5 Ways You’re Damaging Your Hair Without Realising
Using straighteners without heat protection is a pretty obvious way to scorch your strands but there might be a few other things you’re doing that are causing breakage too. Now that we’re reaching winter it’s even more important to keep your hair healthy as the cold weather isn’t friendly to your locks. Figuring out where in your routine you’re going wrong can make a huge difference and will help to improve your overall hair health. So if your split ends are creeping up here are 5 ways you could be damaging your hair without realising.
Really Hot Showers
Washing your hair in hot water can strip it of moisture and leave your locks feeling dry, brittle and more prone to damage. The best temperature for washing your hair is just above your body temp at 38°C as it won’t swell your strands too much or cause any damage.
Over Washing
Using a really harsh shampoo every day can strip your hair of its natural oils. This makes your follicles produce even more sebum which gives you super greasy roots but leaves your ends feeling dry. Instead you should only use a clarifying shampoo once a month to remove product buildup and stick to alcohol and sulphate free the rest of the time.
Using Too Much Product
Product buildup on your scalp and through the lengths of your hair could be the cause of dull looking locks that tangle easily and are difficult to style. Things like dry shampoo, hairspray and texturising powders can really stick to your strands and are hard to remove. Obviously you don’t want to over cleanse but using your clarifying shampoo once a month will help to keep your locks fresh without causing damage.
Styling Your Hair When It’s Wet
Your hair is way more prone to damage when it’s wet so this could be when you’re causing breakage without realising. You need to be as gentle as possible with wet hair and only use a comb to detangle rather than a brush. You also want to switch to a microfibre towel rather than a regular one as it’s super gentle and will dry your hair way quicker. Cotton towels are really rough and can cause lots of frizz and split ends so they’re definitely worth avoiding.
Your Hair Colouring Routine
Regularly colouring or bleaching your hair can cause a lot of damage to your strands, especially if you neglect your hair in between treatments. Bleaching lifts your cuticle to remove your natural pigment which can leave your hair really weak. Heat styling, too much brushing and over washing afterwards can cause split ends and you may notice more shedding than usual as well as your strands snapping. Make sure to go as long as possible between treatments and use leave-in conditioners and masks to prevent your ends from getting too dry. You definitely want to wash colour treated hair as little as possible too and use products that are formulated to protect your colour.
Love hair care tips?
Click here for more.
