Until the eighth grade, I was that girl with the long braid. The older I got, the harder it was to take care of it. I grew up in the village, and washing my hair in a basin became more and more difficult, and the weight of my hair started giving me migraines. In high school, I decided: “Enough!” and became the happy owner of a bob-caret. That's where my problems began.
My hair looked like a washcloth. Always. I had almost resigned myself to the fact that it was “genetics” and “hard fate” until I found out: I was just not taking care of it properly. In fact, my hair could have looked much better than the straw I saw in the mirror. I made the most mistakes when washing it. It would seem that what's so complicated? I wet it, lathered it, rinsed it! But no, there are many nuances in this process!
In my first year at university, I was once again obsessed with the idea of growing my braids out to at least my shoulder blades, but the result was always the same: my hair grew below my shoulders, turned into a sad, dull mess, and I cut it into a bob again. A vicious circle. No matter how much I tried to style it, no matter how often I washed it, it was all in vain.
I remember one day: my friend and I went to the park for a photo shoot. I washed my hair, styled it, and put on makeup. Then I look at the photo… and my hair looks like I haven't washed it in a week and forgot to comb it!
A little over a year ago, it dawned on me that the problem was in my daily routine, and here's what I realized:
Mistake #1: Ignored the comb before the shower
If you don't comb your hair, you'll have to untangle the knots with wet hands while applying products, which is a direct route to damaging the structure. In addition, some hairdressers say that massage brushes improve blood circulation, and all those beneficial substances from masks and balms reach the “addressee” faster.
Due to the lack of such a simple minute action, I had a bunch of hairs torn off in the middle of my length.
Mistake #2: Had a foam party all along the length
I lathered up huge amounts of shampoo directly on my scalp and rubbed it generously throughout my hair. The result? Over-dried scalp, imbalanced hair, dandruff, and damaged hair lengths.
Remember: the shampoo should be lathered in the palms of your hands with a small amount of water and applied only to the roots. Hair is not a living cell, so any strong chemical exposure damages it irreversibly. Hair will never recover in the same way as, for example, the skin on your hand after a sunburn. The damage can only be masked or cut off.
Shampoo is applied to the roots of the hair, and only soapy water and foam are distributed to the ends. You cannot collect the entire length of the hair on the head and lather everything thoroughly, as this will lead to brittleness and split ends. We only get dirty on the scalp and the root zone of the hair, but some people even crumple and rub their hair, as if washing socks with their hands, which harms its appearance.
Mistake #3: Scratching the skin with your nails
I thought I was massaging and washing my head better. In fact, I was just traumatizing the delicate bulbs, which led to peeling and dandruff. Good blood circulation is the key to density, but the massage should be done gently, with the pads of your fingers, moving from the temples and back of the head to the crown.
As soon as I started washing my hair properly, my hair became much more manageable!
Mistake #4: Shampooed only once
This moment is individual, but for me it was a revelation. The first application of shampoo washes away only surface dirt (dust, styling). The second one cleanses deeply.
I used to wash my hair every day, but only once, and by the evening my hair looked slick and stale.
Mistake #5: I was too lazy to use air conditioning.
Conditioner, leave-in conditioner, balm—call it what you will, but you can’t ignore them. They’re all needed to close the keratin cuticles after shampooing. They protect your hair, fill in any damage, and make it easier to comb.
In addition, many girls apply these products incorrectly, on wet hair, from which water is still pouring. Before applying, the hair must be squeezed out a little and very carefully, in no case twisting it like a tourniquet. Also, these products should not be applied to the scalp, because this will make it dirty faster and cause dandruff.
Mistake #6: Overusing masks
Manufacturers recommend doing them 1-2 times a week, but I thought: “I'll do it more often – I'll be healthier.” Yeah, now. The heavy ingredients made my hair dull, got dirty quickly, and didn't lend itself to any curling iron.
Now I rarely use masks, only when needed. And my hair has become really shiny and healthy looking!
Mistake #7: Washing your hair every day
This habit is still partly with me, but I try to take a break of 2-3 days. You can and should “train” your head to wash less often.
I have a rule: if I've been walking around the city, I wash my hair before going to bed. I don't want street dust, dirt, and nail polish residue to get on my pillow and then onto my face.
Mistake #8: Taking hot baths
The water should be warm to dissolve the grease, but not hot. And it’s generally better to wash off balms with cool water — this will make your hair smoother and shinier. The main thing is that neither the contrasting boiling water nor the ice water get on the scalp itself.
Of course, that's not all. There are a lot of other nuances: improper drying, towel turbans that cause wrinkles, and “buns”. But I'll talk about that in future articles.
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