We always need to have a list of dos and don’ts when it comes to trying out something new. This applies to the care expected for your healthy hair too, for hair to continue to stay healthy you need to put a regimen in place. Like everything else, hair too needs to be nurtured and maintained to reach their full potential, hair too requires care and nourishment. Those beautiful tresses that are a result of your genes need to be looked after in a proper way so that they are not affected by the numerous factors that could inhibit their growth.
Why is Hair Care Important?
A hair care regimen is important simply because if you do not have one your hair might not be able to withstand the harmful effects of the environment and you could be exposing it to infection and hair fall. Hair care is also a reflection of your hygiene standards as a dirty scalp is a certain invitation to disease and this could go on to affect other parts of your body as well.
Even healthy hair, if not taken care of, could be subject to the wear and tear of environmental factors and become dry and frizzy and in extreme cases it can also start to fall off. Apart from that, good hair also adds to the personality of the individual while bad hair or less hair might lead to a loss in confidence.
How to Take Care of Your Hair: Dos and Don'ts
Good hair care is a demanding business and following healthy hair care tips are very essential for growing your hair well. A regular shampoo and conditioner or common hair care products are clearly not enough to keep your hair protected and definitely not enough to make them healthy and strong. The important thing is to understand and figure out what works and what doesn’t for your hair and whether or not the answer to how to maintain healthy hair is known. Here are some tips for healthy hair. Let’s find out more about the dos, don’ts and how to get luscious mane.
- Avoid scratching your scalp (even if you have dandruff). Though itchiness may be caused by dandruff or other dirt on the scalp. Scratching your scalp to relieve yourself can only worsen the condition by increasing the possibility of infection and can cause temporary hair loss.
- Don’t pluck your grey hair. Your hair follicles feel pretty much the same amount of pain as the pain you experience when you pluck out your hair. Pulling out strands of hair causes trauma and damage to your hair follicles.
- Avoid tying your wet hair with a towel as this causes frequent breakage. When freshly washed hair is tied, it is prone to breakage because the connecting part of the scalp and hair strands i.e., the hair shaft is loosened.
- Don’t use a towel too aggressively to dry your hair by rubbing it. Your hair follicles can suffer from trauma with the constant rough treatment and fall out. Dab your hair lightly with a towel and leave it to dry naturally. Air dry your hair instead.
- Give your hair a break by not keeping it tied up all the time. Keeping it tied all day strains the hair roots and makes it vulnerable to hair breakage and damage. This is one of your effective hair care tips.
- Comb hair when it is dry, NOT wet. If you comb wet hair you run the risk of causing significant breakage as it is fragile and weak. Use a wide-toothed comb when it is drier. Also remember to wash your hair if it gets wet in the rain as the rain water is very polluting. This is one of your monsoon hair care tips.
- Avoid pulling at hair knots with a comb - be gentle! Pulling at knots can hurt your hair follicles, apply a conditioner at the tips and run your fingers towards the roots. You can also use a detangler to soften your hair.
- Smoking is a no-no all the way. Hair follicles need oxygen to keep it healthy. Smoking reduces the oxygen levels because it shrinks the blood vessels interfering with the blood flow in your body. That can eventually cause further hair loss.
- Reduce your intake of alcohol. Frequent use of alcohol can also negatively affect your hair. Some alcohols can dehydrate your body and that also shows on your hair. Hair follicles start getting dry and brittle, eventually reducing the health of your hair. If you think it’s entirely impossible for you to stay away from alcohol, reduce it to 1 - 2 times a month.
- Hair colouring is damaging. Hair colour is not good for your hair health at all. When you colour your hair, the chemicals rip off the natural colour of your hair and add a new colour. Opt for herbal hair colours instead.
- Less chemicals = less damage, use paraben & sulphate free shampoos. Chemicals like sulphates and parabens have had a bad reputation over the years over claims of them being harmful and also affecting health; these chemicals have a damaging effect on scalp cells and make hair dry and brittle. This can make your hair break off much easier than otherwise.
- The use of hot styling tools like hair dryers, hair straighteners, curlers, etc. should be avoided as far as possible.Could you ever imagine using the same styling tool on your skin? The same applies to your hair. Just because you can’t feel your hair strands getting damaged, doesn’t mean they aren’t! Choose to go natural - it’s the best option.
- Don’t mix the hair growth treatment with scalp oil. That’s just a recipe for disaster. When applying the hair regrowth treatment, make sure you keep a gap of half an hour - 1 hour before going ahead with using the scalp oil.
- Drink 2 - 3 litres of water daily. If you keep yourself hydrated it is extremely beneficial for the health of your hair and skin too. This is one of your natural hair care tips.
- 7 hours of sleep is a must. Make this part of your hair care routine. Getting enough rest helps reduce stress and tension in the muscles. It also keeps you alert during the day.
- De-stress - your mental health matters. Activities like meditation, yoga, playing sports, working out can be great stress busters. Discover yours by trying them out.
Hair Care Tips from Experts
Taking care of your hair is a serious affair. You have to invest sufficient time and energy to ensure that they get the proper nutrition and care. Let’s get some tips to get healthy hair from our experts:
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Apply scalp oil and keep it on for a maximum of 3 hours. We are referring specifically to scalp oil and not hair oil. This oil is meant to improve scalp health and it best works when kept on for a limited period of time. This is one of the effective hair care tips for women. You could also apply warm coconut oil. This is one of the potent homemade hair care tips.
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Avoid having the herb mixes on an empty stomach.
The herb mixes are made to work in a way that can improve the absorption of nutrients from the food you’ve eaten so when there’s no food, it can’t really work.
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Minoxidil should never be applied on wet hair.
Applying minoxidil on wet hair won’t allow it to penetrate your scalp and will spread all over your wet hair instead and will cease to remain effective. To avoid this, it’s best to stick to a dry scalp for minoxidil at all times.
- Use a scalp exfoliating scrub from time to time to remove the build-up of dead skin cells, oil and other impurities as they do not allow the nutrients to nourish the hair follicles and inhibit growth.
- Use a satin pillowcase instead of a cotton one to promote hair health and prevent breakage. Cotton pillowcases could absorb the essential oils from your hair and dry your scalp.
- Go in for a deep conditioning treatment on a regular basis. When your hair is treated with nourishing products your strands will be strengthened as the moisture balance is maintained and this will prevent your hair from being damaged by other styling products.
- If you do use hot tools on your hair, use them on medium or low settings as extremely hot settings could damage your hair irreparably.
- Another very crucial aspect of hair protection that most people tend to ignore is the need to cover your hair from harmful UV rays when you are out in the sun. This is an essential part of your summer hair care.
- Keep on trimming those split ends as this helps prevent hair breakage and also contributes to thicker and shinier hair.
Hair Care FAQs
Most people are so conscious about their hair that they have a ready list of questions that they would want to have addressed including those on hair fall.
- How do I take the best care of my hair?
a. Always opt for those shampoos that do not contain parabens and sulphates. Make it a point to wash your hair at least twice a week. For males especially, a daily wash is not recommended. Use a mild shampoo. This is one of the important hair care tips for men. Use a conditioner but only on your hair and not your scalp. Also avoid brushing your wet hair. Always try to air dry your hair. The use of heat styling tools should be reduced to a minimum. Do trim those split ends from time to time.
- What is the correct way to use a hair conditioner?
b. You should always wet your hair before using a conditioner. This is one of the hair care tips that you cannot afford to forget. After you shampoo your scalp thoroughly and wash it, use a little conditioner and run it along the middle of the hair shaft to the ends. Let it stay for a couple of minutes before rinsing it out. A shampoo is used to cleanse your scalp and remove all impurities while a conditioner is necessary to add bounce and shine to your hair.
- How can you reduce dandruff?
c. Baking soda is one of the excellent hair care tips to remove dandruff and it is also an effective way to exfoliate the scalp and remove dead skin cells. It is also very effective against dandruff-causing fungi.
While hair care tips could be largely generic, at times you might have to make some alterations depending on the condition of your hair. Doing the simple and basic things regularly will put you firmly on the way to earning healthy hair. Do visit us at Traya for more hair care tips as our experts pass on those great remedies or hair health tips to you.
