What is hair polishing, the need for this procedure, what are its pros and cons. How and with what split curls are treated. Hair polishing is a fairly new and fashionable procedure, during which your curls get rid of split ends without losing overall length. They become shiny and smooth, flow beautifully and obediently. This pleasure is worth a lot. But, before sacrificing money for the sake of beauty, you need to thoroughly figure out whether it is really worth it.
Description and purpose of hair polishing
The problem of split ends is familiar to many. The reason is improper care of them, for example, inappropriate cosmetics or combing not dried strands, excessive coloring, frequent use of a hair dryer, iron and tongs.
Split ends delaminate, break easily, cling to adjacent hairs, get tangled and pulled out, look dull and unkempt. Especially often this problem occurs with the owners of long curls. After all, the older the hair, the more often it was exposed to all kinds of negative influences. As a rule, the ends are split, but it happens that this happens along the entire length. In addition, human hair is replaced about once every 5 years, each of us loses up to 100 pieces of hair every day.
They do not grow back at the same time. This is very clearly seen if you take a strand and twist it tightly into a bundle: "antennas" will stick out everywhere. You need to take a closer look - are their ends split? If not, then everything is fine, there is not a single person in the world whose hair is all the same length. Certainly, some hair will be shorter, and some longer, because they began to grow at different times. It is even believed that if there are a lot of antennas, then the hair has good renewability. But if the tips of the protruding hairs are split, then you need to start worrying.
The usual way to solve the problem is to simply cut off the loose hair during the next haircut and grow the length, while simultaneously properly caring for the hair so that everything does not happen again. But this solution is not suitable for the fair sex with long curls. Many ladies are not ready for a radical change of image, do not want to cut the length and try to solve it in different ways. For example, masks are made that give only a short-term effect. After all, the split end cannot be glued, it can only be cut off.
Until recently, there was only one procedure that solves the problem of split ends along the entire hair length - a haircut with hot scissors. The hairdresser twisted the strands into filaments and cut off the protruding ends.
Hair polishing is a more recent alternative development. The hairdresser does not twist the hair into bundles or use scissors. A special attachment is put on the clipper, it is carried out along the strands and the ends of the hairs are cut off. As a result of properly polishing, you get neat, shiny and smooth long curls. And since there are no more tousled ends, the strands do not get tangled, the hairstyle is easy to fit.
Naturally, the machine does not care whether the ends split or not, it will cut off everything that is knocked out of the general row in the strand, so the need for this procedure is an individual matter. Do not sign up for a polish just because it is fashionable. It happens that in some cases it is completely contraindicated.
It is needed for those who have thick hair and split ends, and when growing their hair, I want to freshen up their hair a little. Many of those who often dry their hair with a hairdryer, straighten it with irons, curl with tongs or use chemistry, experiment with dyeing probably need polishing. But for those who have thin or curly strands, it is better not to polish - at least 30 percent of the volume will disappear.
Whether you need polishing specifically for you, you can find out by consulting a hairdresser, but only from the one you trust. It is not cheap (in some salons up to $ 50), moreover, the price is often determined by the novelty and fashion, and not by objective reasons. The task of an unscrupulous master is to earn as much money as possible from clients, which is why it is not superfluous to know all the pros and cons of the procedure yourself in order to be able to make the right decision about its need for you.
Pros and cons of hair polishing
This procedure has both supporters and opponents. On the Internet, you can read diametrically different reviews: someone is absolutely delighted with polishing, and someone curses the hour when such an idea occurred to him. Often, reviews are backed up by true photographs "before" and "after" the procedure, which completely confuses the reader. Let's figure it out.
Pros of hair polish
Naturally, positive reviews are written by those who liked the final result - shiny and obedient hair. This means that they met a qualified specialist who, having correctly assessed the client's hair and the acceptability of polishing for it, competently performed the procedure. Some experts find polishing to be even more effective than cutting with hot scissors.
She really has many advantages:
- Preservation of length … It is a well-known fact that split hair cannot be restored, but only cut off. The ability to cut only split ends (by 3-10 mm), while maintaining the total length of the hair, is the main plus of polishing.
- Improving appearance … Moreover, instantaneous - an excellent result is observed immediately after the end of the procedure. Polishing, removing the cross-section of the ends, makes the hair shiny, smoother, softer and less brittle. They are much easier to comb, they stop getting confused.
- The ability to do it yourself … One session is quite expensive. Naturally, it is better to carry out the first procedure in the salon with an experienced master. And having bought everything you need to polish your hair, the subsequent ones, so as not to overpay, can be done at home, even if you have minimal experience in haircuts. After all, you do not give the curls a shape, but simply stretch the nozzle over them, refreshing the hairstyle.
- Harmlessness … This procedure can be performed on hair of all types (it is also suitable for graduated haircuts) and combined with other manipulations, because there is no heat treatment during it.
- Quality cut … The edge of the hair trimmed with scissors is looser than the edge of the trimmed hair. Naturally, a smoother edge will keep this smoothness longer. That is, a perfectly straight cut is a kind of prevention of split ends.
The effect of the performed hair polishing lasts at least 3 months (up to six months). It can be extended if all this time you follow some simple rules: eat right and take vitamins, strengthen your hair with masks and balms, do not use a hairdryer and other styling devices that affect them too often, protect them from frost, excessive dryness and humidity (that is, wearing a hat in cold and rainy weather, and wearing a panama hat in sunny weather).
Cons of hair polish
Ideally, polishing will refresh your hairstyle and help strengthen weakened hair, there are no harmful effects - coloring or heat treatment. Seemingly solid positive qualities. But there is also a downside.
Here's what we can say about its cons:
- Price … Quite large for such a fairly simple procedure. Moreover, the longer the curls, the higher the price. Perhaps, over time, when hair polishing ceases to be a fashionable novelty, even in the provinces, its cost will become more adequate.
- A temporary solution to the problem … Hair polishing is not a panacea, the problem of split ends can resume after 3 months if hair care is not correct.
- Health restrictions … If the hair is severely falling out or there are any fungal diseases, the polishing procedure is contraindicated, it can weaken them. Given the fact that not everyone can correctly assess the condition of their hair, before signing up for polishing for the first time, consult with a trichologist.
- Hair type restrictions … For those with thin and sparse hair, it is better not to polish. The effect will be temporary, until the first shampooing. Those who have curly hair, as well as those who have recently dyed or permed them, should also refrain from polishing. Such curls, due to their structure, will stick out in different directions, and a machine with a nozzle, cutting off all the irregularities, can damage them. Of course, the problem can be solved - curly hair can be pre-laminated, and for those who have dyed or chemically curled hair, just wait a while. When deciding on polishing, be sure to consult with your hairdresser. And even more so, do not do the first polish on your own at home.
- Risk … Even if your hairdresser and trichologist is not against polishing, this does not mean that its result will be excellent for you. There is always a risk of not seeing the result that was planned. For example, having got smooth and silky curls, you can significantly lose hair in volume. To be sure that the polish is right for you, you have to take a chance and try.
For the first polishing, choose a good salon and an experienced craftsman and be sure to read the reviews about them. For those who have a complex haircut, it is generally better to do the procedure only in the salon with an experienced master, otherwise you can damage healthy hair and ruin your hairstyle.
Hair Polishing Tools
In obtaining a positive effect from polishing, an important role is played not only by the skill of the hairdresser and the type of hair of the client, but also by the quality of the tools - it is very dangerous to make it of poor quality. For this reason, some specialists are categorically against this procedure. Let's take a closer look at the topic so that you can correctly assess the technical equipment of the salon you have chosen, and in the future you can easily make a choice when buying your personal hair polishing tool.
Iron to prepare hair for polishing
In order for the procedure to proceed correctly and only the ends are cut off, without damaging the hair, all the strands must be straight. It is for this reason that polishing is not recommended for owners of wavy curls. For hair straightening, the beauty industry has a special device - an iron or styling.
There are three types of them:
- With metal plates … The cheapest option. And the most traumatic for the hair, although sales consultants in home appliance stores often convince buyers that the contact time of the heated metal with the hairs is short, and therefore the effect of such styling is harmless. It is permissible to have such an iron at home if you are not going to use it often. But to have one for work is unprofessional.
- With ceramic plates … Average price category. The selection is quite large from well-established brands (Bosch, Panasonic, Rowenta, Philips). The effect is gentle, the heating of the plate is uniform, there are even models with a surface ionizer (charged particles in the composition of the plates have a positive effect on the hair).
- Tourmaline coated … Expensive novelty. The most gentle option for the hair, because the ceramic plates covered with the smallest crystals of tourmaline are charged with different charges during the heating process, which negates the negative thermal effect on the curls. A very convenient model with a temperature controller. So you will empirically select the optimal thermal regime for you and reduce the negative thermal effect on the hair.
Please note! Before you start to straighten the curls with styling, they must be prepared to facilitate the process and keep the result longer. For this, a variety of moisturizing and nourishing lotions and sprays are used. They are applied before styling on slightly damp hair that has not yet dried, spread with a comb along the entire length and wait until completely absorbed.
Hair polisher
By and large, there is not much difference which model of the machine you will use in the process of polishing your hair, the main thing is that a special attachment could be installed on it.
It is very important that the machine's knives are sharp, because a high-quality cut prolongs the positive effect of the procedure.
Considering the fact that professional machines with steel alloy blades are quite expensive, it makes sense to spend money on their purchase if you are a hairdresser and will work with this tool every day and strenuously. And for home use, when the load on the device is small, it will be enough to purchase a device of the middle price category - the cosmetic effect from its use will be the same.
An ordinary medium-priced machine and a high-quality special hair polishing attachment in stores cost approximately the same. Machines of such companies as "Moser", "Ermila", "Wahl", "Wella", "Oster", "Jaguar", "Hairway", "Andis" (with a knife block 45-46 mm) are suitable for the attachment.
Hair polishing attachment
This is the most important tool in the polishing process. They alternately (4-5 times) process all the curls, pre-straightened by styling.
The attachment is called a "hair polisher" and is a special plastic tip that is put directly on the clipper and snaps onto the strand separated from the rest, bending and lifting it in a special way. About a centimeter from this sharp bend there are machine knives, and they cut off the free end of the hair as soon as it shows up in the slot.
It is very important to choose a nozzle with high-quality bristles, because it depends on how successful the polishing procedure will be.
Different attachments differ from each other in the width of the knife block, and you can find a suitable one for your existing clipper. It is rather difficult to talk about a specific tool, because such a device is produced by many companies. But, for example, the HG polishen hair polisher is considered the most popular model among professionals. This attachment can be purchased online or at almost any store that sells hairdressing and makeup products.
This trendy gadget is speculatively overpriced. Purchase price of 1000 attachments - from 30 cents, 100 attachments - from $ 1 per piece. In stores, polishers cost from 800 to 2500 rubles. For comparison: the price of a polishing session for medium-length hair is about 2,500 rubles, for long ones - almost 5,000 rubles. Even at the overpriced cost, the benefits of using a polisher at home are clear.
How to polish your hair
This is a fairly simple procedure, in fact, an absolutely ordinary haircut with a typewriter. But if you go to the salon under the influence of advertising, expecting something magical, without much idea of how exactly polishing is carried out, then you may even be disappointed from the simplicity of the process. But it is thanks to her that polishing can be done at home.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
- Washing head … Wash (twice if necessary) your hair with shampoo so that there is no grease left on it. This is important: because of the sebum, the split ends, being heavier, settle and during the polishing process they may not get under the machine knives. For the same reason, do not use rinses and conditioners after washing. The hair structure should be natural.
- Styling straightening … Apply thermal protection to clean, dried curls and stretch the strands with an iron. Hair should be well straightened, so the effect of polishing will be better. In general, manufacturers promise 100% disposal of split ends, but, according to consumer reviews, the real figure is from 70% to 90%, it all depends on the skill of the hairdresser and the condition (smoothness) of the client's hair. On smooth polishing, it is faster and easier to do it, only protruding ends are captured, and not healthy strands.
- The actual polishing … A nozzle is put on the clipper, a strand of hair is tucked into it. The rest are fixed on the head with clips (prepare a few in advance). Processing starts from the back of the head. Each strand should be walked 3-4 times in different directions. It is best to start at the tips and work towards the roots. The person who polishes can clearly see from what moment the hairs stick out on the curl, and whether it is worth driving the machine all the way or you can stop earlier. An experienced craftsman then examines the polished curl and, if necessary, scissors over it in order to achieve a truly 100% result. And so, without missing a single strand, the whole head is processed. Depending on the length of the hair, the whole process can take from 15 minutes to three hours, on average - one and a half to two hours. At the very end, the ends of the haircut are trimmed to make the hairstyle look neat.
- Final processing … After polishing, the hair should be washed again and applied with an oil mask (from burdock or castor oil). Dry and style the curls.
- Additional care … For the positive effect to last longer, after polishing, regularly nourish your hair with special masks, and treat the ends with oils and serums that prevent splitting.
Many people are afraid that after polishing the hair volume disappears. In fact, this is all a result of the split ends disappearing. Previously, they clung to adjacent hairs, entangled with them, lifted and bent them, thus creating additional volume. Figuratively speaking, the strands were as if with a fleece. Now they are unraveled, smoothed, lie flat, and therefore it seems that the volume has disappeared.
In general, it makes sense to do this procedure for those who have hair longer than the shoulders; for short, the problem of split ends can be solved in the traditional way - with a fresh haircut. How to polish your hair - watch the video:
Hair polishing is a simple and useful procedure with no side effects and impressive results. Thanks to her, the problem of split ends disappears, but at the same time it is possible to maintain the total length of the curls (the ends are shortened by only 0.3-1 cm, and not by 3-10 cm, as when cutting with hot scissors!). And those who are embarrassed by the high enough price can do it on their own.
