HERE'S SPILLING THE BEANS - Everything you need to know about HAIR AND IT'S CARE.

It isn't for no reason, a person's hair is called the "CROWNING GLORY"

And no matter how bad a day it is, a good hair day makes it all worth it.

As it is rightly said, "INVEST IN YOUR HAIR, IT IS THE CROWN YOU NEVER GOING TO TAKE OFF".

So first things first, let's put some facts straight, to understand how our hair and, it's growth operates.

* A normal human has an average of 1-1.5 lac hair strands.

* It is natural to shed 50-150 hair strands everyday.

* On a human body, hair is the second fastest growing tissue, after bone-marrow.

* Our hair is made up of Keratin (a protective protein found in internal organs and glands).

* A healthy strand of hair stretches to 30% extra when wet.

* The moment a hair gets shed and removed from the follicle, immediately the new hair starts growing from there.

* A person's single hair strand lifespan is 5 yrs.

* The muscle of our hair contracts when our body suddenly gets exposed to cold, or we are experiencing any kind of fear.

* On an everyday basis, 90% of our hair is growing, while 10% is resting.

After knowing these basic facts we can move further to clear some myths associated with hair, and these are as follows :

* Before bed, combing hair 100 times will stop hairfall, this is absolutely a complete no no. Instead it will further create friction, leading hairfall. 

* A cold water rinse will bring more shine to hair.

* Plucking one grey hair will lead to more grey hair.

* Use of colour will make hair turn grey.

* Oiling hydrates hair strands and bring more shine.

* Oily hair doesn't need conditioning.

* Greying of hair can be reversed and turn into black. ( Hair gets it's colour from pigments, if there is loss of pigment, hair will tend to become grey).

* Only one shampoo will always be suitable and will work lifelong.

Now after knowing about facts and myths, it's time to understand the structure of hair, THE POROSITY of hair, which defines the quality of your hair.

There are three kind of major hair problems : 

• Thinning hair.

• Damaged hair.

• Curly hair.

All these issues can be identified and treated accordingly, by checking this significant aspect of hair structure.

And a simple way of doing this at home is to take a fallen hair strand from comb and dip it in a glass filled with water. If the hair strand sinks slowly, this means it has a normal porosity level. If it sinks at the bottom, straight away, it is a high porosity hair and if it floats on top, it is a low porosity hair.

To have a healthy mane, one should maintain the normal level of porosity, by using the right kind of shampoo, conditioner and serum.

If the porosity is either low or high, hair will tend to get all sorts of issues like frizziness, brittleness, dryness, roughness, thinning, lack of luster, and so on and so forth.

* Shampoo helps in breaking the surface tension of water, allowing the hair to get soaked, by forming a foam.

* The purpose of shampooing hair is to cleanse the scalp from dirt, oil, grease/grime, providing good scalp health. On our skin natural oil and sweat is produced by Sebaceous gland. If it is producing more oil, one tend to wash hair more, choosing the appropriate shampoo, to counter excessive oiliness.

* A good shampoo has a 4-6 ph. level.

* Shampoos having silicones will definitely give a shiny and smooth texture to hair, but in the long run it will damage the quality of hair, as it is a chemical laden additive.

* It is always good to use sulphate free shampoo, as the regular use of sulphate shampoos will suck the natural oil from scalp, leaving it dry and itchy, maximizing hair fall.

* Conditioner smoothes the upper cuticle of the length of the hair.

* It provides protection to hair from physical and environmental damages.

* Conditioner only works on length of the hair.

Now comes the usage of hair-styling tools and chemical treatments.

As we all know that applying all these will definitely cause harm to hair and it's quality. At the same time we all try to look our best and do whatever we can, to get that shiny, healthy, bouncy hair, because our hair makes or breaks our personality. 

Therefore, with the right kind of professional help, one can try out these appliances and applications, with proper diagnosis of hair condition, and also with the correct knowledge of the products too. 

It's sensible to avoid overdoing such activities on hair, and best is not to indulge, if it can be avoided, for good only.

One thing that everyone should keep in mind and start doing also, is to be very gentle with your hair.

Always use a soft material cloth, a towel, to absorb extra water after wash, and don't rub vigorously.

Neither dry, nor wet hair combing is advisable. Gentle combing in semi dry hair is good to avoid extra hair fall.

These were the basic things that one should be aware of, before starting any new haircare regime, planning to undergo any hair treatment (perming, keratin, smoothening, rebounding, straightening etc.), or buying new hair products.

Apart from this, there are some major factors, that play an important role in a person's hair condition, like age, diet, health, climate, pollution etc.

My knowledge says that when it comes to hair health, it's always inside out, and not the other way round.

One must, and should try to take utmost care of hair, along with proper diet and our hormones working in tandem with our body functioning. To keep them in balance, a body workout and emotional quotient plays an important role. 

So, everything is inter-connected, and stress of any kind is the culprit for many skin and hair related concerns.

So my lovelies, do give time to yourself, indulge in self-introspection and pamper your mane, to carry and hold your crown forever.

This is a vast topic, and I shall be continuing this in my next blog, till then stay safe, stay happy.