Hair Care Basics
Hair grooming is, and should be, part of our daily prepping and cleaning ritual. Hair care is the term basically used as part of the cosmetology and hygiene methods that involve our hair. While some people equate the term to a regular visit to a professional hair expert or stylist, basic hair care simply involves proper washing and treatment of our hair and scalp.
The Essentials of Hair Care
Proper grooming is necessary to achieve healthy and beautiful hair. Although there are generic steps or activities that allow one to care for the hair, hair care is essentially governed by an essential element — our hair type. As you see, hair care rituals and treatments differ since it may vary according to our hair type. For instance, a certain shampoo or a conditioner product only works or gives best results to a particular hair type. As such, it is always best to choose and use hair products that work best with our respective hair types.
Aside from regular washing, we can maintain the healthy streaks of our hair by means of adequate daily diet. It is true that what we eat shows in our well-being, and it includes the condition of our hair. If our daily diet is poor, especially in iron, it can eventually lead to Iron Deficiency Anemia that can in turn result to hair loss. To keep our hair healthy and beautiful, fresh, Vitamin C-enriched vegetables and fruits should be the main components of our diet to enable our bodies to absorb enough iron.
Cutting our hair is also one of the basic ways to keep our hair clean and well-groomed. Regular haircut or trimming also helps keep our scalp clean. Haircut, however, is the least preferred hair care treatment of women, especially those who have long hair, for it does not really make our hair grow faster and strong.
Other Hair Care Rituals
Detangling the hair is among the best ways to organize and keep our hair well-groomed. This hair care habit aims to eliminate snarles, tangles, knots, as well as remove the hairs that have fallen off naturally. According to beauty experts however, it is not recommended to detangle our hair when it is wet because it can excessively stress our hair if it is fully stretched and swelled.
In addition, the type of hair tools is among the things to consider when choosing the right detangling tools for our hair. The main tools required from this simple hair care treatment are brushes and combs. Take note, however, that it is best not to share or lend our detangling tools with other people for hygienic purposes.
Meanwhile, conditioner is a fine hair volume enhancer that is commonly used during the washing or shampooing process. The use of conditioner actually helps you detangle your hair easier. Although there are numerous effective hair conditioning products in the market, there are some products that contain silicone compound ingredients that tend to coat the hair, thus making our hair actually look more dull and lifeless. As mentioned earlier, the choice of conditioning products depends on the hair type and condition. When we use products that best suit our hair type, our hair will look shinier, and tangles will be easier to manage.
Dyeing, meanwhile, is also a preferred hair care treatment by some individuals, particularly women. It involves the application of hair coloring products that contain chemical dyes with herbs such as indigo and henna. Aside from hair dye products, spray-in hair colors are also among the preferred products of individuals who want to dye their hair. However, dyeing is not really considered as hair care ritual by most hair experts since the chemicals contained in hair coloring products can alter or damage our hair structure. Regular dyeing of hair can eventually result to hair breakage and dryness.
Damaging Effects of Some Hair Care Treatments
Blow-drying the hair is really a matter of preference. Most women do not have enough time to style their hair so they resort to using a blowdryer. It is given that blow-drying is the most convenient way to style and manage the hair for it further adds volume and style. But setting aside its convenience, blow-drying poses harm and damage to our hair, as it makes the hair very brittle and dry.
The proper way of blow-drying is to do it on towel-dried hair. It is also important to keep the dryer at least six inches away from the hair so as not to overexpose the scalp to heat. In addition, never blow dry the hair completely, for it is best to leave our hair slightly damp.
As stated beforehand, hair coloring is not a highly recommended treatment to our hair. Although hair coloring further enhances the style and look of our hair, the treatment can furtively cause complications to the overall condition of our hair.
Complications brought by hair coloring treatments include dryness of scalp and hair loss, as well as hair strand breakage. To avoid these hair complications, it is best not to apply any color chemical on the hair. If hair coloring is necessary, let a professional hair stylist do the treatment for they know which coloring products best suit our hair, and in addition, they are trained on how to do the treatment properly and effectively.
Furthermore, permanent hair wave or perming also has damaging effects to our hair. With the harsh components of the chemicals used in the treatment, it is best to minimize its contact with the skin. It is a good thing that modern chemicals used in today’s perming treatments are less irritating on the skin.
Poorly administered permanent waves basically result to hair breakage and damage. Instead of making our hair flexible and elastic, the chemicals used in perming treatments can make our hair fragile and brittle. Once the hair is damaged due to regular perming treatments, even combing or detangling the hair will give little or no soothing effect at all to the hair. With the damaging effects of perming chemicals to our hair, it is advisable to avoid this type of hair treatment. However, if perming is necessary, better let an experienced hair stylist conduct the curling treatment.
For a safe, gentle approach to hair loss treatment due to damage, try a natural hair loss remedy such as ProFollica™. This complete system has natural ingredients, so there are no harsh chemicals and it is safe for anyone to use for treatment of their hair loss.