Effect of Dew Point and Humidity on Hair

 

Effect of Dew Point and Humidity on Hair

When searching the web about hairstyling, hair problems like split end, frizzy hair etc. a term which found quite commonly, Dew point. Now, what is Dew point actually and how does it really affect our hair?

To begin it is crucial to know what Dew point and Humidity actually means.

Dew Point

Putting it simply, it is the temperature in which air is filled with water molecules and if the temperature is cooled even more dew starts to form around us.

Humidity

Humidity indicates how much water is actually present in the air at the current temperature. It is more precise and useful for hair styling than the dew point. A humidity of 60% means 60% of the total water holding capacity of air is filled with water molecules. And for this reason, we will discuss using humidity rather than dew point.

 

Now let’s get back to the main topic- What is the effect of these two on Hair?

 

Hair is a hygroscopic substance meaning it's porous and loves to suck in any water it finds around it. So, generally speaking, it will absorb water from the air and fill itself up and swell up if the humidity is high.

And, when that happens it can -

·         Damage the protein structure.

·         Degrade Amino acids.

·         Disrupt with blood flow.

·         Makes the cuticle stand up.

·         And also make the hair appear coarser and more unmanageable.

But if such a thing occurs whenever our hair comes into contact with water then none of our hair would look nice and shiny naturally as air always contains some amount of water in it. And in the photoshoots where people submerge themselves in water would have horrible hairs.

So, why do many of us maintain good hair despite being exposed to water?

The answer is our body knows how to protect itself from such unnecessary absorption.

Our hair is naturally lined by oil secreted by our scalp which prevents the extra water from entering the hair. This oil fills up all the pores and such and prevents excessive water loss and unnecessary water gain.

But the problem is the hair products and styling process that we include in our everyday life actually removes this oil from our hair some even make the hair more porous making it more susceptible to water damage.

Again, as our hair can absorb moisture it can also lose moisture. This kind of scenario is seen in dry places where there is very little moisture in the air and relative humidity is in the lower end of the spectrum.

In such an environment our hair losses moisture and oil from its outer lining. Leaving the hair exposed to the heat and dryness of the surrounding.

In such places our hair losses moisture and becomes dry, and brittle. Which leads to death of hair follicle, breakage, greasy scalp kind of things.

 

For better understanding lets see what and how dew point and Humidity affect our hair –

 

We have already said that our hair is hygroscopic and porous structure so it naturally attracts water around it when there is more water in air, meaning high humidity.

And speaking in more detail our hair contains a protein called alpha Keratin which when exposed to chemicals and treatments like heat style convert to beta keratin, which is a bit rigid and doesn’t love moisture like alpha does and so it can maintain the styled shape of hair.

Now, beta keratin is found in birds and reptiles and it is not common for mammals like us. So, when the oil lining is missing the beta keratin is exposed to moisture and with time and water this beta keratin is converted to alpha keratin again.

This allows an increased amount of water to enter our hair and swell them up. And in that state, our hair cannot maintain the styled form.

Now, disruption of hairstyle is only a minor problem because when the hair swells up with water the pressure inside the hair also increases leading to tissue strain. And if tissue strain continues for a period of time it can weaken the hair and become more vulnerable to damage.

Also, when cuticles stand up it allows water to enter areas where it should not go. And in some places, there are water-soluble proteins and amino acids which undergo degradation in presence of water. Causing poor nutrition in hair.

Damage to tissue, cuticles, degradation of protein all this makes the hair become weak, lackluster, dry looking, coarse, frizzy, and split end starts to appear.

As for low humidity, the same damage can also occur. How?

When there is not enough moisture in hair the protein molecules inside the hair undergo denaturation process. Which leads to a lack of protein and delayed damage repair and ultimately visible hair damage.

Lack of fluid makes the hair drier and more constricted making them prone to breakage and formation of split ends.

From the above context, it seems as if dew point and humidity will only become a concern when the hair is styled or bleached or permed or when the humidity is very low.

But the fact is people are not the same there are some people who have naturally curly hair, some have perfectly straight hair. And similarly, some people have oil secretion problems as well as coarse hair problems.

So, depending on our hair type our concerns will vary. And so, be it high or low humidity everything can influence our hair, it can good or bad ranging from minuscule to large enough to be visible.

 

How Much Humidity is Bad for Hair?

 

How much humidity is bad depends on various factors. Like what is the condition of your hair is it untreated, or bleached, or washed with sulfide containing shampoo or conditioned or is it curled using heat. Other things like pH of the scalp, amount of oil secreted, blood circulation, proper nutrition along with humidity plays an important role.

Above we have stated that increased water absorption by hair will lead to damage. But how much water can cause that damage exactly?

For this, there is no correct answer as hair actually absorbs very little amount of water from its surrounding air, and depending on the condition the little amount can do harm and again do nothing.

An experiment conducted on Water absorption/desorption of human hair and nails showed that untreated hair absorbed less water than nail in almost all situations. And at 95% humidity, the amount absorbed was somewhere near 0.26 gm/ gm of sample. And this absorption was distributed around the entire length of the hair.

The average humidity in a state like the US during the afternoon is around 50%. Some countries like Bangladesh which are more tropical mean humidity is found to be around 74%. But the number differs with season. With Winter is the dry season and Rainy being a wet period.

So, for people living in such a country like Bangladesh, the swelling of hair will be as much as 8% of the total diameter. Which is very minuscule and hardly can make a difference as the hair itself is quite thin.

Sure, it can make a curl look less curly and disrupt the beauty of any styling, but not much damage can be done by it.

 

But what we do know is How much time is needed to get the hair damaged

 

A study conducted by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology tested African, Caucasian, and Asian hair swelling when soaked in water.

All the hair had reached their maximum swelling capacity within 150 seconds of being socked which is less than 3 minutes in the water.

Now, humidity cannot compare to direct water. So, the time needed for complete absorption in air much much higher. And research gives us insight into that.

According to it at 95% humidity untreated healthy hair needs 40+ minutes to absorb 0.13 gm of moisture/ gm of hair. And a Diffusion Co-efficient of 0.0163 was observed which is a very slow rate considering the surface area of hair exposed to air.

Meaning at our average humidity and average time of exposure the amount of water gain or loss through air is too little to cause any visible damage to a healthy hair but a percent of increase in diameter can hamper the hairstyle.

So, the possibility to damage hair due to prolonged exposure to humidity can only occur when the hair is treated to

·         Styling hair using heat at high temperature for a long period on a regular basis.

·         Using random chemical products and damaging the outer surface of hair.

·         Genetically poor hair conditions like reduced oil secretion, more hygroscopic nature etc.

·         Frequent Usage of Shampoo.

·         Keeping hair wet for a prolonged period.

·         Repeated Bleaching, highlighting, and other chemical process as it can make hair more porous.

When to Consider humidity

 

People of all types can consider the daily humidity for their styling preference. As from above, it is apparent that whether damage is done or not humidity can mess up the style by increasing diameter. So, we should consider humidity in the following cases –

·         When choosing a hairstyle.

·         When deciding whether to use Emollient or humectants on hair.

·         If the hair is quite sensitive to changes.

·         When recovering from hair damage.

 

Whether to use Emollient or Humectants on hair According to Humidity

 

Emollient

This are moisturizing substances. Meaning they provide hair with more moisture. Consider using them when the hair is dry or humidity is in the lower end of the spectrum.

Humectant

This are water-absorbing substances and will absorb water from both environment and hair depending on which contains more water and reach an equilibrium to prevent any more water exchange.

Consider using them during wet periods meaning high humidity to prevent excess water absorption. Usage in the dry season can result in the opposite situation.

 

Natural Solution for Humidity

 

·         Use natural emollients like coconut oil as they are naturally water-repelling.

·         Use Luke-warm water to wash hair and scalp.

·         Keep your hair wet for a minimum amount of time.

·         Don’t wash hair frequently using chemical products.

·          Use natural Humectants like

o   Honey

o   Agave nectar

o   Fructose