Sci Fi Breakthroughs For Bad Hair Days

New medical research uncovers what causes bad hair days – plus a new finding that just might change forever the way you care for your hair!

Having a bad hair day? If you’re like most gals you pretty much blame it on the weather, your shampoo, even your hormones.

But if a group of German scientists are right, you need to include your hair itself on that list of the usual suspects.

Indeed, a new scientific study suggests that it’s really the way strands of hair rub up against one another and the pattern of friction that results, that helps define just how your hair is going to respond to humidity, heat, even sun and wind.

“ For the first time, we present an experimental set-up that allows measuring the subtle forces, both physical and chemical, that arise when single hairs slide past each other or are pressed against each other," study co-author Eva Max said, a researcher from Germany's University of Bayreuth who presented her findings at a recent national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The findings came as a result of studying hair under a high-powered atomic force microscope that allowed researchers to precisely measure what happens when strands of hair touch each other under all kinds of different conditions.

One of the things they found is that the more fibers slide past one another, the greater the friction between hairs, which in turn causes each hair fiber to develop a kind of “roughness” often associated with unruly or hard to manage hair.

Moreover, they found that environmental factors such as heat and humidity can influence this pattern of hair fiber interaction, ultimately setting the stage for a bad hair day.

Why Hair Conditioners Don’t Work

Although scientists have long known that friction plays a role in hair damage, they also believed that bathing the hair in emollients – like the kind found in most conditioners – would reverse the signs of damage, smoothing away roughness and allowing hair fibers to lie flat. This in turn would keep hair not only looking smoother but also make it easier to manage.

But what Max and her group suggest is that most of these products don’t work because they don’t take into consideration the impact of the different ways hair fibers interact under various conditions.

Experts predict the new research may open the door for a whole new type of hair care product - one that adjusts to the impact of environmental factors on hair, and changes the way hair fibers interact.

“The findings will help provide clearer strategies for optimizing hair care products,” says Max.

The Newest Bad Hair Day Solutions

If you cant’ wait for all this new research to come to fruition, there is at least one new hair care technology available right now – and it’s causing quite a stir. But don’t think styling products, think styling tools - hairdryers, combs and brushes that take control of a bad hair days by controlling the ionic charge of your hair.

Huh?

Yeah, it’s a bit headier than just a spritz of spray and glob of gloss, but research shows that another reason hair misbehaves has to do with electricity. More specifically, static electricity – you know the kind that causes your locks to fly away from your head each time you brush?

Well one of the things that causes static electricity is positive ions – tiny electrically charged particles in the atmosphere that attach to hair and cause it to act just a little bit wild.

To the rescue: Styling tools that give off negative ions. They attach to the positive ones and voila! They cancel out the effects, so hair is under better control .

Moreover the negative ions also help seal the hair cuticle (or outer layer) which in turn makes each strand smoother – and that helps it reflect more light. The result: Hair looks shiny, moves effortlessly and is easier to style.

Among the two most popular “negative ion generators” right now are ceramic and the natural mineral stone tourmaline. Both are now used as a foundation for brushes and combs, as well, as curling irons and hair straightening tools.

But ceramic as well as tourmaline have another quality that makes them a perfect addition to the new generation of hair dryers – when electricity passes through them, they generate what’s known as far-infrared heat.

Unlike ordinary hot hair coming from a regular blow dryer, far-infrared heat actually penetrates the hair follicle, drying it from the inside out. This reportedly offers a faster, more gentle and some say more efficient drying process that ultimately reduces damage to the hair cuticle, once again leaving it smoother and easier to manage.

Together with the negative ions generated by tourmaline and ceramic you end up with hair that is less damaged in the long run and in the short run looks smoother, is less frizzy and easier to style. What's not to love?

Tourmaline combs, brushes and hair dryers start at around $10 and can go as high as $100.00, so it pays to shop around.

To learn more about hair care products featuring tourmaline and ceramic technology visit www.RedDressDiary.com

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