A daily hair care routine to help you maintain healthy hair is just as important as your daily skincare routine. A hair care routine is not just about a few standard hair products but lot more. let’s find out how to maintain healthy hair, daily hair care routine you need to follow to help you achieve that.

Since diet and lifestyle play an important role when it comes to the quality of your hair, make sure that you pay attention to them as well to get the desired results.

Hair care tips on how to maintain healthy hair

Let us look at some daily hair care tips you can follow to maintain healthy hair.

Shampoo

Clean hair is one of the most important steps to maintain healthy hair. Irrespective of your hair type, you need to make sure that you wash it properly with a shampoo and keep it clean. Also, a pre-shampooing routine is very important to maintain the shine and moisture of your hair.The frequency of washing does depend on your hair type. Never use hot water to wash your hair since it can strip your hair of its natural oils resulting in dry and dull hair.

• If you have an oily scalp, you need to wash your hair frequently to avoid the build-up of sebum on your scalp since excess oil will make your hair appear greasy. You do not need to wash your hair every day but keep your hair wash routine based on how oily your hair feels and looks.

 

• People who have normal hair and scalp can wash their hair whenever necessary. You can wash your hair twice a week or based on your needs. Since the hair does not get oily or dry easily, you can use soap-free hair cleansers to maintain the pH balance of your hair. This will ensure that washing your hair will not strip your hair of its moisture.

 

• If you have a dry scalp, you should not wash your hair every day since it will only make your scalp drier. You can get away with washing your hair once a week. An SLS-free shampoo can be good for your hair since Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) can further dry your hair. If you want a shampoo that lathers but is not as harsh on your hair, you can use one containing Sodium Laureth Sulphate. This is also a lathering agent but is much gentler to your hair than SLS.

 

A shampoo with harsh ingredients (such as parabens and sulfates) can do more harm than good since it can strip your scalp of natural oils and make your hair drier. It is essential to choose good hair products for natural hair. However, if you have colour-treated or bleached hair, you need to use hair products that are specifically meant for coloured hair to protect it from fading.

 

Conditioner

Washing your hair with a good shampoo is important but a conditioner is far more crucial to maintain the health of your hair. A conditioner can help add moisture to your hair and also give it a lot of shine. After washing your hair, you need to apply conditioner to the length of your hair and then rinse it after a few minutes. You are not supposed to apply conditioner to your scalp or roots.

• If you have oily hair, you may skip using a conditioner since the natural oils from your hair are sufficient to keep your hair moisturized and shiny. However, it is better to use a conditioner since it can form a layer on your hair strands that will protect your hair from damage caused by the sun rays, free radicals, etc.

 

• If you have normal or dry hair, you cannot skip a conditioner at all. You must use a hair conditioner after every time you wash your hair. Since the natural oils from your scalp may not be enough for the whole length of your hair, a conditioner will help add the necessary shine, hydration and protection that you need.

 

If you are not using natural hair care products, you can use simple things from your kitchen to condition your hair. Ripe bananas, honey, curd, avocados, oatmeal, etc. are excellent hair conditioners. All you need to do is to apply them to your hair for an hour and then wash it with a gentle shampoo.

 

Oil Massage

The first thing that you need to add to your normal hair care routine is an oil massage or a pre-shampooing routine, and this is irrespective of your hair type. You can use coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil, etc. to massage your scalp and hair. This will promote blood circulation and also add the much-needed moisture to your hair. Massage your hair with oil and then leave it for at least one hour or overnight before washing it with a gentle shampoo. Your hair will feel soft and look shiny instantly.

• If you are facing dandruff problems, you can add a few drops of rosemary essential oil or tea tree oil to a carrier oil and then massage it in your scalp, also distributing it to the length of the hair.

 

• Many people believe that if they apply oil to their hair, their hair will become more oily but this is not true. Oil massage helps in improving blood circulation, improves the texture of the hair and forms a protective layer on the hair to prevent any damage. Such people can apply oil to the hair just an hour before shampoo and then rinse it off entirely. This will not only help them add lustre to their hair but also prevent them from worrying too much about their oily hair.

 

• Dry hair responds well to oil massage and becomes more manageable. People with dry hair can apply oil to their hair and leave it overnight to let it sink in before washing it off with a hair cleanser.

 

There are plenty of hair oils available in the market that contain different herbs to promote hair growth, reduce hair fall, eliminate dandruff, etc. If you want to make your own herbal hair oil at home, you can easily find recipes on the internet to deal with all kinds of hair problems.

 

Leave-in Conditioner

In the past decade, many companies have launched leave-in hair conditioners, serums, dry oils, etc. These products have now become an important part of hair care routine for many people. One of the main reasons why many women have incorporated leave-in conditioners as a part of their hair care routine is because they help keep the hair manageable and soft.

• If you have oily hair, you can use a leave-in conditioner that is non-sticky and oil-free. It will add some shine to your hair and make it silky without weighing it down. Try to use a pea-sized amount since going heavy-handed with such a product may make your hair look oilier.

 

• People with normal hair must also pay attention to the ingredients and use a leave-in conditioner that does not make the hair too greasy. A light-weight and non-sticky formula that tames the flyaways and makes the hair easy to detangle will work the best.

 

• Dry hair gets tangled easily and has the tendency to appear frizzy after a wash since the hair has been stripped off the little oil the scalp produces. In such cases, you can use a hair serum or ampoule that contains hydrating ingredients such as honey, aloe vera gel and other flower extracts. A silicone-based formula will create a coating on the hair strands that will make it easy to detangle your hair and manage it.

 

A leave-in conditioner helps to add moisture back to the hair and forms a protective coating on hair strands to avoid damage from the sun rays and pollution. There are plenty of leave-in conditioners that contain fragrance to make your hair smell good. Choose an alcohol-free formula to ensure that the product does not dry out your hair.

[Also read: Steps To Wash Your Hair The Right Way! (Dos And Don’ts Included)]

 

Special Hair Products and Treatments

Just a simple hair care routine of shampoo, conditioner, oil massage and leave-in conditioner is not going to be enough if you want to keep your hair in the best possible condition. You need to give it special attention ever so often to keep it from getting dry, especially if you heat style or colour your hair frequently.

 

• If you heat style your hair on a regular basis, the heat from the blow dryer, flat iron or curling wand is going to make your hair dry. Your hair will lose moisture easily and start becoming frizzy. Try to limit the use of hot tools on your hair. Also, always use a heat protectant spray or lotion before using these tools. These products will form a physical barrier and limit the damage of the heat on your hair.

[Also Read: How To Blow Dry Hair At Home]

• Hair colours enable you to have fun with your hair but frequent use of these harsh chemicals can damage the hair. Make sure to give your hair sufficient time to recover from one colouring treatment before colouring it again. Do not try to change your hair colour entirely too often or go for bold shades such as pastels, teal or others since this involves a lot of processing of hair that damages the hair.

[Also Read: Hair Colour Chart for Indian Skin Tones]

 

You can add special hair treatments such as hair spa to your hair care routine. One of the benefits of hair spa is that it deep conditions the hair and reverses the hair damage caused by styling tools and harsh chemicals on the hair. You can book a salon at home from UrbanClap for a hair spa or do it at home by using deeply nourishing hair care products available at salons. Many people who know how to take care of hair naturally love to use homemade hair masks with ingredients easily available in the kitchen. You can check the recipes on the internet and get a hair spa at home.