Hair Static Science and Stability

Recently I have had several questions pertaining to the trauma of hair static so I penned a little someting that I hope helps in the battle against hair static.


Static, in general is caused by charged ions in the air. Our problem specifically has to do with negative ions which are created or pulled out of the hair by water evaporation. In the winter the air tends to be dry. As I explained in my last post, when the air contains a smaller percentage of water molecules than your hair the air will tend to draw or 'evaporate' water out of your hair until the water content in each is equal.
(aren't you glad I schooled you on entropy!)
When this evaporation happens negative ions are pulled out as well and relesed into the air. Your hair consequently is left with a whole buncha positive ions so once this happens static is created because the negative ions in the air want to take the positive charge of  your hair with them as they drift away.
It's all science kids!
For those of you that, like me, NEED to know the meteorology of it all... check this article out:
www.trifield.com/content/about-air-ions/

Now that we understand the problem we go about solving it.
For those of us that blowdry our hair this is where using the ionic setting on the blowdryer is usefull. It is designed to force negative ions back into your hair and  neutralize the charge. I'm not completely sold on this but hey, the comercials say it works so give it a shot!
For the rest of us I propose moisturizers.
At this point the evaporation process has left your hair dry and positively charged, correct? Using a deep conditioner once a week or a daily leave in conditioner on the ends will add needed moisture and negative ions back into your hair which will thwart the love affair going on between your hair and the ions in the air. Once your hair is neutralized it is essential that you apply some kind of silicone based serum on top to lock in the moisture and prevent the evaporation process from happening again.


So! You must in this order you must re-moisturize and neutralize your hair and then seal it with a serum.
I like either Joico Intense Hydrator or It's a Tens Hydrating Mask for a once a week and Biolage and Kenra have good leave in conditioners if you choose to go that rout. Anything that says moisturizing or hydrating is gonna be a good bet but you want to stay away from products that focus on protein or strengthaning because protien rebuilds hair structure and that is not the problem we are solving today!
As far as serums, I always go with Biosilk because its the O.G. tried and true. The main thing you want to be weary of is the amount of oil in the serums. Oily serums, in my opinion tend to be super heavy and don't seal the hair as well.
One of these days I promise I'll figure out pintrist.


I hope this helps at least a little with your own personal battle with static and if all else fails you can always do like Melissa and carry a can of static gaurd around in your purse. Hahahaha Whatever gets the job done right?!


Best of Luck  Jessica