Rules For Good Hair Care

Avoid unnecessarily pulling your hair!

Any action that pulls the hair causes more hair loss, especially at the side of your head.

Things to avoid include:

Hairstyles, like ponytails or braids, which pull at the hair
Combing with fine-tooth combs
Stiff nylon brushes
Especially if you have curly hair
Combing excessively (the old rule of 100 strokes a day is poor advice)

Don’t expose your hair while swimming!

Great damage can be done to your hair if you expose it too often to chemically treated water in swimming pools. While swimming always wear a cap as chlorine will damage hair in the long term. In addition, copper in the swimming pool water can cause hair to develop a greenish tinge.

Don’t expose your hair to the elements!

Exposing your hair to sun or rain can be damaging to you hair. The sun tends to dry and bleach your hair and has the same negative affect as chemically treating and blow drying your hair. Rainwater contains many chemicals from the air. Some of these chemicals with regular exposure to your hair may damage it. The rule, whether rain or shine is to cover your hair.

Be gentle in drying your hair!

Fast drying of your hair makes your hair more brittle. It is best to let your hair dry naturally. If you have to dry your hair either gently pat it with a towel or use a hair dryer at a low temperature at least six inches from your hair.

Use a cream rinse or conditioner after shampooing!

A cream rinse or conditioner makes your hair more manageable and protects it from the shock of combing it and drying it. When hair is wet it is more fragile and can more easily be pulled out with combing and drying.

Use gentle shampoos to cleanse your hair!

Gentle shampoos, clean the surface of your scalp, which tend to accumulate oily secretions from your skin. Many experts believe that the oils that accumulate on your scalp below your hair are one of the main agents that contribute to abnormal hair loss, because they contain large amounts of male hormones. If you have dry or brittle hair, shampoo less often. Conversely, if you have oily hair clean your hair daily using gentle shampoos.

Sparingly use chemical treatments on your hair!

Chemical treatments like dyes, tints, bleaches, hair straighteners, and permanent waves when used excessively or improperly can cause hair to become weak and brittle and eventually to fall out. The rule of thumb with these chemical treatments is to use them as little as possible, and avoid them altogether if need be.