What IS healthy hair?

[Frankenstein]

Just something I've been thinking about recently...

You see a lot of terms associated with healthy hair. Shiny, smooth, soft, few tangles, few to no splits, etc... the list goes on. But some hair just can't achieve some of these things even when it's well taken care of. So that has me asking, what do you consider "healthy hair" and how does it vary from different types of hair? I hope this makes sense, it was a little difficult to put into words. :)

[missrandie]

I consider healthy hair to be:

Relatively split free
Have a proper moisture/protein balance
Have the cuticle laying as it did coming out of the scalp
Be as structurally sound as possible (meaning not physically missing cuticle, etc).

Now, I feel like a lot of things can get mixed around. For instance, "smooth" hair being healthy. What about the curly girls? Their hair can be beautifully healthy without ever being smooth. Or those that have lots of "bumpy" wiry hairs? Those aren't unnecessarily unhealthy, just texturally different.

Few tangles: this depends on a number of factors: hair classification, moisture balance, split ends, build up, and others I can't think of.

I don't have splits, but I was having problems with tangly , grabby ends. One time, clarification took care of it, so it was build up. Another time later down the road, clarification didn't help; ROO did. Therefore, the grabbing that time was more due to a moisture imbalance that occlusives were able to help. Some folks will get tangles at their nape no matter what they do, and it's just because of the texture of that hair.


Some folks with coarse hair may never have hair they would describe as soft, yet it can be perfectly healthy as it is.

Now a better way to think about healthy hair is what is healthy to the individual. As with most things :)

[pailin]

I would think healthy hair will look different according to hair type. Mine for example does soft easily, but even in great condition it tangles easily. I don't consider use of a silicon serum to make my hair instantly healthy even though it does relieve the tangles a lot.
I would define healthy in terms of presence /absence of splits, breakage, adequate moisture, whether or not it curls /waves if it's curly/wavy etc. rather than based on shine, softness etc. Words like those are surrogate markers for health but don't really tell us if it's healthy or not.

[Daydreamer.]

I consider healthy hair to be: Relatively split free Have a proper moisture/protein balance Have the cuticle laying as it did coming out of the scalp Be as structurally sound as possible (meaning not physically missing cuticle, etc). Now, I feel like a lot of things can get mixed around. For instance, "smooth" hair being healthy. What about the curly girls? Their hair can be beautifully healthy without ever being smooth. Or those that have lots of "bumpy" wiry hairs? Those aren't unnecessarily unhealthy, just texturally different. Few tangles: this depends on a number of factors: hair classification, moisture balance, split ends, build up, and others I can't think of. I don't have splits, but I was having problems with tangly , grabby ends. One time, clarification took care of it, so it was build up. Another time later down the road, clarification didn't help; ROO did. Therefore, the grabbing that time was more due to a moisture imbalance that occlusives were able to help. Some folks will get tangles at their nape no matter what they do, and it's just because of the texture of that hair. Some folks with coarse hair may never have hair they would describe as soft, yet it can be perfectly healthy as it is. Now a better way to think about healthy hair is what is healthy to the individual. As with most things :) I have some tangly ends. You mentioned "ROO" helped you. What is it?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I have some tangly ends. You mentioned "ROO" helped you. What is it?

Rinse Out Oil, there's a link to it in Lapushka's signature :)

[AutobotsAttack]

As everyone else has mentioned it really just depends on the type of hair you have. Minimal breakage. And good protein and moisture balances. As far as smoothness goes, for afro textured hair you're never gonna get it that smooth. Or for coarser textured hair. And for tangles I think healthy hair can tangle just because of the way it is structured or how it curls. Especially if you're dealing with very kinky or coily hair, or even thick straight hair. Not all hair is shiny, some healthy types of hair have a sheen instead of a shine. So I'd have to say minimal breakage and a good protein and moisture balance are the two key things that determines a healthy head of hair, no heat damage, controlled porosity, good elasticity, smooth cuticles, etc. Even when dealing with colored or chemically altered hair, because I feel as though those types of hair can still be very healthy as well, because hair is resilient to an extent just like our bodies are.

[parkmikii]

I have some tangly ends. You mentioned "ROO" helped you. What is it?

Linking it for you :D
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=129191

[butter52]

Technically, hair cannot be healthy because it is not alive.

So technically its "pretty hair" which is subjective and not the same formula is aplied to all types. Just as you cant apply the same to lace or silk or cashmere to consider it pretty.

[chen bao jun]

Yes, I think we are on the right track hair. I mean, HERE (sorry).

I am not sure I would have included 'minimal breakage'. Some people's hair breaks off like crazy even when perfectly healthy. Afro textured hair is famous for this, but actually I think it is very fine hair in general, 'Scandinavian blond' hair also does this, some hair may be perfectly healthy and still need to contained, 'protected' 100% of the time.

I would say, healthy hair feels good--my hair for instance is coarse and never feels 'soft' but when its healthy it feels good to touch, not harsh and scratchy. I think you can tell it by the feel much more than by the look--it is possible to disguise the health of hair so far as appearance goes to an astonishing extent, especially with certain hairtypes. My hair, for instance, was terribly damaged at one point--but never looked it. It felt it, though.

Other than that, it goes according to hairtype. As said before, curly hair ought to curl, straight hair ought to be smooth, etc.

When I say, curly hair ought to curl, though, there are many many curlies who don't have a defined curl pattern, which is a different thing than curling. At the moment, a strong defined curl pattern is considered desirable, but many only achieve this through the use of a lot of product, and in some case, layering many different products. When they did not do this, it was not that their hair was unhealthy, its just that it's not naturally very defined.

I also think, that the longer hair gets, the less likely it is going to be that it is perfectly healthy all the way down. Hair that is in some cases decades old, and certainly many years old, is not going to be perfectly healthy and on most people will tend to tangle and catch to at least some extent, will need oil on it probably even if the rest of the hair doesn't, and sometimes have changed color and so forth. But in that case, I would not say the person had unhealthy hair. I would actually say, they had very very healthy to be able to get to the extreme lengths some of the these people are at, fingertip, knee and so forth. (although of course on this board we have the exceptional people who are at those lengths without weathered hair, too).

I am going to leave the split end discussion to others. At this length at least, I don't get them yet. (I get the dreaded SSKs instead, and that's not because my hair isn't healthy, because I get them even in the part that isn't damaged, they start as soon as my hair gets to shoulder length no matter what I did. I can control them and make them less, but they don't go away.) Anyway, I not only don't get them, but don't recognize them well. I often hear people say 'My hair is full of split ends" (and if they are not on LHC, they add, I have to cut) and their hair looks perfectly fine to me, in fact, beautiful.


ETA: I have curly hair, and it has a lot of 'shine', , BTW. It is both shiny and silky feeling when it is moisturized properly--it never feels 'soft' but it does definitely feel silk. And other people often remark on the shine. So again, as so often with hair, as soon as you say something like 'afrocurly hair doesn't have shine' (something I often see written in various natural hair venues), you are going to run into someone who is an exception.

[mermaiden_hair]

Healthy hair:
- Little to no split ends
- Excellent moisture/protein balance
- Healthy scalp (No disorders such as chronic dandruff)
- Relatively clean
- No breakage
- Hair is properly taken cared of according to its unique texture, elasticity, thickness, porosity levels, etc.

I think even the healthiest hair out there can still be tangly or even frizzy. As a curly girl myself, I know that it'll be dang near impossible to have virtually frizz-free hair all the time, even if I do take great care of my hair.

[Swan Maiden]

I think healthy hair would be easier to show rather than tell, since it varies wildy from person to person. Our brains can recognize the health status of hair, because hair is an indicator of health. People can artificially suppress the health of hair and give a false indicator with bleach, heat, etc too.

[lapushka]

It's simple for me. Hair that is virgin, in whatever state you can get it (according to your diet and medical issues).

[MeAndTheMaz]

So, what is a proper moisture/protein balance, and how do you know if you have it? Does high protein=low moisture? High moisture=low protein?

From hanging out here for a couple of years, I get the impression that an imbalance either way gives the same result? Is that the case, or am I just off my rocker?

[lapushka]

So, what is a proper moisture/protein balance, and how do you know if you have it? Does high protein=low moisture? High moisture=low protein?

From hanging out here for a couple of years, I get the impression that an imbalance either way gives the same result? Is that the case, or am I just off my rocker?

I'm always high moisture and low protein. I can't use protein much, my hair goes bonkers if I do, but I can't prevent there being some form of protein in my shampoos and conditioners, not much, it's not like a "real" protein treatment.

I think hair is normally balanced out if you use regular products, I think products themselves are balanced out pretty well, pretty much.

[samanthaa]

I am not sure I would have included 'minimal breakage'. Some people's hair breaks off like crazy even when perfectly healthy. Afro textured hair is famous for this, but actually I think it is very fine hair in general, 'Scandinavian blond' hair also does this, some hair may be perfectly healthy and still need to contained, 'protected' 100% of the time.

I have to thank you for saying this. People keep saying "healthy" = "split-free," which is making me feel bad about my hair. No matter how delicately I treat it, and no matter what I give it (from oils to conditioners to henna/cassia to proteins), I have and will probably always have hundreds of splits. I fall into the "very fine hair" category. I envy people who say they can search their whole head and find maybe only one or two splits. My roommate, for example, used to (she recently cut it to about APL) have WL+ 1c/2a, medium thickness hair that she put zero effort into maintaining, bleached multiple times, and I have yet to notice a single split end on her hair.

[chen bao jun]

Lapushka, it sounds as if your hair naturally keeps enough protein and therefore you only have to keep moisturized enough to be balanced. I also tend to need a lot more moisture than protein (the damaged ends of my hair are the only place I need to protein, and only about once a month) but others do differ.

Samanthaa, it sounds as if you have that hairtype that looks very beautiful, even as it drives the owner crazy with its delicacy. You sound as if you have what I call 'ethereal hair', like the angels in paintings and you know, while you are envying your roommate, she may be envying you.

[luxurioushair]

Soft, undamaged curl or wave pattern, minimal split ends, looking moisturized, great elasticity
You know it when you see it

[Loveisaverb]

Healthy hair can be a bit hard to describe as for one person might consider healthy can be different from another persons.
I think the best way to answer the question if the answer is to describe what your healthy hair looks like.
For me personally, it would be no minimal damage through split ends, fairy knots, tangles, etc. The right amount of softness and shine.
The perfect balance of protein, moisture, and porosity. A healthy scalp and happy ends.

[chen bao jun]

Interesting to me that people keep saying that you know it when you see it.

I actually didn't. I learned on LHC. Like many, I was used to considering shampoo commercial model hair as being healthy looking.

thus, I had no idea that mine was a mess. And people did always compliment it. Even at its very very worse. It's thick, it has a lot of sheen, I never have split ends, it hovers around bra strap length even when being blowfried and flat ironed--Obviously healthy, even hairdressers used to tell me so.

Meanwhile, it felt like brillo and the fried ends had to be removed regularly every 3 or 4 months.

but people would just say, it's your hair type, some people just have hair that feels like that, not everybody's hair is soft. Your hair feels like that because its so strong. and then they would start going on, how thick, how long, how much movement, etc. etc. and hairdressers wouldn't worry about how it felt, just slap more silicone on...

People would say, how could it possibly be breaking off, you have so much of it..

No, people do not necessarily know.

ETA: i just saw my cousin this weekend and I think that's why it was reminded. WE are the exact same hair type. Her hair was completely fried, it was just like mine was three years ago. and she was completely happy with it, it looked very stylish, its definitely bra stra, no split ends

And when I put my hand in it--ouf. Brillo. and the ends broken off like anything, except you can't tell once she curling irons them and in a month or so, she will cut them off and start frying again.

[school of fish]

Interesting question, interesting answers :)

For me, healthy hair is hair that's getting what it wants, what it needs.

2 years ago I was not giving my hair what it needed (moisture & trims) and it became parched and damaged. I didn't realize I wasn't listening to what my hair was telling me, and the damage crept up incrementally - breakage eroded my length, splits developed where ends had broken off, and insufficient moisture robbed it of elasticity so it moved as a unit like a straw broom. Back then it was unhealthy.

In the 2 years since then I've gotten to know my own hair, and learned what it wants and needs. It needs regular trimming, it wants to be kept all one length so ends protect each other from mechanical damage, it needs moisture in the form of conditioning. Once I started giving it those things on a consistent basis it stopped breaking off, regained its flexible and fluid way of moving, and steady growth became the norm again as it was no longer getting outrun by breakage. Now it's healthy.

That's not to say I don't still have damage left over - I do, 10 inches worth. Those 10 inches are weaker and more delicate than the stronger length above it which never endured the 'drought' of 2 years ago. But even so, I still feel it's healthy, because I'm now gaining ground where before I was losing it, and the damaged and undamaged sections look and feel quite similarly to each other.

It's healthy because I'm now giving it what it was telling me it needed :)

[M.McDonough]

I'm no expert. But in my opinion, hair that is not bleached, dyed, or chemically treated is healthy hair. Of course there are other things like healthy diet that also lead to having healthy hair.

[mermaid lullaby]

I judge my hair by the way it feels, and maybe a little by how it looks.

- Easy to glide my comb through, the strands don't cling together and hardly any tangles
- It grows fast and my braid is equally thick all the way to the ends.
- when I apply conditioner or a leavin, it keeps that amazing soft to touch all day.
-it's shines or has a nice sheen

[meteor]

Hmm, interesting question. I'm not sure, to be honest, since I feel like "health" is not a very specific characterization for something that's essentially dead matter.
I think, I associate "healthy hair" primarily with virgin hair in very good condition.
"Virgin" meaning no (or very minimal) mechanical, chemical, thermal, or photo- damage, and "good condition" meaning adequate moisture levels, strength, elasticity, manageability... something like that, though I don't have a specific idea in mind, since hair is organic fiber and can feel and behave pretty differently.

[Beatrixity]

What an interesting question! My hair looks and feels healthier when I use silicones because they patch up my hair and hide splits, but cone free hair for me means I can see what my hair actually looks like and act accordingly. Right now, healthy hair means having bad hair days, but knowing that my hair is well taken care of.

[Frankenstein]

Hmm, interesting question. I'm not sure, to be honest, since I feel like "health" is not a very specific characterization for something that's essentially dead matter.
I think, I associate "healthy hair" primarily with virgin hair in very good condition.
"Virgin" meaning no (or very minimal) mechanical, chemical, thermal, or photo- damage, and "good condition" meaning adequate moisture levels, strength, elasticity, manageability... something like that, though I don't have a specific idea in mind, since hair is organic fiber and can feel and behave pretty differently.

I've never heard of photo-damage before, what is this?

[TR]

I've never heard of photo-damage before, what is this?

Literally light-damage, generally meaning sun-damaged. Being out in the sun can cause the hair to change color, but can also weaken and dry it too.

[meteor]

^ Yes, TR explained it really well! :D


Damage to hair due to UV light occurs due to free radicals or cysteic acid, which forms after UV radiation and breaks disulfide bonds. (Pande CM, Jachowicz J. Hair photodamage-measurement and prevention. J Soc Cosmet Chem. 1993;44:109–122)

Continuous UV-light exposure results in dryness, roughness, sun-bleaching and breakage due to photo-oxidation. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11382847)

UVB radiation is responsible for hair protein loss and UVA radiation is responsible for color changes. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138021)

Morphological damage is significant in UVB-irradiated hairs, while biochemical changes are greater in UVA-irradiated hairs. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18408872)

According to some studies, different hair types can show different degrees of susceptibility to photo-damage: for example, "it has been found that gray hair undergoes more severe UV damage and needs more UV protection than dark brown hair" (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11382847) and "after UV irradiation, European and African hair samples exhibited more damage because they have less integral hair lipids. However, Asian hair samples have less damage." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3582929/)

I think the best protection from photo-damage is keeping hair compact under a sun hat or scarf or buff made of UPF-rated materials, but it's really hard to avoid completely, of course.

(Frankenstein, if you are curious about more details on photo-damage of hair, here are some interesting studies:
Photodegradation of human hair: a SEM study - http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2000/cc051n02/p00103-p00125.pdf
About photo-damage of human hair - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16465301
UV damage of the hair - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19138021
Hair color changes and protein damage caused by ultraviolet radiation - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15157906
Photoaggravation of Hair Aging - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938585/
Photo yellowing of human hair - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17627835
Comparison of hair shaft damage after UVA and UVB irradiation - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18408872
The ethnic differences of the damage of hair and integral hair lipid after ultra violet radiation - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3582929/
Ultraviolet damage on natural gray hair and its photoprotection - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11382847)

[Frankenstein]

Thanks for that, meteor. My tired brain at the time had me wondering if it was damage from photographing hair :lol:

[Arctic]

Thanks for that, meteor. My tired brain at the time had me wondering if it was damage from photographing hair :lol:

Oh my, now that would be heartbreaking to all LHCers! :laugh:

[meteor]

Thanks for that, meteor. My tired brain at the time had me wondering if it was damage from photographing hair :lol:


Oh my, now that would be heartbreaking to all LHCers! :laugh:

:spitting: Ha-ha, that's hilarious! You guys are cracking me up! :lol: