April 25 
Happy Monday everyone! Trying something new today – a patent trench! A favorite trend for a few seasons now, high shine coats were huge runway hits. Even though I admired and drooled looking at some runway coats, I still think this style is very intimidating. The glossy luster looks a little like Matrix dressing, and you know what? After walking around in it, I started to feel like an action hero! Because it’s such a statement piece, one of the best ways to style it is by softening the look. I love pairing it with feminine details like a lace corset-style shirt or a light floral chiffon dress. There’s always room to try something unexpected and new!
In addition to fashion, I always appreciate trying and learning something new. One of my latest obsessions is hair. More specifically, the science of hair. I’m trying to take better care of my hair, and for me personally, one of the best ways to start is to understand it. The structure of it, how it reacts, etc.
:: The Science of Hair | What I Learned ::
What is hair made of :: The main ingredient of human hair is a protein called keratin, which is also found in teeth, fingernails and toenails.
What happens when hair hits water :: After long exposure to water (not good news for me because I like long showers!), the hair becomes weak (keratin, same as nails… when we stay in the bath or shower for long, it becomes weak and brittle). The inside core of the hair strand swells when water gets absorb into it. This pushes the hair cuticles open, allowing more water into the hair. Leaving it waterlogged weakens the hair, which leads to hair breakage and damage.
So water = bad for hair?! :: I don’t know about you, but this is new news to me! I associate water with all things good… hydration, good for the skin, etc. But not with hair?! Long exposure to water on hair = water fatigue (see above). This leads to breakage, frizz, damage, tangles, and dullness. As demonstrated below, wet hair stretches significantly more and is weaker than dry hair. Please forgive my weight system. Both sides contain the same items – pair of earrings, bracelets, house keys, and coin pouch =)
Ok, so now what? :: If you like your shower time (honestly I do!) and nothing in your hair routine changes (we’ll talk about shampoo and conditioner another time), it’s important to zap water out of our hair as quickly as possible. Getting our hair from a wet state to damp state is vital to containing the swelling and stretching. Once the majority of the water is zapped out (from wet to damp), our hair regains it’s strength (does not swell or stretch as much) it can better withstand the stress of heat and styling.
Ok, so now now what?! :: Our hair towel is actually very important in all of this. Which is honestly the last thing I think about, but the truth of it is that the towel is the first thing that comes in contact with our hair once we leave the shower. In fact, it is the first thing we use to dry our hair. Because it is the first defense against water, our hair towel needs to have the ability to get water out of our water fast. This part is my favorite part… my Aquis hair turban.
A traditional bath towel doesn’t work as well simply because it has poor absorbency. And air-drying our hair prevents it from heat damage, but our hair still suffers from water fatigue by being wet. I’ve been using the Aquis hair turban and hair towel for months now and notice a huge difference in hair drying time (it gets water out of my hair fast, thus cutting down my hair blow-drying time), shine (my hair is shinier and healthier), and that my styling products hold better. I love talking about this with friends and this is one of my go-to gifts for the holidays and in care packages. It’s one of those gifts that everyone appreciates, because you end up using it all the time!
I hope you enjoyed this hair tour we just did. I was an elementary school science teacher, so I love learning and sharing the science behind anything, especially beauty and hair. As always, thank you so much for reading! And special thanks to Aquis for partnering on this post!
:: Outfit ::
H A I R :: Aquis hair turban (also love the hair towel!) *code “WENDY15” for 15% off!
T O P :: DVF patent trench coat | Alexander Wang top
B O T T O M :: Forever 21 shorts
S H O E S :: Gianvito Rossi lace-up booties
Thank you so much for reading!
