Are Metals in Hair causing Hair Breakage? Here’s your solution

Even the purest water can contain metal particles or contaminants. This isn’t a serious health problem, but it can pose a threat to hair colouration. There’s nothing worse than being taken by surprise at a colour service. Unexpected results are often caused by metals in hair fiber. Yes, your hair contains metal. It’s happened to us all: a flawlessly finished foiling job suddenly goes up in flames-literally. You can also pull a foil gently, but it will still pull section of hair along leading to serious breakage. What is the cause of this? We have suggestions on how to avoid metals in hair and its reaction with hair colour! 

Every shower and swim causes hair fibers to accumulate metal particles. This is due to the water eroding metal pipes and then depositing metal particles every day, wash after wash. The water quality, hair porosity, and where you live will affect the amount of metal found in your hair. Even the purest water can contain metal particles. This isn’t a serious health problem, but it can pose a threat to hair colouration. During hair colouring service, these metal particles react with hair oxidants, causing hair colour results that are unpredictable and can also cause hair breakage.

Problem: Metals in Hair

Nothing is worse than being taken by surprise when you colour your hair. Colour services can often be hampered by metals in hair fibers. How can this happen?

Metals can erode over time in pipes in homes and hair salons. This causes metal particles to combine with water. These metal particles build up in hair fibers during wash after wash.

Even if a client doesn’t have hard water, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have hair hampered by metals. Hard water can lead to the accumulation of metals, but water that is clean may still contain metals.

Here’s what happens when a client comes into the salon with her hair fibers accumulated with metals. When these metal particles come in contact with oxidants in colour dyes and lightener, it can lead to a serious chemical reaction that can cause erratic colour changes and breakage of hair

Copper is considered to be the most hazardous of all metals. Copper can form clusters in hair fibers and infiltrate the proteins, the hair fibers structure, thereby binding to them. When colour or lightening agents are introduced to the hair, these two copper compounds react with them and cause microexplosions that can lead to hair breakage.

It’s scary, right? Breakage is the worst scenario, but these metals can also cause unreliable and uneven colour results. Nobody likes having hair colour that looks splotchy. What can you do?

The solution: Metal Detox

Before you commence any chemical service, you must first neutralize any metals to ensure a reliable, consistent colour and prevent hair from any brittleness.

L’Oreal Professionnel has been working with a top Greek university over the past seven years in order to understand the effects of metal on hair and hope to discover an effective solution. More than 2000 hair strands were analyzed by the team. Glicoamine is the solution that they found which results in more consistent colour and less breakage.

Glicoamine, the only active agent that is tiny and thus it can trap and neutralize the metals in the hair fibers. This prevents them from reacting with the oxidants. While other agents are capable of removing metal particles from the hair fiber’s exterior but they are not able to prevent breakage. Glicoamine has a small enough size to neutralize metals so there is 87% less hair breakage and 100% reliability in producing consistent hair colour results.

L’Oreal Professionnel developed a three-step professional protocol to neutralize metal during hair colour and lightening services. It is called the Metal Detox system. This three step system can be employed with any hair colour or any lightener brand.

Metal Detox Steps

1. Pre-Treatment : Before the service, neutralize any metal.

Spray on dry hair sections by sections, focusing on the lengths.

Allow the spray to air dry while you combine hair colour or lightener.

Start the colour service. There is no need to rinse or add processing time.

2. Shampoo: Remove any metals gently.

Apply shampoo uniformly to wet hair after colour or lightener has been processed.

Make sure to lather up until you have a thick foam. Rinse off.

3. Conditioner/Mask – Protect hair fiber from any new metal particles.

You can choose to use either the Mask, Conditioner or both. The Conditioner can be used alone for thin or fine hair. Use the Mask for medium-to-thick hair. Use both the Mask and Conditioner for medium-to-thick hair that needs extra TLC.

After shampooing and rinsing, apply the conditioner evenly to towel-dried hair. Let the Conditioner or Mask process for one minute. The mask can be left on for up to fifteen minutes. Apply Conditioner first, rinse and then apply the Mask.

Rinse well and style as you like