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Electrifying, lively, sparky. All welcome adjectives when describing someone’s personality, but not their hair. Yet static is a common problem in the winter months. We are at a peak period for static now as Storm Darcy sends biting cold winds and snow across the country.
Static occurs when electrical charges accumulate on an object's surface; usually the result of two materials rubbing together or moving apart. It causes electrons to transfer from one object to the other. When your hair builds up an electric charge, it can cause the hair strands to repel each other like magnets, making hair frizzy and difficult to style.
Very dry air in cold weather increases static electricity. Cold dry air outside. Warm dry air inside. If there is humidity in the air, the charge can usually dissipate.
1. Dry atmosphere
2. Aggressive heat styling– too hot, too close, for too long, and too often
3. Siliconised products– (the hydrophobic silicone or heavy oils dehydrate the hair despite what it says on the pack)
What can you do about it?Dehydrated hair is more likely to conduct an electric charge causing static hair. And heat styling can easily take some hairs beyond dry into over-dry which can lead to static. It’s more pronounced in winter months as the hair cannot recover moisture from the humid atmosphere of the summer months. Try to dry the hair to almost dry and leave it to airdry the rest.
LifeSaver or LifeSaver UV treatments will compensate by moisturising the hair and reducing the likelihood of static.
1. Use LifeSaver Prewash Treatment or LifeSaver UV more often in winter and use a richer conditioner.
2. Choose natural fibres in headwear
3. If hair has already become static, try damping hands and feeding the moisture into the hair, or use a little LifeSaver rubbed into hands and applied direct to hair. Use moisturising finishing products like 10 Second Transformation and Magic Oil.
Where were you standing when you decided to adjust your hair colour? Do you stand there often?
At the first salon I worked as a junior, back in the last century, the colourists at the salon had an interesting technique for showing clients their finished results; escorting them to the ladies toilet where a single electric wall light seemed to cast a favourable glow.