Habit 4: Let hair dry naturally Shiny, healthy and strong hair doesn't like heat styling, and the majority of women we talked to said they mostly let their hair dry naturally. Again, these women may just be blessed with a naturally amazing hair texture and therefore don't need to tame it with a blow dryer or flat iron, or they might actually have great hair because they don't subject it to damaging heat. It's hard to judge, but most, like reader Leslie, claim to let their hair "air-dry overnight in a bun" as they sleep. Others say they limit blow dry time to once a week and mostly use the coolest setting on their hair dryer like reader Chrissy who says she only touches a hairdryer when it is "set to cool ONLY". Some, like reader Leylie, also dry their hair "a bit with a diffuser," so they don't have to walk out the door with "sopping wet hair."
I have very thick hair and washing it every other day works fine for me, just can't go any longer than that because I will turn into an "oil mess as they mentioned
This sounds great. I've actually tried a couple of these and it works. I just don't try the shampooing tip. Why? I'm African descent. That would just dry my hair out. Apart from that I love the tips.
This article hit the nail on the head. These are tips I live by and I have maximized my hair growth not to mention how healthy it is. Also, the less heat you use the better it is for your hair.
I agree 100% with this article!!! I am fortunate enough to have long, thick, manageable hair. I do everything this article listed. Here are a few of my tips.. I stop using conditioner with every wash.. I only do a coconut conditioning once a week.. it leaves my hair soft and shiny. I must thank my mother, for not allowing me to color my hair when I was young... :) Good luck ladies.
I think this statement was my wake up call for my hair. I've always used the same hair products for years! Finally one day someone told me that it's good to switch up your hair products, I didn't pay attention to them, but then i also saw it on here. I did switch up my products a few days later, and my hair felt amazing! Everyone should explore their options more, because it can mean a big difference in how your hair looks and feels!
I agree. This is a lot of common sense. I've heard these tips over and over but it's good to read this because sometimes you can forget what to do. I have washed my hair every other day for a couple years now but I got tired of it feeling gross and greasy even though I used dry shampoo. Recently I started washing my hair every da and my hair feels even softer and doesn't feel dry but that could be of the products I'm using (shampoo & conditioner). You don't necessarily need to skip red meat unless you're vegan or vegetarian because red meat does contain essential b vitamins and all that but you can also find that in vegetables and other ways. I tried not brushing my hair as much but I find its more softer smoother and less tangled when I do brush it. I do use only combs and the tangle teezer from Sally's. it depends on each person I guess
These tips are so true. This is what I do and always get complement on how healthy my hair is; even when I go to the salon my hair stylist and she always pulling other stylist over to check out my hair
I follow most of these tips. I never blow dry my hair. I color only sporadically. I have never permed my hair. I switch products only occasionally, I should do it more often. A cool water rinse also works to seal the cuticle.
Definitely going to try some of these tips! I also never brush my hair and I try to only wash every other day or so. I want to try eating more fish and get in more of those omega fatty acids! I also agree that some photos of these perfect hair people would be nice to compare!
Great share.......hair is one the major problem in both girls and boys now a days. So i keep looking for some new Hare Care tips and also share my views in this matter.
Beer is also very good for the hair whether apply alone or with ingredients it shiny and healthy hair. Fish is also very good for hair. Mixing fish oil with olive oil will prevent hair loss.
I agreed with most of these recommendations. Although it would have been nice to see photos of the women with "perfect hair'" to know what they're comparing to.
i perm my hair every 6+ months or so. I air dry with an absorbant towel because I hate how my hair feels when blow dried. I've never colored and don't plan to. We'll see as I get older and lose my natural highlights!
Great tips..I would also add a cool or cold water rinse to close the hair cuticle after you condition. I prefer temporary hair color to permanent not so harsh. You can use it more often if you stick close to your natural color.
This is all common sense...anyways, from my experience, the most important is your diet and not washing your hair everyday. I wash my hair twice a week, half my diet consists of organic fruits and vegetables, and I take biotin and hair vitamins...and my hair is probably my favorite feature of myself ^_^
Then again, half of it is also genetics, but following these rules could not hurt.
Great advice. I already do a few of the tips. I can't go without washing my hair though because it gets oily and gross. lol I will try some of the other tips and see if I get a change.
I wash my hair at the very least 6 times a week, but I use shampoo sparingly and dare I say it only condition when my hair feels like it needs it. I only heat dry my hair Monday to Friday, leaving it to dry naturally at the weekends and on holiday. Due to 'natural highlights' I dye my hair every 6 to 8 weeks, I only brush my hair if I am straightening it, instead I use my fingers as a comb. I deep condition every month. I get comments on the shine of my hair and how healthy it is from my hairstylist as well as strangers. I know I am lucky but most damage is done by over processing.
I havent had my hair cut for over 5 years. I admit, I could use a trim but other than that my hair is healthy. It just is very baby fine and somewhat thin. I want to try using sulfate free shampoos to see if it makes a difference.
I do follow some of these tips but my hair feels so dirty if I don't wash it more frequently. I'm curious to know where these women are from, what are the climates like?
I'd love to wash my hair every other day, or better yet every 3 or 4 days, but you'd smell my oily head if I did it. I do wash every day, but I only use a dime's size of shampoo, plus a quarter's size of conditioner. And I do blow dry my hair every single day, but it is shiny.
I use two types of shampoo, which I switch out everytime I wash my oily hair. I started doing this thinking that it would probably prevent residue buildup in my hair, not thinking that it would neccessarily make it healthier. I just figured the reason my hairdresser thought I had shiny, healthy hair was because I washed it only every other day or so and rarely blow-dried it. This is all good to know although for some of us rarely combing our hair and only using a pick is a big no-no, we just gotta be gentle there. I also have personally found that oily-haired people such as I can actually develop red and itchy dry spots on our skin and scalp that are unrelated to overdrying our skin (or scalp). If you get these a great thing you can do is to use tea tree shampoo once in a while. I have had red spots go away as soon as I used this stuff on either my hair or my skin (I even used it on a red spot on my hip one time, which seems like a strange place for dryness to develop).
I have long hair which I cut at most once a year, so I try to let it partially dry on its own. But with cold winters, I try to blow dry it at the scalp, so I don't get sick. I also switch up my shampoos and conditioners. Not only food will affect the condition of hair, but if you are ill, under stress.
Inconclusive at best. The only tip here that is realistic and practical is cutting back on the amount of shampooing, a tip I learned some time ago. But the real key to that is not how often you shampoo but rather how much shampoo you use. A professional stylist showed me how shampooing only at the roots and letting the shampoo just run through the rest of your hair will greatly reduce the stress and drying factor while still cleaning your hair thoroughly. My naturally curly, super dry, brittle hair has benefitted tremendously since I began shampooing this way. One last comment: the grammar in this article is really bad; your editors need to get back to work. It is disappointing to read an article with so many grammatical errors, not to mention difficult to take Total Beauty seriously as an authority on any subject when your writers cannot spell.
I have done most of these tips - but the only thing I have found that makes my fine hair look great (like Salon great) is Uspa Beehold. For me, it works wonders!
Some of these tips are no-brainers, like the vitamin tip. However, these are mostly the habits of women with thick, caucasoid hair and normal scalps. If women with a different hair type try to maintain their hair with some of these tips it will be disastrous.
Quoted from above: Eating well means, "a lot of organic foods and no read meat," says Aly. Wow, "READ MEAT", not sure what that is, but I will definately avoid it. Ha, ha, ha, ha
As a hair stylist I agree 100% with this article. I do almost all of them myself. Except I color my hair a little more. I only shampoo 2-3 times per week, only use a pick on my hair. I will use a good quality brush if I have to dry it or adjust the fringe around my face on days I don't shampoo.
Agreed that this is all mostly common sense. Eating well is hard, but popping a daily multi-vitamin helps a bit. I would also mention to go with the hair coloring part of this, is that if you do choose to color your hair, HAVE IT DONE BY A PROFESSIONAL!!! Box color is so bad for your hair!!!
I would love to air-dry my hair, but unfortunately, it just falls flat without blowdrying. I guess I'll just have to stick to using lots of heat protectant!
I know that you're not suppose to wash every day but I can't help it, my hair looks awful if I go a day without washing, yet my hair is always in tip top shape... maybe it's different for everyone?
Great article. The underlying message seems to be that natural hair is pretty hair. Who doesn't love the look of their hair when it's colored/heat styled/freshly washed but when you picture someone with really bad hair it is usually someone who over does these things. Is anyone else sick of seeing too blonde, too much flat iron or long hair that's full of split ends?? The biggest mistake that I see women make is when they are attached to the idea of having long hair. Long hair is only pretty if it's healthy. For people with severely damaged hair, the only repair is a very heavy trim!