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View Full Version : Cuticle, what makes it rise/lay smooth



HotRag
January 16th, 2009, 12:55 PM
I wonder if anyone know "all" factors that make the cuticle rise and lay down.

I know high pH rises cuticle - and low pH makes it smooth.
And warm water makes it rise, cold water makes it smooth.

Can "electrical charge/activity" (hope this is the correct word) be a factor too?
I am thinking of cleansers as anionic surfactants and cationic surfactants
that makes the cuticle rise resp. lay smooth. The ones that is found in common SLS schampoo and common conditioner.
Is their influence on the cuticle due to pH or electrical charge/activity?

And do you know more factors?

jera
January 16th, 2009, 04:28 PM
You know more about the composition of hair than I ever will, but I find that oils, hydration, and amino acid balance helps to smooth the cuticle. :)

Finoriel
January 17th, 2009, 04:39 AM
PH-level and temperature are the main factors, as far as I know.
Mechanical influences like backcombing or normal aging of the hair also damage the cuticle and make it lie less smooth than a brand-new-grown cuticle would.
On dripping wet hair the cuticle is also less smooth than on dry hair. The hair expands a little when "filled" with water, not much and not really worth mentioning :wink: but you asked. Partly thatīs why wet/damp hair fresh from the shower is more vulnerable to damage and harder to comb.

Electricity has no influence on the cuticle, it does not cause the scales(?) of the cuticle to spread and stand up.
:gabigrin: As long as you do not touch high voltage and eventually existing moisture accidentally explodes bacause of sudden vaporization... but then healthy hair is your least problem.
The cleansers you mentioned spread the cuticle because they change the pH-level, not because of ionic activity. Dilution of them is the best key to minimize this effect.

Oils (or cones, glycerin and such) act as a film on the hair. They put a coating over it which evens out eventual rough parts, but they do not make the cuticle itself smooth. The effect is similar though. :wink:

Hope that sheds some light on this. :flower:

HotRag
January 17th, 2009, 06:45 AM
/.../
Electricity has no influence on the cuticle, it does not cause the scales(?) of the cuticle to spread and stand up.
:gabigrin: As long as you do not touch high voltage and eventually existing moisture accidentally explodes bacause of sudden vaporization... but then healthy hair is your least problem.
:face:


The cleansers you mentioned spread the cuticle because they change the pH-level, not because of ionic activity. Dilution of them is the best key to minimize this effect.
/.../
Hope that sheds some light on this. :flower:
Yes, this is what I wondered about. Thank you.

Another thing I have wondered about, is af things that are astringent is this because of the acid-ness. Like amla and catnip for example. All of the herbs I have read about that are astringent, also is more or less acidic.
I know it has some connection (acidic/astringent), but I do not know if the acid-ness is the main or only factor that makes them astringent.

Finoriel
January 17th, 2009, 02:24 PM
Good question.

Astringent means in general that the substance draws together or constricts body tissues. Itīs more a medical / pharmacy term and used for substances or preparations which stop blood flow in small wounds (alum for example) or tighten skin pores and such.
Itīs also a commonly used term when talking about wine, black or green tea. The tannin in them is the astringent substance, it causes a special taste sensation, something between bitter and sour. Henna also contains tannin. A henna-water mixture tastes (donīt ask how I know this :pumpkin:) similar to strong green tea. At least it left a similar expression on my face like the very fist cup of green tea I had in my live when I was about 10. Astringent, oh yes! Anyways :wink:. Tannin literally is a tanning agent, itīs astringent effect on body tissue is caused by a reaction of the skin-protein with the tanning agent. Not only skin, also hair is made of protein.

I assume that astringent substances are reacting in some way with the protein of the hair. Make it feel smooth and also prevent protein loss. Possibly one reason why henna sticks so well to hair and makes it feel thicker/healthier. Itīs not like a chemical dye which getīs into the hair-shaft and replaces pigment, it can just coat the hair. But it has to somehow bond to/react with the outer layer (cuticle) of the hair. Otherwise it would be washed off quickly like most herbal-tea-colour-rinses do.
TMI again :gabigrin: When hair is hennaed it basically follows the same effect which causes bog bodies to last centuries... bog water also contains tanning agents.
That some plant extracts which act astringent are also slightly acidic is just adding some sugar icing to the cake and makes them even more effective as a hair rinse.

At least this is my theory about this. :wink:

jojo
January 17th, 2009, 05:52 PM
A cold water rinse makes the cutilcles lay flat too, this is why it is less tangly when rinsed in cold water! this time of year though, it makes me go BBBBBBBRRRRRRR! out loud, but it works!

jojo
January 17th, 2009, 06:06 PM
Good question.

Astringent means in general that the substance draws together or constricts body tissues. Itīs more a medical / pharmacy term and used for substances or preparations which stop blood flow in small wounds (alum for example) or tighten skin pores and such.
Itīs also a commonly used term when talking about wine, black or green tea. The tannin in them is the astringent substance, it causes a special taste sensation, something between bitter and sour. Henna also contains tannin. A henna-water mixture tastes (donīt ask how I know this :pumpkin:) similar to strong green tea. At least it left a similar expression on my face like the very fist cup of green tea I had in my live when I was about 10. Astringent, oh yes! Anyways :wink:. Tannin literally is a tanning agent, itīs astringent effect on body tissue is caused by a reaction of the skin-protein with the tanning agent. Not only skin, also hair is made of protein.

I assume that astringent substances are reacting in some way with the protein of the hair. Make it feel smooth and also prevent protein loss. Possibly one reason why henna sticks so well to hair and makes it feel thicker/healthier. Itīs not like a chemical dye which getīs into the hair-shaft and replaces pigment, it can just coat the hair. But it has to somehow bond to/react with the outer layer (cuticle) of the hair. Otherwise it would be washed off quickly like most herbal-tea-colour-rinses do.
TMI again :gabigrin: When hair is hennaed it basically follows the same effect which causes bog bodies to last centuries... bog water also contains tanning agents.
That some plant extracts which act astringent are also slightly acidic is just adding some sugar icing to the cake and makes them even more effective as a hair rinse.

At least this is my theory about this. :wink:

very interesting

HotRag
January 18th, 2009, 02:54 AM
Good question.

Astringent means in general that the substance draws together or constricts body tissues. Itīs more a medical / pharmacy term and used for substances or preparations which stop blood flow in small wounds (alum for example) or tighten skin pores and such.
Itīs also a commonly used term when talking about wine, black or green tea. The tannin in them is the astringent substance, it causes a special taste sensation, something between bitter and sour. Henna also contains tannin. A henna-water mixture tastes (donīt ask how I know this :pumpkin:) similar to strong green tea. At least it left a similar expression on my face like the very fist cup of green tea I had in my live when I was about 10. Astringent, oh yes! Anyways :wink:. Tannin literally is a tanning agent, itīs astringent effect on body tissue is caused by a reaction of the skin-protein with the tanning agent. Not only skin, also hair is made of protein.

I assume that astringent substances are reacting in some way with the protein of the hair. Make it feel smooth and also prevent protein loss. Possibly one reason why henna sticks so well to hair and makes it feel thicker/healthier. Itīs not like a chemical dye which getīs into the hair-shaft and replaces pigment, it can just coat the hair. But it has to somehow bond to/react with the outer layer (cuticle) of the hair. Otherwise it would be washed off quickly like most herbal-tea-colour-rinses do.
TMI again :gabigrin: When hair is hennaed it basically follows the same effect which causes bog bodies to last centuries... bog water also contains tanning agents.
That some plant extracts which act astringent are also slightly acidic is just adding some sugar icing to the cake and makes them even more effective as a hair rinse.

At least this is my theory about this. :wink:
Thank you for your thoughts about this.
Maybe I will defy my language weakness, and try to google. Now I have some more to "start"(?)...(utgå)... from.

By the way. I hennaed my hair for many years. For me it feels great when newly hennaed, but when it was time to redo, my ends felt really dry and easy to get splits/damage.
The softness and body, I just experienced the first few washes after a hennaing.

In the beginning I did henna to all of the hair, but when it grew longer, I started to just hennaing the roots.

Now I am letting my henna grow out, and I am curious to see if my ends will feel different when they are virgin.
I do not yet know if the henna did make my ends good or bad (because I did not inspect my ends before I first started hennaing).

Heidi_234
January 18th, 2009, 04:25 AM
By the way. I hennaed my hair for many years. For me it feels great when newly hennaed, but when it was time to redo, my ends felt really dry and easy to get splits/damage.

Hey me too! I thought I was the only one that got dry ends all over again when it was about time to henna again (I henna every month).

HotRag
January 18th, 2009, 05:19 AM
Hey me too! I thought I was the only one that got dry ends all over again when it was about time to henna again (I henna every month).
Have you had the possibiliy to compare virgin ends to hennaed ones?
I haven't done that, and I have to wait several years to get my ends to be virgin :-/

I started a thread about just this (dryness and henna) some months ago, and there were some that hade experianced the same.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=13829
Hehe, I can see that you have written in that thread ^_^

Lisa Marie
January 18th, 2009, 11:59 AM
This is a very interesting thread. Thanks for the info!