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.

1. 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.
   

2. 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.
   

3. 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).
   

4. 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.
   

5. 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.

Hair Care for Bleached Blonde Tresses

Having never tried changing my hair colour (except a brief highlighting blip when I was 14), I’ve developed a slight addiction to bleaching my naturally black hair, lighter shades.

In the last 6 months I have bleached my hair four times and it’s now the perfect shade of dark blonde that I’ve been trying to achieve! But as anyone who has bleached their hair a couple of times can tell you, it requires work to ensure that your hair remains healthy, strong and protected.

Here, I’m sharing my hair care tips for bleached hair.

First, some background…

My natural hair colour is black and my hair type is greasy at the roots with dry lengths and ends which typically ends in a frizzy mess after washing. My hair texture is relatively straight with the underneath drying fairly wavy and curly in a few places. And my hair length is quite long, reaching to the small of my back.

Four bleachings later, and my hair is lighter, drier and frizzier than ever.

Tip #1: Oil treatments are your friend. I would recommend doing this twice a week if possible although I only manage to do it once a week, either Saturday or Sunday. I make my oil treatment day coincide with the day I am seeing my personal trainer - the reason being, once the oil is in your hair and you're sweaty (so your scalp is releasing heat), the oil will penetrate the hair shaft much deeper than it otherwise would.

I don’t necessarily always wash my hair on the same day that the two things happen above - but generally I try to make hair wash day the same day.

The oil itself does not need to be fancy - I am South Asian through and through, and I swear by the bog-standard KTC mustard oil which is available in most supermarkets, in the international aisle, for around £1 - £1.50.

Every weekend I massage this into my hair (warm it up in front of the heater first, don’t use it cold directly on to your head). Once the oil is in, the hair goes up in a messy bun or a plait, and off I go to the gym. Once I’m done, it’s hair wash time.

Tip #2: Don’t wash your hair too often. I only wash my hair twice a week - this has been a habit since childhood so I never got caught up in the overwashing trap. Overwashing bleached hair will just leave it drier, frizzier and more brittle. Allow the natural oils of your hair to protect it throughout the week; just comb or brush through. If it’s getting to be a bit much, a messy bun or a sleek ponytail always works.

Tip #3: Purple Shampoo & Conditioner: always use conditioner. A purple shampoo/conditioner combo will prevent brassiness (when bleached hair looks red). There are a huge number of brands that offer purple shampoo at different price points - at the moment, I’m using the L’oreal shampoo and Fudge’s purple conditioner. Lather your hair in generous amounts of conditioner; I get in there with 3 pumps and fully coat the hair. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes before washing out.

Tip #4: Use a dry straight spray and a dry oil. I’m using the Colour Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Sealant which helps the hair to stay fairly straight when it’s brushed through the full length. I also spray two pumps of the Rituals Dry Oil VATA spray onto my hands and massage through damp hair.

Tip #5: Use a de-tangling brush / comb. I’m using the Tangle Teezer . It glides straight through without catching and pulling. You want hair care, not hair tear.

Tip #6: Leave your hair to dry naturally if you can. I try to limit the overall amount of heat I use on my hair so it generally dries naturally at the weekend and I straighten afterwards, once it’s dry.

Tip #7: After styling (or during) if you feel you need a bit more slip in the hair, spray another pump of the dry oil onto your hands and gently run your fingers through the lengths.

Maintaining Luscious Locks: South Asian Hair Secrets

I grew up watching my grandmother apply oil to her hair every single day, comb it out and plait it into the thickest, most luxurious plait you ever saw. She never washed her hair more than once a week. My mother, with five children underfoot, maintained the weekly at-home oil treatments she was raised with, and to this day, has never gone to a salon for anything other than a simple cut, and even that was considered a treat. 

As children, my sister and I would sit in front of mum every Sunday without fail, and wait for her to apply oil to our hair, tie our hair up for an hour or so, and then get in the shower to wash it all out. Today, my sister and I have long thick hair, and both of us could just about sit on it.

Don't get me wrong; I love my fancy hair products but one thing I've never given up is the oil. Once a week, without fail, I apply the historically tried and tested (by the women in my family) mustard oil to my locks, leave it to sit for a few hours, and wash it out. I've even recommended this to non-Asian friends, and the feedback has been exactly what I expected. 

Mustard oil is probably one of the best kept hair secrets in Pakistan. I have absolutely no empirical evidence of any of my claims about it, but I can tell you what I've observed and felt. The oil nourishes the scalp, strengthens the roots, makes the hair shaft strong and shiny and helps to prevent hair loss if used consistently over a long period of time (think 3 months+). On the flipside, I've also noticed changes when I've stopped using it for a few weeks - slowly, over several weeks, hair starts to feel more fragile, it breaks when combing or brushing, it loses its shine and it starts falling out. 

If you suffer from any of these ailments, give mustard oil a try. It may be the best thing you ever do for your hair. It's inexpensive and widely available - you should be able to find it in the World Food aisle of your supermarket/grocery store, typically for less than £1/$2.

If you decide to give it a go, let me know how you get on. Good luck on your hair journey, and here's to beautiful, bouncing hair forever!