Your Scalp is Skin

Your scalp is skin and if you are looking for healthy hair, you need to start taking care of your scalp. We’re mostly proactive with our facial skin and need to use the same school of thought for our scalp. By taking proactive measures in your scalp care you can combat the affects of oxidative stress, hair dryness and even hair loss and thinning.

Your scalp and hair protect each other.

Your hair provides protective benefits to the scalp by providing a physical shield against UV rays and this shield allows the scalp to retain moisture. The scalp, on the other hand, is an incubatory environment for your hair follicles that live under the surface. A lot of times this point is mostly overlooked as we focus our attention on moisturizing, braiding, and conditioning our hair.

Your hair is dead.

Perhaps a better way to think about this is that your hair is dead. As soon as your hair shaft breaks through the surface of the scalp, it has no more life. The hair shaft under your scalp is alive. It is problematic that we spend so much more time on our hair, vs. our scalp because over time the quality of your hair will deplete the longer you ignore your scalp.  

A complex web of blood vessels

Scalp skin is similar in nature to other skin areas on our body, with some unique properties. It is the thickest skin on our body and richly irrigated with blood vessels to support the 100,000 hair follicles it houses. Hair follicles are not the hair you see, follicles live under the surface, and it is where your hair originally grows from. Blood flow plays an integral role in ensuring your follicles are performing at the optimal levels. This is why massages and applying oils high in terpenes are so important to continue supporting this system.

It produces a natural conditioner

The hair follicles are attached to what is called sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands are what moisturizes your hair with sebum. This sebaceous gland lives under the surface of the scalp and is our body’s way of moisturizing the hair before it breaks through the surface of the scalp. Sebum reaches the surface of the scalp to provide conditioning properties there too. While sebum is critical for our new hairs, it also means that this oil mixes with pollutants in the air, hair products and can create scalp buildup which is why a regular hair wash routine is important.

Poor scalp health = Poor Hair Quality

There have been multiple studies that have proven that a compromised scalp leads to compromised hair. When researchers studied hair from a compromised scalp they found that the hair was dry, rough and prone to breakage. Also, the likelihood of premature hair loss was increased by a poor scalp

What does scalp care look like?

Encourage blood flow to your scalp. We have a great article all about how to increase blood flow to your scalp. One of the best ways to do this is giving yourself a scalp massage 

Protect your scalp from the sun. Your hair does give protection from harmful UV rays, however if you have a prominent hair part, it wouldn’t hurt to apply a little sunscreen there. If you are going to be out in the sun all day, we would recommend wearing a hat.

Keep your scalp clean. We don’t recommend going beyond 1 week without washing your hair. Yes, even if you are wearing a protective style. The issue is that dust and dirt does accumulate on your scalp, which mixes with sebum and sweat. Leaving your scalp unwashed for a prolonged period will do damage.

When shampooing, focus on your scalp and use a shampoo brush which gently, but thoroughly, cleans and exfoliates your scalp. 

Antioxidants are your friend. Your diet plays such an important role in every aspect of your life. To fight the damage related changes, we touched on earlier, we recommend looking at your diet to ensure it is diverse and rich in antioxidants. Topical solutions, like our Scalp Elixir, are also very beneficial to apply to your scalp. This product is full of rich oils like green tea, hibiscus, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, black seed, rosemary and wheat germ which have high antioxidant properties

Consistency. Nothing will be achieved in one day, or one week. You cannot expect to apply a scalp oil one time and have hair sprouting the next day. If it were that easy, everyone would do it. I cannot stress enough that the key is consistency and being mindful of your habits every day.

References

Trüeb RM, Henry JP, Davis MG, Schwartz JR. Scalp Condition Impacts Hair Growth and Retention via Oxidative Stress. Int J Trichology. 2018;10(6):262-270. doi:10.4103/ijt.ijt_57_18

Koyama, T., Kobayashi, K., Hama, T., Murakami, K., & Ogawa, R. (2016). Standardized Scalp Massage Results in Increased Hair Thickness by Inducing Stretching Forces to Dermal Papilla Cells in the Subcutaneous Tissue. Eplasty, 16, e8.