*This is a collaborative post.
Your hair can take a lot, but it’s still important to take good care of it. Many things can damage it, especially if you don’t make the extra effort to protect your hair. You could expose it to too many harmful things, which could leave your hair dry, damaged, frizzy or lifeless. Although you can rescue your hair after it’s been treated badly, it’s much easier to protect it and prevent it from being damaged in the first place.
There are a variety of things you can do to protect your hair and keep it healthy, so that it’s strong and will stand up to being styled. Here are some of the essential things you should do if you want to protect your hair and prevent any problems.
Cover Your Hair
There are times when it’s important to cover your hair to protect it. If you regularly go swimming, wearing a swimming cap is a smart move. It will protect your hair from chlorine and other chemicals to help prevent damage. It’s also much more convenient, keeping your hair clean and dry. Protecting your hair from the sun is also a good idea. You might like the highlights the sun brings out, but your hair can be damaged by too much sun exposure. Wearing a hat is a good idea if you’re in the sun for an extended amount of time.
Use Protective Products
Your choice of products is really important if you want to protect your hair. The right products can help to keep your hair healthy for longer and protect it against other things that might damage it. Using high-end hair care like Olaplex products is a smart move if you want to prevent damage to your hair. Look for bonding products that will strengthen your hair and help to ensure it’s as healthy as possible. If you’re using heat on your hair, try using a protective product to help prevent the heat from causing too much damage.
Go Easy on the Heat
There might be several ways you use heat on your hair, including blow drying, curling, and straightening. While these things are fine on occasion, using heat on your hair every day isn’t good for it. There are plenty of ways to style your hair without heat, including letting your hair air dry and curling your hair with no-heat rollers. You don’t have to avoid using heat completely, but it’s definitely beneficial for your hair if you try to limit how much you use it. When you do use heat, try using the lowest heat setting for a gentler effect.
Avoid Over-handling
Handling your hair too much can be surprisingly damaging. This includes brushing or combing your hair too often. Some people still believe that it’s necessary to brush your hair using 100 strokes every day, but it’s a myth. You only need to brush your hair as much as necessary to detangle it and style it. Be gentle when you’re brushing your hair and avoid tugging too hard if you want to protect it. Use a wide-tooth comb or a soft-bristle brush that will be gentle on your hair.
Dry Your Hair Carefully
Drying your hair could damage your hair if you do it wrong, and it’s not all about whether you blow dry it or not. Even if you dry your hair without heat, you could cause damage if you’re not careful. For example, if you use a towel to dry your hair, you could rub too vigorously or use a towel that’s too rough. Instead of doing this, try wrapping your hair loosely in a towel or simply letting it air dry. A microfibre towel can be softer on your hair, and it’s really absorbent too.
Avoid Too Much Tension
Too much tension on your hair can be really damaging. It can even lead to alopecia, leaving you with patches without hair, if the problem persists long enough. Ponytails, braids, and other hairstyles that are too tight should be avoided. If you wear a weave or hair extensions, you should make sure they’re light so they don’t pull as much. Don’t pull your hair back too tightly when you’re styling it to avoid too much tension. It’s also helpful to switch hairstyles now and then so that you’re not constantly putting pressure on the same spots.
Taking steps to protect your hair keeps it healthier. There are multiple ways you can be proactive and protect your hair from damage that can result from various problems.
