging from the scalp the strand goes thru a process called keratinization, at this time the strand loses its nuclei and if any cell loses its nucleus it’s considered dead. Even though these cells have died the hair strand is still a record of our diet and nutrition.
The key building block in hair being protein means that a diet to low in protein can cause the diameter of the hair to be thinner and more fragile as it makes it way to the surface of the scalp.
Crash dieting or a low protein diet can cause hair thinning and effect the growth of hair . The root attached to a strand of dead hair is very much alive and hopefully well therefore we are what we eat.
Although our haircut may be painful to grow out its painless to cut thanks to keratinization.
So let’s all eat, sleep and exercise our way to healthy, shinny, bouncy hair.
Our crowning glory deserves it.
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