Drying your hair: we all take it for granted, but it can cause serious damage to your hair. Let’s talk about how to avoid that.
It’s typical of many morning routines – you get out of the shower, roughly rub a towel over your head, and if it’s still wet when you’re trying to style it you’ll often aim a blast of heated air at your hair through a blow dryer.
Unfortunately, this sort of morning routine can be damaging to your hair and scalp.
Use these tips to make sure that your hair stays healthy, even after you’ve dried it.
Lay your groundwork
The first step to keeping your hair in good shape starts in the shower.
That means using a great shampoo and conditioner – something like Head & Shoulders, the first shampoo to be clinically proven to improve hair quality from the scalp.
That’s because good hair quality starts with the scalp, its foundation. A scalp in good condition is better at caring for the growing hair, so it’s formed properly. Scalp issues like dandruff can actually cause new hair to be damaged as it grows.
Once you’ve given your hair proper care in the shower, it’s worth reviewing how you dry your hair.
Easy does it
When you step out of the shower and grab a towel, resist the urge to towel your hair roughly. Being rough on hair fibres can chip away at your hair’s protective cuticle.
There are a couple of ways to towel dry your hair that are much gentler, and therefore much healthier, on your hair:
- For longer hair, wrapping it in a towel to dry is an easy way to draw out water without being too rough
- If your hair is shorter, use gentle patting motions instead of rough rubbing
This might take a bit longer to dry, but it will be much easier on your hair.
Drying techniques
If you can avoid using heat styling, do. Air drying your hair causes much less damage to your hair.
However, if you can’t forgo the blow dryer, don’t use too much heat – you’ll damage not only your hair, but your scalp as well.
Turn down the temperature setting to get the same effect with less damage.
The rule of thumb is: if the flow of air is too hot to be comfortable on your hand, it’s too hot for your head.
Styling
When it comes to styling, you similarly want to avoid rough treatment.
Choose combs and brushes with wide spaces in-between the teeth and bristles, to reduce tension on the hair.
If you plan on using straightening irons, take the extra time to make sure that your hair is completely dry.
Much like a blow dryer, too much heat on wet hair can cause damage, so it’s important to give your hair time to dry completely before you start styling it. Otherwise, steam trapped inside the fibre can expand like a balloon, permanently damaging the hair.
Following these simple tips will help you take better care of your hair, so you can keep your hair looking and feeling healthier for longer.