How do horn combs help maintain healthy and beautiful hair?

To understand this, you have to first know how hair is structured. Hair itself is a filamentous outgrowth of dead cells primarily made up of Keratin. Keratin is the principal protein in epidermal cells where they form the cytoskeleton, as well as the hair and finernails. The average human head has over 100,000 hair follicles, with each follicle capable of producing about 20 individual hairs in a lifetime. In the time it takes to grow waist length hair (40 inches of hair takes approximately 4 years), the hair structure takes a great deal of damage resulting from heat, drying, over-combing, static, and numerous other threats faced on a daily basis.

If you were to examine hair closely, you'd see overlapping scales forming a protective sheath, known as the cuticle. These keratin filled cells arise from the base of the follice and stack together creating an overlapping protective sheath around the cortex of the hair shaft. It's this cuticle sheath that locks moisture in the hair, protects it from damaging chemicals, and when properly stacked, they reflect light and create the beautiful shine associated with lush and healthy hair.

How Hair is Damaged

The problems with dull, dry, and damaged hair come from disruption of the cuticle's closely packed sheath. Dryness, heat, static, friction bewteen comb and hair, and harsh chemicals all can result in raising or dislodging of cuticle cells exposing the sensitve cortex underneath, and allowing precious moisture to escape from the hair. As a result, the keratin becomes brittle, dry, and less able to reflect light. Raised cuticle sheaths also catch on one another creating matted or tangled hair.

The key to overcoming the problems with dull dry and tangled hair is to prevent disruption of the keratin cuticle sheaths. The hairs natural oils help prevent raised cuticles and moisture loss, and should be retained by avoiding excess heat and dryness. Conditioners achieve this effect by retaining moisture, enhancing shine, and reducing the friction bewteen combs and hair to prevent build up of static.

Use of Horn Combs to Keep Hair Healthy

Horn combs are made of natural keratin, the same material as human hair, allowing it to glide effortlessly and generating less friction than normal combs, which helps prevent drying out and damaging static build ups that cause split ends. Horn combs are better at distributing hair nourishing natural oils, leading to healthier and shinier hair. Horn combs have been used for hundreds of years in Asia and are thought to increase circulation to the scalp. Indeed, many users of horn combs report a quicker onset of tingling in their scalp than compared to other types of combs. This tingling is thought to be the result of increased circulation.