Thanks Guys great info !!
Sorry this is a dumb question but what are ceramides ??
Bumping for any more input !!
There are few posts about ceramides. There is even a challenge that has some useful information in the thread.
What Are Ceramides?
The short answer is that ceramides are hair cuticle cement. These lipids play a key role in keeping the hair’s scales in place.
The long answer is that ceramides, are intercellular lipids which make up a portion of the hair cuticle (approximately 3% of the hair’s total composition), along with sterols (lipid, fatty composition).
Wheat germ is a naturally occuring form of ceramide, which is why some hair consumers with chemically treated strands utilize wheat germ oil for deep and leave-in treatments.
Damaged Hair Contains No Ceramides
Hair which has been damaged from chemical treatments (color, relaxing, straightening, Brazilians) or at-home excessive heat styling (hot irons, blow dryers, hot rollers, etc.,) generally contain little if any ceramides. Studies have shown that hair, even before it is altered with hair coloring has lost ceramides as a result of the environment (sun, wind, environmental toxins) or other stress triggers.
Ceramide deprived hair will have poor elasticity, high porosity and be prone to brittleness, excessive dryness, breakage, snagging and ripping. Damaged hair without cermides will also not hold curl or waves easily.
Generally speaking damaged hair examined under a microscope in a laboratory setting will generally show a complete absence of ceramides.
(Image to the right courtesy of L’Oreal – All Rights Reserved)
Discovering the link between damaged hair and absence of ceramides, hair care companies like L’Oreal researched the advantages of embedding off of their hair care products with ceramides to repair damage and restore hair to its pre-damage condition.
L’Oreal Was Pioneer In Working With Ceramides
L’Oreal discovered when studying hair before after chemical hair coloring services that all the ceramides were lost during the hair coloring process.
http://blogs.hairboutique.com/index...nt-for-damaged-hair-from-chemical-treatments/