Shiny locks with healthy habits!

To have shiny, healthy and lustrous hair, is every woman’s desire! Yet we seem to overlook the fact that without a proper care regimen, achieving this is impossible. While bad hair days are something that we all dread, following some basic healthy habits can help lessen the hair damage like breakage, dryness and hair loss to a great extent. Especially these days, owing to the increased pollution, poor food habits, and stressful lives that we lead, most of the times our hair does not even get the rudimentary care needed. The absence of regular and natural hair care methods can eventually cause the hair to become dull and lifeless leading to common problems like hair loss, split ends etc. Following the below stated regimen will help you lessen the harmful effects of pollution and the sun.

Washing at the right time

One of the key essentials in achieving luscious hair is to figure out the correct time to wash those tresses. Experts actually stress that while over-shampooing can cause your scalp to become dry, tight and itchy, not shampooing at all is even worse, because the scalp stands a risk of becoming oily which in turn causes dandruff and associated hair fall.

Therefore, do we shampoo everyday or not at all? According to global hair research experts shampooing should depend on the activity level, the scalp texture and the hair quality. The idea is to not allow oil to build up on the scalp because it attracts dirt, hence ideally wash your hair when they start to look oily. For those suffering with the dry hair syndrome, try maintaining a hair-care regimen, was your hair at regular intervals, wherein the levels of activity would be a determining factor. Under no circumstances should sweat be allowed to settle on the scalp!

Wet hair and styling don’t go hand in hand

When the hair is wet, treat it with caution, because it is in its most vulnerable state. Beauty market research experts vehemently advice against the practice; since wet hair stretches it increases the chances of breakage by causing permanent damage to the cuticle. All kinds of hair styling including brushing, perming or straightening when the hair is wet is a strict no-no. The correct method is to blot dry the locks, then blow dry the hair, before any styling is done to the hair. A small hair styling tip that’ll help you save oodles of time - if your hair is 90% dry, it is ready to be styled!

Protect your hair from sun damage

Sun damage to the hair is as bad as sun damage caused to the skin! The harmful rays of the sun not only damage and fade color treated hair, it also leaves the hair brittle and weak making them more susceptible to split ends. Wear a hat if necessary to protect your hair from the harsh sun. Simultaneously, it is also important to take note of the chlorine content in swimming pools - it actually coats the hair and turns it green. While wearing a bath cap will lessen the effects to a certain extent, it is advisable to give the hair a good wash after a swim.

Trim your hair regularly

It is important that you trim your hair every 2-3 months, especially if the hair is prone to split ends. What the hair endures should actually determine how frequently the hair needs a trim. The more chemicals and styling agents you use, the more important regular trims become.

Eating right

Poor nutrition causes hair loss. If the body lacks the necessary amounts of proteins, vitamins or minerals it fails to sustain the necessary hair growth. Lack in the essential food nutrients like iron can also result in severe hair loss. Research on beauty markets has led to the revelation that affirms that crash diets or any other fad diets for that matter, actually contribute significantly to the increasing problem of hair loss women face these days.

Be careful of Colors!

Almost everyone either has or wants to color their hair these days. While coloring your hair, will surely be the key to your makeover, before exposing the hair to the numerous harmful chemicals associated with hair colors, you need to seriously think it through. Remember, that even color stripping involves bleaching the hair, that result in frizzy hair and unwanted tones, roughing the overall texture of individual hair. The color, bleaching and re-coloration process can prove to be very stressful for the hair leading not only to damage but also severe hair loss.  

Tips and Tricks for Stress-free hair

Beauty market research revealed some tips and tricks that will help you attain lustrous hair without much ado. Here are some of them that you can easily follow:

•  Oiling the hair regularly with a good quality coconut oil or olive oil: Not only does the oiling condition the hair, after the wash, you will feel a definite difference - the hair will feel soft and bouncy.
•  Being easy on heating equipments: All heating equipments like the hair perming devices, hair straighteners, and blow dryers stress the hair strands by exposing the delicate hair shafts to bursts of heat. Use them as sparingly as possible!
• Using quality products: Remember that your hair accounts largely for the way you look, so do not use cheap products when it comes to them. Know your hair quality and use shampoos, conditioners etc, which suit your hair type.
• Shampooing regularly: Shampooing every 2-3 days is fine unless you have a very oily scalp that needs regular washing. However, be warned about the ill effects of over-shampooing.

The hair care market is exceptionally huge and cluttered with numerous products. The market is overflowing with hair treatments that help you maintain healthy locks. While it is advisable to stay away from rigorous treatment to your hair, every now and then make sure to pamper your hair. Sometimes, though they may appear cumbersome assigning a few minutes for hair care by following a healthy and natural hair care routine will protect it from the many harmful agents that the hair is exposed to on a daily basis and let you flaunt healthy, beautiful locks!

Author: Aditi Biswas. Aditi blogs for Research on Global Markets which provides global market research reports on Beauty and Fashion industry along with various other industries.