Everybody has a bad hair day every now and then but when those bad hair days start to become more frequent they can start to bring you down. Bad hair can be more than just your hair not playing ball, it can leave you feeling less confident and adversely affect the way you feel. So why would you not want to take steps to keep your hair in good health, looking its best, and in turn leave you feeling your best too?
Looking after your hair doesn’t have to be arduous. It will require some input and effort from you but nothing that should feel too much of a chore. In fact, a few small tweaks to your routine could be enough to keep your hair healthy and looking its best. Below are some simple healthy hair habits you can implement with ease.
Understand how to wash your hair properly
This may sound like a simple one but bear with it. Washing your hair is not always a case of piling on the shampoo and conditioner. Here are a few hair washing hacks to make sure you are looking after your hair properly.
- Brush your hair before washing. Long hair is notoriously knotty. What is more, your hair is more vulnerable when it is wet, so dragging your brush through your knotty wet hair is likely to cause damage. Take a few minutes to try and detangle the knots before you wash.
- When shampooing your hair concentrate on cleaning the scalp rather than the length of your hair.
- Wash oily hair more frequently. Oily skin that is left unwashed can be one of the common causes of dandruff. To help keep your skin and hair healthy do not allow for long periods between washes.
- Chemically treated hair doesn’t need to be washed as regularly as it is likely to be drier.
- Always use a conditioner. The conditioner will do what it says, condition your hair. It can help to improve the look and feel of your hair. Without conditioner your hair will be more prone to breaks and damage, not to mention will be harder to brush after washing.
- Always use shampoo and conditioner for your hair type. If you have dry hair opt for a moisturizing conditioner. Frizzy hair? Then try an anti-frizz conditioner. This will help promote your hair type or overcome any difficulties faced.
- Use small amounts of conditioner. Although conditioner is vitally important you only need to use a very small amount. This is because over-conditioning can make fine hair look limp or increase the oil levels in the hair.
- Condition the tips of the hair. Unlike the shampoo, you want to focus your efforts on conditioning the tips of the hair as opposed to the scalp.
- Use a hair mask weekly or bi-weekly. A moisturizing hair mask or deep conditioner is a great tool to help keep your hair feeling soft and looking shiny. This is especially important if you have chemically treated hair or use regular heat appliances on your hair which can cause it to become dry and limp.
Shield from the sun
The sun’s UV rays do not only harm your skin but your hair too. The sun can dry out your hair leaving it prone to breakages, split ends, discoloration, thinning, or frizziness. Where you can wear a hat or keep out of the sun to protect your hair. If sun exposure is unavoidable then consider a scalp and hair mist that contains an SPF to protect your hair. Don’t forget your scalp can burn too, which will not only be painful but could be dangerous and cause the skin to flake.
Limit hot hair appliances
Continued use of hair dryers, straighteners, and curling irons will have a damaging effect on your hair. Where you can allow your hair to dry naturally or limit the use of heated hair styling appliances. That said if you are struggling to hang up the hair dryer use professional tools that have ionic technology to help add moisture to the hair. Alternatively, be sure to use heat-protecting sprays on your hair before styling.
Regular haircuts
If nothing else a regular haircut will ensure that your hair stays healthy and prevents split ends. If you don’t like having lots of inches cut from your hair then ensure you undergo a regular trim to enable you to keep the length yet get rid of the damaged ends which can affect the health of your hair.