Do you know that to get any information about your own hair, and I mean any information, all you need is to examine those strands of hair that fall off your head before you decide to chuck them into the bin? Trust me, that hair can say a whole lot to you. So here are some examples of what the hair that falls off our head can tell us. I must mention that most of these applies only to Natural ladies, as relaxed hair has been altered by chemicals and doesn't tell a true story.
1. The fallen hair tells you whether your is shedding or breaking. I am sure this is the most important point for ladies who want to retain length. How will you know whether your hair is shedding or breaking if you don't examine it. Hair shedding is normal, but when it is breaking, you know you have some work to do. So how do you tell the difference between the two? The first way is to examine the length of the hair. If it is as long as your average length, it is most probably shedding, so don't fret too much. If it is mostly short, then it is breaking. A more accurate way to determine this is to look at the root of the hair strand closely. If there is a white bulb, it is shed hair, else it is broken hair. Formerly, I just could not see any white bulb. I guess I wasn't just patient enough to examine it closely. But trust me, it is always at the root of shed hair. If hair is shed, just take it as normal, and don't fret too much, unless it is excessive.
2. The fallen hair tells you the level of your protein-moisture balance. When you pull a strand of shed hair to its full length, and leave it to curl up, its behaviour can tell you a lot of things. Just read the tips below to understand the protein-moisture balance of your hair.
From science of black hair
(When Wet or Dry) Stretches slightly and returns to its original length without breaking, you are balanced! Stick with maintaining!
(When Wet or Dry) Stretches a little more than normal then breaks, you need more protein in your regimen.
(When Wet or Dry)Stretches, stretches, stretches with no significant breakage yet, add a bit more protein to your regimen.
(Wet)- Feels weak, gummy, mushy, or limp, you need to add more protein to your regimen.
(Wet or Dry) Experiences very little to no stretching, and simply snaps or breaks, you need to increase the moisture in your regimen.
(Dry) Feels rough, tough, hard, dry, tangly, brittle, or any combination of those, you need more moisture in your regimen.
Tips gotten from http://hairscapades.com/2011/11/30/moisture-protein-finding-the-balance/
3. The fallen hair tells you when you begin to experience unusual hair loss. One would think this would be obvious, but it wouldn't if you are not observing closely. Some people might even think they are losing too much hair when their shedding is just normal. What I do is that, just like Kimmay Tube, I keep all the hair that falls out of my hair when washing, detangling, and styling. I record the dates, and what I used on the hair. This way, if there is any unusual hair loss, I can know, and begin to investigate the cause. This has reduced any unnecessary paranoia on my part. Towards the end of last year, when I had a bad hair damage, it was this process that actually confirmed my suspicions.
4. The fallen hair lets you know your hair porosity. One of the reasons why people's hair react differently in the same situation, and to different products is because of hair porosity. You can always test the porosity of your hair by conducting a strand test on the strands that fall off your hair. Please, always conduct the strand test on freshly washed hair. Don't know how to carry out this test? Just click here for more info.
5. The fallen hair lets you know if you have excessive split ends and single strand knots. This is very important, especially for people who don't trim regularly or don't do protective styles often. Also sometimes, we may run our hands through our hair, and not feel the knots because of the fullness of the hair. Sometimes, your hair might not be long enough for you to stretch to the level where you can examine with your eyes. You can determine if you are battling with excessive split ends and single strand knots by examining your shed hair. This should let you know it is time for you to just chill out or go and have a trim.
6. The fallen hair lets you know your hair type. For people interested in the hair typing system, you can determine your hair type by examining the curl pattern of your fallen strands very closely. This gets even more interesting if you have several hair types on your head. Some people even have as much as four hair types. Examine the curl pattern of the shed hair from different parts of your head. Compare and contrast the kinks, springs, coils, and curls, and know where you fall, if you are interested.
7. The fallen hair lets you know the thickness of your hair. Hair thickness is categorised in three different ways: Fine, medium, and coarse. Also you can have different levels on thickness just on one head, so if you want to examine it, be sure to capture all parts of your head. I, for example, have baby hair (fine) round the circumference of my head, while my middle hair is thick. I have all three kinds on my head. To determine what category you fall into, examine a single strand. If the thickness is similar to that of a sewing thread, it is medium. If it is thinner, it is fine, and if it is thicker, it is coarse. This factor is also a great contribution to why people's hair behaves differently.
I believe there are other things our fallen hair can tell us, but I guess this is enough for now. If you have any more points to add, let us know in the comment box.
One thing we can take from this post is that people's hair are different, and now we know why what worked for Tola may not work for Tolu. So know your hair, and find what it likes. But how will you know your hair if you do not examine the fallen ones?
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