Hair is the easiest and most difficult thing on our body to take care of it seems. So many of the clients I have in the salon tell me they want healthier shinier hair. Today’s blog post is 10 Healthy Hair Tips you can start using to fine tune how you treat your hair to achieve your absolute best hair ever!
Eek! We are two months into 2019 and I haven’t posted anything new for you guys yet. I had an amazing trip to Scotland for the holidays and about half of January where I did hair for my friends wedding!
When I returned I was greeted with the record breaking flu/cold/sinus infection that has been going around this year. Thankfully though I am healthy again and back in full swing ready to bring you some awesome new content this year!
This post is EXTRA long! I probably could have written entire posts for each one of these tips BUT I felt like I really needed to bring it after being MIA for so long. If there is a tip in here you want to know more about let me know in the comments and you just might see an extension post of it later in the year.
When people come into the salon and get their hair done there are a few things that I hear all across the board. These issues are usually caused by a few small habits you don’t realize you are doing daily with your hair. Like washing your hair and conditioning it with the appropriate products not just what you have laying around or the type of brush or pony tail holder you are using.
I put together a quick list for you with a little bit of info about why these tips are beneficial for your hair.
As I have said many times before in my other blog posts, your individual hair is unique and it is up to you as the hair owner and wearer to use these tips as you see fit. If there is something that you have tried that you did not like the outcome of, simply don’t do it again.
You have the power!
I have found these tips to be pretty neutral and can fit into almost any persons life and work well on most hair types. You have to make the call if you don’t think its working and you also have to TWEAK it a little if its not working to find out if that is why.
Also, if you are new around here and haven’t picked up on it yet, I like to invent words so if you see a word you haven’t seen before consider this your invitation to join me on the wild side!
Lets jump into it…
#1. Brush your hair out completely free from tangles every time you get it wet.
This may seem like a no brainer but I assure you even I have gotten my hair wet and left it to dry over and over again without combing it out and ended up having to cut a bunch off from it becoming so tangled and damaged. Think 6 day diving trip in Thailand with 4 dives a day! Ouch, My hair was SO mad at me after that!
You need to completely remove tangles from your hair because hair is very fragile and when it becomes tangled into a knot and gets wet the knot keeps getting tighter and tighter. If you were to wash your hair and let the tangles it would eventually build up. Then it will form into a dread and you will inevitably either have to cut it off or suffer through getting it combed out by a professional. Regardless though, your hair in that area will be left thinner and more prone to breakage in the future.
If you have curly hair and don’t brush your hair out with a brush, like me, make sure you are using your fingers while you are conditioning and styling your curls to make sure it is free of all of it tangles.
#2. Use a sunblock on your hair!
I know you have heard that you need sunblock on your skin to protect it from the harmful UV rays of the sun BUT did you know that the sunny rays can also effect the health of your hair?
The ways that it can harm it are different. Think more color fading and shine dulling and less…cancer.
Even though it is very far away the heat source, the sun can open your cuticle making your hair more dry, more frizzy and will always fade your color!
If you are about to spend a day in the sun you may also want to skip your daily hair oil. Oils tend to reflect and intensify the suns powerful beam. Which is great f you are working on your tan but AWFUL if you are trying to keep your freshly bleached blonde hair that perfect tone you just spent money on!
Adding a styling product with SPF to your hair before or after blowing will help protect your mane while you are splashing around in the pool or spending a day in the park. My favorite is Aveda Sun Care Protective Hair Veil
#3. Stop stretching so many days between washes!
I know, there are a lot of benefits of going a few days between washes. I am NOT saying wash your hair everyday! Lets be real though, some of you out there are going waaaaaay past a few days!
This one requires you to do a lot of work and on the regular but come on now! You purchase high quality shampoo and conditioner because it has nutrients for your hair and you need to get into your hair! Like your daily multi vitamin, if you don’t take it regularly you lose a lot of the benefits.
[interact id=”5ccdb207af3f180014f48504″ type=”quiz”]
Not only does your hair need it’s nutrients, after a few days of built of product mixing with your natural hair oils and the grime of the day…you need a shampoo! I’m not just talking about your hair here. Your scalp needs to be cleaned regularly to keep the root of the hair healthy. As a full time professional stylist I can confidently say my clients that wash their hair every other day or two have significantly healthier hair than someone who only washes once a week or two or three.
Healthy hair holds onto color longer, is shinier, and grows longer!
This doesn’t have to be a punishment. You are an adult! You can treat yourself to a shampoo and blow out at a salon every now and then. You can line it up for a girls night out or date night with your man and get the benefits of a pro doing your dirty work.
If you really can’t bare to wash your hair anymore often, I urge you to use a clarifying shampoo as a prewash to your regular wash and make sure you are scrubbing that scalp clean. And always follow up with a good conditioner to finish it off!
#4. Quality over quantity hair tools!
When it comes to hair tools there are really only a few that you really need to accomplish any daily hair style. Typically, a hair brush, a blow dryer and maybe an iron.
Why would you waste your money on anything less than quality when you only need a few things? Some people think they need 3 different sized curling irons and 7 different brushes and 30 hair products.
When you invest in quality tools you will by default take better care of them. Cleaning your hair tools is an important part of caring for your hair. If your tools have product build up or old tangled hair you are perpetuating the problem.
When it comes to hair brushed not only does the shape matter but the material the brush is made out of matters. Need help picking out a brush? I wrote a whole post about the different types of hair brushes. Click here to read the post!
Same as with the brushes, your blow dryer and irons range in quality and even though something gets the job done doesn’t mean it is actually serving you well. Your blow dryer could be the reason why your hair always turns out frizzy. Wondering where your hair’s shine went? It probably has something to do with your brush and blow dryer combo.
I love to watch Youtube video’s for advice like this. If you aren’t sure where to begin, go over there and type your hair type into the search bar with the tool you want to know more about. I bet something pops up that can help you!
Want to hear my opinion? Ask me your questions in the comments below so I can answer.
#5. Stop wearing your hair in a tight pony tail
A pony tail is a fashion statement. You can wear it low or high, messy or sleek, each way saying something different. If you are particularly drawn though to those tight pony tails, it could be contributing to breakage around the front!
It’s such a common issue and one that I point out to a lot of my clients but these seem to be habits many people aren’t willing to let go of to fix it.
Let me go a little deeper into why your tight pony tails could be causing breakage.
Any one of these situations could be contributing but it is probably because most of you combine a few of them together at once which is why you are seeing such dramatic results.
- Tension used to get hair tight is ripping hair out
- Tying your hair up when wet
- Tying your hair up when dirty and tangly
- Using low quality hair products that are full of waxes and plastics
- Using cheap hair ties and clips to secure
What I haven’t mentioned yet is, in some extreme cases when you are pulling your hair back so tight it is pulling your skin, it can actually pluck your hairs from your head. This can result in a receding hairline. One that doesn’t ever grow back.
Don’t worry though. Wearing your hair in a tight pony tail every so often is perfectly safe. It is really the constant repetitive tightening of your hair that causes this. Also, you can just as easily pull your hair up with rational tightness and then carefully comb the hair line back to blend without giving yourself that fresh botox look.
Two helpful tool tips: A tooth brush and invisi-bobble!
Huh, you say?!
I actually like to use a new tooth brush to help with those little hairs around the from t that wont go back into your pony. Some how those little bristles can get any random baby hair in line.
An Invisi-bobble are those pony tails you started seeing that look like an old telephone cord. They are really good at keeping your hair back without getting hair tangled in them.
When I say hair clips, I’m talking about the ones that you use to section your hair when you are styling it. Not the decorative ones that people use to wear as a part of their style.
Although, my quick 2 cents about THAT…definitely do it!
Hair accessories are so IN!
#6. Hair Clips that make styling easier and faster
Hair clips seem pointless if you aren’t used to using them. To a hairstylist working without clips seems unimaginable though because we have seen the chaos that ensues when you are working with unmanageable sections.
If you have thick or long or both hair you are going to want to use an alligator clip that has a joint in the to part. Like these I found on Amazon.
If you have fine hair that clips have trouble staying in, the YS Park clips are meant for you. They are rounded enough to not cut into the hair and firm enough to hold even the thinnest of sections on fine hair.
These are a part of my absolutely necessary tools list!
You probably need a combo of both clips no matter your hair type. I know I typically use 2-4 of each depending on how much hair a person has for a typical blow out.
If these clips are a little funky to use at first, I urge you to keep practicing. They were for me too but it is worth it to be able to use these incredible little tools!
#7. Stop using Purple Shampoo so much!
I was platinum blonde for about 5 years. I was on the path to get there for about 2 before I started counting that number. I went from being a red head to black to deciding to become platinum. You know, the mid to late twenties hair crisis.
The blondes on my clientele list also make up the majority so I’ve seen some people that like to do some things. For some reason you all think more is better. More purple shampoo means cooler and cooler means blonder!
Next thing you know you’re coming back to me asking to go lighter because your hair feels darker.
Let me explain this. No matter what color you are, layering color onto of color will always make it darker. They teach us this in beauty school. Have you ever heard your hairstylist say color doesn’t lift color. Thats why if you have previously colored hair we usually have to use bleach to lift it.
When you are using a purple shampoo, you are layering a color (purple) over another color (usually yellow). The result at first is a brighter more platinum blonde but after repeated use, it gets darker and appears more dull.
What do I recommend then? I recommend only using a purple shampoo when you actually see yellow.
If your hair already has that darker feel, you can begin to fix it by not using your purple shampoo for a while and using a clarifying shampoo once a week. Definitely follow your clarifying shampoo up with a good deep conditioner!
#8. How to curl your hair if your hair doesn’t curl
This tip is made for you if you feel like your hair can be curled but quickly falls out. I personally have never met a set of hair I can’t get to hold a curl but I’m not arrogant enough to say I don’t believe YOUR hair might be the exception. These are the steps I use though, to achieve curls on UN-curlable hair.
Firstly, dirty hair holds a curl better. I know I told you earlier to wash your hair more often but when I say this I mean like a day or two old…not a week or two! If you just cannot bare the thought of not having freshly washed hair, I would skip the conditioner if possible. If this isn’t possible for you, before you style add some grit in.
Products that are gritty would be something like a salt spray. This is my go to for creating grit in the hair that is wet or dry.
If you hair is already dry I recommend a light dusting of a non-sticky dry shampoo/volume dust or a flexible hairspray. Stay away from anything that is sticky. Usually aerosol dry shampoos are stickier and loose powders are dryer. This is not always the case.
Secondly, section your hair into 3 parts. Each side on the front being 1 and the back being the 3rd. Later in the styling process you will break the big section in the back into 3-4 horizontal sections but start with these 3 for now. Breaking your hair up into sections will help you create order and help you focus on the actual curling part.
Starting in the front, curl your hair with the technique you want to achieve desired outcome. You can turn to Pinterest, Youtube or Google for helpful curling techniques.
When the smaller subsection of hair is in the curling iron I want you to carefully touch the outside part of the hair that is wrapped around the iron without actually touching the iron. When you can feel the heat its time to let the hair out.
If you have very thick hair you will have to break your hair up into much smaller sections to make sure the hair is evenly heated throughout.
If your hair is on the thinner side you can take bigger sections and your hair will become heated through quite quick so be careful not to hold for too long.
Once you let your section of hair out of the iron, you have two options: Wrap the curl into itself to make a roll at your scalp and use a two prong clip to secure it while you do the rest or leave it down and loose. Each will result in a different style. Play around to see which you like best.
Hint: Clipping it will create more volume so use that technique at the top an din the front!
Letting the hair cool is the absolute most important part of curling your hair if it has a problem falling out. This is called setting it!
Setting your hair is where you let it cool completely before touching it. Once the hair is completely cooled to the touch, you can let the clips out and begin to break the curl tip until it reaches your desired curled look.
Hopefully these tips help your curls. If you know of a trick I haven’t mentioned here, share it in the comments below!
#9. Wear a shower cap when cooking!
If you do go multiple days between washes, keep the smells of funky foods ut of your hair by wearing a shower cap while you cook!
This may not be your most desirable look and I do not recommend wearing if you are cooking for friends or a date in front of them but if you have given your hair an incredible style and looking to make it last as long as possible this is a tip that is sure to help!
10. USE HAIR PRODUCTS WHEN YOU STYLE YOUR HAIR!!
When you visit your stylist at the salon for a haircut or color service and they are styling your hair, do they use product on it?
If you are going to a half way decent stylist I’m going to assume you answered yes. I cannot say for sure how many years of training your stylist has completed before you ended up sitting in their chair but there is a reason. If you have ever said anything like, “Ugh…my hair always looks the best when you do it”, I have new to tell you, it’s because they used product!
Yes, the tools matter and the technique matters but honestly, your hair physically listens to the tools and technique BETTER if the proper products are used.
It’s just the truth!
There are literally millions of products on the market and if you have been through them all and have concluded that not a single one works on your hair, then fine. You win. Your hair sucks with product in it. BUT because I know not a single person on earth has gone to that extreme, I can confidently say, if your hair isn’t responding to product the way you want it is because you have not found the right product for your hair yet!
Product is not a one size fits all. I mean, there are some products that work great on a lot of different hair types but your hair is unique and there is absolutely a soulmate product out there for you!
If you need help with product I have some blog posts that can help you out but I highly recommend first going through my How to Identify your Hair Type post first!
