What is skinification? It’s all about using skincare ingredients for the health of your scalp.
It's true – the ingredients that make your skin glow can also benefit your hair. There is a new focus on the scalp (it’s skin, after all), and hero ingredients such as collagen, peptides, aloe, caffeine, and vitamin C can help promote scalp health and overall hair hydration.
Most shampoos have started adding shea butter and various oils to their products, to ensure optimum nourishment of your hair and scalp.
These are the skincare ingredient that can help you maintain healthy hair:
Vitamin C
You know vitamin C as the brightening ingredient that gives you radiant skin. Used on hair, it protects against environmental factors. That’s right: this superstar ingredient isn’t just for your skin. Vitamin C also protects your scalp from harmful effects of the sun, while at the same time improving hair growth, reducing hair loss, fighting off dandruff, and keeping your scalp healthy.
Peptides
What are peptides? They are chains of amino acids – power proteins that can transform your hair’s length and thickness. Peptides can stimulate collagen production, improve hair growth by decreasing inflammation of the scalp, and prevent hair breakage by increasing moisture and strength.
Micellar water
Micellar water became popular a few years back for its ability to cleanse skin deeply without stripping away the good oils. It is gentle enough to use on sensitive skin and now it’s being added to shampoos and other hair-care products.
How does it work? Tiny balls of oil called micelles are suspended in water, and these help to absorb dirt and oils. Benefits of micellar water include deep cleansing without over-drying, plus purifying the scalp and promoting hair health.
READ MORE | Enhle Mbali debuts a bald haircut - an expert shares bald-cut basics and scalp care tips
Collagen
Collagen is the key to youthful skin, and is also an important part of our hair structure. It has excellent moisturising benefits that are helpful for dry scalp, as well as strengthening and softening brittle hair. Free-radical damage to colour-producing cells may fast-track greying to some extent, but collagen can act as an antioxidant, fighting this damage and slowing down the greying process.
AHAs and BHAs
Using acid-based products on your hair may seem a bit scary, but they can help promote the health of your hair and scalp. Dead skin cells are shed naturally, and are replaced by new ones. However, chemical exfoliation can help increase cell turnover, which is helpful if you have dandruff, or dry or oily skin.
Chemical exfoliants such as AHA (alpha hydroxy acids) and BHA (beta hydroxy acids) are beneficial when it comes to reducing flakes and preventing clogged follicles. Good exfoliants to look out for include citric (AHA) and salicylic (BHA) acids.
