Ask These Girls

Do you color your hair at home? Have you ever used one of those progressive dyes that changes your hair color gradually to look more natural? I know you have seen the commercials on TV. These dyes are metallic and the colors are produced by a reaction between metallic salts and the sulfur in keratin producing sulfides it then oxidizes and reduces the metal salts. Basically the metallic salts interact with the sulfur in the hair keratin and then turns the protein brown.

This is only a surface color and does not penetrate the cortex, but it builds up on the outer surface over a period of time. I know a lot of older men use these products because they don’t like going to a salon and they don’t like people thinking they are so vain. They get embarrassed easily. The younger generation really do not care. They love changing their hair color.

Professionals do not use these products because they do not work with other oxidized solutions we use in salons.I know a lot of people have found out the hard way by giving themselves home perms on top of metallic dyes. They do not mix. If you color your hair at home and decide to go for a professional perm, your stylist should ask you what brand of color you have been using. If she doesn’t then make sure you tell her because there could be a very bad chemical reaction.

Always read the label and if you do use metallic dyes it is very important to make sure you cleanse your hands thoroughly if you ingest any orally or contaminate food it can be fatal. People using these dyes (copper, lead, silver) have experienced hair loss and breakage, lead poisoning, headaches,and scalp irritations just to name a few.There are also some brands other than the progressives that use metallic salts so be very careful if you are a home colorist.

Judy Andrews is a licensed cosmetologist in York, Pa. She is currently putting together an informative beauty blog called the Beauty Denominator

The most widespread stimulant in our society is none other than caffeine. Caffeine is in our coffee, our tea, and even in our chocolate. This popular stimulant acts a booster all day long, and everyone is doing it, so why shouldn’y you? If you are pregnant, the fact is, caffeine can be harmful not only to you but to your developing fetus.

Okay, okay. Truthfully, news reports and scientists say almost everything good is bad for you when pregnant. I remember in the 80s reading a report stating apples could cause cancer,, apples! I am not here to tell you caffeine is the root of all that is evil; I just wanted to know why caffeine could be harmful, and of course, I had to share my findings.

Caffeine is a stimulant working directly on the central nervous system, which is why when you drink or eat caffeine you feel less drowsy, more alert; but if you drink or eat large quantities of caffeine you can actually get shaky, drowsy, and/or have increased anxiety. If you consume too much caffeine, your body overdoses causing agitation and lethargy.

The Facts
What I found more interesting was the facts concerning the affects a stimulant have on the human body. As with anything, what goes up, must come down. A stimulant acts as a temporary upper; once the stimulating affect runs its course, the body and mind becomes more exhausted than normal. Caffeine also acts as a diuretic. Over use of caffeine will make a person need to urinate more, and often, the caffeine drinker will become dehydrated.

The Effects
During pregnancy, everything the mother consumes the delicately developing fetus consumes. If you eat a pound of cheesecake, the baby is eating the same thing. If you drink two pots of coffee, the developing fetus is drinking the same thing. Whatever the mother consumers, the fetus is consuming as well.

Caffeine may seem okay for the mother, but the fetus has a developing central nervous system, and caffeine acts as a direct stimulant. Once the stimulating affect diminished, the mother’s central nervous system yoyos down taking the ever-important growing fetus with her.

Staying hydrated is vitally important to a pregnant woman. The fetus must have proper hydration to grow healthy and strong. Consuming products with caffeine even if it is soda, tea, or coffee does not count as drinking a liquid.

Caffeine also raises the blood pressure, causes headaches, shakiness, rapid heartbeat, and at high enough dosage delirium and convulsions. Needless to say, none of this bodes well for a fetus.

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