Healthy Hair

Book excerpt: Hair health is a core benefit of products produced for consumers by the cosmetic industry, and more than 70% of women claim to want healthy hair. However, there is very little clarity in the industry as to the meaning of healthy hair in a consumer context and the technical factors that control what the consumer perceives as hair health. Providing updated information on how to prevent and restore hair damage, Healthy Hair characterizes the clinical, physical, and chemical properties of healthy hair. Factors that control a woman’s perception of healthy hair are described, and how these factors link to the fundamental biology of the hair fiber are explained, as well as insults to hair, such as brushing, coloring, and UV exposure. The influences of different products on hair health are discussed, and methods used to measure healthy hair at the molecular, single-fiber, and consumer levels are described. Hundreds of high quality color pictures illustrate the most important clinical, dermoscopic, and microscopic characteristics of both healthy and unhealthy hair.