There are so many different products on the market that claim to give you beautiful Hair. They’re supposed to make you super sexy and desirable. They’re supposed to improve your performance at work. They’re even supposed to help you find a mate. I’m sure that a lot of these products help, but how can you be sure that they are really working?

Well first of all, we need to understand what the general criteria is for determining hair health if we want to be able to understand what it is that we are trying to measure. We need to know what to look for if we even begin to use the look of our locks as a measure of overall physical health as well.

What to look for in your troubled tresses:

• Hair that is healthy typically doesn’t have a ton of split ends. Split ends occur when the end of a strand of your hair literally splits in two. Usually what happens after this, is your hair becomes weak at those split ends and breaks off.
• Luster or shine is a common measure for healthy hair. It is important to keep your hair from getting too oily or greasy without drying it out. If your locks are too dry, they will lose their shine and break off. You can achieve the look of lustrous locks with an adequate amount of natural oils distributed throughout. If your hair is shiny, that usually indicates that it is not weighed down with product build-up.
• Softness is another measure for healthy hair. If your hair is soft, that usually indicates that it has just the right amount of moisture from natural oils or product. That means that it is not dried out or brittle. That usually means that it is not weighed down by too much product build-up either.

How to keep your locks on lockdown:

What are some general rules of thumb for achieving adequate hair health?

• When washing your hair, you’ll want to avoid using water that is too hot to keep from stripping your hair of natural oils.
• Make sure to avoid using chemicals and alcohol-based styling products because this can also strip your hair of natural oils causing your locks to dry out faster and break off.
• It’s recommended to use products that protect your hair from the environment the same way you would protect your skin. However, it’s best to avoid using too much product that could weigh your hair down and lead to build-up because as we established, this will cause your hair to lose it’s shine.
• You’ll want to avoid using a hairdryer to dry your hair if you can help it. However, if you brush your hair, or aggressively dry your hair with a towel while it is wet, this can lead to breakage.
• Overusing styling devices can easily cause your hair to dry out. This can lead to split ends and breakage as well. If when you finish straightening your hair you see a bunch of little pieces of hair all over the sink, you’re doing something wrong.
• If your hair is already damaged, you can repair it with occasional deep conditioning treatments.
• You’ll also want to trim your hair regularly to eliminate split ends.

Braids tell more than just beauty:

We want to be beautiful. We want to have healthy hair. We also want to be healthy.

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Being confident knowing you look good can most definitely put a pep in your step. However, being able to monitor hair health can help with achieving more than just aesthetic goals. Troubled tresses can also indicate other problems relating to vitamin deficiencies and poor diet. The bounce of your curls can be an indicator of organ functionality and overall health as well.

Taking a multivitamin supplement is an essential step for growing a healthy mane. Maintaining a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, and getting those nutrients from natural sources can also contribute to healthy hair growth.

Sure, it’s easy to examine someone’s hair by just looking at it to determine if they have a ton of split ends. You’re going to notice if someone’s hair is really shiny. You’ll be able to feel it if their hair is soft too, so we might have a pretty good general idea of what healthy hair should look and feel like. We do, however, need a more precise way to measure hair health if we want to be sure that we’re taking adequate care of our hair.

Since not all of us are professionally trained experts on that topic, we might not realize how damaged or unhealthy our hair really is. It’s always good to get an outside perspective on matters that seem to be highly subjective because we might not realize how damaged our hair really is. In actuality, thanks to advancements in technology, we have a more precise way to measure what we previously have only relied on the professionals to eyeball for us.

Why our ponytails need prepping

Appearance isn’t everything, but we have to face the facts. For example, you may have the skills that more than qualify you for a particular occupation. However, if you go into a job interview looking like a hot mess you’re probably not going to get the job.

A small detail, like the appearance of your hair, could either help or hurt your job prospects. If your hair is dull, messy, and it looks like you don’t know how to take care of it properly, people are going to assume that your neglect might manifest itself in other areas of your life. You may not even be considered for the job even though you may be overqualified if you don’t appear to be well put together.

If you can’t afford to make an appointment to see your hair stylist enough to depend on an expert to help you keep your hair kempt, advancements in technology can potentially help you to keep your hair health in check on your own.

How to secure those sexy strands:

This summer, Nokia’s Withings, L’Oreal, and Kerastase are launching the world’s first-ever intelligent hair brush called the Kerastase Hair Coach Powered by Withings to help you monitor your hair health.

• It uses a microphone to listen for split ends while you brush your hair.
• Technology includes 3-axis load cells which measure force used while brushing.
• An accelerometer and a gyroscope are used to measure patterns and count brush strokes. While you brush, haptic feedback is used to indicate whether or not you are brushing your hair properly.
• Conductivity sensors are used to determine if the hair is wet or dry to give a better and more accurate hair measurement.
• This device easily connects through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to provide personalized recommendations for particular products that aim to help improve hair health based on your usage.
• Weather factors such as humidity, temperature, UV, and wind are taken into account to provide personalized recommendations for the right products to use to protect your hair.

The manufacturers of this brush, Nokia, are partnered with L’Oreal’s Kerastase to provide a complete solution. Watch the video below to see this new beauty product in action.

This new piece of gear retails at under $200 and will be available mid-year 2017.

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