Do you have problems with your hair or want it to look better? If you’re reading this, the answer must be a resounding yes. Hair, historically, may be a person’s crowning glory, and it can do wonders to transform your appearance. However, when you have damaged hair, this can be a major headache. But healthy hair is possible for anyone, regardless of its current state.
The beautiful girl on your favorite hair product commercial who has long and luscious locks has fooled you. Getting healthy hair takes more than a good shampoo. Thankfully, there are tons of things you can do to nourish your hair.
You can finally have healthy hair from the root to the ends when you follow these easy-to-do steps that will transform your hair from lifeless and dull to full and bouncy.
1. Don’t Wash Your Hair Every Day
Showering is crucial if you want to keep your hair healthy. All over the world, the number of times people shower in a week varies. For example, people in the United States, Mexico, Spain, and India wash it once a day.
Despite this routine, our body was not meant to have its good bacteria stripped off daily. Our hair needs essential oils for it to stay healthy. If you shampoo every single day, you will be stripping off sebum from your hair. Hair experts suggest that you should only be cleaning your hair at most three to four times per week.
However, most experts suggest that your washing habits depend on the climate. For example, people who live in a dry place with really harsh winters should not wash their hair every day because this could prove to be damaging not only to their hair but also to their skin.
Lauren Rachel, a grooming expert, said that excessive shampooing could remove good oils that make your hair look shiny. These oils also provide volume to your hair. Moreover, over-washing one’s hair can overproduce oils which will make your hair even oilier. It can also under-produce these oils which can cause dry skin — the cause of dandruff.
2. Use a Healthy Shampoo
Commercial hair products promise their customers amazing results. However, these hair products often contain ingredients that can potentially dry out the hair and leave it dull.
Many shampoos have sulfates. These harsh cleansers can cause hair to become frizzy and fray because they remove the oils from the hair. To combat this, you can opt to switch your commercial shampoos with products made with natural oils, creams, and herbs. These products are usually available in natural food stores. Use a bottle of shampoo with no chemicals.
3. Use Conditioning Treatments
Conditioning your hair is something you should not forego. Conditioners are meant to lock in the moisture in your hair shaft. This is why you should condition your hair at least two inches away from your scalp because it can leave it extremely oily.
Conditioners are good for your hair, especially the ones that made naturally with ingredients such as aloe, shea butter, and coconut oil. Products like this significantly add life to your hair and make it look healthy and fresh.
If a regular conditioner does not do the job, you can bring back the life to your hair by applying oil to your roots and the tips every week. You can use this instead of conditioner on dry hair. You can also opt to do a deep conditioning treatment twice a month to protect your hair from any damage.
4. Skip Sprays to Make Your Hair Shiny
Trying out sprays to keep your hair looking shiny can be very tempting. However, even though it will keep your hair looking glossy and full of life, it can do more harm than good.
Most hair sprays contain mica. This mineral is responsible for keeping your hair healthy for a short period. Despite its benefits, it has a downside. Over time, it can cause damage and affect your hair.
Instead of using shining sprays, you can opt for adding a little bit of argan oil to your hair. Using this natural oil is a favorite way to improve your hair texture and keep it looking shiny. Before you put some oil in your hair, make sure not to overdo it because its oiliness can be very overwhelming.
5. Massage Your Scalp
One of the best things about going to the salon is the scalp massage. This is not only to relax the muscles in your head and neck, but it can also promote healthy hair growth.
Massaging your scalp can stimulate blood circulation. This will provide more nutrients to the roots of your hair. A high level of blood circulation will ensure that the condition of every single hair in your scalp is perfect.
One massage technique involves reaching your fingers to the roots of your hair and pulling it gently. Doing this help you relieve muscle tension. Remember to keep in mind that your massage should not be hard enough to hurt you.
Another great technique is tapping. To do this, touch your scalp with your fingers and tap it fast. To make this more effective, you can put hair tonic or oils on your fingertips before tapping.
6. Use a Good Hair Brush for Healthy Hair
Using a brush that is meant to promote healthy hair can do wonders to restore damaged locks. Despite the importance of the hairbrush, many people do not put enough thought into choosing a proper brush, as many people choose their hair brush based on a cheap price.
Many people think that every brush in the store does the same thing for their mane. However, there are different brushes for different purposes. One of the most useful kinds is the boar bristle brush. This hairbrush was also used by well-known celebrities such as Rita Hayworth and Lauren Bacall.
The boar bristle brush has been around for more than a hundred years. It is effective at untangling coarse and thick hair. Moreover, it also carries the natural oils of your scalp through your hair, so it stays moisturized.
By using a brush like this, you can reduce the amount of frizz in your hair. It also prevents oil build up on the scalp.
7. Use Heat Protection Products
If you cannot leave the house without blow drying or straightening your hair, then you might want to invest in a good heat protectant spray because your hair strands and heat do not go well together.
Heated tools can cause severe damage to your hair. Depending on how much you use it, the long-term harm that it causes may be very hard to reverse. This will eventually cause breakage and split ends. This is because these tools affect the natural oils in the hair and destroy essential proteins, as well.
You can opt to buy a mist, serums, spray, gel, or cream. Heat protection products add a barrier between your hair and the heating tool to protect your mane from direct contact with the temperature. These miracle products will prevent your hair from getting burnt. Usually, you apply these products to wet hair. However, you can buy products for use on dry hair as well.
8. Use Hair Masks
Many people put their hair through hell for it to look good. What they do not know is that styling, coloring, and even teasing your hair can be quite damaging. Also, though your hair still looks healthy, the weather can still be harmful to your beautiful mane. It is best to do a hair mask once every week to give your hair an additional dose of much-needed moisture.
Sometimes, the regular wash and style routine that people do to their hair is not enough. To achieve healthy hair, you need to put in more care in order to succeed. This is why doing hair masks is one of the best things that you can add to your hair care routine.
The hair mask’s purpose is similar to your conditioner. However, it is more nourishing. It also promotes faster healing compared to its conditioner counterpart.
9. Get Haircuts Regularly
On average, hair grows around 6 inches per year for females. Getting haircuts can be a hassle, but you should not forget to include a salon visit if you want your hair to stay healthy.
Trimming your hair should be part of your routine. You do not just do it when you can already feel the tangles. If you already have long hair and want to maintain a healthy look, you should schedule haircuts on a regular basis. Long hair can be very prone to damage and breakage. It can also look thinner.
For long hair, you should trim it once every 8 to 12 weeks, depending on the rate that it grows. If you want to keep the length, request your hairstylist only trim the ends. The same rule applies to medium length hair. You should trim short hair once every 4 to 8 weeks.
10. Be Gentle with Your Hair
There is no question that many people put their hair through tons of abuse daily. Regret usually comes too late. Before you realize it, you will find out that you have done great damage to your hair already.
The best thing to do to reverse the damage you caused to your hair is to be mindful of what you put your mane through. Some harsh things we do not realize that we do to our hair include showering every day, using the wrong kind of shampoo, and brushing your hair when it’s wet, getting chemical treatments and rough towel drying.
11. Choose the Right Pillow Covers
What kind of pillowcase do you sleep on? Most people do not even know. However, the type of pillowcase that you use can affect not only your hair but also your skin. Researching the design of pillowcases to target your needs can be very helpful for the health of your hair and skin.
You may be able to solve all your hair problems just by purchasing a satin pillowcase. Because of how smooth it is, satin pillowcases don’t tangle your hair while you sleep. You won’t wake up with bedhead either.
On the other hand, cotton pillowcases tend to tangle hair. This is because its rough surface creates friction between the surface of the pillow and your hair. Rough surfaces can eventually cause breakage.
12. Eat Healthily
Everyone dreams of having long and shiny locks. To achieve this, you do not just need to take care of your hair through the use of hair products. Having healthy hair requires much more effort. One of these factors includes the need to eat healthily.
Just like your skin, your hair is also a reflection of your health. Your diet can significantly affect how your mane looks. If your hair looks dull and lifeless, it might be the result of what you put inside your body. Your hair is consists of cells that contain keratin, a strong protein.
To keep hair tough, you need to supply it with vitamins and minerals through your diet. Because hair is consists of protein, it is vital to consume tons of this precious hair component. Not eating enough protein is just like saying goodbye to lustrous hair.
Low-protein diets can lead to hair loss and slow hair growth. Eating eggs, fish, chicken, dairy, nuts, and legumes can be very beneficial to your hair. Additionally, you also have to stock up on iron. You can find iron in red meat, fish, spinach, and other leafy vegetables.
Other important minerals and vitamins that can contribute to healthy hair include vitamin C, which you can find in broccoli and blueberries. Omega-3 essential fatty acids, zinc, selenium, vitamin E, biotin, and vitamin A are all also beneficial hair nutrients.
Healthy Hair Is a Lifestyle
If you hate how your hair looks, try to imagine what it would say to you if it could talk. Keep in mind that blasting your hair with heating tools and exposing it to the harsh environment would probably not result in your hair saying very nice things to you.
You have to accept that the journey to reviving your hair and making it healthy will not happen overnight. It is a process that requires patience and commitment. Remember, hair cells grow immensely fast, but they are also the first ones that are affected when you do not take care of yourself adequately.
Although you might not achieve the unrealistic hair you see in commercials, you can get very close. In the end, it would all be worth it because having healthy hair would not just make you feel happy. It would also do wonders for your confidence.