Understanding The Power Of Acidic Hair Care For Colored Hair
Acid? In Haircare? If that’s what the title has got you thinking, then you are in the perfect place!
What if we told you the pH of your hair care products plays a huge role in determining the results they deliver? Your hair needs acidic haircare products to remain healthy and look and feel its best. Whenever we face any kind of scalp or hair-related issue, we tend to turn to targeted hair care products that address our specific concern. For instance, we have anti-dandruff shampoo to deal with dandruff, moisturising shampoo for dry hair, color-protectant shampoo for color-treated hair and frizz control shampoo to tame the frizz. This stands true for all hair care products. While all of these treatments have their own purpose, we tend to overlook the fact that a hair care product should also be pH-balanced.
pH balance is a very little-talked-about topic, and most hair care products disregard the hair fibre structure, making them incompetent in giving your hair what it truly needs. In this article, we will explore what acidic haircare is and why it is important, especially for color-treated hair.
How to Style Curly Hair :
- Styling curly hair is all about giving your locks hydration, using the right techniques, and creating a routine with curl-specific products.
- From understanding your curl pattern to using the LOC method and styling damp hair, learn the smarter ways to care for curls.
- Avoid curl-damaging habits like brushing dry hair.
- Use leave-ins, texture pastes, and dry shampoo for best results, and opt for Redken’s hydrating, damage-controlling Acidic Bonding Concentrate range.
Why is Acidic Haircare Important for Colored Hair?
Understanding what is acidic haircare and what pH balance means is essential for making your color last and keeping your hair healthy. Colored hair is quite sensitive to the pH levels of the products we use, making it crucial to pick the right products. When you rinse your hair with water, it is exposed to a neutral pH of 7.0. However, your scalp naturally maintains a slightly acidic pH of about 5.5, which is similar to the rest of your skin and a bit more alkaline than the hair shaft itself.
The hair shaft typically has a more acidic pH range of 3.5 to 4. This acidity is important because it helps keep the cuticle layer (the hair's protective outer layer) closed and intact, which in turn preserves the hair's color and strength. If the pH level shifts toward the alkaline side, the cuticle layer can open up, leading to faded color, moisture loss, increased dryness, and frizz. It also makes the hair more susceptible to breakage.
Alkaline conditions increase the negative charge on hair fibres, causing more friction and cuticle damage, which leads to breakage. In contrast, haircare products with a pH-balance can reduce static, minimise frizz, protect the cuticle, and help color last longer.
While there isn't a universally accepted definition for acidic hair treatment, products with a pH of 5.5 or lower are generally considered low-pH. These acidic haircare formulations are great for colored hair because they align more closely with the natural pH of the scalp, maintaining the integrity of the hair cuticle. Proper management of pH levels helps ensure that hair color remains intact for as long as possible while allowing your hair to make the most of your acidic hair treatments.
Benefits of Acidic Haircare for Color-treated Hair
1. It Preserves The Hair’s Color and Structure
There is a lipid barrier that coats the surface of the cuticle and protects it against environmental stressors. Haircare products with a pH balance protect this lipid barrier, protecting the color, reducing friction and leaving behind shine and smoothness.
2. Inhibiting the Growth of Fungus and Bacteria
Microbial activity, like the growth of fungi and bacteria, is affected by pH levels. It especially thrives at a neutral pH of about 6.5 to 7. By using acidic products, you can create an environment that’s immune to microbial overgrowth, helping to protect your scalp from infections.
3. Hydration Maintenance
When the cuticle layer is open, it makes the hair more vulnerable to its environment, restricting its ability to hold onto moisture and thus leading to color fading. Maintaining a balanced pH helps to seal the hair strands, lock in the hue and keep the hair healthy and hydrated.
4. Treats Dry, Brittle Hair
Treatments like coloring, straightening, or perming can disrupt the protein structure of the hair, making it more prone to breakage. An acidic haircare treatment can help mitigate this damage by reinforcing the hair's structure and reducing breakage.
5. Scalp Exfoliation
Proper pH levels also aid in exfoliating the scalp by removing excess sebum, dead skin cells, and dirt buildup. Restoring balance promotes faster hair growth and helps reduce issues like dandruff and flakiness.
Explore Haircare Products With An Acidic pH
To keep your color vibrant for as long as possible, you can resort to high-performance acidic haircare products. Redken is a globally loved hair brand, trusted by professionals for its range of haircare, hair styling and hair coloring products. If you have color-treated hair and are looking for an acidic hair care product range, Redken India’s all-new Acidic Color Gloss Range is perfect for you.
This new range comes with a pH-balanced shampoo, conditioner, and serum, making for a perfect haircare kit for colored hair. It is a specialised formulation aimed to make the hair shinier, smoother and softer. It has a perfectly acidic pH that protects your hair’s health and makes the color last longer.
Redken’s entire product range is pH-balanced, making it suitable for all types of hair, including colored hair. Explore our range of shampoos, conditioners, and other targeted treatments to find the range perfectly suited for your specific hair concern. Redken acidic products, when paired with expert-validated haircare tips, make for the perfect recipe for healthy & glossy hair.