basic hair care

Basic hair care

Here is a basic routine for keeping your hair in good shape

  1. Brush your hair every morning. I know it sounds the obvious, but you may be surprised how many people just wake up and throw their hair in a pony tail.  Brushing your hair is keeping it tangle-free.  It also helps distribute natural oils evenly throughout your hair.  This gives your hair a healthy shine.  Do it gently, with a wide toothed comb, you don’t want to break the hair.  If you have tangles, work from the bottom up, in sections to help untangle.  Skip the brush and its ability to rip out your hair and produce split ends.
  2. Keep your hair clean. How often you need to wash your hair depends upon the type of hair you have. Not sure what to use? Experiment with these sample schedules and see how your hair reacts.  Stick to the schedule no matter what happens.
    1. Dry course hair====wash every 2nd or 3rd day
    2. Normal hair===wash every other day
    3. Fine and oily hair===wash every day
  3. Massage your scalp in small circular motions to stimulate blood flow when washing your hair. Concentrate on your scalp to remove any built up oil.  You only need to wash your hair once, skip the second washing recommended on the bottle, it just wastes your shampoo.
  4. Apply a hydrating leave in conditioner after you shampoo your hair. Apply it mainly to the tips and work your way to the roots.
  5. Towel dry your hair careful. Blot your hair instead of wringing it out with a towel.
  6. Try and limit the number of styling tools used in your hair. The more heat producing ones will increase your risk of damage.  If you use heat styling products all week, try and let your hair rest at least one day per week.
  7. Style your hair every day. Even if it is a simple pony tail or headband look, do something with your hair.  Be gently and don’t pull or tug on it unnecessarily.
  8. Before going to bed, brush your hair gently. This will rid the hair of knots and tangles .  Tie your hair in a loose pony tail or a simple loose braid.  That prevents tangles as you sleep.
  9. Get a trim when needed. For myself when I was young, I would trim my hair every 6 weeks to rid it of split ends. As I have gotten older and no longer have time to visit the salon, I realize that my hair is in really good shape even after not cutting it for months at a time.  I never use a blow dryer and only use a flat iron for Sundays.  For the most part it is air dried and left to hang or be put up in a pony tail.  Check the condition of the ends of your hair if they are split, you need a trim, if they are fine, save the money.
  10. Why does my hair look so greasy??  During puberty hair follicles are producing extra oil which results in greasy looking hair.  Be sure to  wash  hair daily to avoid this.