Dryness, dull color, oiliness, dandruff, breakage and hair loss, split ends – we don’t want these words to be relating to out hairdos. Despite that, we often lead to hair problems by following incorrect hair care routine. What not to do to have lovely, healthy hair? Let’s talk through basic hair-care mistakes.

Seven Deadly Sins of Hair Care

1. Wrong choice of hair-care products

If you’ve spotted extremely dry skin on the head, oily scalp, dandruff or other problems that a strongly-scented shampoo fails to solve, you should go to the chemist’s. The specially-designed products at the pharmacy are pricier but they are dealing with hair problems better. Still, you can’t expect to find the best product fulfilling all your needs once you walk into the chemist’s – you might be looking for the ideal very long. That is why you need patience to use the trial-and-error method and find a shampoo or conditioner that fixes your hair problem.

2. Wrong washing technique

Even the best product customized to your hair won’t fulfil its purpose if you use it incorrectly. How to do it correctly then? You should massage a shampoo into the scalp; apply a small amount to the lengths only if your hair is long. Instead of hot or cold water, use lukewarm water because the steam itself is enough to open the hair cuticles and let them absorb valuable nutrients from products.

As far as conditioners go, apply yours from the mid-lengths, generously to the ends, because using it on the scalp may leave the hair looking limp and lifeless, and even cause scalp irritations and trigger the occurrence of dandruff. Wash the conditioner out using cool water to seal the cuticles and keep the hair damage-proof.

3. Tangles and knots

If you want to prevent tangling, you need to comb the hair before washing and try not to tangle the strands while washing. Try to avoid brushing wet hair to prevent mechanical damage. If you detangle dry hair, start from the hair ends.

4. Overwashing

People who wash their hair on a daily basis say their hair would be greasy if they didn’t do that. However, by overwashing, they deprive the hair of the protective lipid coat, which translates to the over-production of sebum – this way the scalp protects itself and the hair from drying out and damage. To make things worse, a hair wash entails blow-drying and heat-styling which additionally weaken the health of hair.

5. Wrong blow-drying technique

You need to use a cool or cold air flow because heat opens the cuticles, which leads to extremely dry hair or even to breakage.

6. Eating a bad diet

A poor diet leads to food deficiencies while the deficit of vitamins and minerals results in poor condition of internal organs, nails and hair. Thin, weak, dull hair may be the consequence of deficiency of vitamin A and D, vitamins B, biotin, iron and zinc. You can replenish them by eating foods rich in these vitamins and minerals.

7. Ignoring health problems

If you are absolutely sure you don’t make any hair-care mistake but your hairdo looks awful, you should see a doctor. Unhealthy appearance of hair may be the symptom of health problems.