Okay so who doesn’t use a blow dryer, curling iron or color treat their hair? Raise your hand. Problem is too many of us think if a little is good lots more must be better. But your hair is taking a beating from all your styling efforts. If you avoid the more common hairdo don’ts, well, the hair you save may be your own.
We all know heat kills. Yet we use it in excess and without applying a thermal protective product to help minimize heat damage. Fewer still have embraced the ionic dryers which minimize the amount of time you are applying heat to your hair. And who among us hasn’t turned the blow dryer on hair that hasn’t been squeezed dry sufficiently because we’re in a hurry?
Another mistake is not waiting long enough after coloring before shampooing. That’s right, washing hair sooner than 36 hours after coloring is another common mistake. It takes time for the cuticle to close and settle down. Applying the shampoo too soon means you’re literally washing the color out of your hair and down the drain.
And don’t forget to use a shampoo formulated for use on color treated hair.
As long as we’re on the topic of subjecting your hair to dyes, perms or relaxing agents, be sure to follow the instructions on the package if you’re attempting this at home. Too many of us leave such products on for too long or use them too often for our hair’s own good. Oh and it’s never smart to color and perm your hair on the same day. That’s a hair disaster in the making.
Using thinning shears or a razor on curly hair is just crazy. But people do it. Problem is this is pretty much a surefire way to create frizz while encouraging excessive breakage of those sometimes delicate curls.
It’s likely that you have to condition your hair. I know who doesn’t? Yet for as often as we do that you’d think we’d get it right. But once again too many go about it all wrong. Most work the conditioner in from the top of their head on down. Yet it is the ends that are most in need of moisturizing. A better way is to begin at ear level and work the conditioner in to the ends from there.
Too much, too often or too hot is one way to describe the sins we commit against our hair. No wonder we see so much breakage and fall out. Your hair is begging for mercy so try to remember some of these ideas the next time you are styling it within an inch of its life.
