Proper Hair Care: Common Habits You Should Avoid
Aside from genetics, how well you take care of your hair largely determines its quality, health, and appearance. However, many of us don’t realize that some of our day-to-day habits inadvertently ruin our hair—sometimes even permanently until it grows back out.
So, if your hair looks limp, is prone to breakage, or doesn’t look “right,” it may be one or more of these habits causing your hair woes:
1. Cutting your hair with regular scissors
Contrary to popular belief, it would help if propers scissors for the hair to cut at home. The pair of scissors sitting on your desk is not sharp or precise enough to cut hair concisely. Hence, if you miss your hair with regular scissors, you are likely causing split ends, an uneven balance, and sometimes even irreparable damage.
That said, get a pair of hair shears if you want to give yourself a haircut. No matter how sharp your kitchen shears or eyebrow scissors are, they are not meant to cut the hair on your head.
2. Bleaching
Bleaching is often necessary for dyeing the hair to a lighter shade. While it is an effective way to get the color you want, bleaching makes your hair more susceptible to damage, making it frizzy and dull. Other possible issues include split ends, hair fall, and slow hair growth.
If you must bleach your hair, use a bond multiplier before bleaching to minimize the harmful effects on your hair. After bleaching, be sure to hydrate your hair with oils and conditioner; avoid shampooing and heat-styling, and use sun protection on your hair every time you go out.
3. Combing wet hair
Your hair is more likely to break when it is wet, which means combing or brushing your hair right after a shower is an easy way to cause excessive hair fall and breakage.
4. Aggressively towel-drying hair
Avoid toweling your hair too roughly after taking a shower. Just like combing, toweling wet hair aggressively leads to hair fall and breakage. Pat your hair gently instead, or leave it in a towel bun to absorb excess moisture.
5. Using elastic hair ties
Elastic hair ties can pull on your scalp and hair cuticle because they wrap around the hair so tightly. As a result, they tend to pull out hair from the root every time you put down your ponytail. So, instead of using elastic ties, tie your hair in soft scrunchies instead and avoid wearing your ponytail too tightly.
6. Taking long hot showers
Hot water strips your hair of natural oils, making it more susceptible to damage. And the longer you stay under the hot spray, the more oil it loses. You may even notice your hair feeling rough and brittle after a hot shower. More than that, the oil on your scalp is also lost, which makes you more prone to dandruff and itchiness.
Avoid washing your hair in hot water for too long. Better yet, wash your hair first with cold water, wrap it in a shower cap, then continue washing the rest of your body with hot water. Rehydrate your hair with oils or leave-in conditioners if you feel that your hair is brittle after a hot shower.
7. Excessive heat styling
Similar to a hot shower, using a hairdryer, flat iron, and other heat styling tools removes moisture from your hair and makes it more prone to damage. When in excess, heat styling can damage the cuticle due to the scorching temperatures.
To avoid damage from heat styling, try to limit the days you use heat tools on your hair every week. For example, instead of styling your hair every day, limit it to only four or five times a week (the fewer, the better)—and don’t forget to use a heat protectant before you use any heat styling tool.
8. Forcing your hair to untangle
When getting rid of tangles, avoid brushing or combing too aggressively that it pulls your hair strands out. Instead, use a wide-tooth comb, hold your hair in the middle, and then brush in small strokes to safely get rid of the tangles. If the knots are stubborn, try to use a conditioner to loosen them up for more effortless detangling.
Your hair is like a living organism in many ways, even though it is technically dead cells. It needs moisture and proper care not to fall out and keep looking healthy. So, by avoiding these bad hair care habits, you can keep your hair clean, healthy, and luscious every day.