So what day it was, I was watching the Tube with my mom and all of a sudden, ‘le commercial cosmétique’ comes up and while the models are showing off how shiny and bouncy their hair is, although I was completely zoned out, I managed to hair (get it, hear…hair?) something about Collagen and Vitamin E. So I asked myself a question, what makes hair shiny? As a matter of fact, we live in a world where both men and women have many different hair types.
Well? I’m a guy, my hair looks nothing like this and I know nothing of hair at all, so I got nothing! But from the last blog, I mentioned that both Keratin and Collagen may be found in hair. Hmmm, that can’t be it, that’s just 2 compounds which can give so many hair types. Without taking genetics and its genotype-phenotype relationship into consideration (since environment changes the later anyway), I managed to find that the following can contribute to hair textures and types.
- Collagen
- Keratin
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B (complex)
- Vitamin E
- Folic acid
As we know not, collagen and keratin are structural compounds found in many parts of the body. Coupled with is ability of high tensile strength, it would be common sense to make the assumption that the more you have, the stronger your hair is.
Ashraf Khamis, a stylist at Butterfly in Maadi explains that hair is exposed to harsh conditions, chemicals, heat and styling on a regular basis, this damages the outer layer of the hair known as the Follicle. As many women will know, damaged hair equals split ends which are a BIG “no-no!” Breakage in hair follicle can result in abnormal growth rate. Sadly research done on other factors of hair which collagen contributes to are sketchy at best. It is said that treating hair with collagen is an exterior application. Temporary effects which reduces frizz, gives softness, and a smoother touch. Unlike its counterpart Keratin, collagen does not have that straightening ability (expected due to its helical structure).
What makes hair curly?
Personally, in that picture above i see absolutely no difference between curly and kinky hair, if there is a significant difference please let me know.
“Naturally curly” says that curly hair occurs due to the amount of disulphide bonds between hair proteins. Sulphur containing proteins specifically being Methionine and Cysteine. So on a nut shell, the more sulphide linkages the curly the hair! Well that was quickly answered, why do i feel like I’m missing something?
What makes hair straight?
Well this is simply the opposite Since more disulphide linkages make hair curlier, less disulphide linkages means………. that’s right straighter hair 😛
But here’s some thing extra. Ever noticed that after u take a shower your hair is a lot curlier compared to how it was during the day? Yes? No? Maybe?
Now we remember that proteins can interlink with each other by use of hydrogen bonds. Keratin, a major component of hair does the same thing.These hydrogen bonds between keratin molecules are weak of-course but can be enhanced by the presence of water. This slightly contradicts with what i said earlier about keratin having a straightening ability, but keep in mind that i did say that the hydrogen bonds are weak, the slightest exposure to heat and environmental characteristics would make these minor hydrogen bonds in keratin disappear!
We can take it a little further with respect to hair products. Why do some of them have the caption “Tame your Curls”? How do these chemicals completely remove curly from one’s hair? These shampoos, relaxers and conditioners simply coat your hair with oils which prevent the absorption of water. How? Ever tried mixing oil and water? It’s almost impossible, you simply get two distinct layers. This is because the water is polar and oil is non polar. Hair products utilities these characteristics of these compounds, coating hair with a non polar substance which negates all possibility of moisture entering (and leaving) hair strands and interfering with these hydrogen bonds. Keep in mind that water has no effect on disulphide bonds in curly hair, and by removing these bonds a more permanent situation arises (i.e it does not naturally go back to its original state)!
What makes hair SHINY?
Firstly one must understand exactly what IS shiny.According to Dictionary.com shiny is the ability to reflect light due to being clean, reflective and polished.
That cant be it? I bathe often, shampoo often, wear grease occasionally, and NEVER has my hair have the slightest glisten of white. The problem with this definition is that it only applies to smooth surfaces. You may ask “isn’t hair smooth?” well……..I hope that answers that question (btw i HATE seeing microscopic images like this, makes me wanna puke! ).
Anyway, assuming that out hair is healthy you can see that it is far from being “smooth”. Again what makes hair shiny……….. well I got nothing on this. Every search i did resulted in “Ladies..how to make your hair shine 🙂 “, so my educated “guess” would be that hair is not naturally shiny, to the extent where it looks like the ones in the first picture.
With the introduction of hair products and a large number of oils present in one’s scalp (whether self secreted or otherwise) fills the microscopic ridges of the individual strands allowing for a temporary smooth texture of a seemingly transparent coating or “cuticle”. This cuticle in turn would have natural light refraction and reflecting characteristics (like cooking oil on your skin) and collectively with it’s host and all other strands it appears shiny o.O
………..or something like that
OH and here’s a remedy, so if there’s any girl brave enough to try this tell me how it goes http://www.wikihow.com/Have-Soft-Shiny-Hair-Inexpensively
References:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/salons-prescribe-collagen-treatment-unhealthy-hair
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/retexturizing/keratin/what-makes-curly-hair-curly
biochemnewb 