As a hair stylist, some of the main things I see clients wanting to skip out on are trims, treatments, and professional products. Now, I’ve already talked all about professional shampoo and conditioners on the blog and why you should buy them from your stylist, you can read that here! This week I am giving you all the details about those conditioning masks and protein treatments your stylist is selling you! Do you need them? Are they just trying to upsell you? Let’s talk about the truth behind hair treatments.

First, we need to understand hair. The hair that has grown out of the follicle, that you can see, is called the hair shaft. This part of the hair is not made up of living tissue. It’s not connected to your nervous system with living cells. That’s why it does not hurt when you cut it. So, when a product claims it can “heal” your hair what they mean is, it can make the hair seem “healthy” or “undamaged” again by filling it with moisture, proteins, and smoothing ingredients. You must keep using these fillers to maintain it. These products do not give it life again.

What is a hair treatment?

 A hair treatment is a service done at salons or at home that targets common issues people find with their hair. Such as dryness or breakage.

Which one is right for you?

Look at your hair to figure out what your hair needs to achieve your hair goals. Here is a hair chart to help:

treatments

Why you need these treatments?

As I stated above, your hair is dead. So, having hair that is shiny and soft while we damage it is kind of impossible without some products!

Societal beauty standards make us believe hair should look and behave a certain way. It’s simply not natural for all hair types to achieve these looks after day-to-day damage. Which is why the beauty industry is booming! You need these products if you want to create hair that is considered "trendy" or "beautiful".

If you are using heat, coloring your hair, or even just brushing your hair every day you need treatments to cover up the damage that occurs over time. So yes, next time you’re in the salon add the treatment or buy an at home haircare regimen.

I hope this gives you a little more insight into your hair, the science behind your products and helps you choose the right hair treatment that is best for your hair!