Chances are, you live a busy life. You’ve got your career to worry about, as well as your family, your friends, and other responsibilities. Sometimes it’s depressingly easy to let everything else fall by the wayside. When you look at things in perspective, your hair health doesn’t take priority, especially if it’s something that you’ve been battling for years.
However, maintaining healthy hair might be more important than you think. It might also be more achievable, meaning that there isn’t much reason not to switch up your hair care routine and boost your hair health.
Hair, beauty, and confidence
It’s a fact of life that how you look affects how you feel. True, other things take priority, but looking good is a huge confidence booster and can ensure that other people take you more seriously. Your hair plays a large role in this.
Men and women alike are affected by the health of their hair. Thick, healthy hair is seen as a sign of youth, good health, and beauty. True, not everyone can maintain a healthy head of hair for their whole lives. As you get older, your hair will deteriorate and thin. Some men lose their hair even earlier.
However, there are always steps that you can take to keep your hair looking as healthy as possible. If your hair is unhealthier than it should be, even with a good hair care routine, then it may be a sign of an underlying health condition. Your hair, like the rest of your body, is an indicator of your health.
Know your hair
The first step to setting up a good hair care routine to keep your hair as healthy as possible is to know your hair. Everyone is different, and hair is no exception. Different hair types need to be treated and cared for in different ways for the best results.
For example, people with textured hair may have a drastically different hair care routine to someone with straight hair. Trying to force the wrong hair care routine can have disastrous results and may even damage your hair.
As well as the texture of your hair, you also need to consider how dry or oily your hair is. Your scalp produces an oil called sebum, which keeps your hair healthy and hydrated and improves your skin and scalp health. If you have excess oil in your hair, then you may need to wash it more often than someone with drier hair, and vice versa.
Combating dry hair
Dry hair is one of the first symptoms of poor hair health. Many people end up with dry hair at some point, and tackling the moisture levels of your hair may take time to get used to. The good news is that you can easily rehydrate your hair with a little bit of care and attention.
The first thing to do is avoid treating your hair harshly. Overwashing is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to dry hair. People commonly think that you need to wash your hair far more often than you do, which strips away all of those natural oils.
If you know your hair well enough, then you’ll have an idea of how often you need to wash your hair and what products to avoid. For example, people with thick, tightly curled hair usually need to wash their hair far less often than someone with straighter or thinner hair. Even someone with particularly oily hair should only wash it once a day at most.
Use gentle shampoos to prevent hair damage and, most importantly, don’t forget to condition. You should keep your hair well-conditioned at the best of times, but especially if your hair is particularly dry. Follow this guide on how to condition dry hair to find out more about how you can bring some life back into your hair.
Another common cause of dry or damaged hair is harsh heat treatments and over-processing. If possible, use tools that protect your hair from heat damage and give it a break once in a while.
Professional hair care
If you’re still unsure about how to get your hair looking as healthy as it should, then don’t be afraid to visit your local hair salon and ask for some pointers. You should be regularly visiting the salon for professional hair care anyway, as regular trims are necessary to prevent split ends and ensure healthy hair. The chances are that they’ll be happy to help and suggest products and techniques for your hair.
