Living in a higher altitude in Johannesburg, South Africa, during winter is a very challenging time because not only does my hair become drier than normal, but there is a high level of static too.
In the past I treated my hair as I usually do during winter, using the same shampoo and conditioner and also styling as usual, but noticed as I got older that my hair got progressively drier during this period, which inspired me to dedicate winter to repairing and nourishing my hair, and welcome you to join me!
It is crucial that you give you hair a break from all excessive heating hardware for at least 3 – 5 months out of the year (basically the duration of winter). Now as a woman I know we can’t get away from heat completely, but the hardest thing you are going to have to do during this ‘recovery period’ is put your flat iron in your bottom drawer and not take it out again until summer.
Flat irons are the most damaging tools to hair, I don’t care how ionizing they promise to be. Intense, concentrated heat applied directly to the hair scalds, stretches and instantly dries out the hair. Let’s take a closer look under the microscope.
Your hair is made up of 3 types of keratin, soft (inner medula), thick hard (cortex) and thin hard (outer cuticle). When your hair loses moisture, parts of the hard outer layer, or rather the ‘tiles’ that cover your hair, get either ripped off or tear due to weak bonds and lack of elasticity (directly linked to the lack of moisture in the air and the hair itself).
What you will see under the microscope are big gaping holes all along the shaft, leaving soft keratin exposed to the elements. The primary problem with this is that all moisture inside the hair escapes out of these gaping holes, resulting in hair getting progressively drier on a daily basis.
But just like a cut in your arm, your hair grows fibers across this gap and eventually covers up the hole completely. When you use synthetic products to wash, condition and style your hair, you are actually slowing down the healing process because these synthetic ‘plugs’ are deposited into these gaps blocking the hair fibers from joining together, which slows down or sometimes prevents the healing process from happening all together.
The Advanced L’anza Healing Moisture range is a rich moisturizing range free of all parabens, sulfates, sodium chlorides and all synthetic substances that cause any build up on (and in) the hair. Furthermore, these high quality natural ingredients are recognized and accepted by your hair, allowing them to bridge the gap and form a temporary scaffold allowing the fibers to reach each other faster and heal the hair quicker.
This product range uses exceptionally high quality nourishing oils and lipids that intensely condition the hair during the scaffold formation process, replenishing all essential moisture.
Another fantastic feature of this range is its softening of the cuticles on either side of the ‘gaping hole’ which encourages the cuticles to lay flat onto the hair shaft again and form part of the new fibres, forming a permanent bond over the hole.
Naturally, all the ingredients within this range work simultaneously to achieve this, however the fundamental law to repair is prevention of moisture loss, and replenishment of all 19 essential amino acids, which is exactly what the entire product range of L’anza are certified to do.
When you flat iron your hair, however, or when you apply intense heat from a hair dryer, all the nourishing ingredients and moisture are immediately dried up leaving the hair dry and brittle.
The flat iron is the major culprit, because although it creates an ionizing environment which forces the cuticles to close down again (this is good), the intense heat thins out and stretches these cuticles almost 10 times it’s length, resulting in snapping and breaking the minute you brush or wash your hair.
Think of it like this, you have a tile that is almost perfectly cut to fit a specific shaped hole, but you have now stretched it to almost 10 times it length, thinning it out to almost an eight of its original viscosity. This prevents the tile from ever ‘perfectly’ fitting into that gap again, and more so, what was once a semi flexible cuticle filled with moisture and the ability to soften down into its original position, is now a hard, brittle tile stretched along the top of the shaft, allowing all moisture underneath to escape.
I need you to understand that this is what happens every time you flat iron your hair. This is why L’anza have thermal protection in almost every product in their range, they understand your need to style and have made it their brand orientation to heal, seal and protect your hair no matter what you do to it.
So let’s look at what solutions are available for you and how they work.
The first step is to invest in an exceptional high quality moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Most moisturizing shampoo’s and conditioners I found weighed down the hair and some even left my hair oily. The L’anza Healing Moisture Shampoo is an extra gentle sulfate, paraben, DEA and sodium-chloride-free daily shampoo that contains Tahitian Tamanu Nut extract for intense rich natural moisture that your hair absolutely loves.
Tahitian Tamanu Nut extract has lightweight emollients that are exceptionally beneficial to the hair, containing an abundance of essential acids and lipids for smooth, silky, shiny hair. Using nano-technology, L’anza are able to thoroughly cleanse the hair without affecting the pH levels, thus without needing to open or lift the cuticles and remove any moisture from the hair during washing. If you are as fanatical about your hair as I am mine, you will know what a massive benefit this is to achieving gorgeous conditioned locks.
The Kukui Nut conditioner is prized for its incredible moisturizing abilities due to a signature blend rich in linoleic acid, alpha-linoleic acids and essential fatty acids. To the average non-labcoat wearing person though, this basically means it is a natural hydrator that quickly penetrates the hair and is absorbed quickly and completely resulting in lightweight, moisturized hair that is soft and silky with a renewed shine.
Something I find absolutely fascinating about this range is its ability to absorb moisture from the atmosphere and deposit this back into the hair …between washes! This is truly revolutionary!
The Hawaiian Noni Fruit is known as the cure-all by native Hawaiians, with exceptionally high levels of antioxidants that promotes cell regeneration, meaning it teaches your hair to heal itself instead of poly-filling the hair with the synthetic ‘plugs’ we discussed earlier that just fall out and cause loss of moisture.
The Noni Fruit Leave-in Conditioner is a lightweight spray that you can apply before styling, adding intense moisture and conditioning to the hair, but also offers instant detangling and offers a thermal protection of up to 250C.
To order online you can visit http://www.everythinghair.co.za or visit any L’anza salon across the country.
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