alone). See below for our specific recommendations for hair washing.
Now, here’s some information that’s going to make your hair stand up. Artificial coloring on your head—whether you’re bleaching it or coloring it—is the equivalent of artificial coloring in food: It may make it look as pretty as can be, but it’s not always the healthiest thing you can do to your head. There is some suspicion that permanent black hair dye can cause leukemia and lymphomas and some chemicals that are no longer used caused bladder cancer. So the purple Mohawk you’re considering? It’s probably fine for your health (temporary hair dyes are safer than permanent dyes), though probably not for your next job interview. Bleaching, on the other hand, will really run up your hair bill as you try to salvage permanent damage.
FACTOID
Big hair is a competitive enterprise from the highlands of New Guinea to the shopping malls of the United States. In the highlands of New Guinea, tribesmen think that the ghosts of ancestors lodge in the hair and that baldness is a sign that the ancestors have abandoned a man. When they court women, tribesmen build large wigs made of hair mixed with clay and then sewn onto a frame of cane, hardened with dipped wax, painted, and adorned with vines, beetles, side ringlets, and fur.
Here’s why: The pigment of your hair comes from the inner two layers. When you bleach your hair, you damage the shingles that create the covering of the hair shaft. The dye, which slips through the gaps in the outer layers, swells to give your hair a different color. But the prior or current damage the bleach caused allows the dye to slowly slip out of the hair, so you end up losing the full body of the hair faster than if you just left it alone.
FACTOID
As tempting as it is to pull nose hairs out as if you’re pulling weeds from your garden, don’t yank. Besides being painful, pulling can lead to infections from traumatized hair follicles in the nose. The area from the bridge of the nose to the corner of the mouth is called the “triangle of death” because infections here drain into the brain and can cause a clot in the cavernous sinus (that’s a bad thing). We recommend using a specialized nose-hair clipper that works like a weed whacker inside your nostril. Or watching the puffs of smoke coming from your nostrils during laser hair removal.
YOU Tips!
Most people tend to think that the only things you can do to protect your hair are to give it a good wash and watch out for clipper-toting frat boys. The reality is that there are many things you can do to make sure you make the most of what hair you have and save the hair you want to keep.
PRACTICE GOOD HAIR HYGIENE. Most of what we do to hair is hairicidal: We blast it with hot air, bleach it, and then dye it. High hair-dryer heat (and that from curling irons) causes the water under the cuticles (the outermost layer of the hair) to form bubbles that stress and break the hair. The tiles that cover the hair dislodge, and your hair handles water like an unroofed house. You’ll get those dreaded split ends and your collie’s hair will outshine yours. It’s best to blot hair dry with a towel and then use low heat if you use a dryer. Your hair is actually most vulnerable when it’s wet, and you should treat your hair almost as you would a silk blouse—don’t iron it or heat it up to extremes. Also, it’s smart to use a brush with smooth or rounded teeth or bristles, which will massage the hair and scalp without damaging them. And you know that we’re going to quote Billy Joel when it comes to bleaching, dying, and adding hot-pink highlights: We like you just the way you are. Still, we also know that changing hair color can be an appearance advantage if it makes you feel better and healthier. Here’s an example of what we call biological budgeting—traditionally, you may have needed the cleanliness of your hair (for mating purposes), but you also run the risk of taking it to the extreme by overcleaning or overcoloring, which can damage your hair in the process.
EXAMINE YOUR SHAMPOO. Not that we’ve got webcams in your bathroom, but we pretty much know your in-the-shower routine: Rinse yourself, shampoo your hair, rinse your hair, add conditioner, wash body, shave legs (or face), rinse, dry off. Sounds great, but it’s not ideal for you in at least one way. There isn’t one “right” answer to the question of how often to wash your hair. Your physical activities, your use of styling products, and your hair type will usually determine how often you wash your hair. If washing every day makes your hair too dry, try every other day or every third day. Or you may have very oily hair that needs washing more than once a day. If you condition when you shampoo, it could be that you need to shampoo daily but need to adjust the level of conditioning. However, if you have dandruff, it is advisable to wash your hair daily. More frequent washing has been shown to reduce the food source (sebaceous lipids) for the organism—Malassezia—that causes dandruff. Less frequent removal of these lipids by shampooing leads to overgrowth of Malassezia and increased dandruff. Conditioners, on the other hand, do seal in moisture, so they can be helpful. Apply conditioner daily and don’t bother washing it out if you don’t want to. Ideally, use an all-natural pH-balanced shampoo that’s gentle; remember, just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s always the best (cyanide is natural). We love shampoos from these makers: Aubrey Organics, Quinessence, So Organic, Avalon Organics, and Organic Excellence.
STAY PURE. Drinking water isn’t the only water that should be free of toxins. You should also shower and especially bathe with toxin-free H2O. Instead of squirting yourself with Evian, remove chlorine by adding a charcoal filter to your shower or bath. Chlorine—which isn’t just in swimming pools but also in tap water—dries out the hair (as well as the skin). It’s especially important if you take ten-minute showers or baths rather than a quick rinse. The problem isn’t the straight chlorine but what it turns into—stronger toxins called trichloromethanes.
CHECK YOUR DIET. We’re not recommending you scrub your scalp with salmon (though the thought has crossed our minds), but the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, distilled fish oils, or DHA supplements from algae are the primary nutritional component that makes hair shinier. Other recommended foods: walnuts, flaxseed, avocados, sardines, eggs, milk (skim), and green tea. There’s also a connection between balding and eating animal fat—particularly red meat—because high-fat diets lead to more DHT production and more damage to hair follicles. Instead, make caffeine your vice, which has been shown over time and through a series of reactions to decrease DHT levels. Get yours via green tea, which also has been shown to help slow baldness by slowing down DHT production. There’s not much in the way of hard science that shows a direct link between these foods and pedestrian-stopping hair, but anyone who has pets knows that the better you feed your pets, the better their coats look: They feel softer, and their sheen is brighter.
CHECK HORMONE LEVELS. If you experience sudden hair loss or lose hair in clumps, it may be a sign of a hormone imbalance or condition. It’s worth seeing a doctor to get a blood test that will measure your thyroid-stimulating and thyroid hormone levels. You’ll have better results trying to treat the cause if it is thyroid disease (and practically any other disease), rather than the symptom.
SLOW BALDING. If you want to treat male-pattern baldness, you can try the medications minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia). Minoxidil works by increasing the anagen growth phase and enlarging the hair follicle, while finasteride inhibits the conversion of testosterone to DHT (by blocking that enzyme we mentioned earlier), which causes hair loss. Research shows that two-thirds of men who use finasteride slow down hair loss. And the earlier this drug is used after noticing hair loss, the more effective it will be. But this drug has that pesky little side effect of occasionally (rarely, actually) leading to decreased sexual desire and difficulty in achieving an erection. Interestingly, minoxidil was originally used to treat blood pressure, but researchers noted that it had a strange side effect: It grew hair on the backs of hands, cheeks, and fingers, and that’s how it was developed as a hair-loss treatment. When it comes to other products or procedures that claim to grow hair—everything from the HairMax
