There are several hair care mistakes that we all make. We should do our best to avoid them like the plague. I know it very well because once they left my hair damaged and thinning.
Below, you’re about to find the most common hair care mistakes. What shouldn’t we do to our hairdos as it might end up badly?
HAIR CARE MISTAKES [TOP 10]
- Heat-styling (curling, straightening, blow-drying with a round brush), especially without the right protection.
Heat is hair’s biggest enemy and if you haven’t figured that out yet, you’re never going to have beautiful hair.
Too high temperature (even of water that you wash/rinse hair with) opens up hair scales and consequently makes hair coarse, unruly and simply damaged. Overuse of curling, straightening and blow-drying tools leads to irreversible changes in the hair structure and the only form of repair is… cutting hair.
If you still don’t want to or can’t give up on a blow-dryer, do use it but be gentle, set a cool airflow and do it at a safe distance. You must also remember to use heat protectants prior to hot-styling. - Improper use of masks and conditioners, that is mostly choosing protein-based, repairing products.
We always think our hair looks dull and coarse, is frizzy and damaged but it’s not always true. Let’s be wake hair care product buyers.
Our hair problems sometimes result from a temporarily poor condition, the reaction to unfavorable weather conditions or minor hormonal disturbance. If this moment of temporary bad appearance of hair makes you buy repairing mask or conditioner, you might simply over-protein your hair and make it even worse. - Growing long hair at all costs without having them trimmed on a regular basis (fighting for every millimeter!).
Let keep this point short: having hair trimmed regularly is a must, period. Split hair doesn’t just look bad. It means you’re one step away from the loss of valuable nutrients and water. You should both prevent ends from splitting and have them trimmed on a regular basis. Hair with healthy ends is easier to work with, grows faster and is simply healthier. Obvious, right? - Bad timing, rinsing conditioners too fast, keeping shampoo too long.
Hands up those of you who read the time instructions on product labels and follow them. No one?
Sadly, not following directions for use is the most common hair care mistake (coming right after choosing wrong products for the hair type and needs). We tend to leave in shampoo longer so it can thoroughly cleanse the hair but instead we end up with dry and irritated scalp. Annoyingly enough, we like to apply a mask and rinse it too soon even though the product needs much more time to penetrate deeply and work inside the hair. - Expecting spectacular effects to come instantly, not giving products enough time.
In this point, I somehow relate to the previous one about not leaving a hair mask long enough. I’d like to elaborate on this topic because we have such expectations to other products as well. Each cosmetic applied to hair is supposed to work like a magical wand and turn around hair looks in a flash. That’s what we want.
Unfortunately, hair care products need time to bring effects. You can’t repair hair within one day. You need to strengthen it, rebuild damaged structures, intensely moisturize and make sure water cannot escape e.g. through the open cuticles. This needs long-term activities. Believe me, overnight repair is impossible. - Testing all available products, each and every new arrival, a cosmetic that your friend recommended.
Women tend to be attracted to new arrivals. We love testing cosmetics we’ve never tried. We take samples in bulk.
Too bad, our hair doesn’t like it. Tresses get used to some ingredients and need them whereas they react badly to improper ones. We should remember that new isn’t the synonym for good. It’s best to stick to tried and tested products and treatments.
Please don’t get me wrong! I don’t advise you against trying new products or tell you to stay with one thing which is (in our opinion) the only right one. The needs of hair differ depending on the season of the year and on the progress we made in our hair care routine. That’s why we must choose products right for the needs of hair, not thinking about passing fads. - Investing only in salon products and purchasing them at a salon (at a high margin, btw).
I used to think that in-salon cosmetics were better because… actually I don’t know why. This is a misconception. Not only are the prices steep but also the products aren’t recommended for the wellness of our hairdos. It’s just an example of clever marketing. Search for cosmetic marvels at malls, drugstores, online, and not at hair salons: you’re going to benefit a lot and not just financially. - Sleeping with your hair down because a pillow is unable to cause any damage to hair, right?
Once, I read that sleeping on a silk pillowcase brings benefits for hair. My reaction was tapping the head, lying it on my cotton pillow and falling asleep. Today, my approach to this topic is a bit different.
Loose hair in sleep might cause damage whereas a silk pillow can actually help us tackle split ends. It’s not a bulsh. When hair rubs against coarse pillow case, it gets damaged, split, breaks; we also tend to unconsciously tug and pull the strands. In the morning, we often wake up with tangled, unmanageable and unruly hair.
A hint for you: if you can’t afford a silk pillowcase, tie hair up in a bun or make a braid to keep it safe while getting your beauty sleep. - Camouflaging problems, e.g. through getting a superficial smoothing effect, instead of solving it.
I used to obsessively apply liquid silk and was so happy to see it go instantly smooth, shiny and gorgeous…The truth is I only covered up the problem because under the layer of silk there was damaged, splitting, highly-porous hair.
There’s a clear moral and it’s probably known to all of you: instead of camouflaging a problem, we must find its source and solve it! The effect will be longer-lasting even though you’ll have to wait longer to achieve it. - Having hair colored and processed without giving it much thought.
I must have already mentioned that I’m not a fan of hair coloring. To me it’s nothing but interfering in the hair structure. No one should be surprised that after having hair colored numerously, improperly and irresponsibly hair looks straw-like rather than natural, luminous and lovely.
Let’s cut down on coloring and all kinds of processing e.g. extensions. Let’s treat bleaching as the no 1 enemy. The hair will repay us by looking amazing 🙂
