Hair envy. You can deny until you die that you’ve never had it, but we know better. Who hasn’t coveted Demi Lovato’s thick dark mane, Vanessa Hudgen’s seemingly effortless style or Priyanka Chopra’s lengthy waves? Or maybe you’ve looked wistfully at Kristen Stewart’s root-y blonde and tousled pixie cut and thought, if only I could go that short. Regardless of whichever direction your grass-is-always-greener gaze falls on, reality is no matter what hair-type your DNA dictated, you too can have pretty, healthy hair.
The first step is looking in the mirror, accepting what you’ve got up top, being grateful for it and telling yourself you’re beautiful and you’re worthy of healthy locks. Then, you need to select the right shampoo and conditioner to make it happen. Here’s the hair advice you need to get started.
What you care about most when it comes to your hair
If you’re like us, your hair concerns are largely dependent on your natural hair type. Is your hair too thick (sorry, but we know the fine-haired women reading this are rolling their eyes right now!), too thin, too frizzy, too limp, too curly, too straight… you get the idea. Because at the end of the day all any of us truly wants is to have fantastic, toss-worthy hair. Every. Single. Day.
Sure it’s a tall order, but according to Dr. Fraser Bell, the science insights leader for Nexxus hair care, it’s also way more achievable than you may imagine. “Women want their hair to look great and feel great every day,” he affirms. “So they need products that help them do this. For some this means a boost in moisture, others may need to deliver protein to the core of their hair to help replenish and restore its properties from within, some need strength or to protect their coloured hair and others want their style tamed with all-day long control.”
How to choose the right products
Basically this boils down to two things, identifying your hair goals, like volumizing thin strands, smoothing unruly curls and so on. Part two is all about selecting the shampoo and conditioner containing the ingredients to realize your goals. Since different ingredients can bring a range of benefits depending on your hair’s needs, there is no one size fits all. As a result, hair companies label their packaging with words to easily describe the benefits their products can provide.
These identifiers are straightforward with categories such as, for curly hair, for blonde hair, for coloured hair, for volume, for de-frizzing etc. All you have to do is choose the shampoo and conditioner with the right label. Yet for hair specialists like Nexxus, there’s an important and additional step you need to take. You can defrizz all day long, but to ensure your hair looks its very best requires health-inducing ingredients. So within their variety of hair care categories, the scientists at Nexxus have infused each bottle with ingredients to create healthy hair as well—all to better ensure you good hair days.
“In the creation of our ProteinFusion blends for the new Keraphix collection we looked across the globe for inspiration in helping heal damaged hair,” explains Dr. Bell. One such example was “the path that led us to the Huangluo Village in China, where the women of the village go to great lengths to preserve their hair and have discovered they can do this by frequently washing it in fermented rice water. We were in awe of this sacred centuries- old ritual and through our proteomic studies identified rice as containing key protein components that can be lost as hair becomes damaged. For this reason, we incorporated black rice into our Keraphix line, along with keratin protein and other essential nutrients.”
The power of protein…
While what you use in the shower will ideally give you the results you’re seeking, when you add a healthy helping of protein into the mix to soften, hydrate and nourish your hair it amplifies your hair’s condition and style. And when you consider what your hair is submitted to on a daily basis, such as exposure to wind, heat, cold, the sun’s UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays, pollution, blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons, brushing too much, not brushing enough, chemicals from colour and highlights, there’s not one head of hair out there that won’t benefit.
“Proteins are the building blocks of hair and many of hair’s properties depend on the proteins present and their condition,” explains Dr. Bell. “Although the types of protein are largely the same person-to-person, their structural arrangement differs depending on ethnicity and hair type and everyday actions including heat-styling, colouring and UV exposure can affect hair’s protein chemistry in different ways. This means specific formulas and combinations of active ingredients need be optimized for each hair type and condition.”
…And why you need it in combination with your other haircare desires
Sure, hair damage happens to all of us differently. Your bae may be able to go days without washing or even brushing their hair, but the minute they step off a plane and into a humid climate like Barbados or Antigua, their hair is instantly heat and sun fried. Or maybe you can’t go swimming because the pool’s chlorine sucks all of the moisture from your locks making it brittle and breakable. Perhaps even, you’ve changed your hair colour so frequently that your style is dull and frayed at the ends.
“Different damage affects hair’s natural proteins in different ways, so it’s important that different proteins and levels are used to address specific needs,” says Dr. Bell. “Proteins can come in many sizes and shapes and can have very different compositions and properties, so the selection of the right protein is key to creating functional products for specific needs. Our proteomic insights help us identify the right protein blend and formula for each damage type to nourish, replenish and restore hair outside and in. So we have developed a range of four customized hair care solutions with specific protein blends for various hair need states, inclusive of Therappe & Humectress, Keraphix, Colour Assure and Frizz Defy.”
The only thing these advancements in hair care can’t guarantee is that your hair envy will fade away. Fine and thinned haired women will probably always look twice at Amandla Stenberg’s cropped curls and sigh. Curly haired friends will dream of Olivia Culpo’s sleek and smooth bob, while brunettes and redheads may wonder if they can pull off Camila Mendes’ now blonde ’do. But that’s okay. We’re all human.
Humans who now have great looking and healthy hair, that is.
