How to take better care of your hair
Not everyone is born with beautiful hair, but by learning a few hair care facts, you can make your hair look its best. Healthy, attractive hair should shine. Whether your hair is long or short, light or dark, it should look smooth, silky and shiny. Hair that is dull, dry, brittle or frizzy is unhealthy and unattractive. Everyday events such as shampooing, brushing and blow drying can do great damage to your hair, causing the dry, brittle, frizzy appearance.
When you shampoo your hair, you should use a shampoo for your specific type of hair. If you have permed or color treated hair, you should use a shampoo for chemically treated hair. Many people believe that baby shampoo is very gentle and safe to use on their hair. This is a big misconception. Baby shampoo is actually quite harsh: its main purpose is to remove cradle cap from an infant's scalp. Leave the baby shampoo for your baby. If you are not sure what your hair type is or what type of shampoo to use, ask your hairdresser. Your hairdresser can recommend a specific shampoo and conditioner to keep your hair healthy and shiny.
If you have long hair that tends to tangle on the ends, you should start brushing on the ends to remove any tangles, and work your way up to the scalp. You should never brush wet hair. When hair is wet is it much weaker than when it is dry. Wet hair will break very easily if it is not combed very gently. If you have long hair, you should squeeze the excess water from your hair with a towel. Never rub your hair between the towel to dry it, this can cause severe breakage. Before combing, a leave-in conditioner should be sprayed on the hair to help restore shine and help remove tangles. Using a wide tooth comb, comb hair from the ends and work your way up.
Blow dryers are very convenient and many of us use them daily. If they are used incorrectly, they can cause severe heat damage to your hair. Blow drying can cause your ends to be dry, brittle and frizzy. You should allow your hair to air dry until it is about half way dry. Set your blow dryer on low or medium heat, and keep the blow dryer about six to eight inches away from your hair. Using a blow dryer set on high heat is very damaging. If you notice stray hairs that are shorter than the rest, that tend to look frizzy or out of place; those are the effects of breakage caused by harsh brushing and treatment of wet hair and blow drying.
If you follow these healthy hair practices, you should notice an improvement in the condition of your hair within two to four weeks, depending on how damaged your hair is. While you are working to improve the condition of your hair, there are several hair care products on the market that help improve the shine and decrease the frizziness. Many of the products work remarkably well. See your hairdresser or visit your local beauty supply store for more information on available products.
