We all know that our hair never looks better than when it is healthy. But keeping hair healthy can be a difficult task, especially with all the abuse we put it through with hair dyes, hair styling products, and heat styling tools. So, what can you do to protect your hair from all the damage? Here are some tips to help keep your hair healthy, strong, and beautiful.

It Starts With Your Diet

I know, why does it seem like the answer to keeping everything healthy is to have a healthy diet? It might be frustrating, but our diets are our body’s first line of defense against any type of damage, including our hair. The two most important things to make sure you are including in your diet to keep your hair healthy and strong are iron and protein. Hair cells are the fastest-growing cells in the human body, but they are also the first cells to be attacked when you don’t eat right because they are not required for survival. Iron-rich foods you should try to include in your diet are leafy vegetables, fish, pumpkin seeds, beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and cereals. Protein will help strengthen your hair, so also try to include complete proteins like cheese, milk, soy, lentils, peas, quinoa, and yogurt.

Shampoo And Condition

Your hair does not need to be washed every day. In fact, washing every day can strip it of the natural oils it needs to stay healthy. You should only wash your hair every other day. When you wash your hair, make sure you are using the same line of shampoo and conditioner as the formulas will be similar and they are designed to work together to achieve healthy hair. After letting the conditioner soak in your hair for a few minutes, rinse it out with cold water, which will help both the strength and shine of your hair. In addition to using conditioner with every wash, it is also best to do a deep conditioning treatment once a week to really condition the hair well.

Go Natural When You Can

Our hair takes a lot of damage from the styling tools we use on it every day. Instead of blow drying and straightening your hair after every wash, let your hair air dry naturally and avoid using any heated styling tools now and then. Putting your hair up into a ponytail can also be harsh on the hair as it pulls at the roots, so if you decide to put your hair up, use a scrunchy or plastic coil hair tie rather than the rubber band hair ties. (Bonus tip: Using a plastic coil hair tie will minimize that “ponytail bump” you get when you take the ponytail out!)

Blow Dry The Right Way

When your hair is wet, the worst thing you can do is brush it. Wet hair is more fragile and breaks more easily than dry hair. Instead of brushing, start your styling routine with a wide-toothed comb to gently comb through the knots. When you will be using heat styling tools, always spray your hair with a heat protectant spray first. Then, as you start to blow dry your hair, flip your head over and blow dry as you run your fingers through your hair and move your head around. This will give your hair more volume. When your hair is about 80% dry, you can then flip it back over and start blow drying it to style it down.

Get Regular Trims

Sure, you might want to grow your hair out, but waiting longer between trims than you should will not help it grow any quicker. Skipping regular hair trims is actually counterproductive to growing your hair out because the ends are drying and splitting, so you’re not getting the extra length. Regular trims help control split ends and breakage. You should get your hair trimmed every six to eight weeks.

When trying to keep hair healthy proper and regular hair care is key. Contact Brandon Essentials Spa today to speak with one of our professional stylists about your hair needs and schedule an appointment so they can help find and maintain your perfect style!