Human beings have been washing their hair for millennia. As early as 3,500 years ago ancient Egyptians were blending plant oils with alkaline salts to create the first shampoos. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, a second step was added to hair care: conditioning, the brain child of a perfumer named Edward Pinaud.
The first hair conditioner, a product called “Brilliantine”, was designed to soften men’s beards and mustaches. These days, conditioning is big business. The top 10 manufacturers collectively sell well over 100 million bottles every year.
The outer layer of a strand of hair is made up of microscopic scales called “cuticles”, that overlap each other like shingles on a roof. As hair is damaged through shampooing, blow drying, brushing, coloring and environmental stress, cuticles can wear away, making hair thinner, drier and more vulnerable to breakage.
Conditioners work by coating the hair shaft and smoothing the cuticles down, helping them perform their protective functions. Conditioners can also be formulated to deliver active ingredients into the hair shaft itself. By interacting with the hairs proteins, they can strengthen hair strands from the inside out, making them more resistant to breakage. Unfortunately both of these effects are temporary and that’s why conditioners need to be used regularly.
The best strategy for strengthening hair for the long haul is nutritional. Protein is important. So are vitamins A and C. Plant derived minerals are important too and silica, in the form of liquid silica gel, is one of the all-time great hair strengthening nutritional supplements.
