Hair Also Needs Sun Protection? The Answer Is 'Yes'
Too many long-hair girls have a trouble, that is, even if they use good hair conditioner, hair mask or even leave-on hair conditioner, their hair is still frizzy, not smooth, not dark. So what’s wrong with their hair? Although they have good hair care habits, there is still a point that 99% of them did not realize. The point is that hair ,just like skin, also needs sun protection.
How serious is hair when exposed to sunshine?
Many people know that the skin needs sun protection, because the ultraviolet rays in the sun contain strong energy which can penetrate the corneum of the skin, generate radicals, cause DNA damage to the skin, and make the skin darker and older. However, many people do not expect that the hair exposed to the ultraviolet rays can also be affected. It will cause various hair problems. The damage and effects of ultraviolet rays on hair can be attributed to the following points.
Primary damage:Ultraviolet rays will cause lipid loss in the surface layer of hair, causing skin dryness.
Perhaps you know that there is lipid layer on the surface of our hair, which protects the hair scales. If the hair lacks this layer of lipid protection, it will become dry and frizzy (in addition, hair dyeing and perming can also cause dryness and damage to the hair). This is also the theory that many oil-based hair care products are basing on. The ultraviolet rays will cause the lipid loss on the scalp surface, and the hair will start to dry. Once the hair is dried, there will be damage on it, because it will accelerate the damage to hair scales on the hair.
Intermediate damage: Ultraviolet rays damage hair scales
The outermost layer of hair is the scale layer composed of several layers of hard and brittle keratin. However, under the strong irradiation of the ultraviolet rays, the scale layer can crack and even fall off. Please take a look at the scale layer under microscope. The hair is under ultraviolet lamp. After a period of time, the scale layer has cracked under ultraviolet irradiation.
Once the hair scale layer is cracked, then from the layer where the crack is started, these layers of hair scale layers will eventually fall off. It's like a barb on your finger. In the end, this layer of skin will eventually fall off. It's only a matter of time. (Of course, we will cut it with scissors).
Now we have known that the ultraviolet rays can cause direct damage hair scales. It will be easy for our hair scales to be lift up, cracked and eventually fall off. Once the hair scales fall off, inner part of our hair can be further damaged. That is to say, ultraviolet rays can start the hair damage mode.
Severe damage:Ultraviolet rays degrade the keratin in the hair and, in the long run, the hair will lose its elasticity and toughness.
When the hair is irradiated under the ultraviolet lamp, after a certain period of time, it will be found that the ultraviolet rays will change the properties of the hair scale protein, and even form cavities in the hair, making the hair lose its elasticity.
How bad is hair damaged by ultraviolet rays?
