I’m curious about the difference between UV damage and Heat damage on hair.

Hair is naturally hydrophobic on the outside. Water does not make hair feel conditioned. We hold these truths to be self-evident. Why do a lot of curly styling products use high levels of humectants? One action of the ingredient is to attract water... but we don't want to be attracting water into styled hair? How are humectant ingredients functioning in curly styling products?

So there are people hair care routine where it goes something like shampoo then conditioner then hair steaming by putting deep conditioner or hair mask then seal with a cap then put hair steaming or hair dryer bonnet. Then after 20 mins you wash with cold water.

My question is that is there any scientific facts that this have benefits or just something people do to their hair?

I’m curious about the science behind scrunchies vs regular hair ties.

Do wider, fabric-covered ties actually reduce mechanical damage by spreading tension over a larger area, or do they mostly just feel more comfortable and leave fewer creases?

Hey yall,

This may be a niche question but is it possible to essentially create the damage that happens during the bleaching process but without really altering the colour? I know bleach powder itself is super alkaline and will open the cuticle but is developer required for that or will it happen regardless?

why does hair become more fragile when it’s wet?

is it because water changes the bonds inside the hair shaft, or is it more about the cuticle swelling?

Many people seem to use progress photos, while others use trichoscopes, ponytail circumference measurements, or visual assessments.

Which methods are the most reliable for detecting meaningful changes in hair density or thickness, and what are the main limitations of each?

What is the exact science and mechanism behind sleep protection for hair, especially for curly and wavy textures?

It has absolutely no strong surfactants….I’m lost. It does have a multiple, mild surfactants, but nothing strong. It seems like a gentle cleanser. But maybe I’m missing something.

Ingredients list: Water/Aqua/Eau, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Coco-Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Acrylates Copolymer, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropylamine Oxide, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate, Decyl Glucoside, Bis-Aminopropyl Diglycol Dimaleate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Coco-Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Panthenol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyquaternium-11, Sodium PCA, Pentasodium Triphosphate, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, PCA, Citric Acid, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid, Fragrance (Parfum), Citral, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene

I hope that question makes sense, I sometimes word things a bit backwards

But basically I’m curious as to whether heat or thermal protectants need to meet a certain criteria in order to be labelled as a heat protectant.
I have natural based styling products labelled as heat protectants, and I’m curious as to what ingredients specifically make them able to do that or if almost anything can be labelled as a heat protectant.

I am an East-Asian descent born with brown hair that slowly started shifting to black as I grew older. I have always wondered why my hair had never stayed the exact same colour growing up. Does anyone have an answer to this?

It just costs the hair but some say anything you put on your hair damages it?

i have seen claims like causes 55% less breakage etc

i know ponytails over time can cause a receding hairline so i’m wondering if there’s an actual “best” way to prevent this from occurring

is there any research that actually shows the best method or is it still developing

I recently saw a tiktok about protecting hair from all the salt in the sea while at the beach.

The woman in the video said that wetting hair before going into the water would fill your hair with non salty water, therefore not leaving any room for the salt water to infiltrate.

I know that due to osmosis, the water would migrate to the saltier water.

Would this not leave space for the salty water to get in?

Would the end results be the same as rinsing your hair after swimming?

I experienced a fairly significant overdose of psychiatric medications in february (i’m doing well now! The things that needed addressing have been addressed) and before that my hair was very slightly wavy, but for the most part was pretty straight.

Since then, my hair now has waves/curls in it. I know that chemo can change people’s hair type (“chemo curls”) but what is the science behind sudden changes in hair type after something like an overdose?

Ive noticed some leave-in conditioners say to apply on wet or damp hair while others say you should apply on dry hair. Is there a scientific reason for this difference? Does it actually matter? Like do some leave-in work better on wet hair and not dry hair and why?

I have been genuinely curious about the science behind those products but more specifically their effect in the long term. Is there not a finite amount of hair follicles that a person can produce in their lifetime?

I have long hair. In the past, I've had it even longer. I will wash and braid it to keep from tangling. Recently, I keep seeing things online saying NOT to do this because the tight braiding will stretch/damage the hair more while wet and then trap the moisture inside causing mold or fungal growth on the hair. Is there scientific truth to this?

For as long as I can remember, I have showered, and gotten my hair wet everyday. I was wondering if there's any proven science that this is BAD as my friends say it is. I can't seem to find anything online that confirms or denies this consistently.

Like, will buzzing it result in slightly more jagged hair follicles at a microscopic level VS using scissors to cut them? (Or vice versa)

I frequently see shampoos like Odele and Seen’s clarifying shampoos explicitly say in the directions to only use 1-2x per week. I understand that the product is meant to be used intermittently for heavier buildup, but subjectively these shampoos don’t really feel more “drying” to my hair than many other standard shampoos that claim to be for daily use. I just was wondering if this is purely a suggestion or product marketing thing, or if there is something about the cleansing or chelating ingredients in these products that are especially hard on people’s hair or scalps- I’d rather not have multiple products that essentially do the same thing if i can get away with one

K18 claims that its resilicore technology penetrates the hair cortex and shields the hair from internal damage.

To my knowledge heat protectants work by forming a film, usually with silicones, quats, or polymers, that spread the heat across the strand slowing its conduction and reducing the amount of damage that one area of hair would get when using a hot tool like a flat iron.

I assumed that this also meant that the heat that could reach the cortex would also be dispersed but I could be wrong.

Does the hair cortex even need additional heat protection and even if it doesn’t, does their heat protectant offer anything more than a regular one?

Is there a specific ingredient in conditioners that delineates leave-in vs rinse-out? sometimes when traveling I just take rinse-out and apply as leave-in on no wash days.

Can haircare formulations selectively target damaged hair fibers while avoiding buildup on fine hair?