THE BOTTOM LINE
When buying a straightening iron, you’ll need to pay a bit more for high-quality construction, but you don’t need to pay extra for bogus scientific claims. There is no proof that tourmaline irons are better.
HOW TO KILL LICE AND NOT YOUR HAIR
Susan scratches her head: I’m having a lice problem. I just want to know what’s the most effective way to kill lice and nits and not dry or damage my hair in the process.
Head lice are tiny crawling insects about the size of a sesame seed or smaller. They have six clawed legs that they use to crawl over your hair; they cannot hop, jump or fly. Lice lay eggs, also known as nits, which they glue to individual hair shafts. Lice live only on humans, not pets, and (here’s the best part) they feed on human blood!
9 TIPS TO STOP SMELLY HAIR
It seems that a lot of people are complaining about smelly hair, and the blogosphere is buzzing with tips on how to neutralize hair odors. Here are nine ways to get rid of the odor and keep your hair smelling great.
1. Wash and condition your hair: This may seem obvious, but it’s the most thorough way to get your hair clean and odor-free.
2. Hair wipes: Hair wipes are like baby wipes made especially for your locks. Ted Gibson has an excellent product that should help remove any odor from your hair.
3. Hair fragrance: One way to get rid of an odor is to cover it up with some other odor. Hair fragrances are great for this purpose.
4. Use your perfume: If you can’t find a “real” hair fragrance, just improvise with your favorite perfume or cologne. Just be sure not to use too much!
5. Powder shampoo: Instead of getting your hair wet, you can use a dry powder shampoo to add a little fragrance and remove the odor. Just sprinkle it in and brush the odors out.
6. Leave-in conditioner or combing cream: A touch of leave-in conditioner or another styling product can mask icky odors.
7. Do a speedy, secret sink wash: Wet your hands, take a tiny dab of liquid soap and run your fingers through your hair. Caution: This doesn’t work on all hairstyles.
8. Dryer sheets: You’ll cover up the odor and you’ll get rid of embarrassing static cling.
9. Use an antimicrobial shampoo: This can help if your smelly scalp is caused by scalp fungus or bacteria.
NIT PICKING
The good news is that there several over-the-counter drug products that are effective against lice and nits. The bad news is that these products contain isopropyl alcohol, which can dry your hair. There are “natural” lice cures, but there is little or no data to prove that these are effective. The safest and surest way to get rid of lice and not damage your hair is to use a lice comb to pick the nits out one by one, but this is a very tedious and time-consuming process.
Recently, there was a study done by researchers at the University of Utah in which they created a steam-cleaning device (a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer) to kill lice. It’s not even available to the public yet, but it could prove to be an interesting new treatment.
BEST LICE TREATMENT
Which treatment method is best? Rather than spelling out all the pros and cons of each method here, go to HeadLice.org for a thorough question-and-answer page. And if you do decide to use the lice-killing shampoo, make sure you follow that with a good conditioner to counteract the drying effects of the alcohol.
3 HAIR MYTHS
While your mom, friends and stylist are well-meaning when they give you advice about hair products, they may not be giving you accurate, science-based information. We do that here as we explore some common myths about hair products and let you know whether they are true or not. Should you really avoid silicone? Do certain products leave plastic on your hair? Read on to find out.
ARE YOU SPENDING TOO MUCH ON CONDITIONER?
Christine queries: Will a more expensive conditioner make my hair stronger? I’m a science teacher, so don’t spare me the technical details!
Expensive does not always mean better when it comes to hair and skin care products, but to explain further, we’ll have to fill you in on how conditioners work.
HOW DO CONDITIONERS STRENGTHEN HAIR?
The outer layer of the hair consists of overlapping scales, called cuticles. These cuticles are like the shingles on the roof of your house—they protect what’s beneath it. As your hair is damaged from washing and drying and combing and brushing and perming and coloring, the cuticle starts to wear away. When this happens, your hair is broken more easily.
Conditioners strengthen hair in two ways. The most important thing they do is smooth the cuticle and help keep it in place. The “strengthening” effect can be shown by measuring combing force. The other effect is internal. Some ingredients, like panthenol, penetrate into the cortex, the middle part of the hair. By interacting with the proteins in the cortex, these conditioners can improve the tensile strength of hair. This type of strength is measured with an instrument that pulls on individual hair fibers (after they’ve been removed from your head, of course!) and measures how much force it takes for the hair to break.
ARE EXPENSIVE CONDITIONERS BETTER?
So do expensive conditioners strengthen hair better than cheap ones? Not necessarily. The very, very cheap conditioners typically rely on one or two conditioning agents to do the job. And they usually can’t afford to use silicones, which are among the most effective smoothing agents. So, chances are, if you’re only spending a buck or two on your conditioner, you’re not getting the best product.
But once you get up in price to the $4 or $5 conditioners, the differences in strengthening are less significant. For example, Pantene and TRESemmé are among the best conditioners we’ve ever tested and they’re certainly not that expensive. Most mid-or high-priced conditioners will do a pretty good job of lubricating your hair to prevent breakage.
CAN A CONDITIONER BE TOO EXPENSIVE?
What about the conditioners that are $30 per bottle? They use the same basic types of ingredients as products that cost $10 or less. They may cost three times more, but they certainly don’t strengthen your hair three times more! But, as we always say, you should buy what you like and what you can afford. If you really like the way Frederic Fekkai’s Overnight Hair Repair makes your hair feel, and you can afford the $195 per bottle, then go for it. (Yes, that’s right—it’s nearly $200!) But don’t buy it just because you think that it will make your hair stronger than a less expensive brand. It won’t.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Picking the right conditioner is a personal thing. There are literally thousands of combinations of ingredients out there and it’s tough to know which one is best for you. So talk to your friends who have similar hair types. Or just experiment until you find something that feels good. But don’t be tricked into spending more money than you want to.
ARE SILICONES BAD FOR YOUR HAIR?
Bonnie is confused: There seems to be