The Correct Ways to Get Healthy and Shiny Hair

Hello lovely ladies,

I am back with yet another article on hair care. One of the most common wish of us girls is to have gorgeous locks. Well, who could fault that! Hair is precious, it absolutely and single-handedly improves our looks by several notches. Let’s not kid ourselves! We all want to have manes as beautiful as those shown in shampoo advertisements. But, our nasty lifestyle along with stress only leads to hair loss.

Healthy and Shiny Hair

The phrase “Mere baal to ab adhe se bhi kum reh gaye!” has become so common these days and the scary part is that, every word of it is true. So, something needs to be done, right? We need to control the hair-loss. But, where are we making the mistake? Is it impossible for us to regain our long lost lustrous locks? No, I don’t think so! The secret lies in not only what we do, but also in what we don’t do. So today I am going to de-clutter the steps that can pave way for better, healthier and shinier hair.

The following steps go beyond hair-care; they go towards health as well. Firstly, health plays a colossal role in every aspect of our body, inside and outside. So, let’s get started and see what factors we need to keep in consideration to heal and for the betterment of our hair.

Diet

The Correct Ways to Get Healthy and Shiny Hair

A healthy diet contributes to the quality of hair way more than we realize. So, in order to maintain a healthy mane, it is of utmost importance to make sure that you follow an equally healthy and balanced diet. Improper or imbalanced diet tends to make hair dry and brittle, making them more susceptible to breakage and fallout. Make sure your diet includes all the necessary elements viz. :

Carbohydrates
Proper amount of carbohydrates in your diet ensures enough matter for synthesis or repair of the tissues.

Proteins
Proteins, as we know, are the building blocks of our hair. Make sure you have necessary protein regularly.

Vitamins
Vitamin A, B, E – the list goes on! Not only these vitamins are important for our health, but they make our hair lustrous and shiny. Vitamin supplements are commonly prescribed by the dermatologists, so make sure you have plenty in your diet as well.

Minerals
Iron, Potassium and Magnesium are some of the minerals that play a critical role in the well-being of our hair. These minerals add additional strength to our hair.

Healthy Fatty Oil
This is nothing scary! In fact, this is an indispensable part of a healthy diet. Our body needs naturally healthy oil for many metabolic processes. Depriving our body of any kind of oil or fats is only going to make our skin and hair more parched and dry.

Hair Care Regime

Following a hair wash routine goes a long way in controlling hair fall and also in maintaining the quality of hair. I know we all have hectic lifestyle these days, but one needs to work hard to achieve healthy hair. The steps are nothing fancy and most of us are aware of them, but choose to ignore.

This routine should be followed twice a week by people with dry scalp and thrice per week by people with oily scalp. In no case should hair be washed each and every day. This will completely rip off the much needed natural oil from the scalp, making the hair dry and brittle.

The Correct Ways to Get Healthy and Shiny Hair

Oiling
Proper oiling of hair is an absolute necessity. It nourishes the hair and adds oils to the roots, making hair strong and smooth. It should be done at least once a week and is best if left overnight before shampooing. The proper way of oiling is more than just applying it on to the scalp. I use warm coconut oil treated with dry amla and fenugreek seeds twice a week.

Points to be noted:
• Always apply lukewarm oil.
• Make partitions and then apply oil using your fingertips. Always use fingertips!
• Delicately massage for 10-15 minutes as it improves blood circulation in the scalp and makes the roots stronger.
• For better results, go for hot towel treatment. Make sure the towel is not overly hot as very high temperature too are detrimental for the hair.
• Shampoo after 10-12 hours of oiling.
• Use only the required amount of oil, excess oil will not smoothen out your hair immediately. Instead, it will attract dirt and the next day you will only need more shampoo.
• The most commonly and effectively used oils are Coconut oil, Almond oil, Castor oil and Jojoba oil. Oils rich in Vitamin E only add to the beauty of your hair.

Shampooing
Shampoo is the process of cleansing the hair of all its dirt and grease. It should be done at least twice a week or thrice, if you think you need it, but not more than that. Because we all know that lot of washing leads to dryness. We get unlimited number of shampoo variants in the market now a day. Different shampoos fulfill different needs and criteria. So, select your shampoo carefully. The biggest drawback of the most commonly available shampoo is the long list of hazardous chemicals present in it. So, the best option is obviously to go for the herbal ones or if possible, the homemade ones. This way, you will get enough choice in both the categories. Nevertheless, in any case, there is a proper way of shampooing and certain points that need to be kept in mind, let’s have a look!

• Wet your hair completely.
• Never apply shampoo to dry hair or partially wet/dry hair. Wash your hair properly with water first. This makes sure that the superficial dirt is removed.
• Dilute the shampoo by half. This is done by adding same amount of water. Mix properly, apply it on your scalp, massaging softly. Diluting the shampoo simply dilutes the concentration and its effects.
• Thoroughly wash your hair clean. You might require a second round, but follow it the same way.
• The best way is to use lukewarm water while shampooing, but always complete the wash routine by cold water wash. Just before turning off the tap, wash your hair with cold water. This closes the pores that got opened during the wash.
• Avoid using hot tools like a blow dryer or a curling iron. These tools dry out the hair and again, making them prone to easy breakage.

The Correct Ways to Get Healthy and Shiny Hair

Conditioning
Conditioning makes sure that your hair becomes smooth and soft. Conditioning imparts important nourishment that gets generally lost due to exposure to harsh everyday weather. There are various types of conditioners available. Use and wash, deep conditioners or leave-in; select carefully the ones you actually need.

Normal to oily, straight hair does not require much of conditioning. We generally tend to use much more conditioner than actually required. But, you have to make sure that you follow the proper steps of applying conditioners. Even I did not know this until my friend told me the proper way of applying conditioners.

• After properly rinsing your hair, remove excess water. Do not be harsh on your hair. Best way is to towel wrap your hair and leave it for 4-5 minutes. All the excess water will be removed. This ensures better action of the conditioner on the hair that isn’t possible when your hair is completely soaked with water.
• For mid-shoulder length hair, a coin sized conditioner is enough. For shorter hair, you require even less. You can even use homemade conditioners with ingredients like yoghurt, honey, mayonnaise etc.
• Spread the conditioner on your palm and then apply to your hair by combing with your fingers.
• Make sure you do not apply conditioner to your scalp as the scalp already contains oil glands and conditioner will only make it oilier. Leave around 1-1.5 inch space from your scalp and then apply the conditioner.
• Leave it on for 3-5 minutes for best results. You can also put on a shower cap, this will increase the conditioning.
• Rinse thoroughly. Make sure none of the products are left on the scalp. Wring out excess water from hair.

Drying your hair is also a very crucial step. Do not create an earthquake for them as hair is at its weakest when wet. Blot dry with towel or better towel wrap your hair and leave for around 10-15 minutess. Let it dry naturally, do not use blow dryer.

This completes a proper basic regime for hair wash care. By following the correct procedure, you will certainly make considerable difference to your mane. It will make your hair healthier. With the correct product and correct process, your hair-fall too will reduce considerably.

Lifestyle Changes

This pertains to the everyday activities that we do or don’t do. The activities that affect our health adversely are

• The types of comb or brush used.
• Amount of styling products used.
• Eating junk food.
• Smoking and drinking.
• Stress.
• Lack of proper sleep.
• Not drinking enough water.
• Sedentary lifestyle.

The Correct Ways to Get Healthy and Shiny Hair

But, there are certain lifestyle changes that you can easily make for overall and for your hair’s health. Some of them are:

• Include yoga and exercise in your daily routine.
• Use a wide toothed comb.
• Avoid excess usage of styling products.
• Drink enough water.
• Avoid stress.
• Sleep for requisite duration.
• Smile a lot!

Therefore, an all round change is necessary to maintain good health of hair. Also, you need to strive to be a happier you for healthier hair.

Hope you find these tips useful.

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7 thoughts on “The Correct Ways to Get Healthy and Shiny Hair

  1. A very well written article Nancy…. Just a point to add…in my opinion one should never wear a shower cap or pile the hair up after applying those readymade conditioners as it will seap in the scalp causing dandruff n further hairfall….

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