All Of Our Hair Woes Answered By A Hair Scientist

Looking after your hair in the hot summer months, here in the UAE, can be a challenge, there is no doubt about that. So, in a bid to beat the heat and humidity, no matter what hair type you have, we sat down with a Dyson Supersonic hair scientist and quizzed them about all things tresses…

How should we look after our hair differently in the summer months?

It can be challenging to maintain a healthy look for your hair during summer, but good news is with small changes to your hair care routine, you can help protect your hair from the summer damage.

In a hot region like the GCC, humidity can be one of your biggest challenges. You probably noticed that your hair style gets ruined the moment you step outside to the heat. This is because retention is all about water. Changes in humidity cause the bonds in your hair to be disrupted as water moves in and out of hair. This will cause your style to drop out more quickly. So, avoid over drying your hair as it will act like a sponge and pull water in from the air disrupting your style more quickly.

Why should we avoid overheating our hair?

Styling tools have become an essential part of our modern lifestyle. They give you the perfect look but at the expense of your hair’s health – causing it to become weaker leading to breakage, damage and more split ends. The reason is that human hair is mainly made of keratin, protein, extreme heat changes the shape of the protein making it weaker and more brittle.

Does this mean that you need to stop using heat styling tools? No it means that you need to be aware of the temperature level of your styling tool. If your hair dryer’s temperature goes above 150, this definitely means that it is damaging your hair.

The Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer has intelligent heat control, helping to ensure hair isn’t exposed to excessive temperatures. A glass bead thermistor measures the temperature 20 times a second and transmits this data to the microprocessor, which intelligently controls the patented double-stacked heating element, and doesn’t allow the temperature to go above 150.

What is the best way to tame frizzy hair?

Frizz is mostly caused by movement of water in and out of the hair which disrupts the style causing it to return to its natural shape. Extreme heat weakens your hair increasing the amount of mechanical damage that occurs when you manipulate your hair (e.g. combing or brushing). This damage to the outer cuticle layer means water gets into the hair more quickly making your hair frizz faster. So, avoid using styling tools with temperature above 150, and avoid going out in the hair wearing wet hair. Make sure you rough dry your hair to 80% dry before styling it with a hair dryer or completely dry when using a hot styling device like a straightener to minimise damaging the hairs cuticle.

How should we dry thick hair with a Dyson Supersonic?

Dry your hair with a towel then attach the smoothing nozzle and start blow drying your hair downwards in the direction that the hair grows (not against the cuticle).

Once you have most of the moisture out, attach the styling concentrator and start with the sections at the front around the hairline and begin to blow dry the hair here first as this is the area that has baby fine hair and will become frizzy if not blow dried first.

If your hair is not damaged you can use the full heat settings for fast drying, and always remember to use the cold shot button to set the style in.

And what about drying fine hair with a Dyson Supersonic?

Start with drying your hair from the scalp to the end. If you want to add volume to you look, dry your hair upside down so it sets in shape pointing away from the scalp. Begin with the styling concentrator directing the nozzle at your roots blow drying the hair in the opposite direction that it grows (on the roots only). This will create instant volume. Then use a big round brush and finish with the Supersonic cool shot.

What is the most beneficial and strengthening way to dry our hair?

Always start with the smoothing nozzle to remove the moisture then when the hair is 60% dry swap attachments to the styling concentrator using a brush to dry the hair. If your hair has been coloured or is damaged drop the heat to the middle setting, and remember to use the cold shot button to set the style. The beauty of the supersonic is that you can never thermally damage your hair because of the intelligent heat control.