Hair Care Dos & Don'ts

 Our hair, our locks, our tresses those precious strands on top of our head.  To some our locks are like a precious and invaluable metal.  We spend countless hours at the salon trimming, cutting, dying, and just about frying our hair all to achieve our look.  We do everything under the sun to it, but do we ever stop and think about doing something for it?  Here are some tips to healthier tresses.  Some you may already know and some may surprise you. Show those strands some love and read on...


Hair Care Dos:

* Do care for your over all hair health.  Sure we want shiny, split end free hair that looks good, but we need to keep in mind that we need to feed our hair from the inside out.  By eating healthy and exercising, our physical health has a lot to do with our hair health.  Stress is also something to consider, keep stress to a minimum will prevent major hair loss.

* Do wash your hair.  We have long heard that we should not wash our hair everyday and although that does have some merit, remember that every one is different.  Some people can go a day or two without lathering their locks and that is OK for them.  If you feel like you need to wash everyday and it works for you, go for it.

* Do comb/brush your hair.  Comb your wet conditioned locks with a wide tooth comb, this will prevent snagging, and damaging your hair.  Brush your hair every day to keep it smooth and tangle free, brushing will also remove some dust particles you may have accumulated during the day.

* Do clean your hair brush.  To  keep from depositing any oils, and debris that has been collected in your brush clean it once a month (once a week if you're feeling particularly dangerous).  In a cup mix water and a few drops of your shampoo, then pull out any hair that may be stuck in the brush and proceed to dip the brush in the mixture. Work it through with a toothbrush and rinse with some warm water.  Let it air dry.

*Do let your hair air dry.  Air dry your locks as often as you can, give your hair and the hair dryer a break.

*Do pay attention to the ingredients in your products.  If your scalp is overly irritated, or your hair feels like straw it may be due to ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner such as synthetic fragrances and harsh astringents.  Try a sulfate free shampoo.

*Do use a clarifying shampoo at least once a week.  Clarifying shampoos are great to get that extra gunk of your scalp that has been building up and your shampoo can't get.

* Do deep condition.  Try a weekly/monthly hair mask or deep conditioning treatment.

Hair Care Don'ts:

* Don't over do it on products.  Try to keep the number of products you use on a daily basis to a minimum.  This will prevent excess build up on your scalp.

* Don't tie your ponytail too tight.  Ponytails are very practical, fast and easy to do on the daily but be careful because those elastics can break and damage your strands.

* Don't go to bed with wet hair.  It can result in a bad smell and terrible frizz.

* Don't forget your scalp. This is a huge one. For some reason we obsess over the ends of our hair but we forget that healthy, new hair starts at the scalp.  To stimulate new growth and promote a healthy scalp massage it.  When you are in the shower and you are working in your shampoo, with the pads of your fingers gently massage your scalp with gently circular motions.

* Don't forget heat protectant.  Let's get real, I'm not going to tell you to put down that flat iron/curling iron because most won't. Although if you can skip it every now and then, go for it.  If you can't make sure you protect your hair by spraying some heat protectant before you apply any heat (this includes the hair dryer).

* Don't forgo regular trims.  Staying on schedule with your trims will keep those splits ends from traveling up the strand and causing further damage.  If you are trying to grow out your hair this may seem scary but trimming on the regular will actually help you with that since the ends won't be so damaged and frayed.  It is recommended that you get a trim every eight week maybe ten.

*Don't forget to protect your hair from the sun.  Just like with our skin, the sun can damage our luscious locks.  Many hair products out now contain UVA/UVB protection which you can try or simply wear a hat/scarf.


Do you have a "good" hair routine? Do you even have a routine, at all? How do you protect your hair?







Disclosure: No compensation was provided for this review.  This blog is a means to share my thoughts and opinions.