Breathe…. Breathe….Breathe…..
We all know how important it is to breathe. What you may not think about is how important it is for your scalp and hair to breathe—and to breathe properly.
Did you realize that most—if not all—hair extensions (including clip-on hair extensions, glued-on hair extensions, fused-on hair extensions and sewn-on hair extensions), hair replacements, hair loss systems, hair weaves, hair pieces and wigs do not allow your hair and scalp to breathe or breathe properly? It’s true that many hair extensions and hair replacements will allow your scalp to breathe or get some air, but it’s important to understand to what degree. For your hair and scalp to breathe naturally, it must have access to an ample amount of air.
The healthiest hair extensions and hair replacements keep your own hair and your scalp as exposed as possible. A good question to ask about a hair extension or hair replacement is as follows: If you were to take a spray bottle and pump a light mist of water over your head, would you feel the tingle of the water going through your existing hairs and onto your scalp? If so, then your scalp is probably breathing naturally.
Think of how it feels when the wind blows your hair. If the air is hitting your scalp, then your scalp is breathing properly. This situation results in a healthy scalp and healthy hair.
Let’s look into the different reasons for adding hair and how they affect how your hair and scalp breathes.
1. If you are adding hair to enhance your existing appearance, you may choose a clip-on extension—one that allows you to put it on and take it off yourself. You may also opt for a semi-permanent hair extension, which is not as easily removed. Clip-on extensions have one advantage over semi-permanent extensions: you can take them before going to sleep. This allows your hair and scalp to breathe during the night. The drawback to clip-on extensions is that most are somewhat heavy—they have firm, solid bases and hold a lot of hair. As a result, clip-on extensions create a dramatic hairstyle, but they cover your existing hair and scalp. These extensions should be removed as often as possible, unless they can pass the “hair mist test,” which is unlikely.
Semi-permanent hair extensions are those that cannot be taken off or put on. The hair is part of you—you can sleep and shower with a full head of hair. These extensions are sometimes applied with metal anchors (often called micro-anchors). The anchors are, essentially, little metal pellets through which your own hair is inserted along with the added hair. The pellets are then crushed to lock the extension into place. The smaller the anchors, the better your hair and scalp will breathe. Regardless, the hair in the anchor will never breathe properly because it is not open or spread apart—nor it is exposed to the air.
The more common semi-permanent method of attachment is referred to as bonding, gluing, fusion, protein bond or any other form of glue. Regardless of the terminology, any of these terms refer to glue. From a breathing perspective, the glue blocks the scalp from breathing.
It also keeps all of your hairs that are glued together from being spread apart and breathing freely.
2. Many people choose to add hair to compensate for genetic hair loss. Examples of genetic hair loss are male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness or female pattern thinness and any form of alopecia, including alopecia areata, alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. Hair extensions are not effective in this situation because most genetic hair-loss occurs on the top portions of the scalp. When adding strips, tracks or extensions, the anchor points (i.e. small clumps of hair) will show very easily.
When adding hair to compensate for genetic hair loss, the most common solution is a base that covers your existing scalp and/or any hair that is still left within the thin or balding areas. When adding hair to compensate for genetic hair loss, be sure to remember this rule of thumb: the finer the base and the less hair added, the more naturally the scalp will breathe.
Attaching these hair systems also affects how your scalp breathes. Here’s another rule of thumb: the smaller the attachment the better; larger attachments are worse. In other words, the less glue, bond or fusion used, the better off your scalp will be. (Some attachments call for a “full head” bond and do not allow any breathing whatsoever.)
3. Many people choose to add hair to compensate for medical hair loss. This is not uncommon for patients who have had bariatric surgery (a treatment for extreme weight loss which causes hair loss), those with Lupus, a condition that causes hair loss, chemotherapy patients who’ve experienced hair loss, and those with thyroid disorders resulting in hair loss.
There are many wigs, hairpieces and hair systems that specialize in adding hair to compensate for medical hair loss—but these specialized wig, hair pieces or hair systems do not necessarily allow your scalp to breathe or breathe naturally.
In medical situations, the same rule of thumb applies: the lighter, finer, and more transparent the base, the better off you will be. Also, the smaller the attachment (i.e. the less glue, bond or fusion), the better off you will be. This rule of thumb may be even more important in medical situations because these people may soon be growing their own hair back.
Some examples:
Bariatric surgery patients lose their hair due to a sudden loss of nutrition. After surgery, when these patients gain nutrition, they will grow their own hair back—and will want their scalp to be as exposed as possible while wearing their temporary wig, extension or hair replacement.
Any process that does not allow the scalp to breathe naturally may retard hair growth—or stop it from growing back at all.
Lupus patients experience intermittent hair loss. Wigs, hairpieces or other hair systems that do not allow the scalp to breathe freely can cause hair to fall out more quickly and take more time to grow back. These people need a solution that adds hair while allowing their scalp and hair to breathe naturally.
Patients who add hair to compensate for hair loss due chemotherapy treatments should also be sure their scalp is breathing freely. This allows the patient’s own hair to grow back more quickly (and fully) after treatments have stopped.
Those who have thyroid disorders experience different types of hair loss: in some cases the loss is permanent; in other cases it’s not. (In some instances, the hair loss moves from one area of the head to another.) Again, since the hair loss is due to a medical condition, it’s even more important for the scalp to breathe—ensuring that the patient has the healthiest hair solution possible.
I’ve always been concerned about the health of my clients’ scalps. That’s one of the reasons I invented the Blending Strand®. The Blending Strand® adds hair in the safest and the most undetectable manner possible. I also wanted people to feel as if their added hair was completely natural. This was doubly important to me, since I also “wear hair.”
I knew if I felt nothing on my head, then in all likelihood, my scalp would be breathing naturally. The Blending Strand® proves me right. The Blending Strand® is made from of a unique filament, which is as fine as one human hair—but more transparent and about ten times as strong. These filament threads are linked together and spread apart. Adding only one single human hair onto the Blending Strand® achieves results that look completely natural—and that allow my scalp to breathe completely naturally. The Blending Strand® passes the “water mist test” with higher grades than any other method in the industry. Plus, it’s ideal for any hair loss situation.
The best way for your scalp to breathe is as if you had nothing in your hair. All my clients agree that’s the way their scalp breathes with Blending Strand®. If you’re interested in experiencing it for yourself, just call to take advantage of a free demo.
Written by Dino Dondiego