You don’t think it’s the most important? Okay, imagine your life without it! That should put things in perspective. Tempo has put together a definitive Summer Hair Care Guide for tourists and residents (who also seem to have quite a number of queries on the topic). Introduce these tips into your everyday hair care routine and your lack-luster locks will be restored to the former glory of their ‘Repunzel-like’ hay days.
1. We cannot stress upon this enough but avoid over-use of hair styling products as much as humanly possible! They contain alcohol which dries out your hair.
2. When bathing do not tug at your hair too much. Wet hair breaks off easily leaving those unsightly split ends or worse, bald patches!
3. Hair care products, especially those used for styling purposes, like gels and hair sprays; should not come in contact with your scalp. They cause dryness leading to a dandruff avalanche and they also clog the pores on your head.
4. Use a wide toothed comb with a smooth tip to untangle hair before using a brush. Subjecting your hair to brutal torture at the hands of a brush will soon leave no hair behind for you to comb. The choice is yours. This is one of those ‘Matrix-like red-pill blue-pill’ choices. Note: Avoid using plastic brushes/combs as they create static electricity.
5. Using a leave-in conditioner seems irksome to many (at least to those who don’t like their hair feeling gooey and damp all day). But you know what they say – a leave-in conditioner is the equivalent of moisturizer for your hair. We recommend you use a shower cap to keep the moisturizer from dipping into your iphone or blackberry while your texting.
6. The secret of using conditioner after shampooing lies in applying it only on the length of your hair. The roots of your hair contain essential oils and usually don’t need extra conditioning.
7. Before taking a dip in the pool to cool off on a hot summer day, wet your hair so your hair soaks up clean water initially instead of chlorinated water with harmful hair damaging chemicals. Remember to wear a cap to the pool and as soon as you get out; shampoo and condition!
8. When using a hair dryer, use the cool setting. The hot blasts of air may seem cosy but they damage facial skin too by effecting pores and accelerating the aging process. Another important point to remember is to keep the blow dryer moving so as to prevent split-ends and roughness of hair.
9. Stick to the routine of downward strokes while brushing. We realize that huge “bird’s nest” puffs might be in vogue but untangling the horrid mess later on results in unnatural loss of hair and splitting of hair-ends.
10. Shower with warm water as hot water can irritate the scalp.
11. Wash your hair as often as you deem necessary to keep it clean, but generally for oily hair you should wash it every day or every other day and for dry hair only wash it 2-3 times a week.
12. Rotate the brand of shampoo and conditioner which you use periodically but try out a small amount on your hair first. Sometimes hair responds differently to different products. Who knows? You might discover a brand that works miracles for your hair!
