When it comes to getting healthy, one thing is clear: your habits matter. After all, it is the things that you do day in and day out that can make the difference between being an icon of health and being a walking billboard for what not to do if you want to live a stellar life.
For instance, in order to have a healthy body, you need regular doses of quality foods like fruits, veggies, complex carbs, and lean proteins. For healthy muscles, you need consistent exercise sessions designed to work your muscles so they become stronger than ever.
Well, the habits you engage in regarding your hair can also affect its health. So, what should you do to ensure that your locks are as full and healthy as they can be, making bad hair days a thing of the pat? Easy. Break these seven daily habits:
Habit #1: You Wash Your Hair Every Morning (And Sometimes After Workouts Too)
Although it may seem that your hair would benefit from more scrubbings as opposed to less, hair care experts and dermatologists warn that sudsing up daily (or more) isn’t always necessary. In fact, according to WebMD,
The longer, thicker, curlier, and more processed your hair, the longer it can go between washes.
Therefore, every other day is usually enough.
If your hair tends to get oily, you can always use powder between shampoos to keep your hair looking great without hurting it in the process. You can find them in the hair care aisle at most any retail store.
Habit #2: You Fill Your Palm with Shampoo
Do you feel as if you haven’t cleaned your hair properly unless you have a head full of soap, causing you to fill your palm with as much shampoo as it can possibly hold? If so, you’re likely overdoing it.
To have clean hair and retain its health at the same time, you want to limit your shampoo consumption to somewhere between a dime and quarter in size. Go any bigger and you’re wasting money, product, and your hair’s good health.
Habit #3: You Use a Towel to Rub Most of the Water Out of Your Hair
When we’re teaching our children how to dry off properly once they get out of the bath or shower, we generally use the towel to rub the water out of their hair as if their head is on fire and we’re putting it out. However, this habit, no matter how good intentioned it is, may be hurting their hair health in the long run.
Instead of using the towel to rub your (or their) head, place it on your head and gently grab your hair through the towel to soak the excess water out of it. This accomplishes the same goal without breaking your hair or weakening it in any way.
Habit #4: You Comb Your Hair with a Fine Tooth Comb
This particular habit is especially damaging if you have thick or curly hair that often becomes tangled. And the proof is apparent if you look at your comb afterward and see how many strands of hair it has removed from your scalp.
While this type of styling tool is okay for people with short hairstyles, you’re better off sticking with a wide tooth comb that doesn’t tear at your hair. Even fine, thin hair can benefit from using a wide tooth comb.
Habit #5: You Always Put Your Hair Dryer As Close To Your Hair as Possible to Shorten Drying Time
Most of us realize that air drying our hair is better for its health, but who has time? In fact, a large majority of us want to hasten the process so we put the hair dryer as close to our head as possible. Unfortunately, the time you save may likely be damaging your hair.
Research published in the Annals of Dermatology found that the safest way to use a hair dryer was to keep it roughly 15 cm from your hair. Also, don’t just focus on one spot until it is dry. Keep moving it around so that you’re not hitting a patch of hair with too much hot air at one time.
Habit #6: You Style Regularly with a Flat Iron, Curling Iron, or Both
It only makes sense that the more heat-based appliances you use on your hair, the worse it is going to be from them. So, when you use flat irons, curling irons, or other heat sources to style your hair daily, you’re going to decrease its health.
Certainly, you can’t always get away with not using these common styling tools, but there are some things you can do to limit the amount of harm they cause to your hair. For instance, you could reduce their level of heat so they aren’t as hot, or you can get a cut that doesn’t require as much styling and improve your hair that way.
Habit #7: You Spend a Lot of Time in the Sun
Not only can too much time in the sun damage your skin, but it can do a number on your hair as well. The sun’s rays are extremely powerful and can remove any moisture that your locks hold, leaving it weak and brittle as a result.
When you know that you’re going to be outdoors for an extended period of time, throw on a hat or other type of head covering. It may not exactly be the look you’re going for, but neither is dull, frizzy, lifeless hair.
Lose these seven habits and you’ll have hair that is healthy, strong, and full of body. Not to mention that you’ll have fewer bad hair days, which is a plus in anyone’s book!
