6 Essential Tips for Taking Care of Your Hair

Check out these tips for looking after your luscious locks.

Our hair can be one of the most noticeable parts of our bodies, but also one of the most delicate. With a variety of factors – including everything from the weather, to styling and our diets – potentially resulting in damaged or brittle hair, you need to take all of these into consideration.

With that in mind, we’ve put together six ways you can avoid any ‘hairy’ situations and keep things healthy up top.

Don’t wash your hair too frequently

Washing your hair daily can result in it eventually becoming dry and brittle, and you may even find it becomes greasy quicker due to over-washing.

Your hair produces essential oils to keep itself moisturised and healthy. If you wash it frequently, you are stripping away those oils and as a reaction, it tends to work extra hard to replenish them; resulting in a Severus Snape-esque situation. 

Limit your washing to 1-2 times weekly to keep your hair fuller and in good condition.

Avoid hair care products that contain sulphates and parabens

These types of hair care products strip your hair and can also break down the natural proteins found in your follicles. The only way to spot these ingredients is to pay close attention to the packaging.

Overly foamy shampoos are usually the biggest culprits and if you can, opting for more organic and natural products can have a huge effect on the health of your hair. 

Avoid harsh heat from hair-dryers and styling tools

It’s no secret that heat damages hair. Leaving your hair to dry naturally and using non-heat related styling methods are both easy ways to avoid putting your locks through unnecessary suffering. 

Brush from the bottom upwards

Most of us will brush our hair from the top to the bottom as it’s the way most of us were taught as children. However, the ends of the hair usually knot the easiest and brushing them roughly can result in breakage all along the hair follicle.

Starting at the ends and working your way up will allow you to deal with the knots first, taking more care to tease them out and minimising the damage done to the entire strand.  

Regular haircuts are essential

It can be tempting to forget about getting regular haircuts, especially when you’re looking to grow out your hair. However, having regular trims will keep your hair in much better condition, resulting in a fuller, thicker mane. If length is your aim, it will also encourage it to grow a bit quicker.

Maintain a healthy diet

As difficult as it can be to stay away from delicious cakes, sweets and fast food, eating a balanced diet has a huge effect on the health of our hair, nails and skin. Keep yourself healthy from the inside out, eating nutritious fruit and vegetables, and lots of protein. 

If the motivation to achieve a Danny Zuko-like quiff well into our forties wasn’t enough, a recent survey from hair transplant experts Crown Clinic has also shed light on the effects of hair loss on self-esteem. With two thirds of British men reporting low confidence due to hair loss, the below infographic highlights why we should make taking good care of our barnets a priority.