Hair Care Products | What Do They Do?

1. Styling Aids - These are used to give finishing touches to all styles.  Styling Aids provide a final effect that you may be looking for.  They are designed to add thickness and firming. They can come as pamades, cremes, taffy, or leave-in conditioners. Flat irons, curling irons, and blow or hair dryers can also fall in this category  Those utilizing ionic Tourmaline are best for the hair - reducing damaging, avoiding frizzing and fly-away hair.

2. Setting Lotions - These products protect from heat.  Liquid lotions are made to be applied to wet hair giving extra volume to finished style. Most have conditioning benefits and may protect from heat and styling damage while adding hair strength.

3. Styling Mousse - These products are applied to either dry or wet hair and are best for curly styles.

 4. Gels - Gels provide a glossy appearance.  It works best for black and African American hair types. Gels can help you style and can make you have that wet look.

5. Hair Sprays - Sprays are generally used on dry hair to hold and fix the style.  It is made of polymer solution in liquid form. When sprayed on, it forms a fog of tiny droplets.  It tends to coat thinly with polymer.  The hair spray dries quickly in as much as the liquid evaporates as it touches.  As it dries, the polymer forms light welds or bonds between the strands. These bonds hold the created style intact.

6. Shampoos - You should find hair shampoo that fall between acidic and alkaline (or base) ratings, in the center. Balanced shampoos contain citric, lactic or phosphoric acid. Oily hair may require a more acid pH shampoo. If the pH is not present, you may need to dilute the shampoo with water. The use of a shampoo for dandruff is recommended with care as they tend to make your hair aggressive and less lively. They can also irritate the scalp and can even increase the production of dandruff.

7. Conditioners - Conditioners are applied after washing. They give a soft texture to make your hair light, bouncy and soft. Make sure to rinse the conditioner off after applying to avoid irritation of the scalp. A hair conditioner can provide moisture deep into the hair shaft adding body and fullness.  Some conditioners are formulated with vitamins for hair growth and more healthy hair; others contain binding properties to help lock-in color for color treated hair.  Additonally, some have light-weight formulas to add manageability rather weighing down the hair.