April 2024 • Vol. 30 • Issue 4
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Restore Hair and Scalp Equilibrium for Holistic Beauty! …Mythili Nori
or years, hair care products have been focused on addressing damage by providing solutions to repair damage, prevent damage, and maintain hair health. With increased awareness, consumers now recognize that healthy scalp is also a fundamental foundation for healthy hair. Holistic care means to restore the hair at its core while maintaining a healthy scalp. With personalization and self-care at the forefront, consumers are looking for solutions that are inspired from skin care with an emphasis on natural and clean ingredients. In this article, we will discuss factors that affect scalp and hair health and provide an overview of the innovative technologies including specialized product treatments that help restore hair and scalp equilibrium.
Stressors That Impact Hair and Scalp Equilibrium
Hair and scalp health are affected by several factors such as UV exposure, pollution, humidity, mechanical manipulation (e.g., grooming), chemical treatments, physical stressors, and occlusion such as hats and head protectors (e.g., wigs, protective styles, etc.).1 Sebum on the scalp diffuses along the hair shaft and can attract product build-up and dust from air which can affect the scalp’s overall health. Additionally, the bacterial and yeast proliferation on the scalp is commonly associated with enhanced desquamation, itching, scratching, and redness.1 Some hair products may leave deposits on the scalp, while others can strip hair’s natural oils to the point that it begins to overproduce sebum.2 Oxidative stress (i.e., free radicals from sources like UV and pollution) can weaken scalp skin health and cause aging.3 Sensitive scalp syndrome has been reported to arise from increasing levels of air pollution. Symptoms of sensitive scalp include itching, prickling in the scalp, dandruff, oily scalp, and pain in the hair roots. Pollutants also can migrate into the dermis and through the hair follicle, leading to oxidative stress and hair fall.3 Hormonal changes, medical conditions, heredity, and aging are cited as common causes of hair fall, but there have been a lot of searches for hair loss since the beginning of the COVID-19 panademic (+250%), and how to stop hair fall post-COVID increased by a whopping 1,250%.4 The skin surface and follicular openings are recognized sites of rich microbial colonization and intense immune citation, with crosstalk across the skin barrier.5 A disrupted microbiome may cause infections and inflammation to the scalp.6 This disruption may aggravate scalp disorders that can lead to acne, eczema, alopecia, scalp psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff, etc. The aforementioned diseases of the skin and the hair follicles are all due to the dysfunction of dysbiosis—the imbalance of the skin microbiome.5 Scalp conditions also impact the quality of hair causing the resultant cuticular cells to be less flexible than normal, which may impair both anchorage and subsequent fiber surface integrity due to an oxidative stress environment. Hair cuticle cells become more brittle and chip off. This results in a rougher cuticle that is also less functionally effective.7 Cleansing of hair and scalp is also vital. How often you should cleanse your hair is
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