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ATHD investigates: Sunblock for hair?

Summer is upon us. It’s that time of year when the sun is blazing in all its glory and we’re tempted to spend hours by the pool or at the beach. For many, it is customary to slather on sunblock to protect against the damaging rays of the sun on the skin. However, most of us never consider using it on our hair. Is sunblock for hair actually necessary? Is this just all hocus pocus? Are cosmetic companies trying to suck even more money from us?

Sun damages hair

Hair becomes damaged by two main processes: trauma and weathering. Trauma results from simple combing, brushing and just regular manipulation of hair. Weathering processes include surprisingly sun damage. So how do the sun’s rays damage our hair?

UV light damages the bonds within the hair

Experiments have shown that prolonged exposure to UV light causes a reduction of integral hair lipid. It is worsened by the type of hair you have. The curlier your hair, the more likely your hair will be damaged by the sun exposure as it is naturally lower in integral hair lipid.

It also oxidises some of the proteins within the hair shaft itself particularly attacking the carbon in the amide bonds, and the sulphur molecules as well. The hair colour is affected resulting in a lightening of existing hair colour. UVA is responsible for the colour changes whilst UVB is responsible for protein loss.

Interestingly the pigments found in commercial hair dye has been somewhat useful in protecting the hair shaft itself from further damage from the sun. Yes hair dyes will cause damage to the hair’s cortex but the pigments themselves act to trap the sun’s rays. The downside is that the colour moiety itself can experience a colour shift. People often report that the colour of their semi and permanent dyed hair changing colour after prolonged exposure in the sun.

Hair Sunscreens

The main aim for sunblock for hair is to preserve the hair as a textile fibre. Since the sun’s rays help to decrease the overall tensile strength, colour and other such properties, traditional sunscreens would help to negate these deleterious effects. There are products currently available on the market as hair sunscreens. Most have a two-in-one purpose acting as a fixative spray, gel or mousse designed to be put on last. How well do they stand up to actual usage especially for those who end up at the beach all day? That you will have to test for yourself.

Want me to Investigate some hair care product or practice? Send in your topic to doc@askthehairdoc.com

About

Dr. Llorenia Muir-Green is a practising dermatologist in Jamaica. She has an avid interest in hair and scalp disorders. She is a member of the Medical Association of Jamaica, Dermatology Association of Jamaica and is an Associate Member of the Caribbean Dermatology Association. She was a recipient of the 2013 Fellowship in Hair and Scalp Disorders at the University of British Columbia.

June’s QOM

questiontext

Hi Doc,

I just realized that I need to find an effective shampoo for my daughter as she has been on a local swim team for the last 2 years and currently trains about 4 days a week. Can you provide information on exactly what chlorine does to the hair and the right products and treatment for “swimmers hair” ? She wears her swim cap of course, and it does help a little as her hair is never really soaked.

juneqom

Photo credit: Facebook Fan Kerry-Ann

answertext

Chlorine is no one’s friend. It has been shown mainly in wool (and similarly in hair) to cleave the thioester bonds which bind 18 MEA (a major hair integral lipid) to the cuticle. It also oxidises the disulphide bonds in the proteins of the hair thus degrading them. This results in increased friction between the hair fibres and of course increased fragility of the hair. It can decrease the melanin in the hair causing it to become lighter over time.

As you know the swim caps are not designed to keep the hair from getting wet. There are some that keep the hair drier than others. The best thing to do is to coat the hair with conditioner or oil or a butter such as shea butter and then place the cap on. This also doubles as a deep conditioning treatment and gives little space for the water to eat away at the hair. After swimming wash hair with a good swimmer’s shampoo. These usually have Vit C or sodium thiosulphate to remove residual chlorine. They also contain EDTA to remove copper found in the algaecides present in the pool. Copper deposition is responsible for green tinge in lighter hued hairs. It doesn’t show in black hair but the copper is certainly deposited. Follow with a conditioner. Hope that helps!

Properties of Hair – Part 3

In the third installment of the properties of hair, lipid or fat content of the hair shaft will be our subject. The lipid content of hair is approximately 1-9% .

The lipids found in hair are tightly bound to the proteins via various bonds, and as such, are referred to as Integral Hair Lipids. They confer resistance to the hair shaft, protecting it from the environment by forming a lipid envelope. Most of the lipids are found in the the hair cuticle and inner root sheath. Major constituents are fatty acids, phytosphingosine, and ceramide in decreasing order. Minor constituents are cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate and cholesterol oleate. Interestingly the lipid components differ from the skin to hair follicle to the hair shaft.

Table showing lipid constituents in hair and skin compartments

	Sebum %	Epidermis %	Hair mg/g		Hair mg/g	Follicle %
Free cholesterol	5	26 ± 0.6	0.5	0.5		3.7
Free fatty acid		13.1 ± 1.6	4.0	23.4		29.6
Cholesterol sulfate		3.9 ± 1.4	2.9	0.4		0.3
Triglyceride	57			0.2
Cholesterol esters	5	1.7 ± 1.1
Glucosylceramide		1.0 ± 0.6
Unidentified		5.7 ± 0.9
Sphinghosine						26.3
Wax ester	26			4.1
Squalene	12			<0.2

The major fatty acid, representing 40% of the total fatty acids, is identified as 18-methyleicosanoic acid. The next abundant are palmitic acid and stearic acid. Alkaline treatments (hair colorings, bleaching, perms) or sunlight can lead to a loss of 18-MEA and causes the defatting of hair. As such, the hair becomes dry and brittle and loses its elasticity and luster.

They all serve to decrease the friction between the hair strands. Their role in hair are slowly being delineated. Their presence may indicate something more important with respect to the functioning of the body. Ceramide production has been found to decrease with age. Also, it has been found that errors in lipid metabolism could result in abnormal skin and hair diseases. As more and more research is done, we shall see the exact role they play in hair.

QOM-May

questiontext

Dear Doc,

My 5 year old son has been scratching his head like crazy in the past few weeks. There are some bumps at the back of his scalp. It’s driving me nuts! The barber keeps scolding me for not using any oil for his dry scalp. Right now I’m using some Sulfur 8 shampoo but that is only somewhat helpful. I don’t know what else to do! Help!!!! Thankfully his brother is not affected.

Dry Scalper

answertext

Dear Dry Scalper,

This is so commonplace it isn’t funny. It also pains me that your barber didn’t tell you that your son needs immediate treatment and shouldn’t return to him until treated. Seborrhoeic dermatitis or what people call “dry scalp” or “dandruff” is only seen in children and adults who have already undergone puberty. A special kind of infantile seb derm is seen in children under the age of one. Any pre-pubertal child who has “dry scalp” has scalp ringworm aka Tinea capitis until proven otherwise.

tinea capitis

photo obtained form quizlet.com

You need to carry your son to a GP or dermatologist. His scalp infection will only go away with oral medication that he will need to take for a month to six weeks. If improperly treated he will have permanent hair loss in the affected area. I have seen adult men who cannot grow their hair out because of improper treatment of their scalp fungus. It is not a pretty look.

You will have to wash his hair on a daily basis or as often as possible with an antifungal shampoo and use an antifungal cream on the area twice a day. This will cut down the spread of the condition to other children. He must not share any caps, hats, brushes, combs, towels, pillows and cases with anyone. Anything that he uses on his head must be washed on a weekly basis.

Do not carry him to a barber until his scalp is properly treated and he is clear of the fungus. For the future, look at the hygienic practices of any barber you take him to. A lot of times kids get it from other kids, their barbers or from any pets that they may have.

ATHD Investigates Conditioner Washing

What is Conditioner Washing?

For the past few years, Conditioner Washing or Co-Washing has been the buzz term on the internet. Its popularity has garnered the development of professional products such as Wen and even more notable brands like Pantene Pro V and L’Oreal following suit.

The concept was popularised by curly expert Lorraine Massey of Devachan fame. She explains the concept quite well in her book “Curly Girl”. Basically, it uses regular rinse out conditioners to use as your cleanser instead of regular shampoo. The result is much more moisturised hair for persons with wavy/curly/coily/kinky hair.

Is there any science to this?

Surprisingly, there is a science to it, though cosmetic scientists may question its merit. Conditioners are filled with positively charged surfactants (compounds which allow oils and water to mix). Surfactants of a different category, namely anionic surfactants, are used in shampoos. Examples of anionic surfactants include Sodium Lauryl sulphate and Ammonium lauryl sulphate. These are very effective in attracting not only the unwanted dirt, grime, and sweat from your hair but necessary sebum as well. So after attaching to the dirt in your hair, they, along with the dirt, are easily rinsed away when you apply water to your hair. They are excellent degreasers but can cause already dry hair types such as wavy/curly/coily/kinky hair to become excessively dry. Sometimes this dryness is not rectified with the most potent of deep conditioning treatments, (as I’ve personally experienced). In fact detergents for wool, silk and other delicate fabrics are formulated with gentler anionic and cationic surfactants. Imagine that? You treat your silk better than your own hair!

So, instead of using these “harsher shampoos” Lorainne Massey suggested using the regular rinse out conditioners. The theory is that these conditioners would have enough surfactants to cleanse the hair but because of their conditioning nature they would not be terribly drying to the hair itself. There are many who have converted to this method of cleansing the hair.

A similar concept is practised in Dermatology with patients with Atopic eczema and other such conditions. Persons with this type of eczema do not have a normal skin barrier and require soap substitutes. The use of regular soaps and Sodium lauryl sulphate cleansers are not recommended because they will excessively dry out the skin worsening the condition significantly. I liken coily/kinky/curly hair to this type of skin. Due to the shape of the hair shaft itself, these hair types are drier by nature. So, using regular shampoos with Sodium Lauryl/Laureth sulphates have been found to give a similar drying effect as experienced on eczematous skin.

So is it worth a try?

It is definitely worth a try. These are the steps to a successful Co-Wash, modified from “Curly Girl”:

1. Choose a suitable rinse out conditioner or thin consistency leave- in conditioner or a commercially available Co-wash. You can do a search online for conditioners people recommend.

2. Just like using a shampoo, rinse your hair first with water, then apply a good amount of conditioner to your scalp. Massage well and rinse.

3. Now you will focus on your hair itself. If necessary, section your hair. Apply a ping pong or golf-sized ball amount of your conditioner to each section of your hair. Yes you will need a lot of conditioner. The tighter your curl pattern, the more you will need. Apply some amount of friction, massaging into the hair itself. If possible, milk the conditioner on the hair shaft in a downward direction. Ensure to use your fingers to help finger comb and take out any tangles whilst doing this.

4. Rinse your hair well again. You can then towel dry your hair and apply a deep conditioner (if necessary) or a leave-in conditioner.

5. Give yourself some time to get used to the concept. You may find over time that your hair will be less dry and much more manageable.

There you have it! You’ve done your first co-wash. Give it a few more tries and come up with a verdict.

Here is another scientist’s experience with co-wash:

http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2014/02/does-co-washing-really-clean-your-hair.html

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