Frizzy, greasy, and “fried” hair can hide those luscious locks you so desperately crave. These seven healthy hair tips can return that flawless, enviable shine!
For some people, hair is just a way to keep their heads warm. But your hair can be so much more than that.
A beautiful, healthy head of hair is like a crown on a person’s head: It can significantly improve your appearance.
So how do you achieve glorious, enviable hair?
This article will give you healthy hair tips that anyone can use!
1. Give Your Hair Vitamins
Hair, skin, and nail vitamins are plentiful on the shelves at the store. But the best way to provide any part of your body with vitamins is through your diet.
What types of food should you eat to give your hair all the nutrition it needs?
Well, hair needs protein to be strong and healthy. So make sure to include plenty of lean protein like chicken breast and tuna in your diet.
Omega 3 fatty acids are another essential nutrient for healthy hair. You can consume these by eating avocados, fatty fish like salmon, and certain nuts.
Speaking of nuts, they also provide another great addition to your healthy hair diet:
Zinc and other minerals that prevent breakage and shedding.
Along with these must-have nutrients, there are certain foods that you should limit. These include alcohol, sugar, and processed foods.
These will only cause damage to your hair.
If you have a hard time getting all of these foods or making sure that you don’t lack any of the necessary nutrients, you can also do so with supplements. There are vitamins that you can take that specifically target hair health.
Be sure to read the ingredients. The best hair vitamins include collagen and biotin. But even just a daily multivitamin can help if you have them on hand.
2. Care for Your Unique Hair
Everybody is unique, and so is every head of hair.
To care for your hair the way it requires, you must learn about your hair.
You need to read about the different types of hair and determine where yours fits. You can do this by learning about its texture, porosity, and oil levels.
Once you’ve determined where in the spectrum of hair types your fall, you can then care for its needs based on that.
Even when you know all about your hair, it can still be hard to find the right products and methods.
Thankfully, there are hundreds of people on social media who share tips and tricks.
Find someone who’s hair is similar to yours and follow them. See what products they use and what styling methods they swear by.
3. Read the Ingredients in Your Products
The science behind hair care products has evolved dramatically since the shampoo and conditioner of generations past. But we still need to be aware of the ingredients that are in the products that we use.
Some can be very damaging to our hair.
We want to avoid harsh chemicals that could dry out our hair. Parabens, sulfates, and mineral oils are just a few, but there is a long list of toxic ingredients to avoid.
Some styling products are the worst. Be sure to read the labels on hair products before you buy them.
4. Don’t Shampoo Every Day
Unless you are full of dirt, oil, or sweat, shampooing your hair is not necessary. Even though shampoo cleans your hair of toxins and dirt, the ingredients that perform that task also dries out your hair, stripping it of its natural oils.
Obviously, we don’t want to walk around with nasty looking hair.
But skipping a day of washing your hair will reduce the harm done to your hair. You can even wait four or more days between washes if you have extremely dry hair.
5. Skip the Heat
Applying heat to your hair causes a significant amount of damage. To reduce this damage, limit the amount of heat styling that you use.
Air dry your hair whenever possible.
And if you must use a tool that uses heat for styling, use thermal protectant spray. Apply the spray to each section moments before styling it but allow it to dry first.
6. Be Gentle with Your Hair
Hair is especially sensitive when it gets wet, so you need to take extra precautions after washing your hair or swimming.
Don’t brush your hair when it is wet. Instead, use a wide-toothed comb and gently detangle your hair.
Don’t rub wet hair with a towel, as this causes breakage and frizzy hair. Dab it gently with your towel, or better yet, invest in a special microfiber hair towel that is more gentle.
Another way that we can be too harsh with our hair is when we put it up. Don’t put it up with a tight hair clip or tie. Not only can this pull on the shaft and cause shedding, but it can also cause breakage at the hair tie's location.
Leave your hair down whenever possible.
Another big no-no is wrapping your hair up in turban style after a shower. This habit can cause hair loss at the most vulnerable spot:
The widow’s peak.
7. Give It Extra Care
Our tired muscles occasionally need a massage, and our dry skin might need a luxurious moisturizer now and then.
Our hair can greatly benefit from a decadent mask.
You can make your own hair mask from natural ingredients or buy a deep conditioning mask from a beauty store.
Remember to read the label!
Another way to give a little TLC to your hair is by treating your scalp. You can do this by massaging oils into your scalp.
A mixture of essential oils, coconut oil, argan oil, and Jamaican black castor oil can do wonders for the health of your scalp and hair.
Conclusion
While everyone’s hair quality is affected by genetics to some degree, you can improve your hair's health by following these tips.
Just living life in this world can cause damage to your hair through pollution, weather, and a poor diet. Daily care of your hair can undo much of this damage, so follow this plan, and you’ll notice shinier, fuller hair soon enough.
About the Author
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with The Verge Greeley to help them with their online marketing.
