March 2007
Dear Paula,
I enjoy reading your Beauty Bulletin and have a comment on a piece you wrote titled "Styling Solutions for Problem Hair." I am a scientist for Procter & Gamble, specializing in researching healthy hair and how to minimize damage for those who don't want to forgo hazardous hair habits (myself included!). My comment is regarding the suggestion for adding volume to fine, limp hair.

I completely agree with your advice to cut it shorter, avoiding the weight that longer hair adds. Although coloring hair may add volume, there are healthier options for adding volume, such as using high-hold styling products (waxes, etc.) at the roots. Relying on roughed-up cuticles for volume may give good results initially; however, this is the first step down a slippery slope of hair damage that often results in hair breakage-especially for hair left unprotected (not conditioned). Rough cuticles lead to increased friction between hair fibers, which can lead to layer by layer removal of the cuticle, ultimately exposing the extremely fragile cortex. Before breakage is visible, the rough cuticle will have a negative impact on hair shine-a signature of healthy hair and synonymous with a natural look. Ultimately, I agree that the advice you offer should increase volume, but it comes at a price of which your readers may not be aware. Thanks for all you do to help women wade through all of the beauty choices out there!

Jeni Thomas, Ph.D., Procter & Gamble Hair Care Research Center

Dear Dr. Thomas,
Thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts with me. Having had a tour of Procter & Gamble's Hair Care Research Center, I know the kind of meticulous and comprehensive work you are involved in. It is a state-of-the-art facility with some of the best cosmetic chemists in the country. Despite all the research taking place, the unavoidable, basic fact is that every aspect of styling hair to make it look attractive comes at a price, and not just in dollars, but in the overall health of the hair. Millions of women dye their hair. Almost every woman in the world uses brushes, combs (back combing hair being one of the worst offenders), or high-heat blow dryers, and many use flat irons (this can cook hair). Even washing hair on a regular basis (especially to wash out the wax and styling products you mentioned) causes irreversible damage. There are ways to mitigate the damage: wash hair less frequently, condition the hair, and use protective styling products and conditioners (ones that contain silicones are excellent-something Procter & Gamble invented), don't over-strip hair by overdoing hair dyes (e.g., changing from a dark hair color to a shade of blonde), and use blow dryers and flat irons intermittently and carefully. But no matter how conscientious you are, some amount of damage is inevitable.

Your suggestion of using styling products, particularly waxes, at the root to give hair volume can work, but it can also make fine or thin hair limp and heavy, and someone with an oily scalp will find they have an oil slick on their hair by the end of the day. Styling hair takes experimentation, and part of that is finding a great hairdresser to provide the perfect cut and instructions on how to get the look you want, while still keeping in mind ways to reduce damage.

As always, I patiently await the next product Procter & Gamble (or any other company for that matter) launches that claims to reduce or get rid of damage. Call me a romantic, but I am still hopeful there is some yet-to-be-discovered ingredient or formula that will someday really work for hair and not just be more of the same old marketing claims that mislead consumers into believing the impossible.