image source: www.herdaily.com
Hair is a remarkably tough material. It can stand up to considerable abuse, but over time this can wreak havoc with its natural properties. In particular, its porosity can be badly affected, so that it breaks easily and cannot be styled satisfactorily.

On the other hand, we can recognise hair that is in good condition. It shines, it is easy to manage – it just looks good. Even though the hair shaft is technically ‘dead’, in that its cells are no longer dividing, we may describe it as ‘healthy’. So why can its properties change so much that the hair loses this ‘healthy’ appearance?

Sometimes this may be due to a medical condition such as poor nutrition: starvation or anaemia due to a lack of protein in the diet can damage the hair. In famine conditions, some people’s hair changes as it grows from black to gingery-red if they cannot get enough protein.