General principles of hair and scalp care

The modern principles of caring for the hair and skin of the scalp are largely based on determining the type of hair. At the heart of the division into types lies the characteristic of brilliance, brittleness, thickness, condition of the tips of the hair, and also the rate of their contamination. It should be emphasized that the division of hair into different types largely depends on the skin condition of the scalp.

There are normal, fatty and dry hair.

Under normal understand hair having a healthy shine, not brittle, not dissected at the ends. Individuals with normal hair, mark the contamination of hair after 6-7 days after washing. Normal hair relatively quickly dry after washing, obedient when laying.

Under the dry understand hair without natural shine, thinned, brittle and dissected at the ends. In dry hair, serious changes in structure and composition are revealed. Uneven cuticle, scales from its surface, increased its porosity, lack of cuticle at the ends of the hair. In damaged hair, a low sulfur content, a degradation of polypeptide chains, a violation of the ionic composition are revealed. The reasons for this hair change can be endogenous and exogenous. Endogenous causes are reduced to reduced production of sebum with glands of the scalp and disruption of blood supply to hair bulbs in atherosclerosis, cervicothoracic osteochondrosis and other diseases. In young people the main predisposing factors are hypothyroidism, hormonal contraception. Exogenous causes of the appearance of dry hair are manifold. First of all, it is inadequate hair care, leading to intense physical or chemical effects on the hair and skin. Physical factors include frequent, intense scratching, constant wearing of tight headgear, metal and rubber pins, frequent use of a dryer for drying and styling, as well as hot curling tongs. Chemical factors include frequent washing with alkaline soaps and shampoos with cationic detergents, hair contact with chlorinated water in swimming pools, abuse of lacquers for fixing hair, discoloration of hair, chemical perm. An important role is played by climatic factors, which include insolation, wind, low or high temperature of the ambient air, low or high humidity, and others. It is believed that the main climatic inducer of hair damage is sunlight. Under the influence of ultraviolet rays, not only the discoloration of light-brown and the appearance of a yellowish hue in the blond and dark blond hair occurs, but also the photooxidation of cysteine bonds in the proteins of the surface layers of the hair, which leads to the penetration of free radicals into the cuticle and the formation of its porosity. Such physicochemical changes are most affected by bleached hair or hair after a chemical wave. It should be emphasized that in the presence of seborrhea and increased greasiness of the scalp, thin hair can be found, with no natural gloss, cut at the ends and brittle. In this case, note the increased fat content of the hair at the roots and dryness at the ends. Adverse changes can be explained by inadequate hair care in patients with seborrhea. Unfortunately, recently this combination is not an exception to the rules, but a natural process. This should be taken into account when appointing recommendations for the care of the scalp. It should also be noted that with dry hair and a decrease in sebum secretion, there may be a rudimentary exfoliation: scalp skin, or dandruff.

Dandruff is the result of chronic skin lesions of the scalp, manifested by the formation of parakeratotic scales without signs of inflammation. This is most often due to early manifestations of the so-called "dry" type of seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp. In this disease, dandruff occurs in the form of small foci, mainly in the occipital parietal region, but can quickly spread to the entire scalp. The boundaries of the lesion are not clear. Characteristic for seborrhea hyperplasia and hypersecretion of sebaceous glands is absent. Peeling is otrubovidny character, scales are dry, friable, grayish-white, easily separated from the surface of the skin and contaminate the hair, as well as outer clothing; Typically, the absence of inflammatory phenomena and subjective disorders. In the case of diagnosis of seborrheic dermatitis in combination with dry hair, the appointment of therapeutic shampoos.

Oily hair is characteristic for people who have manifestations of liquid seborrhea. Thus hair quickly zhirnjatsja, stick together in locks, their natural shine is absent. The hair is difficult to fit, the hair is kept for a short time, since constantly evolving sebum substantially increases them. To the fatty hair the dust sticks fast enough that it gives the head an untidy look. Persons with oily hair, note that the scalp quickly becomes dirty, and therefore they are often forced to wash their hair (once every 2-3 days, daily and even more often). In a number of patients, the components of sebum in the air quickly oxidize, which leads to an unpleasant odor. This is facilitated by the vital activity of the conditionally pathogenic flora. To combat this unpleasant symptom, some cosmetic firms produce special deodorants for the scalp. Many researchers believe that the condition of oily hair is a complex phenomenon, only partly due to increased production of sebum. In addition to increasing the rate and volume of sebum secretion in seborrhea, its composition changes due to enzymatic hydrolysis of triglycerides and the formation of saturated fatty acids. Violation of the balance between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids leads to a decrease in the bactericidal and fungicidal action of sebum. The most common complication of seborrhea on the scalp is seborrheic dermatitis, the main manifestation of which is peeling skin of the scalp in the form of "fatty" (stearic, or waxy) dandruff, accompanied by itching. Since this manifestation arises against the background of increased fat release, the flakes are greasy, have a yellowish tinge, stick together with each other, are more firmly retained on the skin and in the hair than with dry dandruff, and can form stratifications. From the surface of the skin flakes are usually separated by large flakes. In the presence of the described manifestations, the purpose of therapeutic shampoos is shown.

[1], [2], [3]