The condition of one’s hair is often seen as an indication of one’s health – both mentally and physically. It is a fact that when one’s hair looks good, one feels good, and this helps to portray a positive and confident image. It is for this reason that manufacturers of hair care products are constantly looking for ingredients and actives that will help protect and maintain their customers’ hair.
In fact, Google Trends shows that hair care products are the most searched beauty-related category worldwide.
Shine, softness, and strength are the main indicators of beautiful, healthy hair. The reality is, however, that these features are also the first to be affected by any kind of hair processing – whether it be colouring, straightening or constant application of heat.
Colouring, which often involves bleaching, either on its own or as a step in the colouring process, is one of the major causes of hair damage. That is why maintenance and/or repair, during or after aggressive chemical treatments, is so important.
Hair bleaching is a chemical hair dyeing technique that basically strips the colour from your hair. The process begins with an alkaline agent that opens up the hair cuticle. Next comes the oxidative agent that penetrates the hair cortex and dissolves the hairs natural melanin (your hair's natural color). The longer you leave this agent in your hair, the lighter in colour your hair becomes.
Hair bleaching can make your hair feel like its texture is less soft. This is because bleaching changes the porosity and elasticity of the hair. When your hair is more porous, this means that the hair cuticle is more open, and will continue to open, become a split-end and eventually break off if left untreated.
The bleaching chemicals also penetrate the hair shaft, breaking down natural fatty acids, further weakening the hair shaft. There are many products which contain ingredients which help to protect and repair hair that has been exposed to bleach during the colouring process.
One of the newest is an innovative ingredient called Restart PRO from Chemyunion.
Restart PRO is an active ingredient with cross-linking action based on the synergistic association of unsaturated dicarboxylic acid (itaconic acid), amino acid (arginine), pro-vitamin B5 (D-panthenol) and polysaccharides extracted from linseed and chia seeds, acting through repair and protection mechanisms and proactive treatment of chemically damaged hair.
Restart PRO:
- Protects and repairs hair from chemical processing such as bleaching
- Increases the strength of chemically damaged hair by up to 9.9%
- Repairs chemically damaged hair, increasing its strength by up to 25.3%
- Forms a protective barrier on the hair, with no build-up effect
- Improves hair combability by 19.5%
- Up to 29% more shine, protecting the cuticle from aggressive chemical
damage
- Helps prevent discoloration because of chemical processing.
For more information contact johrinda@chemgritsa.co.za or visit www.chemgritcosmetics.co.za.