Almost every woman dreams of having long, beautiful, and strong hair. However, many find it difficult to grow long hair that is both healthy and shiny.
Thousands of tips, opinions, recommendations, and “secrets” for achieving the dream hairstyle can be found on the Internet. But what actually works? Wouldn’t I just end up wasting my time? What if the opposite effect occurs?
We are relying on our own experience here. Breaking myths or explaining facts – you can understand it as you wish, but if you continue reading, you may answer many of the questions about your hair that no one has asked so far.
Care starts from the inside out
It may sound cliché, but taking care of ourselves on the inside is essential to having good-looking hair. A balanced diet and drinking plenty of water have a positive effect not only on your hair but also on your whole body.
Your hair consists mainly of proteins and consuming them as part of your daily menu will certainly have a beneficial effect. The most protein-rich foods are pure meat, fish, beans, low-fat dairy products, and eggs.
If your hair is weak, torn, and falling out a lot, it may be due to the fact that you rarely eat protein. Include some of the above foods more often in your menu – this is the first step towards achieving your dream hair.
Getting enough water is also a key factor – just as plants need water to grow, so does your hair. An interesting fact is that in fact, about 25% of the weight of each hair is water. When we drink a lot of fluids, not only does hair grow faster, but it is much more vibrant, hydrated, and does not break as much.
Choose the right products for your hair
Do not choose products for your hair based on the opinions of experts, friends, or enticing advertisements. First of all, you need to find out what type of hair you have and what products would be most suitable for it. For example – oily scalp needs one care, dry – another. Thick hair needs one thing, respectively, thinner – from another, and so on.
Take the time to research the products on the market according to your own needs. And give it a try – if one thing doesn’t work, try another until you find the right selection of hair care products.
Can only expensive products make a difference?
An absolute myth!
Of course, there are great products at high prices, but there are just as many quality ones available at a lower cost. In our quest to choose the best for ourselves, or in this case for our hair, we often choose the most expensive shampoo, conditioner, or mask. However, this is a big mistake. That’s why:
Shampoo, for example, itself has a single purpose – to clean our scalp from accumulated fat and dirt. In this sense, it does not matter much whether you will get a shampoo for 5$ or 50$.
What makes expensive shampoos expensive is that they contain not only ingredients that remove dirt from your hair, but also additional ones, that make it look more shiny and alive. In most cases, this is due to silicones.
The purpose of conditioners, masks, and any other hair product other than shampoo is to help your hair look better. Here the only option is to experiment to find the most appropriate care for your hair. Try different products until you find the right ones.
Showering mistakes
The condition of your hair relies heavily on how you wash it. There are many steps that ladies routinely take that harm their hair without noticing it.
First of all – do not wash your hair too often
Many girls complain of oily scalp and feel forced to wash their hair every day. However, this is the worst thing you can do, because the truth is one – your hair gets oily quickly because you wash it often.
When you wash the natural fat from your scalp, it dries out, and when it dries, it starts to overproduce fat to compensate. So, even if you wash your hair every day, the next time it will always look dirty.
It is clear that once we get used to our routines, it is very difficult to start washing our hair less often because no woman likes to have her hair dirty, but here you have to make a sacrifice. You will feel uncomfortable in the beginning, but then your hair will be grateful.
Second – apply shampoo only at the roots
We’ve all seen those commercials where women wash their hair – no, don’t do that. As we have already specified, the purpose of the shampoo is to remove impurities from your scalp. Concentrate on it – massage with your fingers, not your fingernails, do not spread the shampoo on the edges, and in no case rub your hair along the lengths with shampoo – this will only cause breakage and tangles. When you wash the shampoo and it flows down – that’s enough to clean the lengths of your hair – there is no need to apply shampoo on them.
Third – respectively, do not apply balm on the roots
Many women apply conditioner or mask all over their hair, but their place is at the ends. Putting these products at the roots, especially if you have an oily scalp, will only make your hair look dirty and matted, even though you have just washed it.
Lastly, do not apply shampoo twice
Very often on the back of the package it says to apply, wash, and then do it again, but this is purely and simply a marketing ploy to finish your shampoo faster and more often to buy a new one. The second application of shampoo has no function – so you just dry your hair unnecessarily. Rubbing shampoo into the scalp once is enough to remove dirt.
Keep the towel away from your hair
Undoubtedly, many of us do this – when we go out of the bathroom, we wrap a towel around our head or rub our hair with it. This is not a good idea. The toweling material is too hard and coarse for our hair and can lead to many tears and damage to the hair.
The best option is a microfiber towel or a simple cotton T-shirt. And even so, in no case should you rub your hair, just touch the towel lightly to absorb excess water.
Do not comb your hair while it is wet
Many girls prefer to comb their hair while it is wet, but this is not good for the hair. By combing your hair while it is wet, you only cause breakage, split ends, and much more affliction to your hair.
Comb your hair before bath. Start at the bottom, in small sections, and slowly and gradually move up. When you start to untangle your hair from the roots, if there are tangles in it, you will simply break it in the places where there are knots, instead of untangling them.
Having a beautiful hair means avoiding heat treatments
This may be implied, but not to mention – heat treatment is extremely detrimental to your hair. It is difficult for many ladies to part with their press or hair curler forever, and this is understandable, but if you have the opportunity to minimize the treatment – do it. There is no safer way to improve the condition of your hair than this.
When you still need to resort to such a hair device – be sure to use a heat protection spray. They are easy to find on the market and there are many affordable and quality options that will certainly not save your hair from the temperature of 200 ° C, but at least will help to cause less damage.
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