Author: Jenna White
August 5th, 2020
Updated: June 9th, 2021
August 5th, 2020
Updated: June 9th, 2021
Hygral fatigue is a phenomenon thought to occur when you over-condition your hair, leading to excessive damage from moisture entering and exiting your hair’s cuticle too many times. Typically, damaged hair starts with choices you make around styling, color or chemicals. The way to heal this type of damage is through deep conditioning, plus avoiding the daily use of heat styling tools. The concept behind hygral fatigue argues that it's possible to overuse deep conditioners on hair. Signs of this can include hair appearing limp, stiff and experiencing breakage, despite the use of high quality conditioning products.
When it comes to the concept of hygral fatigue on natural or "virgin" hair (i.e. hair that has not been touched by chemicals), it can sometimes be used as a marketing ploy targeting people with curly hair when there is technically no concrete scientific evidence that hygral fatigue exists. In a Medium post titled "The Psuedo-Scientific Term Grappling the Hair Community" by Sura Kamil, it's revealed that the majority of sources that mention hygral fatigue mainly cite three scholarly articles, two of which were specific to the study of wool versus human hair. The one study that did focus on human hair was conducted in partnership with a cosmetics company, which calls the possibility of bias within the research into question. Read on to learn more about the concept behind hygral fatigue, and my thoughts on whether you should take it seriously or not.
What is hygral fatigue?
Hygral fatigue is a term used to define the excessive swelling and deswelling of your hair's cuticle caused by water penetration. A constant shift from wet to dry is believed to make the hair strand weaker. Some hair experts advise less frequent showers or wetting of the hair to avoid this.
Why does/could hygral fatigue happen?
Each strand of hair is quite remarkable in that it is elastic, porous and strong. In an article published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology titled "Healthy Hair: What Is It?", it's noted that hair is made up of dead cells filled and surrounded by keratin or protein. The cuticle, or outermost layer, is formed of dead single cells arranged in a way to protect the center of the hair shaft, which contains the cortex. Together, the cuticle and cortex contribute to the appearance of lustre (shine) and volume (body), two physical characteristics that are associated with healthy hair. The cuticle is not designed to withstand constant adjustments to heat, stretching or friction without a structural change happening (for example: the chemical reaction that occurs during color services, relaxers or perms). An uncompromised cuticle is smooth and allows for light reflection. A compromised cuticle is jagged and doesn't smooth down well, resulting in split ends and breakage.
The following effects of wetting hair are likely to contribute to the concept and use of the term hygral fatigue (as quoted from the same article published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology):
Is hygral fatigue real?
When asking whether hair is damaged during the swelling process that occurs when it goes from wet to dry, the simple answer is no. The hair returns to its original form when dry. I believe the misconception comes from the fact that hair is more fragile when wet. However, moisture and protein balance are important to healthy hair, particularly when chemical services such as color, relaxer or perms have been used.
The question you should be asking: how do I balance protein and moisture in my hair?
The most common way to disrupt the balance between moisture and protein in your hair is through chemical services like color (lightening), perms or relaxers. If you've used services like these, have you been doing any of the following lately?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, check out this YouTube video for more guidance on conducting the "Strand Test".
When it comes to the concept of hygral fatigue on natural or "virgin" hair (i.e. hair that has not been touched by chemicals), it can sometimes be used as a marketing ploy targeting people with curly hair when there is technically no concrete scientific evidence that hygral fatigue exists. In a Medium post titled "The Psuedo-Scientific Term Grappling the Hair Community" by Sura Kamil, it's revealed that the majority of sources that mention hygral fatigue mainly cite three scholarly articles, two of which were specific to the study of wool versus human hair. The one study that did focus on human hair was conducted in partnership with a cosmetics company, which calls the possibility of bias within the research into question. Read on to learn more about the concept behind hygral fatigue, and my thoughts on whether you should take it seriously or not.
What is hygral fatigue?
Hygral fatigue is a term used to define the excessive swelling and deswelling of your hair's cuticle caused by water penetration. A constant shift from wet to dry is believed to make the hair strand weaker. Some hair experts advise less frequent showers or wetting of the hair to avoid this.
Why does/could hygral fatigue happen?
Each strand of hair is quite remarkable in that it is elastic, porous and strong. In an article published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology titled "Healthy Hair: What Is It?", it's noted that hair is made up of dead cells filled and surrounded by keratin or protein. The cuticle, or outermost layer, is formed of dead single cells arranged in a way to protect the center of the hair shaft, which contains the cortex. Together, the cuticle and cortex contribute to the appearance of lustre (shine) and volume (body), two physical characteristics that are associated with healthy hair. The cuticle is not designed to withstand constant adjustments to heat, stretching or friction without a structural change happening (for example: the chemical reaction that occurs during color services, relaxers or perms). An uncompromised cuticle is smooth and allows for light reflection. A compromised cuticle is jagged and doesn't smooth down well, resulting in split ends and breakage.
The following effects of wetting hair are likely to contribute to the concept and use of the term hygral fatigue (as quoted from the same article published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology):
- When wet, hair can be stretched by 30% of their original length without damage; however, irreversible changes occur when hair is stretched between 30 and 70%. Stretching to 80% causes fracture.
- Hair is porous: damaged hair is intensely so. Water absorption causes hair shaft swelling. And when soaked in water hair weight increases by 12–18%.
- Wetting and subsequent drying in a predetermined position are basic to hair styling.
- Wet hair has higher combing friction than dry hair. Combing wet hair is more likely to stretch brittle hair to its breaking point.
Is hygral fatigue real?
When asking whether hair is damaged during the swelling process that occurs when it goes from wet to dry, the simple answer is no. The hair returns to its original form when dry. I believe the misconception comes from the fact that hair is more fragile when wet. However, moisture and protein balance are important to healthy hair, particularly when chemical services such as color, relaxer or perms have been used.
The question you should be asking: how do I balance protein and moisture in my hair?
The most common way to disrupt the balance between moisture and protein in your hair is through chemical services like color (lightening), perms or relaxers. If you've used services like these, have you been doing any of the following lately?
- Deep conditioning your hair more than a few times a week (leads to limp hair)?
- Leaving protein treatments on your hair overnight (can cause dry, brittle hair)?
- Using heat styling on your hair every day (removes protein over time)?
- Constantly wetting your hair and not letting it dry (exhausts your hair's cuticle)?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, check out this YouTube video for more guidance on conducting the "Strand Test".
