Hair Condition

Hair is a remarkably tough material. It can stand up to considerable abuse, but over time this can wreak havoc with its natural properties. In particular, its porosity can be badly affected, so that it breaks easily and cannot be styled satisfactorily.

On the other hand, we can recognise hair that is in good condition. It shines, it is easy to manage - it just looks good. Even though the hair shaft is technically 'dead', in that its cells are no longer dividing, we may describe it as 'healthy'. So why can its properties change so much that the hair loses this 'healthy' appearance?

Sometimes this may be due to a medical condition such as poor nutrition: starvation or anaemia due to a lack of protein in the diet can damage the hair. In famine conditions, some people's hair changes as it grows from black to gingery-red if they cannot get enough protein.

We have seen that in older people hair may not be able to grow as long as it used to, and may become thinner and lose its pigmentation. It might be thought to be less healthy. But it can still maintain its structure, and indeed many elderly people have beautiful hair.

Probably the most obvious aspect of healthy hair is its shine - its ability to reflect light. This property depends mainly on the cuticle of the hair shaft, and how intact it is.

So the good condition of your hair in fact depends on the current state of each of the 100,000 or so individual hair shafts on your head. If the cuticles are intact, if their cortex has not been affected by heat or chemicals, and if the hair is not caked with grease and old hair spray, then the hair will probably have reasonable shine and body.

Hair this long must have been growing for seven or eight years: just look at its beautiful condition

Hair in good condition

In the end, the condition of hair depends on what is done to it. You are your own hair's worst enemy!

By the time your hair reaches your shoulders, it has probably been growing for three years or more. Hair that is level with your waist is around five years old (at least at the tip). If you are lucky enough to have hair long enough to sit on, that hair maybe as much as a dozen years old. And throughout its growth it needs to be cared for to keep its healthy look. A damaged cuticle cannot heal, because the scales are 'dead', although much can be done to help its appearance.

The golden hair of the imprisoned fairy-tale princess Rapunzel was long enough to allow her lover to climb it in order to reach her in her tower - a demonstration not only of the length of anagen in Rapunzel, but also of the inherent strength of hair; This man is head of a religious cult which requires its leader to be able to grow his hair long enough to reach the ground: his anagen period is probably around ten or twelve years. As he grows older and the anagen period shortens, he may lose his job

The straight blonde hair of this tanned young woman is naturally sun-bleached, and reflects light well

If you are sensible, you clean your hair frequently, using good-quality products, and -most importantly - remember to condition it well. You have the ends cut regularly by a skilled stylist, so as to prevent weathering effects such as split ends. If you are thinking of changing your hair color you get advice first from an experienced hair technician, who can tell you how much color change your particular hair can stand, and which hair coloring products would be suitable. If you are considering a perm you ask for advice on whether your hair type can stand perming at the moment, or if it would be safer to improve its condition first. And, once permed, you pay even more attention to conditioning your hair, and you don't repeat the perm too often.

With an understanding of the principles of good hair care, and regularly putting those principles into practice, everyone can aim to keep their hair in good condition.

Hair in poor condition

The natural look of your hair depends on several inherited factors. Hair that is in poor condition looks dull and dry. So how does it get that way?

Dark hair, as we have seen, looks glossier than blond hair. The presence or absence of natural oils makes a difference. And very straight hair reflects light better than tousled hair does.

Long hair that has been bleached and permed needs the most conditioning

Some of us, however, fall into the trap of trying to improve upon nature, not just once but over and over again. Where you can go wrong includes:

• not understanding the basic properties of hair in general, and your own hair in particular
  
• trying to lighten the color of your hair more than it can stand (bleach damage)
  
• continually trying to correct previous mistakes
  
• perming hair that is already in poor condition.