5 Hacks for Healthy Hair

Hey everyone!

Today I thought I’d share with you some helpful hacks I’ve learned that really help to keep my hair healthy and free of split-ends and other things that none of us want! Please keep in mind that different hair types need to be treated differently. I have more of a type 2B hair, which is wavy but not necessarily curly. Generally though, I think these tips should be beneficial for many hair types! 🙂

1.) Brushing

This one can seem like a no-brainer, but it’ll surprise you how much of a difference proper brushing can do for your hair’s health. 

• Always brush your hair from the tips to the roots. This will prevent less knotting, less frizziness, and less breakage. 
• When your hair is tangle-free, you don’t need to brush it anymore. Over-brushing your hair will only lead to more loss of strands. 
• Try utilizing your boar-bristle brush after detangling. Due to it’s density, brushing it through your hair (root to tip this time,) will helps disperse your natural oils. 
• Don’t brush your hair when it’s wet. When your hair is wet, the strands are much weaker than normal. If you’d like, opt for a wide tooth comb to run through your wet strands, and when it’s about 80% dry, then go in with a brush. 

2.) Post-Shower moisturizing 

Moisturizing your hair between shower days will helps to prevent split ends, and also give your hair a beautiful (non-greasy) shine! Here are some of my tips that I use on a weekly/daily basis:

• Use a dime/nickel (depending on your hair thickness/length) of coconut oil or jojoba oil and run it through your hair right when you get out of the shower. I actually prefer to apply it when my hair is still damp, since the oils sink it better. Focus the oils on the lower half of your hair, specifically the tips. 

• Use a leave-in conditioner, too! I absolutely love the Shea Moisture coconut leave-in treatment, and use it right after the shower, spraying it all over my hair. Between my hair-wash days, I continue to spray the leave-in on my hair, though only on the lower half, since I don’t want my scalp to get greasy. Leave-in conditioners help keep the hair looking, feeling, and smelling great, and I have really liked adding them into my regular routine! 

3.) Sleeping 

I love putting my hair up in a bun with a scrunchie before hitting the sack, but recently I’ve discovered that, while not a horrible hairstyle for sleep (still love it,) it isn’t necessarily the best, either. The excessive pulling of having your hair pulled back can cause hair loss, beginning at the hair-line. If you do want to wear your hair in a bun before bed, just make sure that it isn’t tight, and try using a soft scrunchie, since it has an overall softer hold on your strands and doesn’t cause much tension. 😉

• Another hairstyle I recommend putting your hair into loose 3-strand braids for bed. That way, your hair is in the same state as if it were “down,” but is still out of your way. Plus, it gives you some soft definition/waves. 

Basically, if the hairstyle is tight, requires a lot of hair ties, or hurts when you wake up in the morning, you might not want to do it on a regular basis, since in the long run it isn’t the best for your hair.

4.) Swimming

Enjoying the salt water at the beach or spending time with friends at a pool party is tons of fun, but can be very damaging to your hair. As summer approaches here in the U.S., not every girl really feels like wearing a swim cap. 

• Apply some coconut oil to your hair to provide a barrier between the chlorine/salt water. I recommend keeping it away from your roots though, since that’ll make your hair look greasy. 
• Some people also recommend wetting your hair in the shower prior to swimming as a way to protect their hair from the effects of chlorine. 

5.) Wash-Days and Working Out

Frequent shampooing isn’t beneficial to your hair’s health, as it continually strips your hair of its natural oils. As a result, you scalp begins producing oils faster, leading to a continual cycle of a greasy scalp, which you’ll wash with shampoo, and aggravate the situation. (Please keep in mind that hair type should be taken into consideration when deciphering how many times to wash your hair each week. Not everyone is the same and there is no hard rule.) In general, shampooing 2-3 times a week seems to be the sweet spot. 

Sometimes though, it can be hard not to wash your hair. On days when I workout, and if I really feel like I need to clean my hair, what I’ve found helpful is to wash my hair without shampoo. I use warm water to help open up my pores, and gently massage my scalp. I then follow up with a little bit of conditioner through the ends of my hair, and rinse with lukewarm water. This way, my hair still feels fresh, and I can wait another day to shampoo it. 

 

…and that’s it! I hope you guys have been enjoying this hair care/hair advice posts! Hair care is something I take pretty seriously, so I love sharing with you all what I like to do! If you have a special trick you like to do to keep your hair healthy, let me know in the comments! I always love learning what other people do. 😉 Also, if you have any questions, leave them below as well, and I’ll answer them as best as I can.

I’m hoping to put up another hairstyle post soon, but honestly, I’m at a loss for ideas. If you guys have any specific hairstyles you’d like to see me tackle, leave them here or in the comments. I’d really appreciate it!

Hope you all are doing great!

Catch ya later,

Sophia