We all know it– our crowning glory, whether it’s frizzy, fine, bouncy, or barely there, is determined by a myriad of factors from genetic to environmental. Naturally, we tend to look at genetics first when attempting to foresee our hair-destiny. Fear not, you are not the only one scoping out your mother’s family for any receding hairlines, or questioning your parents on when they noticed their first gray hair. Just as indicative as your genes to your hair’s quality is your health and what you put in your body. For instance, if your body is running low on iron, you will notice tell-tale signs in your tresses. There are two key factors effecting your hair each and everyday which you may not have given as much thought to; they are– weather, and geography.
These two factors go hand in hand; certainly, geography determines weather patterns.
While the long term state of hair is determined by health and genetics, the immediate, day-to-day conditions of hair will most likely be determined by weather. And how exactly does weather affect hair? Sunsilk hair care line explains how these three principal weather conditions affect hair:
1) Wind – Wind will zap the moisture from your hair leaving it dry and brittle. It does this by increasing moisture’s rate of evaporation. All that wind blowing through your tresses will also ruin your hairstyle and cause plenty of knots and tangles.
2) Humidity – Undoubtedly, just as you can feel humidity leaving the air around you heavy, and your skin sticky, you will feel the toll it takes on your hair. On humid days, dry hair tends to absorb the excess moisture in the air. If you have fine hair, the extra moisture will leave your strands heavy and without volume. On the other hand, it will cause thick hair to expand, resulting in frizz.
3) Heat – Blow drying, heat styling, and washing with hot water are all very damaging for hair. With heat, hair becomes very dry and loses it’s ability to hold onto moisture. Also very harmful to hair is the intense heat of the sun. UV rays can damage the molecular structure of hair leaving it dry and stripped of color.
As mentioned earlier, weather patterns are determined in large part by geography. The health and beauty experts at TotalBeauty.com compliled a list of The Top 11 Best-Hair Cities. Based on the weather conditions we’ve discussed, as well as several other factors like water type, pollution, demographics, and number of beauty salons, chances are that if you live in one of these cities, you’re having more good hair days than bad.
1) Santa Barbara – This city has all the makings for perfect hair: clean air, consistent weather, young population, and very little wind and rain.
2) Honolulu – The air is squeaky clean, the water is soft, and beauty salons are all over the place.
3) San Diego – Always 70 degrees and sunny, so hair does not have to adjust to extreme weather. The city also has very little wind and rain, but many salons.
4) Anchorage – No wind, no pollution, and soft water. You’ll be freezing, but your hair will look great!
5) San Francisco – The weather hardly ever changes, wind is low, and the water is soft. Combine that with a high number of beauty salons, and you have a perfect hair recipe!
6) New York – The city has oh-so-many beauty salons and water that is absolutely perfect for hair!
7) Miami – The very low wind and pollution make up for the city’s heat and humidity.
8) Los Angeles – Very little wind and rainfall, combined with consistent weather patterns leave hair manageable.
9) Denver – Low wind, low humidity, and many salons mean healthy hair!
10) Boston – Their soft water keeps hair shiny and soft. They also have a large number of salons per capita.
11) Chicago – The population is made up mostly of young professionals, and beauty salons are abundant!
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Angel Krause is a content developer for HairDirect.com a hair replacement company.
This was interesting. I was born and raised in San Diego and just as you say, not real hair issues. I’m working in Ecuador now and have been having issues with my hair being greasy all the time. I thought it was air or water pollution, but now I realize it is acclimatizing to the change just like my body had too. I hate greasy, flat looking hair though!