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.

The Ultimate Step-by-Step Skincare Routine

A few years ago, I wrote a post for my old beauty blog about the ideal skincare routine. I was absolutely gutted to realise that I accidentally deleted it without saving it (rookie mistake!), but with the weather in the UK reaching heatwave temperatures, I thought now would be the perfect opportunity to get out of the sun and start writing the post again.

This post for me, is one of the most important skincare posts I will do. It's the one I direct friends to, to ensure they are on top of their routines and using the right products, and it's the one that has made the biggest difference for my skin overall. Below you'll find a step by step routine for morning and evening explaining everything you should be doing to maintain clear, soft skin.

I've included a few tips because time and time again, I see people making the same mistakes and not getting the results they're looking for.

Morning

This routine assumes you have followed the night routine below and fully removed any make-up and slept in clean skin. If you haven't (tut tut!), you need to follow steps 1 and 2 of the night routine first, then follow on with this routine starting at step 1.

1. Cleanse. The most important step in the morning, this gets rid of dead skin cells and any residue on the skin. Use a cream cleanser, cleansing milk, oil or gel with a hand-hot flannel to wipe off.

2. Tone. Unlike your classic rose water toner, I always recommend acid toners. Although a very small minority people may not be able to handle any kind of acid, even in its mildest form, 99% of you should be absolutely fine. To decide which acid is best for your skin type, read my article here. Remember to start with the mildest version of the acid that you can find (typical strength of 2-5%) just so your skin can get used to it. Once you're comfortable after 6 weeks or so, you can start moving up in strength.

3. Serum. This is your treatment stage. Your skin is the cleanest it's going to be at this point which means it's also the most receptive to whatever you add next. Use a serum to target any specific concerns, e.g. Vitamin C to brighten skin, Hyaluronic to hydrate etc. Feel free to use any serum you like.

4. Moisturise. Moisturising the skin is incredibly important. It is different to hydrating the skin but in either case, you need to remember that the water you drink doesn't make it all the way to the outer layer of the skin to hydrate it. You do need to add something topical from the outside to ensure your skin is getting all the help it needs. I recommend gel moisturisers because they sink in easily and are light to apply in summer. Again, use any moisturiser your heart desires.

5. SPF. SPF is always the final step in your skincare regimen. It needs to be on the outside of everything else to protect the skin. I always suggest a solid SPF 30 but make sure you do re-apply this. A common mistake is only applying once and wondering why you're still getting burned. Also check the packaging so that you're protected against UVA and UVB rays. 

Evening

The evening routine is much the same. The only difference is the additional step before step 1 above which is make-up removal.

1. Make-Up Removal. You only need this step if you were wearing make-up and/or SPF during the day. Use a balm or oil cleanser specifically to remove make-up before moving on to Step 1 of the morning routine. Excellent make-up removers are products like Ultimelt by Soap & Glory, Moringa Cleansing Balm by Emma Hardie or the Cammomile Cleansing Butter from The Body Shop. Massage in and wipe off with a hot cloth.

2. Move on to step 1 of the morning routine and follow through to step 4.

3. Moisturise - You won't need SPF clearly if you're going to sleep but a good moisturiser is key. In the summer I'd stick with something light like a gel, although in winter it's worth swapping this for a thicker, richer moisturiser. Winter skin deserves the equivalent of a comfort blanket to deal with the cold.