Q. I've heard that damaging the hair can help my hair get more volume, why is this?

A. This is actually true, especially for finer hair. Damage swells the hair shaft and roughs up the outside (cuticle) of the hair, which has scales, somewhat like those on a fish. When the cuticle of the hair is very smooth, the hair has shine because the light bounces off of its smooth surface, but it can have a tendency to lay flat because it's so silky. When the cuticle is roughed up a little, the scales are more open. The scales of different hairs catch on each other somewhat like blackberry bushes that get entangled, allowing the hairs to pile up, creating volume.

On coarse hair, which often has enough volume on its own, damage can also be of help. Coarse, straight hair is often very stiff and inflexible and hence, doesn't want to move in different directions. It just wants to go exactly where it wants to go and it is difficult to make it do anything else without a lot of forcing. Damage softens the hair, allowing it to flex more, giving its owner more options. So damage can be a good thing. But as in all things, moderation and balance are crucial. Too much damage on any type of hair will result in a lack of shine, elasticity and bounce. The hair will look and feel dry and lifeless. Too little damage and the hair may be difficult to style. Each different type of hair can tolerate different degrees of damage. Fine hair is naturally weaker than coarser hair and is more easily over-damaged.

It even makes a difference how the damage is created. Damage from good quality color, applied with skill, can be quite helpful. Damage from sun and wind, however, is often not so good, leaving the hair dry and dull. In reality, damage is damage, regardless of how it occurred, but there are some other factors that determine the end result. The main reason good quality color works well in this way is that even though there is some damage occurring, the hair is also being filled in with nice proteins, oils and conditioners. That's why your hair looks so nice after a fresh color. You get the benefit of the swollen hair shaft and roughed up cuticle, adding volume, but the cuticle will be somewhat smoothed out by being filled in, insuring shine. But I must stress that skill of application and quality of color is imperative. Most of the hair colors I see when I'm out in the world are dull and dead looking, even of there is volume.

Bleach (lightener) can really give fine hair more volume but very often hairstylists overdo it. The highlighted hair looks dull and all elasticity is gone. The hair may have more volume then it would in its virgin state, but it isn't worth it, balance has been lost. Again, moderation is key and skill is required.

Finally, there are exceptions to all of this. Some hair works best when it is kept in as healthy a state as possible. It depends on many factors, the most important of which is the particular style desired by the client. Soft, shiny hair can be very beautiful, whether it gets volume or not. A few fortunate people have hair that gets plenty of volume even though it's very healthy. But they don't often tend to be North Americans. This type of hair is more often found in European and Asian countries where you see that thick, dark, shiny hair.

Overall, I absolutely, 100% prefer healthy hair over dried out hair and my work is very much about keeping hair and client as healthy as possible. But, as in all things, wisdom and awareness allow balanced choices to be made.