Hair is often considered our crowning glory, and for a good reason. It frames our face, compliments our style, and can be a powerful expression of our personality. However, achieving and maintaining healthy, beautiful hair requires more than just good genes; it involves a thoughtful hair care routine and the right products. Whether you are battling frizz, dealing with dryness, or just looking to keep your mane in tip top shape, this ultimate guide to hair care will provide you with everything you need to know.
Understanding Your Hair Type
First things first: knowing your hair type is the foundation of effective hair care. Hair types generally fall into the following categories based on curl pattern, thickness, and porosity.
- Curl Pattern
- Straight hair (Type 1): hair that doesn’t curl or wave, tends to be sleek and can sometimes lack volume.
- Wavy hair (Type 2): hair that has a natural wave, falling between straight and curly.
- Curly hair (Type 3): hair that forms distinct curls and often requires moisture.
- Coily hair (Type 4): hair with tight curls or kinks, typically very dry and fragile.
- Thickness
- Fine hair: thin strands that can appear limp and are prone to breakage.
- Medium hair: strands of average thickness, generally more resilient.
- Thick hair: dense strands that can handle more wear and tear but might be more prone to frizz.
- Porosity
- Low porosity hair: hair that repels moisture, often feels dry, and takes longer to get fully saturated when wet.
- Normal porosity hair: hair that easily absorbs and retains moisture, generally healthy and easy to manage.
- High porosity hair: hair that absorbs moisture quickly but also loses it just as fast, often damaged, or over-processed.
Understanding your hair type will help you tailor your hair care routine and select products that cater specifically to your needs.
Life Cycle of The Hair
Hair goes through a life cycle. It grows and then falls out. Hair follicles pass through growth stage (anagen), transitional phase (catagen), and a resting stage (telogen) before the hair falls out. The growth phase can last between 2 to 8 years, the transitional period lasts about 2 to 3 weeks and the resting stage last approximately 2 to 4 months followed by shedding. Normally, about 85 to 90% of your hair is in the anagen fees at any given time, while the remaining 10 to 15% is in the telogen phase.
It is critical to recognise that shedding does not imply and is not synonymous to permanent hair loss. Following the resolution of the underlying cause of hair shedding, your hair should regain its original thickness.
What Causes Excessive Hair Shedding
- Tight hairstyles: tight ponytails, braids, and buns can cause hair loss and damage to the follicles that regulate hair growth.
- Physical changes: dramatic changes in the body can cause temporary hair loss. Pregnancy, menopause, rapid weight loss, and certain illnesses can cause more hair loss than usual. Most often during the resting phase.
- Medical therapies: chemotherapy, as well as some other drugs and radiation treatment can result in hair loss, especially during the growth phase.
- Nutritional deficiency: hair shedding can also be caused by deficiency in iron, vitamin B12, or protein.
What Causes Hair Breakage
While her sheds off from its roots, hair breakage occurs in the middle of the strand, resulting in split ends and shortened hair strands. Causes of hair breakage include:
- Physical damage: most commonly as a result of excessive mechanical manipulation such as over-washing, incorrect towel drying, over-pulling your hair / combing too vigorously, and overuse of hot equipment.
- Chemical damage: including relaxing / perming or bleaching / lightening your hair excessively.
9 Hair Care Tips for Healthier Hair for All Hair Types
1. Know When to Wash Your Hair
Washing your hair is the foundation of any hair care routine, and it’s essential to do it right. There is however no hard and fast rule for that. The frequency of hair washing is determined by the type of hair you have. People with fine hair wash more regularly as they prefer the feel of clean, dry hair because it makes their hair appear fuller and more textured. Thick hair absorbs more of the natural oils produced by the scalp, So, those with thick hair don’t need to wash as frequently.
2. Put Your Hair in Good Condition with Conditioners
Conditioner should be used every time you shampoo. It not only improves the behavior and appearance of your hair, but it also strengthens it and protect it from the sun’s harmful UV rays, promoting hair growth.
3. Pat, Don’t Rub
After washing, pat your hair dry with a microfiber towel or a soft T-shirt to avoid breakage and freeze.
4. Know When to Cut / Trim Your Hair
Split ends can travel up your hair shaft, shortening your hair even more, making hair growth nearly impossible. So, make sure to trim your hair once every 4 to 6 weeks for better hair growth. Those who colour, heat style or use treatments like keratin on their hair should trim every 8 weeks as a general rule.
5. Go Easy on the Heat
To protect your hair and cuticle, limit your use of heat styling tools. Heat from curling irons, hair dryers, and straighteners can damage and break your hair, preventing it from growing. Understanding your hair and how to enhance its natural texture will allow you rely on products instead of heat styling. Hair care products can protect your hair while also improving its shape or texture.
While you may not be able to avoid using heat styling tools entirely, you may want to try limiting how frequently you use them to better your hair growth processes. Reduced hair damage can also be achieved by lowering the temperature of heat styling tools or using blow dryers as they have far less direct heat on your hair.
6. Treat Your Hair with Kindness
Bleaching and perming chemicals weaken your hair, making it more likely to break, ultimately, impacting your hair growth. If your hair is prone to breaking, it requires special care. Avoid over-washing and perform touch-ups sparingly. Give your hair a hot oil treatment every 2 weeks to promote hair growth if you have bleached, damaged, curly, or coily hair. If your hair has a finer texture, use this treatment once a month instead.
7. Leave Your Hair Alone
Your hair works the same way whether it is coily, curly, wavy, or straight. The outermost layer of your hair, named cuticle, provides the desired sheen, softness, and manageability. Cuticle closure is aided by a good conditioner. The least amount of manipulation is the best thing you can do for your hair. Choose low-tension protective styles like loose braids, twists, cornrows, locs, halo twist, or halo braids.
8. Take Care of Your Scalp
Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. Oiling and massaging your scalp before shampooing controls flaky scalp and dandruff, improves blood circulation, relaxes muscles, increases shine, and nourishes hair. It also hydrates the hair, repair split ends, and promotes hair growth. Coconut oil, Olive oil, Jojoba oil, Grapeseed oil and other similar oils can be used. Mineral oil, however, should never be applied to your hair.
9. Watch What You Eat
Your diet can have a significant impact on your hair. Sugar, in particular, can stimulate your body’s production of DHT, in hormone that causes hair loss. So, it is important to limit your sugar intake. Consume whole foods high in nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, biotin, zinc, folate, iron, vitamin C, and protein which supports hair strength and growth. When you are deficient in iron, vitamin B12, and folate (or, in other words, suffer from anemia) lower blood flow reaches your hair, which might cause hair loss.
Botanical and Natural Ingredients that Have Shown Promise in Boosting Hair Growth
The use of natural ingredients in dermatology has become a growing trend and people are starting to favour natural hairstyles, and shifting towards botanical and natural hair care products. Some botanical and natural ingredients that have shown promise in boosting hair growth include:
Rosemary oil
Researchers found Rosemary oil to be as effective as minoxidil, a medication approved for treatment of hair loss. Rosemary oil improves blood circulation to the scalp, protects hair follicles, increases hair thickness and density and promotes hair growth.
Lavender oil
Studies have shown lavender oil to promote hair growth by prolonging the growth phase (anagen) of the hair cycle and increasing the number of hair follicles and hair shafts.
Thyme oil
Has been explored for its benefits in hair growth and studies have shown that it has antimicrobial properties effective against bacteria and fungi that cause scalp infections. Thyme extracts have been proven to protect hair follicles from damage caused by free radicals, increase the thickness of hair shafts resulting in increased hair density, thickness, and growth rate.
Cedarwood oil
Research suggests that cedarwood oil can be effective in promoting hair growth and improving scalp health. It possesses antimicrobial properties and improves blood circulation to the scalp.
Tea tree oil
A study showed tea tree oil plus minoxidil was more effective than minoxidil alone in promoting hair regrowth. Tea tree oil increases the number of hair follicles, depth of hair follicles, and thickness of hair shafts.
Evening primrose oil
Evening primrose oil moisturizes the scalp, improves dandruff symptoms, protects hair follicles, increases her elasticity, and decreases hair breakage, promoting hair growth.
Amla oil
Amla oil improves scalp health. When used as a natural hair care pre-shampoo treatment, it exfoliates the scalp to prevent product buildup. It prevents seasonal scalp dryness and makes hair shinier.
Although the following carrier oils have not been shown to promote hair growth, they are still beneficial to your hair.
Coconut oil
- Conditions hair.
- Prevent split ends.
- Improves hair hydration.
- Reduces frizz.
Olive oil
- Improve hair hydration.
- Improves scalp moisture.
- Decreases hair shedding.
Jojoba oil
- Improves hair hydration.
- Improves her elasticity.
- Decreases her breakage.
Grapeseed oil
- Improve scalp moisture.
- Decreases scalp itching.
- Improves scalp health.
5 Step Hair Care Routine for All Hair Types
Step 1: Use Shampoo
A good shampoo should cleanse without stripping your hair of its natural oils. Make sure the water isn’t too cold or too hot, as either will strip the moisture from your hair and cause it to dry out.
Straight hair: L’Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay Shampoo
Wavy hair: Ouai Wave Shampoo
Curly hair: DevaCurl Low-Poo Delight Mild Lather Cleanser
Coily hair: Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Moisture & Shine Sulfate-free Shampoo
Step 2: Apply a Conditioner or Deep Conditioner
A conditioner adds moisture, strength, and manages your hair without adding weight. Conditioning your hair reduces frizz, combats dryness, and makes it much more manageable. Furthermore, because well-conditioned hair does not tangle as much, conditioning aids in the reduction of breakage. Only apply conditioner to your hair and not your scalp. Wash off the conditioner with cold water to seal cuticle and promote shine.
Straight hair: OGX Biotin & Collagen Conditioner
Wavy hair: SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Conditioner
Curly hair: Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep conditioning mask
Coily hair: TGIN Honey Miracle Hair Mask
Step 3: Apply a Leave-in Conditioner
Protecting your hair is an important step in your hair care routine. Our hair suffers a great deal of damage as a result of pollution, heat styling tools, diet, and general lifestyle choices, causing it to appear dull and frizzy. Applying a leave-in conditioner is a simple and effective way of protecting it from this damage. Leave-in conditioners form a protective layer over your strands, keeping them looking sleek and beautiful while shielding them from damage.
Straight hair: Bumble and bumble Thickening Go Big Plumping Hair Treatment Spray
Wavy hair: Ouidad Moisture Lock Leave-in Conditioner
Curly hair: DevaCurl Leave-in Decadence
Coily hair: Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-in Conditioner
Step 4: Apply a Leave-in Hair Serum / Oil
Oils and serums offer the final step of protection. They lock in moisture in your hair and scalp offering protection and repair to your hair.
Straight hair: The Ordinary Multi-peptide Serum for Hair Density.
Wavy hair: Paul Mitchell Tea tree, Lavender mint Nourishing Oil
Curly hair: Living Proof Curl Moisturizing Shine Oil
Coily hair: Carol’s Daughter Goddess Strength 7 Oil Blend Hair & Scalp Oil
Step 5: Repeat
Make this hair care routine a habit to ensure that your hair grows in a healthier and stronger manner.
Straight hair: wash 2 to 3 times a week
Wavy hair: wash twice a week
Curly hair: wash once every 7 to 10 days
Coily hair: wash once every 2 to 3 weeks
In the days between washing, you can apply more leave-in conditioner on damp hair or dry hair (if you leave-in conditioner can be used on dry hair) and then apply hair serum / oil to keep your hair hydrated.
Final Words: Love Your Hair
Your hair care journey is as unique as you are. What works for one person might not work for you, and that’s OK. It’s all about experimenting with different products and routines to find what makes your hair look and feel it’s best.
Remember, the key to great hair is consistency.
