What Does Urban Living Do to Our Hair?

When juggling the demands of a busy lifestyle, it’s easy to see how city life and daily activities can take a toll on the look and feel of one’s hair. From working overtime, balancing a variety of morning commutes, or simply the changes of the seasons, in an urban environment, there are many components that can completely sabotage a unique hairstyle.

Here we will examine some of the elements within urban living that can have an adverse effect on beauty regimens with personal care solutions to combat those urban aggressors.

Pollution from the Air to Hair

Many are exposed to atmospheric pollution on a daily basis, and those who work or live in urban areas see that much more. With the amount of dirt and grime particles floating in the air and passing through the hair every second of the day, many are starting to realize the fact that high air pollution in cities affects us in both visible and invisible ways.

If not properly protected, hair can soon show signs of pollution damage, including:

• Increase in dullness

• Increase in friction during blow-drying

• Increase in breakage

• Increase in yellowing

UV Light and Changing Climates—Oh My!

UV light creates free radicals that oxidize both the lipids—the hydrating molecules that make strands hydrophobic and prevent water from getting inside—and proteins, the building blocks of hair that reinforce its structure. When those become damaged, the integrity of one’s hair can become compromised, resulting in strands that not only look dull but also feel dry and lack flexibility.

When your consumers are constantly going from outside to inside during a variety of seasons, they could be switching from air-conditioned buildings to humidity, or harsh dry heat to a frigid temperature multiple times a day. This not only affects how hair reacts to the products that are applied but also to the style that’s been created. From swelling in size and frizzy texture to damaged and dry strands due to a lack of moisture, if your customers are constantly switching back and forth between extremes, their hair is never able to strike a balanced hydration level.

Stress, Pollution, and UV Solutions – Beauty as a Science

So how can we help consumers protect their hair from the adverse effects of air pollution such as greasiness, flakiness, itchy scalp, dandruff, breakage, and even hair loss?

Our personal care lab team at Univar Solutions specializes in developing personal care products that enrich our customers’ extensive product lines. With tailor-made formulations and solutions utilizing quality ingredients, we consistently shape cutting-edge personal care concepts that ultimately solve issues consumers run into in their daily lives.

Since hair cannot trigger a metabolic reaction to repair itself after damage from UV light and pollution, once the integrity of hair has weakened and bonds have been broken in the hair fiber, one must strengthen it from the outside in. Therefore, piling on an abundance of products on top of hair can prove to be ineffective and the solution lies at the start of one’s beauty routine.

The Univar Solutions Urban Shield Micellar Shampoo removes impurities while gently cleansing the hair and moisturizing the scalp. Paired with the Urban Shield Micellar Conditioner, your consumers’ hair will be gently conditioned without it being weighed down, leaving it full and shiny. Together, these innovative products add nourishment and hydration, cleanse, purify, and protects against future dryness caused by pollutants without weighing down strands.

Whether it be pollution, fatigue, or plain old stress, city living can play havoc with your consumers’ hair. Univar Solutions is here to not only develop products that will protect against some of the harsher elements, but we also have lab experts at the ready to assist with custom formulations, analytical testing, and much, much more!

Connect with us today to see how our personal care lab team can help your business solve the next beauty debacle.