Taking care of your hair is not just about regularly washing it and hoping for the best. The condition of your hair will depend on a variety of factors, such as its natural thickness and oil, diet, lifestyle habits, quality and quantity of products. Knowing and understanding your hair can help you find the right products to help it thrive.
Whether you use a lot of products, or are new to the hair care world and don't know where to start, here are some tips on how to pick the right products for your hair.
Speak to a professional
If you are feeling particularly lost or overwhelmed, then perhaps it is time to book an appointment with a local hairdresser. They will be able to cut and treat your hair, giving you a base to start with and move forward with maintaining it. They will also be able to provide you with their recommendations for hair care and products to use. Hairdressers work with different people, hair types, and hair care products all the time so their advice will be valuable.
You can continue to schedule regular appointments with your hairdresser, and they can check how your hair is doing with the recommended course of treatment, and adapt the treatments depending on how your hair changes over time.
Learn about what your hair needs
With a plethora of different hair products on the market to choose from, it can be easy to get lost in all the advertising and marketing campaigns. These are made to sell you a product, whether you need it or not. While it can be helpful to learn what products are out there, and the role they play with your hair, it is important that you take an independent and subjective view of the condition of your hair, to first figure out what it truly needs, before purchasing products.
If you struggle with untamed curls, frizz, no hair growth or dead ends, and you are finding that no product seems to work for you, no matter how many you try or how patient you are, it could be that you are using the wrong products.
Some of the most important things you should learn about are your hair type and porosity levels. Your hair type refers to whether it is straight, wavy, or curly. In the hair world, this is categorized into type 1, type 2, and type 3, each with 4 subcategories. To determine which category your hair falls into, you will need to let it air dry, without using any additional styling products.
For straight, type 1 hair, you will need to use lighter products on your hair, wash it regularly, and use dry shampoo to help soak up some of the excess oil.
For wavy, type 2 hair, you will need products that are going to balance volume with moisture, so they don’t weigh down your curls but help you to control the frizz better.
For curly, type 3 hair, you will require products that moisturize your hair, and define your curls, such as creams, mousse and leave-in conditioners.
The porosity of your hair refers to its ability to absorb moisture, and retain moisture. It is usually measured on a scale of low, normal and high. Low porosity is when your cuticles are too close together, and high porosity is when your cuticles are more widely spread apart. This is important as your hair needs water, oils and other beneficial products that are passed through the cuticle. To test your hair porosity, you can use a glass of water and a strand of your hair after you next wash it. Place the strand of hair in the water, and if it floats to the top, you have low porosity hair, and if it quickly sinks to the bottom, you have high porosity hair.
If you have low porosity hair, likely, it takes longer for your hair to dry, water does not saturate your hair when you wash it, and your hair does not absorb products very well, and instead, they tend to sit on your hair. You should therefore opt for products that are labeled protein-free, to increase absorption, dilute your conditioner, and use heat with your conditioner.
If you have high porosity hair, your hair likely tends to break easily, it's frizzy and dry, and it dries very quickly. You should therefore use products with oils and butter in them to increase moisture, use leave-in conditioners, wash your hair with lukewarm water, and use heat protection. If you dye your hair a lot, you may wish to use a color treated hair shampoo.
Trial and error
Hair is extremely complex, so you must be patient. It may take a long time to fully understand your hair, what it needs, and what products will work for you. Start by researching your hair type and structure, and start with a couple of new products. Trial these consistently for a few weeks, to see how effective they are for you. If you don't see any noticeable changes after six weeks, you may need to try another. It will start as a case of trial and error, but it will be worth it when you have found products that work for your unique hair type and condition.
Taking care of your hair is vital, but it can be a challenging topic to navigate. With big brands advertising a hundred different products, finding the right ones can be overwhelming, and even damaging to your hair. It is important to take time to research what your hair needs, what products are best suited to your hair type, and trial a range of products to find what works for you.
Please note that all opinions and thoughts expressed are my own. All rights reserved on photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2010 - 2022. Please Ask First
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