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Want to know how to get thick and healthy locks? Here are 3 tips for healthy hair you must know about.
Does the voluminous and shiny blowout feel like a dream to you? It doesn’t need to be.
Hair care experts claim it can be achieved with proper hair care. So what is the right hair care and what is going to look like for you? Here are 5 hair hacks (that comprehend every hair type) to implement in your hair care routine that will get you closer to the hair of your dreams.
If you feel like you already tried everything here is why your hair won’t grow and how to fix it.
This post is all about how to achieve luscious hair with 3 tips for healthy hair that are scientifically proven.
How knowing your hair porosity can transform your hair
The porosity of your hair determines how your hair retains and absorbs moisture. Porosity can be broken down into three categories: low, normal, and high porosity.
So how do we determine in which category our hair falls? This is actually pretty simple, you are just going to need a glass of water (it needs to be clear) and a hair strand. Now just drop your hair in the water. If your hair floats it means you have low porosity hair, hair that is normal porosity will float then slowly start to sink, and lastly, if it sinks immediately you have high porosity hair.
This is really important to know. Based on how your hair retains moisture (so based on your hair porosity) you will need to take care of them differently.
Low-porosity hair
Low porosity hair is healthy hair that is not moisturized properly. This means that the cuticle layer of the hair (i.e. its protein structure) is intact but because it’s not moisturized correctly it looks dry and tangled.
To correct that you can oil your hair before you wash them. Try to use rich oils like argan, jojoba, and coconut oil. It doesn’t really matter which one you purchase as long as you only have the oil in the ingredient list.
If you’re curious these are the ones I think are worth it and have convenient packaging for this purpose
Normal porosity hair
Normal porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly less bound, and because of that the moisture can easily penetrate the hair and be retained. This is why normal porosity hair is easiest to manage.
To maintain the health of your hair you can incorporate hydrating and nourishing hair masks into your routine like Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask. I know this is expensive but if you can afford it I assure you this is money well spent.
High porosity hair
However high porosity hair has cuticles that are more widely spread out. So if your curls are experiencing excessive dryness, frizz, and snap easily, it may be a sign that you have high porosity hair. This means that the cuticle layer is damaged and your hair is not really capable of retaining moisture.
This is when you need to consider heavier treatments like Olaplex No. 3 or K 18 Leave-in Molecular Repair. I know they are a bit pricey so if you can’t afford them you could also
- Focus on what ingredients are in your shampoo and conditioner. Look for biotin and keratin to repair the cuticle, and shea butter and squalane to deeply hydrate your hair.
- Oil your ends frequently. I actually do it every night with just 2-3 drops of argan oil.
Why using a clarifying shampoo is a must
Contrary to popular opinion I don’t think you should completely avoid sulfates in your shampoo or silicones in your hair products.
Silicones like dimethicone won’t actually heal your hair, meaning they won’t cure what is causing damage to your hair. While this is true, is also true that silicones are among the best ingredients to make your hair look definitely better than it actually is.
Essentially, try to repair your hair with the right products and ingredients but in the meantime use silicones to give your hair a better look.
Why the clarifying shampoo then? As much as silicones and other ingredients won’t cause damage (or at least not immediately) to your hair they will cause product build-up. In the long run, it can clog your pores, inflame your hair follicles and make your hair look dull.
This is why you need to use a clarifying shampoo once a month to prevent that, while still being able to use this kind of ingredients.
What makes clarifying shampoos different?
What sets clarifying shampoo apart from other cleansers is its level of heavy surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate.
They belong to a class of cleansers called anionic surfactants and they are said to have the deepest cleansing effects. So much so that a lot of people believe them to be too harsh and bad for your scalp.
Of course, if you have a really sensitive or dry scalp you may want to avoid them, but my oily hair girls should absolutely feel free to use them as they are going to give them the best results.
If you don’t know which one to use the Neutrogena anti-residue shampoo is by far the best one I’ve ever tried and it’s really cheap.
Aurora’s favorites
Neutrogena is owned by Johnson & Johnson and basically, every one of their product has a lot of research and studies behind it. I find that their formulations tend to perform better than almost anything else and I suspect the several studies are the reason why.
Also, I absolutely love almost every Neutrogena product I’ve ever tried.
If you’re curious about what are the best hair growth products out there in this post I talk about my top 12 hair growth products and why they’re so great.
Are clarifying shampoos safe?
Experts say that as long as you don’t overdo it surfactants are safe. I recommend you use a clarifying shampoo just once a month, the other weeks if you prefer to use surfactants anyway choose milder ones like chlorides, bromides, or cetyl-fatty alcohols.
How often you should wash your hair for the best results
I know it’s easy to get confused with this. Someone said to you they wash their hair three times per week, others told you just once, and somebody else even told you once a month. The best part is that they may all have great hair too.
So how do you decide what is right for you? According to hair care experts, the reality is that there is no one-fit-all formula for washing your hair, you should wash them based on the oil production of your scalp.
Basically here is what you need to do: wash your hair then, when you start to feel like your roots are accumulating oil, wash them again. It’s that simple!
I just want to add that over-washing your hair can sometimes damage them but this is just because you strip your scalp of its own hydration too soon.
This doesn’t mean that if you have a really oily scalp you need to wash your hair once a week, rather that you don’t need to wash them every single day.
This post was all about tips for healthy hair backed by hair care experts.
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