What does hair elasticity even mean?

There are a lot of jargon terms in the hairdressing and haircare world. One of the common terms that you hear people use or you might see on shampoo bottle is ‘hair elasticity’. Although it’s a super commonly used term, there are a lot of people who are unaware of what hair elasticity even means. Well, I’m about to explain to you exactly what hair elasticity really is and what you can do to ensure your hair is healthy.

Essentially, hair elasticity means how much your hair will stretch and then return to it’s former state. An ideal elasticity of your hair is 50%, but it’s not uncommon for it to have less elasticity than this.

Now, if you’re experiencing hair with low elasticity, you don’t need to panic. There are ways that you can revert your hairs elasticity to full health. First, you need to test the strength of your hair.

How to test your hairs elasticity

Generally, we divide your hairs elasticity into three different categories; low, medium and high. These are the accepted terms that you might hear, though I’ll admit they’re definitely quite vague.

To test the elasticity of the hair on your head, the first thing that you need to do is ensure that your hair is wet. This is because wetter hair has a higher elasticity than dry hair. In general, you should be able to stretch your hair between 100-200% more when your hair is wet than when it is dry.

Secondly, you need to ensure that you select hair from all over your scalp. This is because if you only pick one hair, then you could be unlucky and select a hair that is damaged and wouldn’t give a good idea of the health of the hair on your entire scalp. Use 3-4 hairs on your scalp to get an accurate measurement.

Then, stretch your hair slowly. You should be able to stretch your hair significantly when it is wet. If your hair does not stretch more than 50% more than it’s current length, then you might be suffering from hair with low elasticity.

Problems with low elasticity hair

Whilst having hair with low elasticity isn’t the end of the world, there are a few complications that you can have from this. Low elasticity is generally a sign that you’re dealing with dry hair. This means you’re predisposed to;

• Breakages – You hair will become more fragile, and you might notice more hair than usual falling out in the shower.
• Hair to style – Curls your hair is nearly impossible if you’re dealing with low elasticity. This is probably the most annoying part of having dry hair.

How to fix low elasticity hair

Getting yourself a good haircare regime is definitely the first step towards a healthy head of hair. Your first step is to start using a shampoo that’s specifically designed to deal with dry hair. You don’t need to spend a fortune on this – you just need to spend enough to get an above premium shampoo.

I particularly like Maple Holistics, but you should try a few different shampoos and see which one works best for you. Make sure you don’t overuse a shampoo though, as this can also have the opposite effect on your hair.

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Conclusion

The health of your hair is important, and you need to keep it healthy. Although dry hair can occur naturally, there are a lot of different remedies out there that you can use to help increase it’s elasticity. Find the right shampoo and haircare regimen for you and you won’t need to worry about a lack of hair elasticity ever again.