Knowing how to take care of our hair daily is one of those things that might seem so simple, but most of the time we still make mistakes that can cause damage to our hair. So in this article we’re gonna discuss the hair care mistakes and How to fix them, so then you know how to take care of your hair better.
Dirty Brushes
When you use dirty brushes daily, you’re not only causing your hair to get greasy quicker, but also you are compromising your skin. Scalp can get an infection more likely because uncleansed brushes spread bacteria to the hair follicle. Also, with each stroke, you are reposing all product buildup back onto your clean hair and scalp.
The same bacteria can continuously develop and inhibit your hair growth process. So as part of my haircare routine, sanitizing my hairbrushes is a must every two weeks. So I started by pulling out all the excess hair from each brush, and then put it in a bowl, let ’em soak in warm water for 15 minutes in a mixture of baking soda and shampoo, which is gonna help to get rid of all the buildup, oil debt scan, and bacteria accumulated.
Drying Hair With Heat
You have to understand that when your hair is wet, it is at its most fragile state because wet hair basically stretches more easily than when it’s dry. So when you comb it or use a hair dryer, unfortunately you are causing your hair to stretch. But with the little problem that is not gonna snack back into shape like a rubber band can.
It can cause breakage, brittleness and thinning on the hair. So the best practice here is to always apply a conditioner or hair oil if you’re gonna brush your hair wet. And when it comes to air drying, I usually let my hair in a microfiber towel for 50 minutes to speed up the drying process, which always works. And it is the most gentle way. My hair is almost dry.
Sleeping With Wet Hair
Since we’re talking about wet hair, the next hair mistake I’ll never do to my hair again is sleeping with wet hair. I know the feeling of sleeping with wet hair is amazing and soothing, but not for your hair health. And if you have thin hair, girl, don’t do it.
It’s not worth it. There are so many bad reasons why sleeping with wet hair is not a good idea. Starting from the terrible breakage you’re gonna cause on your fragile hair, due to the constant friction. Also sleeping with wet hair can lead you to horrible fungal infections, it can cost you thinning because you are constantly breaking off your baby hairs and your hair in general.
So what I can suggest to you here is to do your best to schedule your hair washes in the morning, to give your hair time to get dry. And if you have to or want to wash your hair at night, it is better to blow dry your hair at the lowest setting than sleeping with wet hair.
Rubber Bands
The next hair care mistake I’ll never do to my hair again is using rubber bands on it.
I get it. Rubber bands provide an awesome grip when it comes to keeping your bone and ponytail in place. But these are also destroying and giving you the worst kind of damage on your hair possible because using this on your hair not only puts stress on the roots, it is also the fact that when you remove them, the rubber bands cause breakage and hair loss.
Even the American Academy of Dermatology recommends avoiding using this type of rubber bands on your hair and instead advises you to look for hair ties covered with soft materials so they don’t pull or damage your hair. Silk hair ties, no creases hair ties, or even plastic hair clips are the best ways to keep your style in place and in general, these are gonna help you to keep your hair super healthy and very long.
Showering Without Covering Hair
The next hair mistake I’ll never do to my hair is showering without covering my hair. We don’t wash my hair daily, but we do take daily showers to clean the body, and a lot of times we just clip the hair up and shower in this way.
When you do this, the steam from the shower is literally dehydrating your hair because the steam is lifting the hair cuticle, allowing. All the moisture in your hair escapes, and as a result, your hair is more prone to be puffy and dry once you get out of the shower. I started noticing that every time I was doing this, I would hop in the shower with soft, glorious hair and then get out with tons of flyaway super rough hair.
Microflow hair towels are literally the best in preventing this and for protecting your hair from those amazing steaming showers that we all love, but they’re not good for the hair, but in this case, it is the fabric that ends up absorbing all that, not your hair. So just make sure to cover your hair a few minutes before you turn on the shower or hop in the shower.
Leaving Oil for Longer Than One Day
It is true that for some hair treatments like dip conditioners or hair masks, the longer the better, but not as much for hair oiling as leaving oil on your hair. Longer periods of time can block your hair follicles or attract dirt and accumulate dandruff. Oiling your scalp every day also means that you will need to wash it daily, which is not ideal if you want to achieve healthy long hair.
Balance is important in life. And when it comes to oiling, this also applies. Hair oils are fantastic for helping you achieve the hair of your dreams when you know how to use them properly. In your hair care routine, you should always be oiling no more than once or twice a week before you wash your hair.
The ideal time to leave them in your scalp is between two to four hours. However, if you decide to sleep with oils on your hair, try your best to limit how often you do an overnight hair oil treatment. Like the safest approach to do this is once every two weeks. And remember, as soon as you wake up, you rinse it off with shampoo.
Conditioner On The Roots
The next hair care mistake I will never do to my hair is applying conditioner on the roots. Let’s keep it clear. Conditioners are meant for the ends of your hair, not for the roots. Even if you’ve suffered with dry scalp, applying conditioner is not the solution because most conditioners contain silicone.
So when you put it on your roots not only can it weigh down your hair, it can cause buildup in the hair follicle or even block your hair follicles. And also can make your hair extremely greasy, even right after you wash your hair. Also, remember, your roots are the youngest, most healthy part of your hair, so they don’t actually need conditioner because your scalp produces its natural oils, and that is how it protects your roots.
However, those natural oils most of the time, don’t reach all the way down to the oldest parts of your hair, like the mid and ends. So that is why you use conditioners as a way to protect them from mechanical damage. So a few good practices when it comes to using conditioner is to always remove the excess water before applying it, because this is gonna help for the conditioner to absorb better.
And also it is important to leave for at least three minutes to allow it to penetrate and to coat your hair. By the way, if your scalp gets extremely dry and flaky, it is better to invest in a scalp moisturizer, they are light and it will hydrate your roots without making them look greasy, waxy afterwards.
Final Word of Advice
We all make mistakes when it comes to hair care. These are the most common hair care mistakes that most people have made, and I really hope that you learn from these mistakes and try to avoid them as much as you can. There’s also another hair mistake that I would like to point out, which is, taking biotin. Make sure that if you’re taking biotin, you know you have done tests, that it tells you that you are deficient in this vitamin. Taking biotin can cause some skin problems.
This is a journey and we all have to learn from our mistakes and just keep moving. We’re still gonna make more mistakes, but that’s okay.
