Something I always remind my clients of during our appointments is that coming in to see me is only half the battle when it comes to keeping your hair healthy. Just as it’s so important to brush and floss consistently for good oral health, it’s so important to be consistent with your at home hair care. But what does good at home hair care entail? Let’s dive into some of my universal recommendations and the why behind these habits.
Be sure to check out #3 for the gross 🤢 reason behind why you should NEVER go to bed with a wet head.
1.) Be mindful of how you brush your hair
How do you brush through your hair? Do you start from the bottom, working in small sections, and work your way up? If not, you are likely causing a lot of unintentional damage. It’s so important to baby your hair at all times. Whether your hair is wet(especially when it’s wet because it’s even more fragile due to the ability to stretch and break) or dry, you should always work from the bottom to the top in small sections. Some of my clients used to start at the top of their hair and just brush right through thinking they’re saving time and that since it doesn’t hurt, it’s not doing damage. Any tangle in the hair would get locked in and ripped through. If you come across a tangle, take the time to gently pull it apart with your fingers.
Another hair brushing mistake I often see is using the wrong type of brush to detangle. I’ve seen people use the same hard plastic brush they’ve had since childhood and even use a round brush to brush the hair. At this point, I think Wet Brush is a household name and for good reason. Their detangling brushed are amazing in that they have wide and flexible bristles to gently detangle the hair. Round brushes should be used exclusively for styling the hair and not to brush the hair.
Please reach out if you need recommendations on which brushes are best for different stages of styling and specifically for your hair type.
2.) Never rough up your hair
Another bad habit I see often is people being too rough on their hair. What will likely surprise you is this is most often done while in the shower and just getting out of the shower. What do I mean? During the shampooing and towel drying of your hair.
When shampooing, it’s okay to mindfully scrub the scalp with the pads of your fingertips. You should NEVER use your nails to scrub as this will cause micro abrasions along your scalp which can lead to irritation and infection. When shampooing the length of the hair, it’s important to carefully massage(NEVER SCRUB) the shampoo through the length to gently remove impurities and product.
Additionally, when you get out of the shower, don’t vigorously rub your hair into the towel to remove water. Always gently squeeze the moisture out with the towel.
3.) NEVER go to bed with a wet head
When I talk about the reasoning behind why I always caution my clients to dry their hair before going to bed at night(or wash it in the morning), there are always gasps of disgusted surprise.
Picture this scenario: You’ve just taken a nice warm shower and done your nightly routine before bed. You brush through your nice clean hair, and you’re ready for your head to hit the pillow. You lay your head down on your pillow with your wet/damp hair and drift off to sleep. Little do you know that the party is about to begin, on your head and pillow. On your now wet pillowcase you’ve created the perfect breeding ground for bacteria to grow. The pillow is warm, damp, and has the perfect amount of airflow. You’ve just created the perfect environment for fungal infection which will happily live on not only your pillow but also your scalp and hair.
That’s right folks, MOLD 🤢 . I have seen it many times on clients young, old, and everyone in between. This type of buildup can look waxy, cloudy, flaky, etc. Oftentimes I will smell it on my clients hair as soon as my blow drier hits those areas with heat(usually the nape of the head and around the ear area). This is also super common on my clients who have super dense hair. and don’t realize they aren’t rinsing the shampoo/conditioner out of their hair thoroughly. You may have it right now and not realize it, thinking it’s just buildup. Well it could be some buildup but if you’re in the habit of going to be with a wet head, it may also be mold.
If that doesn’t make your skin crawl and vow to never go to bed with a wet head(or allow your kid to go to bed with a wet head) then I don’t know will. 😬
4.) Speaking of how to prep your hair for bedtime
If you’re someone who can’t stand their hair in their face while sleeping, I have some words of caution for you. Putting your hair in a ponytail or bun can create a lot of tension on your hair and cause significant breakage. This issue is only exacerbated when this is done to wet hair(why? As mentioned above, hair is the most fragile when wet).
What can you do instead to contain your hair at night?
First and foremost make sure your hair is dry(let me just hammer that point home 😆 ). Then pull your hair into a gentle, side braid secured with a scrunchie. If a bun on top of your hair is all that works for you, make sure it isn’t too tight and to secure it with a soft scrunchie.
🚩 Lots of short hair (“baby hairs”) around the entire hairline around the head is a big red flag for tension breakage from being pulled up.
5.) Use caution with elastics
I’m all for scruchies, especially with all the cute options out there these days. However, I know that some styles call for an elastic. I totally get that and use them myself for certain looks. I am super mindful with how I put them into my hair but even more so when I take them out. Usually I just very carefully cut the elastic out so that I am not ripping it out along with my hair.
I am also a HUGE fan of hair clips. I use them all the time to pull my hair up because it spreads out the tension on my hair. You can catch me sporting a hair clip to wash my face, tuck under a shower cap, while I’m doing my makeup, or for a workout. Just be mindful that the hair doesn’t get stuck in the hinge of the clip and break. Find a decent quality one with a good mechanism.
👀 I hope some of these tips were eye opening for you and will impact your at home hair routines! Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you in my 4th post, “How to Come Prepared for Your Hair Service”.
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