Your hair may start the day behaving perfectly well — you wash it, style it and out you go, full of confidence. But by mid-afternoon, your hair turns moody. It goes frizzy, limp or out of shape, and no matter what you do — combing, brushing, teasing, spraying — it remains in a bad mood. You’ve gone from loving your hair to hating it in the course of a day. And you’ll loathe it even more if you have a date and it suddenly throws a tantrum before you go out.
We know that metabolic factors can affect hair growth, thinning and fallout. But little has been written on the hair’s behaviour patterns: its moods, its fluctuations and what to do about them.
The prime culprits in mood change are environment and weather. You may do your hair in exactly the same way every morning, but suddenly, one afternoon, it gets into a temper. Humidity might be to blame: hair absorbs moisture and this spoils its shape. Or it could be pollution: substances in the air that coats the hair are bound to affect its behaviour.
As if that weren’t enough, emotions don’t help either. If you are stressed, your scalp will secrete more sweat and sebum. These attach themselves to the first inch or so of the hair, making it limp and lifeless. And it’s a vicious circle: you become stressed by your moody hair, which worsens its condition — and so it goes on.
Hair is one of the most frustrating and difficult parts of the body to cope with. And it obviously needs work to keep it from throwing a tantrum. Many of the causes of moody hair can’t be controlled — you would need to live in a vacuum and be permanently tranquillised to keep it perfect. However, there are simple ways to limit its moodiness. First, check for split ends and have them cut regularly. If possible, you should wash and condition your hair at a similar time every day, preferably in the morning. If you have to do it at night, don’t go to bed with it wet. Use the same products every time (assuming you like them and are not experimenting to find something better). And always apply a leave-in, protective styling aid, putting more on the ends of your hair than the roots. To help control any scalp changes, apply a scalp toner. And finally, make sure you dry it properly, but don’t bake it — and spray on a weather protector to keep it in shape and protect it from moisture.
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If you follow these rules, your hair may still get in a mood from time to time, but it won’t be so bad. And you’ll certainly feel better.
Philip Kingsley: 020 7629 4004, www.philipkingsley.co.uk