Your Braiding Hair Would possibly Be Giving You an Allergic Response

“The very fact is that, because it’s not regulated, we do not know what’s precisely in braiding hair,” says Los Angeles-based dermatologist Zoë Indigo Smith, MD. “However what we do know is that one of many potential causes of scalp irritation is the coating.” Smith notes that when the hair is heated, that coating can even launch different chemical compounds, which might be trigger for added concern.

What are some potential dangers of sporting artificial braiding hair?

The principle level of concern folks expertise with artificial hair is the scalp irritation—and that irritation’s negative effects—it will possibly trigger. Dr. Smith says that an allergic response (and the ensuing irritation) attributable to any of the artificial braiding hair’s substances may result in further negative effects, most notably hair loss. “Your hair is like grass, and if the soil shouldn’t be proper and it isn’t getting the vitamins it wants due to irritation, then that grass goes to bounce,” says Dr. Smith. The grass, on this case, might be your hair: Dr. Smith says that irritation, if left unchecked, may contribute to a type of alopecia.

Individuals have additionally speculated that artificial braiding hair might be linked to most cancers because of the usage of vinyl chloride within the chemical coating of the hair. One examine exhibits that poisonous VOCs (unstable natural compounds) are emitted when artificial hair is singed or heated at temperatures of 250°C and above. Inhaling these VOCs may theoretically create elevated well being dangers for each the braider and the braidee, although extra analysis must be accomplished for any dangers of this magnitude to be said definitively.

correctly clear artificial braiding earlier than putting in

Correctly cleaning your braiding hair is the easiest way to forestall scalp irritation when utilizing artificial hair. All you want is an apple cider vinegar rinse, which Chicago-based hair stylist Brenda Johnson (no relation to Cynthia) says is a mix that is two-thirds water and one-third ACV. You will need to combine this up in a big bin or sink that is sufficiently big for all of your hair to slot in, then soak the artificial braiding hair within the rinse for as much as an hour.

This works higher than utilizing different cleaning merchandise, like shampoo, as a result of uncooked ACV (even when diluted with water) is an acetic acid, which may neutralize the alkaline properties the hair has as a result of chemical coating, making it extra appropriate together with your scalp’s pure pH. “The coating on braiding hair, like Kanekelon hair, has a excessive pH,” Cynthia, the beauty chemist, explains. Apple cider vinegar brings the pH of artificial hair (often between 9 and 11 after it has been processed) all the way down to the vary of pure human hair and pores and skin (between 4.5 and 5.5).