Haircare Tips You Didn't Know
Most of us tend to think of caring for our hair as an incredibly simple process. You just shampoo, condition and go, right? Wrong.
Whilst you should absolutely be shampooing and conditioning your hair, there are a few other things you should be doing to keep your hair in the best condition. Keep reading to learn how you can elevate your haircare routine.
Make sure you wash your hair enough - this is the reverse of the ‘don’t wash your hair too much’ coin and it’s understandably confusing. How often you should wash your hair depends on any number of factors.
If you exercise regularly throughout the week, you generally want to wash your hair at least after every second time you exercise. If you’re not exercising regularly but you tend to find your roots are starting to get greasy by day 3-4 after washing your hair, then wash your hair!
You need to pay attention to your scalp. If it ‘feels’ like your hair is greasy, it probably is. That’s not a good thing because sweat and oil taking up space in your follicles will prevent hair growth. You may find yourself losing hair as you naturally shed hair but don’t re-grow it at the same rate.
However, you probably don’t need to wash your hair every single day either. Overwashing can strip your hair of its natural oils, leaving it dry and brittle. As a general rule of thumb, people who find their scalp and hair generally feel clean for a good 3-4 days, can probably get away with washing hair 2-3 times per week. Others who sweat more from the scalp or use a large number of products on the hair may want to wash their hair 3-4 times per week.
At different points in your life, your hair’s needs will change. Everything from hormones to ageing, weather, heat etc. will affect your hair’s condition and growth. Don’t expect your hair in your 30’s or 40’s to be the same as your teenage years and to require the same routine decades later.Use a scalp scrub - to have healthy hair, you need a healthy scalp and it’s one of the areas most neglected in conventional haircare. It’s a good idea to use a scalp scrub 1-2 times per week to really lift any dead cells and prevent any blockages in the hair follicles. Your scalp is skin! In the same way you would use a scrub on the face and body, the scalp requires the occasional equivalent of a deep clean to make sure it’s in good condition.
I’ve been using these scrubs most recently (Coco & Eve and The Inkey List) which have worked well for me but there are plenty of others available - try to go for something with a chemical exfoliant element (i.e. something with an acid) to allow for thorough gentle cleaning.
Oil your hair - specifically your scalp. Applying oil to clean hair (either freshly washed and dried or 1-day old hair can work wonders. Use oils with ingredients that target the health of the scalp as this will encourage hair growth. Apply the oil to the scalp and gently massage. Let it sit for as long as possible throughout the day and wash out in the evening. I like to use oils that feature heavily in my south Asian upbringing like this one (MUL Cosmetics).
Use a microfibre towel to dry your hair. Regular towels are too rough for hair whilst a microfibre towel will absorb excess moisture quickly without the need to really rub at the hair. I use this one from Coco & Eve but you can use anything similar from other brands, or even places like Home Bargains/B&M which will usually have something similar in store.
Limit use of heat. This is probably stating the obvious but the less heat you can use on your hair, the better. Heat will damage hair over time so I leave my hair to air-dry after using a microfibre towel. I’ve found that these two changes in haircare routine have meant I am seeing less hair fallout so would highly recommend trying these if hair loss is a concern for you.