Hott Mama asks…I’m worried about sun exposure on my hair. I know that sun makes my color fade faster, but is it doing any real damage to my hair?
The Left Brain responds:
Dear Mother, yes sunlight can cause serious physical damage to hair. According to the International Journal of Cosmetic Science (2007 29. 143-146) the Textile Research Institute at Princeton University conducted a study in which they exposed hair of different ethnic types to natural environmental conditions in sunny (and hot) Arizona.
Solar scorching
They found that the hair changed dramatically after extended exposure: the fibers became thinner and the cuticle scales fused together. The hair also became extremely brittle with numerous radial cracks and fractures. Perhaps most disturbingly the researchers said that “individual hair fibers fused together to form rod-like structures stuck together by solubilized, oozed out, gelled, and finally hardened proteins.” Whoa. Melted hair? One can only assume what kind of heat wave Arizona was having at the time of this study!
The good news is, they also found out that natural melanin pigment in the hair helped protect it from this environmental assault. Indian and Chinese hair, which have a higher melanin content, experienced less damage than European hair that had moderate, low or no melanin. (I guess that means if you have gray hair and you live in Arizona, you should never go outside.)
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Please understand that this study was done under very extreme conditions. Under normal circumstances, hair recieves more damage from washing and drying and chemical processing than it does from sunlight. But it does make you stop and think about how to protect your hair. Since the Right Brain always makes fun of me for wearing a hat, I won’t suggest that as an option for you. But if you’re interested, you can read our previous post about sunscreen in hair care products.
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Well, since I was apparently tricked into “subscribing” to I don’t know what, and I’ve gone around in circles three times with no report to be found, I guess I’ll just look for my first chance to unsubscribe. This has been a very annoying wasted 10 minutes on a Saturday night; thanks a pile.
Okay, I have to apologize for my short temper; the link to the report did eventually show up in my e-mail. Usually I’m more patient and restrained, but I got tricked into watching some “Oscar-nominated” short films tonight that made me want to slit my wrists, so I guess I’m taking it out on everybody. Sorry.
@Dawn: We’re sorry for the delay in receiving the email link to download our report. Unfortunately, that’s controlled by an outside service that we use. Hopefully it was worth the wait! And maybe you should lay off the short films for a while!
Great, I’ll add this to things to worry about since I live in Las Vegas, where it’s like 180 degrees right now (actually it’s only 104ish this week). Actually I don’t go outside that much in the summer (to save my skin), but I’m still slightly worried about frying my hair…
Jeni, I live in Las Vegas too, and lie out in the sun for hours constantly. I’m a 100% Northern/Eastern european guy with blue eyes and was born with blonde hair that has darkened over time. Even with all my sun exposure, nothing bad has ever happened to my hair. And I flat iron it EVERY single day and don’t condition it. And it’s totally fine (the flat ironing can take it’s toll if I turn it up too hot, but I know what the max temp my hair can stand without burning). I wouldn’t worry about the sun ruining your hair…
so, which is worse, sitting out in the sun or coloring/chemically processing hair?
Coloring and chemically processing hair is definitely worse. Extreme sun damage as described in this article is rather rare.