Hair Elasticity - Explained!
You’d be forgiven for thinking that hair elasticity refers to some complicated chemical components of our hair. The truth is that it is as simple as it sounds: it’s how far your hair can stretch without breaking.
We’ve all heard the term ‘bounce’ when we’re talking about the health of our hair - and there's plenty of science to support how the elasticity of our hair is what gives our locks the voluminous ‘bounce’ that we see in hair care adverts. Luckily, you don’t have to be a scientist to take advantage of your hair’s quiet hero.
What Is Elasticity?
Our hair, like skin, has a tendency to absorb and retain moisture. Healthy moisturized hair will look shiny and feel strong. When your hair is wet, you should be able to pull a strand slightly, and when let go, it will return to its normal length without breaking.
Modern haircare has seen a rise in natural and safe synthetic ingredients designed to help your hair retain more moisture and promote elasticity. We only use the natural kind here at Earthkind, and our Elasticity Pre-Wash Treatment Bar is made with Elastin, that penetrates deep into the hair to nourish, strengthen and increase flexibility. We also include Macadamia butter, organic coconut oil, and proven hair strengthening plant proteins to help your hair retain moisture and improve elasticity.
What Affects Elasticity?
Different people will have different natural levels of elasticity - and hair type can be a big factor in how bouncy your locks are. If you have naturally curly hair, you’ll be pleased to know that you likely have a healthy amount of elasticity - but harsh chemical processing and prolonged, direct heat can have a negative effect on bounce and shine regardless of your hair type.
And like many things in life, too much of a good thing can be detrimental and hair moisture is no exception to the rule. Over-moisturised hair can look and feel mushy, limp and excessively soft. You may be able to stretch your hair, but with too much moisture it won't return back to its natural state - and it may even break away from the follicle.
Overly elastic hair can also be down to an imbalance in the proteins your hair needs to stay strong and healthy. Many of the things that can cause a lack of moisture in your hair can also strip it of these proteins: excess heat or water, manipulation, or harsh chemical treatments. We pack our Elasticity Pre-Wash Treatment Bar with plant proteins to help replenish these protein stocks in your locks - leading to strong, salon quality hair.
How To Test Your Hair's Elasticity
To test your hair's elasticity:
- Dampen your hair.
- Separate one strand of hair from the rest.
- Hold and stretch (softly) from the mid-point of the strand.
- Let go.
When letting go, healthy hair will bounce back to its original length. Overly-elastic hair may return to its original state but take longer to do so. A lack of elasticity means that the strand won’t bounce back or could even break apart.
What Makes Our Pre-Treatment Bar Different?
The innovative Elasticity Bar is powered by two types of protein, Elastin, which gives resilience and elasticity to the hair, and a multifaceted Wheat Amino Acid Based Complex which adds moisture to the hair and helps increase its strength.
These proteins are combined with amino acids and excellent conditioning ingredients including organic olive oil, organic coconut oil, castor oil and macadamia butter to create a supercharged conditioning treatment which penetrates deep into the hair to increase elasticity and strength.
To work effectively - hair treatments need time. This is why we’ve created the Elasticity Bar as a pre-wash treatment. Leaving the treatment on the hair for a longer period of time allows it to penetrate through the cuticle of the hair and deep into the cortex, where it can really work on increasing hair’s elasticity and strength. When the hair is washed, only the surface residue is removed, and the absorbed treatment remains in the hair fibers.