hair

For most people in the world, dabbing on a spot of perfume or cologne in the mornings is a part their morning routine. Many of us have heard that maxim made famous by style icon Coco Chanel: “A woman should wear perfume wherever she wants to be kissed.”

Romanticism aside, the general consensus on this has been that perfume should be worn on the pulse points in order to lengthen the life of the perfume. However, Elizabeth Barrial, a perfumer at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab in North Hollywood, California says:

The body heat generated by pulse points helps intensify fragrance, and can often diffuse, magnify and amplify a scent, but it won’t affect the longevity. Perfumes will generally be stronger on someone with oily skin and good circulation whose body runs a little hotter.”

For longevity, she suggests spritzing it in your hair.

Hair is great at retaining scents (both good and bad). Dr. Michael Roizen answers a question on the smell of smoke lingering in hair over at sharecare.com:

…your hair acts like a paper towel—it’s absorbent. And hair also often has a mild electric charge, particularly in very low humidity, and this can attract charged pollutant particles. So in a nutshell, your hair takes the stink from the air, and brings it home with you.

If you opt to go the hair route, make sure you only do this with clean hair, as About.com’s Catherine Helbig warns that “natural oils (and any lingering hair products) will affect the odor.”

Also, not all scents work for everyone. TLC Style’s Alia Hoyt advises to

carefully test each scent before making a public debut. Many physical factors, like body chemistry and skin type, can alter the impression of any fragrance, rapidly changing a soft, sweet scent into a sour or overpowering one.

And for those of you out there who like to spray scent onto your wrists and rub them together—don’t. From eHow Style:

Do not rub perfume into skin. Doing so will break down some of the molecular composition (or “bruise”) the perfume.

On a similar note, some perfumes can stain clothing, it is recommended that you apply fragrances before dressing.

Go forth and eliminate B.O!

References
Is there a benefit to applying fragrance to pulse points?
Why does my hair smell like smoke after being around smokers?
How and Where to Apply Perfume to Make It Last Longer
Why Do You Put Fragrances on Your Pulse Points

There are so many different reasons women (and some men) have for griping about their hair; the reasons only increase if you happen to be an ethnic woman. Different shampoos create different results for different hair types. How does that work out? And are all the chemicals in modern shampoos safe?

In recent years, there’s been a grassroots movement to eliminate shampoo, known as going “no-poo”, that has steadily picked up steam. Participants cleanse their hair with homegrown concoctions, usually some dilution of baking soda and water, and finish with an apple cider vinegar conditioning rinse.

Whether you choose to go the traditional route or opt for a more home grown method, there are a few things regarding the pH levels of hair and scalp that you should know. First of all, the pH value of something is how acidic or basic it is. From the EPA.gov website:

The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. It ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic, and a pH greater than 7 is basic. Each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the next higher value. For example, a pH of 4 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than a pH of 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline—another way to say basic—than the next lower whole value. For example, a pH of 10 is ten times more alkaline than a pH of 9.

What does that have to do with hair, you ask? Dominique Harris of All Things O Natural notes:

Sebum, which is the hair’s natural oil, has a pH (potential/power of hydrogen) Level of 4.5 to 5.5, which makes it slightly acidic.

This means that, by and large, our scalps are more acidic than water, which has a neutral pH of 7. This matters because

…hair products with alkaline pH levels open the hair cuticle, making your strands susceptible to major color loss and damage,

according to Rob Guimond, Sojourn hair care director of chemistry. So even water opens up the hair cuticle, since, despite it being neutral, on the whole it is still more alkaline than our sebum (Beautylish.com).

In the baking soda + ACV rinse I mentioned above, the baking soda opens up the hair shaft and the apple cider vinegar works to seal it up again. The extreme changes in levels wreaks havoc on your head. Many users report that it works for some months but then their hair is listless and “strawlike.”

It’s best to find a shampoo (natural or synthetic) that is pH balanced to match the composition of human hair. Rob Guimond warns that:

Many companies use the term pH-balanced to market their products, but this could mean a pH level of anything.

It’s always best to do a spot of research beforehand. The best way to know for sure is to purchase a pH testing kit (readily available online—even WalMart carries them!) and run a quick and simple test on your hair care products.

With all that being said, there are plenty of people out there who don’t buy into this—at least not completely. And not just yet anyway. The science is solid and makes sense, but it falls into that category of things which haven’t been tested enough. And of course, everyone is different. Trichologist at the (apparently legendary) Philip Kingsley Clinic in New York City, Elizabeth Cunnane Philips says she hasn’t seen the pH issue affect any patients dramatically.

It’s still a marketing angle at this point, but that doesn’t mean there’s not validity to the topic. It’s an interesting concept that can only have a positive effect on all hair types.

References
EPA.gov: Acid Rain
Let’s Talk Hair: Are You Testing Your pH…Level That Is?
Beautylish.com
WalMart.com: pH test strips