Save your hair from the damage caused by our hair demons with these 10 hair care commandments
Have you been living in a life of hair sin? We all have those hair-dehydrating demons including sun overexposure, blowing drying, curling or straightening that we succumb to. However, help is at hand. To save you from doing more evil to your hair, we asked Claire Whitehouse from The Beauty collective for her top 10 hair care rules that everyone should live by. Follow these 10 hair care commandments and you will definitely be on the virtuous path to hair heaven.
1. Thou shall build a hair-tool artillery
There’s just never a hair-tie when you need it and you could have just brought a pack of 100 bobby pins and still struggle to find one. Invest in a great storage case and keep all your hair tools organised and in one place, then you can spend your time on mastering that new-do rather than searching for the tool you need. Use a fashionable, small cosmetic case/purse that fits in your handbag to transport what you need for the day.
2. Thou shall give your hair a break
Wearing tight hairstyles on a regular basis isn’t great for the health of your hair as it creates tension at the root of the hair and scalp. Wearing a hair tie or hairpin in the same spot can also cause breakage to your hair so alternate your hairstyles to give your hair a break.
3. Remember conditioner is your friend
It’s a good idea to leave a little bit of conditioner in your hair when you’ve finished washing, you don’t need to rinse it all out. It will help with a smooth blow dry and will keep ends nourished. Alternatively, try Argania’s Cashmere Hair leave-in conditioner; it really is a hair routine essential for smooth glossy locks and if my hair is feeling particularly dry, their Liquid Gold Hair Oil is an absolute dream!
4. Thou shall seek natural solutions
Use of harsh chemicals isn’t healthy for you or the environment so it’s best to embrace the natural beauty of your hair and avoid/rarely use heavily chemical based products. With this in mind it is important that you have checked the ingredients and know what you’re reading. Most of us have heard its best to seek shampoos that don’t contain sulfates or parabens but there are other ingredients that can sound scary but are in-fact naturally derived and provide real benefits for your hair.
Everyone has their own viewpoints and levels of concern so I try and do my research and source products based on how they fit into my own set of criteria. The Argania range is ethically sourced and packed with essential oils and powerful anti-oxidants.
5. Thou shall not forget the basics
It’s easy with our busy lifestyles to forget even the simplest of hair rules like never picking at spilt ends or never sleeping with your hair wet. Try not to get lazy or absentmindedly forget the basics, those things your mother taught you still apply today.
6. Thou shall not use hot-tools everyday
Yes we all love them but excessive use of our heat styling tools is damaging to hair and can cause some serious dryness and breakage, try and give them a rest every now and then and break the addiction. If your hairs feeling too unruly to leave the house just style in a sleek pulled back pony or messy top knot and distract with accessories.
7. Thou shall master the blow-dry
Before a mortgage or kids and when my hair was young and healthy I used to pay for a once weekly wash and blow-dry. This would, believe it or not, last the entire week without having to wash in-between. Unfortunately now my hair and lifestyle have both aged that luxury has since been abandoned so I’ve had to master the blow-dry myself and have learnt its all in the prep and tools.
Its not necessary to use the hottest heat on your hairdryer to get the best blow wave, a high speed on a warm setting is as good as hot. Before blow-drying remove as much moisture as you can with a towel (the micro-fibre kind is best) and to reduce frizz don’t scrunch with the towel just squeeze.
8. Trust in the experts
Even if you’ve had a run of good hair days and can nail a DIY blow-dry it’s still important to make a regular appointment with your hairdresser. They will deal with any problems you might be having as well as help to maintain the condition of your hair. Everyone’s ‘regular’ is different so there’s no need to make it a 6 weekly appointment, after getting a great Balayage colour recently I find I only need to visit my lovely hairdresser quarterly now.
9. Thou shall try new stuff
Although it’s important to follow a few hair commandments we can also all benefit from sometimes just throwing our usual hair routine out the window and trying some new things. There are innovations in hair care appearing all the time, some are fads that come and go but others really could be the perfect partner for your hair. Keep up with the latest hair trends so you don’t miss the opportunity to try something that could very well be the answer to your hair prayers.
10. Honour your hair for what it is
I’m not sure we ever come to terms with the hair that we’re given, I always hated my curls and longed for smooth straight hair and my best friend always wished she had the body and fullness of my curls. The most important thing is to not criticise ourselves for the hair we have, accept there’s some hair looks that we can’t achieve or just wont look good and work with what we’ve got!