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Bubble
hair
As the name suggests, bubble hair is full of bubbles much like
a sponge. All hair fibers contain minute air filled spaces called
vacuoles. These spaces can also become filled with water when the
hair is wet. When people dry their hair using heat they can over
do it. Too much heat may make the water in the hair fiber spaces
vaporize into steam and steam takes up a larger volume than water.
This vaporization of the water may force the spaces in the hair
to expand eventually turning the hair into a sponge-like structure.
These damaged hairs are weak and brittle as the bubbles destroy
the integrity of the fiber. The hair may be kinked, break off, and
over time the condition may develop into a localized alopecia.
Research articles listed below suggest that hair dryers operating
at 175oC or more can cause bubble hair. The use of hair curling
tongs operating at 125oC and applied to the hair for one minute
can also induce bubbles in hair fiber. Chemical treatment may also
precipitate the onset of bubble hair and any already weak hair,
whatever the cause, may be more susceptible to bubble development.
There is no treatment other than to stop using heat and chemicals
on the hair, cut off the old damaged hair, and wait for new hair
growth.
Bubble
hair references
- Gummer
CL. Bubble hair: a cosmetic abnormality caused by brief, focal
heating of damp hair fibres. Br J Dermatol. 1994 Dec;131(6):901-3.
- Detwiler
SP, Carson JL, Woosley JT, Gambling TM, Briggaman RA. Bubble hair.
Case caused by an overheating hair dryer and reproducibility in
normal hair with heat. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1994 Jan;30(1):54-60.
- Elston
DM, Bergfeld WF, Whiting DA, McMahon JT, Dawson DM, Quint KL,
Muhlbauer JE. Bubble hair. J Cutan Pathol. 1992 Oct;19(5):439-44.
- Brown VM,
Crounse RG, Abele DC. An unusual new hair shaft abnormality: "bubble
hair". J Am Acad Dermatol. 1986 Nov;15(5 Pt 2):1113-7.
- Krasnoff J, Glusac E, Bolognia JL. Bubble
hair--a possible explanation for its distribution. Int J Dermatol.
1998 May;37(5):380-2.
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