Modification of hair is a very common and popular way for men and women to tweak their appearance. It is a more highly accepted form of beautifying, as opposed to piercings and tattoos which are still considered taboo by many.
People of all ages dye, highlight, dip-dye, perm, curl, and straighten their hair. The possibilities for hair enhancement are vast and can be done at your local hair salon as well as home. However, too much alteration of the hair’s natural state can have significant consequences. Although appealing to the eye, hair that is constantly treated with chemicals will become severely damaged.
“I’ve been dyeing my hair ever since elementary school,” senior Myra Richardson said. “I don’t always go to the salon; my mom does my hair at home too”.
Instead of using pure bleach to lighten her hair, Richardson has used different products which are far less harmful such as Sun In.
“I used it last year and after that I used boxes, but I’ve never used bleach,” Richardson said. “My hair has gotten a bit dry but finding the right shampoo can get it back to normal.”
On the other hand, senior Tillman Singh used bleach to lighten his hair in his freshman year.
“I bleached my hair at home with a box product,” Singh said. “The first time I did it my hair turned a bright, fiery orange. My hair was absolutely destroyed afterwards and it took so long for it to grow back.”
Any form of chemical alteration of hair results in locks that are dried out, different in texture, and breaking at the ends. There are different types of treatments used to smooth and replenish hair, although they do not always work and are often short-term. The consequences of constant hair alteration can unfortunately lead to long-term.
“Any time you lift color you, you damage the hair,” Bellini’s Salon and Spa hairdresser Duane Dolbow said. “There are two different ways to do this, high lift color and bleach. The difference is that high lift stops at a certain point, but bleach continues to lighten the hair until stopped by allowing to dry or removing it.”
The process of hair lightening was described by Dolbow as a removal of the hair’s internal structure. When asked about remedies, Dolbow emphasized the great variety of products on the market to help treat damaged hair. He advised to be cautious in following instructions carefully, as too much protein treatment can cause the hair to become too strong resulting in breakage.
Dolbow recommended steering clear. “Anything like mayonnaise or olive oil will just stay on the outer layer of the hair. When washed off, the hair will go back to normal.”
In other words, professional treatment for damaged hair is highly recommended for successful results.