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5 signs your shampoo is destroying your hair (without you noticing)
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It's not too late to save your hair from destruction. - photo by Kristine Ramos
After a tiring day, nothing is more satisfying than a long, warm shower. You reach for your favorite shampoo and wash away the dirt and grime, leaving you with a refreshed feeling and gorgeous hair.

We use hair products to help the bodys natural process and keep our hair well maintained. Shampoo is a product that most people use in their hair care regimen. However, how can you be so sure that your shampoo is giving your hair the nutrients it needs? Do you even know if it is still in good condition?

You may not notice that your hair is already damaged. So take a look at these uncommon signs that your shampoo is destroying your hair:

1. Difficult to manage

Damaged hair is more prone to tangles. Tangles occur when strands of hair are twining and clumping around each other, creating a matted lump. The matting in the hair occurs because of the dry, rough texture of the strands.

Your shampoo might be causing your unmanageable dry hair. Your shampoo has elements that block the strands absorption of the hairs natural moisture. This natural moisture prevents strands from sticking together.

Shampoo can also make the texture rough and give the hair a stiff appearance. This can make styling difficult. With damaged hair, the hair remains in place or it follows the form of the way you styled it, due to its poor state.

2. Uneven or stunted growth

You may notice that one side of your hair is longer than the other. Shampoo can affect the scalp, and in turn affect hair growth. Hair has a life cycle, and gathers nutrients from the scalp to keep growing. The harmful chemicals in shampoo can interfere with the hair production cycle. They can increase the chances of hair loss, which causes uneven and stunted hair growth.

The dryness and moisture of your scalp affect hair growth. There are certain nutrients like collagen, biotin, copper and zinc that help nourish the hair, promoting growth. They are the key nutrients needed to prevent hair loss and stunted growth.

3. No shine

Shiny hair is healthy hair. The shine and luster of the hair come from natural oils in the outer layer of the hair, protecting the inner layers. This locks in moisture and keeps the strands hydrated.

If your hair has no shine, it could mean your hair is not moisturized, or your natural oils were stripped away. This can make it look dry, dull and lifeless.

Shampoo washes away your hairs natural oils, leaving the inner layer unprotected. Other reasons your hair seems dull could be that you're using the wrong shampoo for your hair type, or you're using too much shampoo, causing residue build-up.

4. Brittle hair

Brittle hair is usually dry, damaged and frizzy. The texture feels rough to touch, and strands break easily when combed or when running your fingers through it.

Brittleness is a sign of poor hair health. It can mean your hair doesn't have enough moisture or natural oil to nourish your strands. This results in weak and brittle hair, and leaves it unprotected.

Shampoos can also cause brittle hair due to some of its damaging ingredients, such as silicone and alcohol. Make sure you check the list of ingredients in your shampoo to avoid one that totally dries out your hair.

5. High porosity

Porosity is the hair's ability to absorb water, oils moisture and chemicals. High porosity hair absorbs moisture quickly, but loses it just as fast.

Hair with this level of porosity is dry, can absorb moisture and has trouble holding moisture in. This happens when the outer layer (cuticle) of the hair is damaged. Gaps in the cuticle let moisture in and out freely. As a result, wet hair with high porosity is susceptible to breakage due to the loss of elasticity.

Your shampoo can cause high porosity because of its chemicals. As a result, it damages the protein of the hair, leaving the cuticle vulnerable to further damage.

How to keep your hair healthy

Hair care is important to many women, and a lot of women use their hair to express themselves.

Avoid washing your hair every day, let your body's natural oils mend your scalp and apply hair products every other day depending on what type of hair you have. Always check the ingredients of the hair products you use to make sure they are helping your hair instead of harming it.

If you want to take care of your hair, remember that it can naturally take care of itself. Hair survived for millions of years before hair products were even invented. Of course, giving it a tiny push from man-made products won't hurt a bit, just as long as you know how to use them.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Street musician killing it on clarinet

She must have lungs of iron! Its inspiring hearing the upper registers being played so well.

Posted by Clarinet Life on Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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