EP 302: Hair Science 101

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Have you ever wondered what your hair is really made of and why it behaves the way it does? This deep dive into the science of hair structure reveals the fascinating biology behind your strands and transforms how you'll care for them forever.

Your hair isn't just a fashion statement—it's a complex structure of protein chains. We explore the two main parts of hair: the living root beneath your skin and the visible shaft that's completely keratinized (yes, technically dead!). Understanding this fundamental truth explains why damaged hair doesn't regenerate and requires proper protection.

The real game-changer comes when examining the three layers of a hair strand. While the innermost medulla plays little role in hair care, the middle cortex holds your hair's strength, elasticity, and color pigments. But it's the outermost cuticle layer that deserves your attention—this protective shield of overlapping scales determines whether you'll have a good or bad hair day. When these scales lie flat, you get shine and smoothness. When damaged, you get frizz, dullness, and dreaded split ends.

Transform your hair care routine with science-backed strategies: limit harsh chemical treatments, use heat protectants before styling, choose gentle sulfate-free products formulated for your hair type, finish with cool water rinses, maintain a nutrition profile rich in hair-friendly vitamins and minerals, and don't skip those regular trims. Your cuticle will thank you!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to All About Hair and so much more.
I'm your host, denise Kylitz,and I'm so excited to have you
here.
If you love hair, beauty andall the ways to feel amazing
inside and out, you're in theright place.
But here's the twist we're notjust talking hair anymore.
We'll dive into everything.
Life After 50 brings Health,hormones, relationships, fitness

(00:29):
and so much more.
This is a space for women whoare embracing change, building
confidence and living withcreativity.
All About Hair and so Much More.

(00:50):
Today's topic we're going totalk about the science behind
hair, its structure, itscomposition and how to keep it
healthy.
So, whether you're ahairstylist, a salon owner or
you just love learning abouthair, this is a must-know
refresher.
Let's talk about what is hairmade of.
Well, hair is primarily made ofkeratin, which is a protein

(01:15):
that's also found in your skinand your nails.
Keratin consists of carbon,oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and
sulfur the same elements thatmake up much of the human body,
and hair strands form longcoiled keratin chains.
So the main two parts of thehair is the hair root, which is

(01:39):
below the skin, inside the hairfollicle, where your living
cells generate and push the hairoutward, and then you have the
hair shaft.
That's the visible part of thehair, or what we see, and it is
completely keratinized, meaningit is no longer living, it's
just protein on the outside ofyour hair.

(02:00):
So here's a key fact that youneed to remember that hair
strands are no longer alive oncethey emerge from the scalp.
That's why they don'tregenerate when they're damaged.
Now let's talk about the threelayers of the hair strand.
This is actually the mostimportant when it comes to
chemical and mechanical damage.

(02:23):
First you have the medulla.
This is the very innermost partof a hair, but you know what?
It's not always present in finehair and it doesn't really play
a role in any salon services.
So pretty much you could forgetabout the medulla.
The cortex is the middle layerof the hair and it's the
thickest part of the hair, andit's the thickest part of the

(02:43):
hair strand and it's responsiblefor all the strength and the
elasticity.
So if you damage the cortex ofthe hair, you're actually going
to damage your hair.
This also contains the pigments, or the melanin, which
determine your hair color.
So think about that as whatyou're born with.
But it's also the part of thehair strand that chemicals, hair

(03:05):
color or bleach need topenetrate to change the color of
your hair and it is covered bythe cuticle and the cortex can
be accessed by lifting thecuticle, but you have to use an
alkaline solution to do so.
Now the cuticle.
I talk about the cuticle allthe time.

(03:27):
This is the very outer layer ofyour hair.
It's scaly, almost like fishscales.
Or if you think of a pine cone,you know how a pine cone is
shut real tight and that'sprotecting the cortex of the
hair.
Or if it's wide open, thenyou're going to get damage to

(03:48):
your hair.
A healthy cuticle gives shine,smoothness and protection, and
that's what this is all about.
Healthy hair is all about ahealthy cuticle.
Anything you can do to protectthe cortex and lay that cuticle
down smooth, you're going to getbetter looking hair, and that
is with everything, withproducts, with how you blow dry,

(04:10):
with how you style, with whatchemical services you get.
So damaged cuticles will causefrizz, dullness and split ends.
Damaged cuticles is what causesbad hair days.
My friends, if you want moreinformation, I do have a video

(04:30):
on this on my YouTube channel.
I will make sure that I put alink to that in the show notes,
okay, and then you can watch andsee it and it'll tell you what
causes the cuticle to be damaged.
On that note, how do you keepyour hair healthy?
Oh, my goodness, first andforemost, you have to care for
the cuticle.

(04:51):
I say this over and over, Itell people this all the time.
And how do you do that?
What are some things that youcan do to take care of that
cuticle on your hair?
First, avoid harsh chemicaltreatments which can be bleach,
which can be high lift color ifyou're not using it correctly.

(05:11):
Mostly it's bleach perms,things like that, that really
blow open that cuticle to getinto the cortex of your hair.
You want to avoid those if youhave fragile hair and you also
want to avoid frequent heatstyling.
That means flat irons, curlingirons oh my gosh.
One of the worst offenders ishot rollers.

(05:33):
Yes, they're coming back.
So if you do use those, limitit to not every day.
Maybe special occasions, maybeget yourself some Velcro rollers
or figure out a different wayof styling your hair to make it
wavy.
This is if your hair is in afragile state.
Okay.

(05:53):
Another thing you want to do ismake sure you're using gentle,
sulfate-free shampoos and deepconditioners.
Make sure you're using propershampoos and conditioners for
your hair type.
Your stylist will be able torecommend the proper conditioner
, proper shampoo for your scalpand for your hair, and that's

(06:14):
really important to payattention to.
If you're just going to thedrugstore and you're just paying
for the cheapest shampoo andconditioner, your hair is going
to be affected by that becausethe pH isn't going to be correct
in it.
It might have stripping agentsin it like sulfate.
It could have waxes in it.
That's building up on your hairall kinds of things.

(06:36):
So just know that you also wantto make sure that you're using
heat protectants before you'restyling your hair.
These have come a long way.
The heat protectant I use,actually I think it protects
your hair up to 420 degrees.
I've actually done tests on it.
You can spray this heatprotectant on a piece of bread
and then a piece of breadwithout it, stick it in the

(06:58):
toaster oven and the one thathas the heat protected the hair
heat protected on it actuallydoesn't get burned.
I know it's a thing All right.
And then another thing that youcan do that you may or may not
have already known is you canfinish your hair washing with a
cold rinse.
It doesn't have to be freezingcold, but a cold rinse will help

(07:19):
smooth the cuticle and locks inthe moisture.
Okay, what can you do to likesay, you're saying, denise, my
hair doesn't grow or I feel likeI'm losing my hair.
What can I do?
You know, I want my hair to getlonger.
Well, first of all, you want tolook at your diet.
Okay, a balanced diet withproteins, vitamin A, c, d and E,

(07:43):
amino acids, biotin andomega-3s.
Okay, you definitely want tohave those.
And again, I do have a video onmy YouTube channel about proper
nutrition for hair growth.
You might want to take a lookat it.
Again, I will link it in theshow notes.
Another thing you can do is tostimulate hair growth is scalp
massages.

(08:03):
Make sure that when you'reshampooing your hair, you're
really getting in there with thepads of your fingers, not your
fingernails the pads of yourfingernail, the pads of your
fingers, and really massage yourscalp.
That's what it takes, and youcould do this even on dry hair
too.
It doesn't have to be just yourshampoo.
You can go in there with yourfingertips and really massage

(08:27):
your hair a couple of times aday and it'll help stimulate
hair growth.
And regular trims will helpprevent split ends from
traveling up the hair shaft.
Regular trims do not make yourhair grow, but they will
actually keep your hair inproper condition for healthy

(08:47):
growth, because if you're notgetting your hair trimmed and
your hair is past your bra strap, I guarantee you that you got
split ends.
Okay, if you see your endsgetting thinned out, or even if
split ends you can see them.
I know there are a few peopleout there that I know of that

(09:07):
actually like to go in and lookat the ends of their hair and
trim them with little babyscissors and they don't get a
haircut.
It's like please just go get atrim and this will help from
your split ends traveling upyour hair shaft and damaging
your whole hair shaft.
So quick recap of the science ofhair and for healthy hair

(09:29):
strands Remember you've got twomain parts of the hair your hair
root, which is below the skin,the hair shaft, which is what
you can see, and it is no longerliving.
It is actually dead.
Here's a fun fact the firsthalf inch of your hair is
actually not keratinized all theway.
So if you're a hairstylist andyou're having problems with your

(09:53):
hair color, getting hot roots,that might be.
What's happening is that youare formulating for that half an
inch growth and you'reformulating for the rest of the
hair, and the half inch growthis not keratinized all the way
and their scalp is hot, so youmight be getting hot roots.

(10:15):
If you have questions aboutthat, please reach out to me.
That might be a little bit morethan what this whole podcast is
about.
It is Sorry, I go off ontangents so I digress.
Okay, three layers of the hairstrand, medulla, which you don't
need to concern yourself with.
It really serves no role.
The cortex the cortex is themiddle layer, the thickest part

(10:37):
of the hair.
It's responsible for yourstrength and the elasticity of
your hair.
It also is responsible for thecolor of your hair, and the way
you can get to this is bylifting the cuticle.
The cuticle, in my opinion, isthe one layer of the hair you
want to concern yourself withEverything you do.
You want to make sure that youare laying that cuticle down,

(10:59):
protecting the cortex of thehair.
You want a smooth cuticlebecause that gives you shine,
smoothness and protection.
Damaged cuticles cause frizz,dullness and split ends every
day, all day.
And how to care for your hair?
Just avoid harsh chemicaltreatments and use heat

(11:20):
protectant.
Those are my two biggest tips.
And also, make sure you get abalanced diet.
It's pretty easy, okay, hey, Iinvite you to share your own
hair care routines and questions.
Why don't you reach out?
You can actually go to thispodcast episode.
There's a little thing in therethat says, hey, give Denise a

(11:40):
text.
You can do it there.
You can reach out to me onInstagram.
You can reach out to me on mywebsite.
Even if you haven't subscribedto this podcast, I would love
for you to do so.
It really really does help withgetting more information out to
you.
Also, make sure you're sharingthis with somebody you think
might enjoy it.
I want you to also tune in forour next episode next week.

(12:03):
We are going to be talkingabout the truth about hair
growth myths versus science.
Yeah, hair growth.
Well, thanks for listening anduntil next time, remember, when
you know better, you do better.
I'll see you next week.
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair and so much more.
If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to subscribe to our

(12:25):
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