As we take better care of our hair, it is important to learn more about our hair health. As our hair undergo everyday environment stressors, ranging from the hair dryer to exposing hair to sun, it is very important to take care of our hair. By taking good care of our hair, our heads will appear more healthy and shiny with a bit of bounce. With this said, I’m going to focus on one of the most popular ingredients in hair care.

The ingredient, vital to hair that’s lacking in moisture, is humectant. What is humectant? It is known as the ingredient that retains moisture in hair. Many shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers and much more have this ingredient and is promoted as part of healthy hair propaganda. Humectants draws in water from the atmosphere (known as hygroscopic) and binds itself to the hair shaft. A way to conserve water, in a manner of speaking, highly popular method by farmers. As a result of this action, it is great for those with very dry and damaged hair that is caused by hair blowing, chemical processing or straightening, or those with thick, coarse, curly and kinky hair.

Here’s a list of some examples commonly found in humectants.

• glycerine
• propylene glycol
• glyceryl triacetate
• sorbitol
• xylitol
• maltitol
• polydextrose
• lactic acid

There are several shampoos, conditioners and other styling aids to choose from that have humectants in them. But I highly recommend Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisturizing Conditioner because it drenches your hair with moisture. Nexxus, one of many hair professional companies, carries superb products that are designed for hair that is dry and damaged.

For people (like me) who regularly undergo chemical processing such as bleaching and toning, moisturizing humectants are very forgiving to your hair and will restore your hair so it takes on the appearance of having a healthy hair although your hair is technically “dead”. All you can do is mask your hair with ingredients that are good for hair and use other styling aids to maintain its health while bring out a shine. In future posts, I will be writing more about other ingredients that are also beneficial to bleached/colored and dry hair.

If you would like something to go with the conditioner, I also highly recommend Nexxus Therappe Luxury Moisturizing Shampoo.

For a great looking color and hair, there is a tip to maintain a great color without telltale brassiness in between touch ups and/or coloring one’s hair.

Normally, when you or the hairdresser perform a root touch up color process, you would resort to a toner, semi or demi permanent color to dye the roots from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the product used. But if you want to avoid super brassy tones that sometimes appear in between root touch ups when you style your hair, we highly recommend Roux Fanci-Full Rinse. It has been around since the 50s and 60s, and they haven’t gone out of business although not many people use them anymore. This products works well when it comes to depositing temporary color in hair because it contains no ammonia or peroxide so it’s super gentle on your double processed locks without further damage. They are rinse in color so it will only last until the next shampoo time, which will be rinsed out. This rinse will tone down any brassiness in your hair and create a beautiful, pastel blonde that you see on TV or magazines. It’s one of the hair dresser’s secrets. But for at home color users, this is a must for your hair arsenal to achieve beautiful looking blonde hair without damage.

How to use this product? After you shampoo and moisturize your hair in the shower, towel dry your hair so it’s slightly damp. Pour a small amount of this 15 oz. product into your hair and then massage the rinse all over your hair. Voila! You can go ahead and style your hair as part of your daily routine. Watch as your hair dries into a lovely shade of pristine blonde without the brassiness and will last until your next shower. Depending on the level of your lightness, go with either White Minx or Ultra White Minx rinse suited for level 9 or 10 blonde colors, respectively. If you’re level 8 or darker, go with either Bashful Blonde (beige base) or Spun Sand (green base, level 7). For your convenience, you can purchase this product below.