You may not spend much time thinking about it, but your daily hair care routine can make a real impact on your appearance. Washing your hair too often or not often enough, using the wrong hair products, even how you brush your hair can either enhance its luster or cause dryness and damage.
Daily hair care also includes caring for your scalp because that’s where hair develops. The hair below the surface of your skin is the part that’s alive; you need to nourish these roots in order for the hair shaft — the part of the hair that’s exposed — to appear healthy and lustrous. Choosing moisturizing hair care products and minimizing blow drying and chemical treatments to your hair keeps your scalp — and your hair — looking its best.
Why Wash?
Washing your hair is the most critical element of daily hair care. Throughout the day, hair collects dirt and grime from everything you’re exposed to — pollution, cigarette smoke, dust, etc. Even if you stayed inside all day, you would still have buildup of dead skin cells from your scalp which can cause infection if not washed away on a regular basis. Regular shampooing is essential for removing this buildup from your hair and scalp and keeping it clean.
What Makes Hair Oily?
In addition to buildup of dirt, many women also complain about buildup of natural oils. What you think of as oil is actually sebum, a substance produced by glands in the skin of your scalp, which nourishes and protects the hair. However, too much sebum — as you probably guessed — can make hair look oily and clump together. Washing hair with shampoo helps remove excess sebum along with other dirt particles, leaving hair feeling fresh and clean again.
How Often Should I Shampoo?
Although daily hair care implies daily shampooing, women who are lucky enough to have normal hair — that is, not too dry or too oily — achieve the best results when they wash their hair only every other day. Washing hair too often can over dry the hair from the astringents in most shampoos; it can also cause an overproduction of sebum, which makes hair extra oily. However, if your hair tends to be oily, you probably need to shampoo every day. On the other side of the spectrum, dry hair is often most manageable and soft when you wait at least two or three days between shampoos.
Do I Need Conditioner?
Yes, conditioner is a key hair product necessary for moisturizing and maintaining soft, healthy hair. Women with oily hair may find thick, creamy conditioners to be too heavy for their hair; a light, clear conditioner is better for their daily hair care. Those with dry hair should opt for the creamy conditioners, leaving them on the scalp for several minutes each time to ensure the moisturizing ingredients penetrate the hair. In addition, women with dry hair should apply a deep conditioning hair product to their hair once a week to promote both softness and shine.
Daily Hair Care Tips
- Brush your hair regularly before going to bed each night.
- Wash your hair with a mild shampoo. Use very little but enough to cover hair completely with lather. Use a conditioner to keep hair manageable.
- Avoid brushing wet hair. This will cause the hair to stretch and finally break. Finger-dry, or use a wide-toothed comb instead of a brush to gently remove the knots.
- Restrict blow-drying your hair. The process of blow-drying is harsh on hair as it robs it of moisture.
- Avoid dyes. Use mehandi (henna) instead as a conditioner and colouring agent.
- Take a calcium supplement or drink two glasses of milk a day.
- Always hold hair dryer away from your hair. Direct air from the hair dryer down hair shaft and not directly into the roots and keep it moving.
- After a perm, never brush your hair. Instead comb hair gently.
- Trim your hair once in 7 weeks to avoid split ends.
- Avoid pulling back your hair tightly.
- Never use a rubber band on your hair as it can pull and damage hair considerably.
- Never go out in the sun without having your head covered.
- Stimulate circulation by massaging your head with oil to which some vitamin E has been added. This will make hair soft and silky.
- Never wash your hair with very hot or very cold water.
- Learn to relax. Hair loss can happen because of stress. Eat foods that are rich in vitamin B, C and E.
- Add iron and minerals in the natural form in your diet.
- If your hair is oily, cut down on fried food and fat. Drink plenty of water.
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