We spend so much on hair care nowadays, from salons to high-end products to low-end products that we pray does the job just right, it's crazy. Before we know it, we're paying for hundreds of dollars worth of products and services for our hair and most times, we're not even taking the time to ensure that we're doing the right things to it. Below I've shared four common hair-care mistakes we're all probably doing and better practices we can employ. Enjoy!
1. Shampooing
It's probably news to many of you, but you're not supposed to shampoo your entire head of hair. Shampooing was meant for cleansing the scalp. When you apply a ton load of product to your hair strands, what it does is strip them of all the natural oils and moisture causing frizzing and split ends.
You can start by pouring the shampoo into your palms and rubbing them until it's become soapy, then massage into your scalp, being careful not to scrunch your hair-- especially if you have a curly mane. Another thing you could do is simply opt for a cleansing conditioner, these babies just moisturize while it cleans, magic.
2. Detangling
Uh-oh! This process is my least favourite really. While we're all not supposed to comb through our beautiful locks when it's dry, we do it any way. Trying to detangle when the hair is dry only causes headaches (literally), unpleasant split ends and unnecessary breakage because of all the tugging.
What you're supposed to do is use a wide-toothed comb when you're in the shower and comb with a generous amount of conditioner applied to the hair. This can also be done while the water is running through your hair, starting from the ends and making your way up to prevent forced-breakage.
3. Sleeping bare-haired
If you don't already know this, now you'll be aware. Sleeping bare hair is dangerous, especially if you have cotton pillowcases. What happens is that all the moisture in your hair is lost due to how absorbent cotton is. You might go to bed one night with shiny and moisturized hair then wake up the next morning looking like the grim reaper with dried straw as hair. Your hair loses all it's moisture and becomes extremely brittle.
You can start sleeping with satin or silk head wear, or, you can just simply switch out your pillowcases to some silky goodness. Satin works fine too.
4. Towel-drying
Of course, the towel is the first thing we grab when we hop out of the shower after washing our hair. We feel all clean when our wet hair is wrapped up in a turban while moisturizing our skin. However, the towel isn't our hair's best friend, especially when we start to vigorously dry it. Imagine someone in rage scratching you all over with a steel brush, yup, that's how your hair would feel it were a person, let's not even start to think about the consequences.
A good practice is to wrap your hair in a microfiber towel, as they're great for absorbing water. You can then, after a few minutes, go in and apply your moisturizing products. Say no no to bath towels.
Basically, good hair-care is all about using the right products and being as gentle as you can.
Wishing you good health and good hair!
Xoxo,
Brittney
