The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2020 - Issue 27

bite beauty L aura, the founder of Hair Fuel was 17 years old when she had a bad perm that left her losing a third of her hair. As the hair follicles were damaged, it was difficult to grow her hair although she tried everything from horse shampoo, expen- sive medication including Minoxidil, to professional treatments. Having obtained three degrees before turning 30, she dived into researching the science and biology of hair growth and coupled this with home-remedies approach from growing up with her Russian grandmother. Eventually she came across a combination of ingredients and a chemi- cal reaction that made sense to her. After trialling her idea many times at home, Laura finally created a formulation that she could feel working on her scalp and saw results in a few weeks. For over a decade, she has been using her discovered formula and eventually shared it with her friends who reported improved hair growth. Laura decided to work with a laboratory in Devon to enhance the formula further with hard-to-source natural ingredients. This multi-talented young entrepreneur then used her experience in management consulting to streamline logistics and experience in graphic design to create a beautiful hair growth kit called The Hair Fuel to help people who have had difficulties growing their hair. Although hair length masks work on repairing split ends, it does not restore the hair structure, while scalp masks promote hair growth from the scalp and regulate the oiliness in your hair which is the ultimate aim of this hair product. In the fascinating science of hair growth, our hair is made up of three layers consisting of medulla which is the core; cortex is the in-be- tween lining; the cuticle is its external lining. When the hair cuticle is damaged, it exposes the layers of medulla and cortex and makes fractions of or the entire hair shaft susceptible to the loss of nutrients, leading to damage and breakage. The microscopic sebaceous glands in the skin secrete an oily or waxy matter called sebum which lubricates and waterproof our skin and hair. Too much sebum can be associated with having an oily scalp. The Hair Fuel works through a chemical reaction between its active ingredients helping to dilate the blood vessels and improving blood flow to the hair root. There are four stages of hair growth, transition, resting, and renewing. The first stage is anagen in which the derma papillae or hair root supplies blood and delivers nutrients and oxygen to the hair. The second is catagen which shrinks the hair follicle due to disintegration and causes the papilla to detach and rest, thus cut- ting off the blood supply to the hair strand. Telogen causes the hair follicle to go dormant. At this stage, the der- ma papillae are completely detached from the hair shaft and the hair slowly leaves the dermis. It is said at any given time, under normal conditions, around 10-15% of our hair is in the telogen stage. Early anagen is the last stage where the old hair gets pushed out and the new hair starts to grow, allowing the hair follicle to enter the anagen stage again and go through the cycle. At present, The Hair Fuel is available as an ongoing treatment for HAIR FUEL