Have Healthy Hair
If your hair is dull, frayed, or damaged from the use of dyes and chemicals, you can start right now to get healthier hair. Using healthy washing and styling habits, avoiding harsh hair treatments, and eating a nourishing diet will have your hair looking healthy again in no time.
Contents
Steps
Using Healthy Washing and Styling Habits
- Change your washing routine. Do you wash your hair every single day? This can really dry it out, since you're washing away the oils your scalp produces to keep your hair shiny and healthy. Washing every day can also lead to oily hair, since stripping your hair of its oils causes your oil glands to go into overdrive. Try this routine instead:
- Wash your hair just three or four times a week. Giving your hair a break in between washings will restore its balance. It might be a little oily for the first week or so, but your hair will soon look more healthy and vibrant than ever.
- Wash your hair with cold water. Washing with hot water is hard on your hair and can lead to split ends and frizz. Washing with cold water helps your hair shaft close, resulting in shiny, bouncy hair.
- Handle your hair gently. Think of your hair like your best silk dress. After hand washing it, would you ball it up and wring it out? No, that would destroy its shape and fibers. Your hair is similarly fragile and needs to be treated with care to stay healthy.
- After washing your hair, gently pat it dry with a towel instead of wringing it out. Let it finish air drying.
- Use a comb instead of a brush. Forcing a brush through tangled hair can cause it to rip and break. Use a wide-toothed comb to gently work through the tangles.
- Use heat styling devices sparingly. Put away your hair dryer, straightener, curling iron, and hot rollers unless you have a special occasion at hand. Applying heat to your hair can damage it, so it's best to let your hair air dry instead.
- If you want to use the blow dryer sometimes, use it on a cool setting.
- When you do use heat styling devices, be sure to put a protective serum in your hair beforehand.
- Use homemade treatments like egg yolk and olive mask, vinegar, and plain yogurt or sour cream. Look on websites (maybe or not this one) for instructions.
- Use Egg oil (Eyova): Egg oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids, anti-oxidants and cholesterol and is like a complete solution to hair problems like hair loss, grey hair and frizzy hair.
Using Healthy Products and Avoiding Damaging Treatments
- Use natural hair care products. Commercial hair care products promise great results, but they often contain ingredients that can dry out your hair and leave it looking limp and dull. You'll probably notice a difference right away if you switch to products made with herbs, oils, and creams made that nourish hair.
- Most shampoos are made with strong cleansers called sulfates that strip the natural oils from your hair and cause it to get frizzy and frayed. Choose a natural shampoo made with cleansing herbs and oils instead. Check out a natural foods store for options. Try using no shampoo at all for the least chemicals.
- Conditioners made with aloe, coconut oil, shea butter and other pure substances add moisture to your hair and keep it looking healthy and fresh.
- Avoid using styling products that contain a lot of chemicals with names you can barely pronounce. You can make your own hair gel and hairspray instead of using the store-bought kind.
- Try to stay away from dyes and other permanent treatments. The chemicals in dye, bleach, Brazilian blowouts, chemical straighteners and chemical curlers can do a lot of damage if you use them too often.
- Give your hair oil treatments. To restore your hair's softness and shine, apply oil to your roots, shaft and especially tips a couple times a week. You can use oil in place of conditioner or after your hair is already dry. Once every few weeks, give yourself a deep conditioning treatment as follows:
- Massage olive oil or almond oil into your hair.
- Cover your hair with a shower cap or plastic wrap.
- Let the oil sit in your hair for 2 hours or overnight.
- Rinse it out with cool water until the water runs clear, then shampoo and condition as normal.
- Make an aloe hair mask. This will help your hair to look shiny; it also improves hair health. Use it twice weekly.
- Grab an aloe leaf and peel off the outer, to reach the transparent gel.
- Apply the aloe gel all over your hair,
- Leave in for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Wash out with normal water.
Making Healthy Lifestyle Changes
- Eat nutrients that nourish your hair. A well-balanced diet with plenty of protein, vitamin B, iron, and omega-3s helps your hair stay as thick and healthy as possible.
- Vitamin B keeps hair thick and strong. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and nuts to get enough vitamin B.
- Eat beef, chicken, pork, fish and leafy greens like kale and spinach to get iron and protein.
- Salmon, walnuts, and avocados are excellent sources of omega-3s, which help your hair stay shiny and healthy.
- You can supplement your diet with vitamins designed to make hair stronger. Try prenatal vitamins, which contain a mix of ingredients that lead to great hair, nails and skin.
- Protect your hair from the elements. Just as you would protect your skin from sun, wind, and cold temperatures, you need to protect your hair as well. If you don't, it will dry out and become brittle over time.
- When the sun is strong, wear a hat or scarf over your hair to protect it from getting too fried.
- Don't go outside during the winter with wet hair. When your hair freezes it can get brittle and frayed.
- You should also protect your hair from chemicals. Don't expose your hair to chlorine too often. When you go swimming, wear a swim cap.
- Get your hair trimmed often. As soon as your ends begin to split, go to the salon and get a trim. Keeping your hair trimmed will make sure the ends don't split very far up the shaft. Your hair will be less likely to break, and it will look healthy and full of life.
- Finished.
Tips
- Mix honey and conditioner together then apply it to your hair. Wrap your hair with a plastic covering or towel and let it sit for 30-50 minutes and then wash it off.
- Once a week, try using a hair mask. Wet your hair, then put in the hair mask. Do not rinse it out yet. Leave it on for at least 5-10 minutes. Then rinse with cold water. Hair masks help keep your hair very healthy.
- Only trim your hair when you see a new split end forming. Or, you could attempt to treat the split ends with hair glazes, masks, etc.
- Treat yourself to a hair salon. If you do an extra treatment, you'll notice a big difference!
Warnings
- Beware of some pills that claim to help hair grow better or help hair become healthier. Although not all of them are bad for you, some can be fake and harmful.
- There is no such thing as a shampoo that fixes split ends, the only way to fix this is to trim your hair.
