Beautiful, healthy hair does not happen overnight or with just one expensive hair treatment at a spa. Just like everything else, beautiful hair needs to be worked on every single day. There are plenty of daily hair care steps you can take to make your hair as healthy as possible. The best thing you can do for your hair is to develop a daily hair care routine for your hair type. Today we’ll take a look at what exactly is meant by a daily hair care routine and how it will help you get the strong, luscious tresses you have always dreamed of.
Are you thinking ‘oh my god! Daily hair care routine? I don’t have time for that.’
Relax! Yes, you have to develop a daily hair care routine if you want healthy hair. And yes, right now it may sound like a lot to include in your already over-full schedule. But once you develop a daily hair care routine and settle into it, it will take no longer than your regular grooming sessions and it will seamlessly be incorporated right into your life. So while it will take a bit of an effort to begin with, it will be a piece of cake once you get into the habit of a daily hair care routine. Plus, no one said that getting great hair was easy. You have to be willing to put in that effort with daily hair care. And doing a little everyday through your daily hair care routine is better than doing nothing at all or taking one huge hair care step every few weeks.
Let’s get right down to it then. Here is the simplest daily hair care routine which will help you reclaim the beauty and charm of your hair.
Daily Hair Care Routine
This daily hair care routine is a general guide. It should not replace the advice from a professional who personally knows you and knows your hair. You may have a hair type or extremely damaged hair which may not be affected at all by this daily hair care routine guide. So keep in mind that the results of a daily hair care routine will vary dramatically because healthy, great looking hair is a product of several factors and a daily hair care routine is just one of them.
Shampoo Your Hair
How often you need to shampoo your hair will depend on the type of hair you have. Usually, washing hair every alternate day is recommended since hair gets dirty very easily because of the disgusting levels of pollution and dust today. This much washing may not have been necessary about a century ago because the planet was cleaner. But having to wash hair everyday or every alternate day has become a curse of modern life. Another reason to wash the hair is to get rid of all the products that we put in our hair to style it or to keep stray tresses in place. It is OK to use hair styling products as part of a daily hair care routine, but they should not remain in you hair for many days because they can cause a buildup that weakens the hair and dirties the scalp.
The kind of shampoo you use is very important. Remember that shampoos are actually very harsh cleaning agents and they should be used with caution. If possible, choose shampoos that are made from natural ingredients, are sulfate-free and have not been tested on animals. Thankfully, there are quite a few high-end brands as well as economic options when it comes to shampoos for a daily hair care routine so you are sure to find something appropriate if you take the trouble to look around.
How Much Shampoo To Use For Daily Hair Care Routine?
You do not need a lot of shampoo for your daily hair care routine. If you have shoulder-length hair, a dollop the size of a small coin is enough. Add an extra half of that if you have long hair, reduce it to the size of half a coin if your hair is short. You may feel like this is very little shampoo for your daily hair care routine, but you are supposed to add a little water and emulsify the shampoo between your palms which will help to lather and spread the shampoo more evenly over your hair. So that tiny little dollop is more than enough.
If you use Ayurvedic or natural powders like shikakai or reetha to wash your hair, then you will need about a teaspoon for short hair, two for shoulder-length hair, and three for long hair. These actually do a much better and gentler job of cleaning your hair and are an excellent alternative to shampoos for your daily hair care routine.
OK, so now you know how much shampoo to use, but do you know exactly how you are supposed to shampoo your hair? It is fine if you don’t. Shampoo bottles lack the space to tell you exactly what you should be doing. And the technique for washing hair in your daily hair care routine is usually only taught in beauty schools. Maybe that’s why that parlor hair wash before a haircut feels so awesome – they know how to do it right.
If you learn the correct way to shampoo in your daily hair care routine, your hair will benefit greatly from the extra care and attention. So here is a step by step on how to shampoo your hair.
How To Shampoo for Daily Hair Care Routine?
- Use cold or lukewarm water to wash your hair. Very hot water strips away the oils from the scalp and can dry out your hair. This may not be evident immediately, but it will affect the health of your hair in the long run, especially if its a part of your daily hair care routine.
- Make sure that you wet your hair properly before shampooing. This is very important as shampoo on dry hair will not do its job.
- As we mentioned before, squeeze a portion of shampoo the size of a tiny coin into your palm. Add a couple of drops of water. Now use your finger tips to mix this until it has a more viscous consistency.
- Next, apply the shampoo to only your scalp, not your hair. For a daily hair care routine, washing the scalp is all that is necessary since that is where the oil and dirt are.
- The shampoo will not lather very much at this point. This is OK. Right now you should be more concerned with cleaning the scalp. Use your fingertips to massage the shampoo in small circular movements over your scalp for about a minute. If you have long nails, be careful that you do not scratch your scalp.
- Now it is time to rinse out your hair. Sounds simple, right? Well, most people don’t get this right. When shampoo is not properly washed off it attracts a lot of dirt in addition to making hair appear dry, dull and brittle. So take your time, really put your mind to it and get all that shampoo out. Use your fingers to massage the scalp while rinsing. This will let you feel where the soapy parts still are and you can help to release it.
- Whether or not you need to shampoo a second time will greatly depend on the length and type of you hair and how dirty it has gotten since your last wash. If you feel that it needs a second wash, pour out a smaller portion of shampoo into your palm than the first wash and apply from the scalp to the ends, working it in for about 30 seconds.
- Rinse thoroughly.
This whole shampooing process for a daily hair care routine may look long-winded. But in reality it takes not more than 3 to 5 minutes depending on the length of your hair.
Condition your Hair
Conditioner is a god-send and a must for a daily hair care routine. It repairs dry and damaged hair, makes your locks soft and voluminous and adds a shine and bounce that make hair look truly healthy. The type of conditioner you use is up to you entirely. You can use a regular conditioner which needs to be washed off or you can go for the leave-in kind if you find that more convenient. Try not to avoid this step in your daily hair care routine. Using conditioner in your daily hair care routine will work wonders in maintaining the health and strength of your hair in the long run. Here is a short step-by-step guide on how to condition your hair in your daily hair care routine.
- After shampooing, pour a small amount of conditioner in your palm. Do not add water. Rub between your hands.
- Apply this conditioner on your hair only, not your scalp. Work it gently into the body of your hair and the ends too.
- You can use a wide-toothed comb to comb out your hair after applying the conditioner. This will allow it to spread more evenly throughout the hair.
- Leave in your hair for a minute or two.
- Rinse off thoroughly.
Conditioner for your daily hair care routine does not need to be left in the hair for hours to work. Those few minutes are more than enough. In fact, if you leave conditioner in your hair for too long, it can make your hair greasy which makes it more susceptible to dirt. If your hair is really damaged and you are looking for a deep condition, then you should buy a special deep conditioning product which you can leave on hair for much longer. But since that is not something you can do on a daily basis, we won’t discuss that in detail in this daily hair care routine guide.
Post-wash Daily Hair Care Routine
Your hair is very vulnerable when it is wet. So the minutes after washing require extra daily hair care. First, squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Then loosely wrap your hair in a dry, clean towel. Press the towel into your head so that the water is absorbed by it. You can leave your hair in a towel for about ten to fifteen minutes after you wash it.
When possible, let your hair dry naturally. Blow dry only if you absolutely have to. The heat from the blow dryer damages and dries out your hair if you make it a part of your daily hair care routine.
Brush your Hair
This is the most basic daily hair care routine step and the most ancient. Brushing your hair as part of your daily hair care routine will improve blood circulation through the scalp, untangle knots which will prevent breakage and make your hair look neat. Wait until your hair is dry before you brush it.
If you have curly hair or a lot of knots in your locks, then begin brushing from the ends and work your way into the roots.
The brush you use in your daily hair care routine is very important. If you have thick hair, you obviously need a big brush with bristles that are designed to get into and untangle thick hair. Thinner hair needs smaller brushes with soft bristles so as to prevent any damage.
Styling Your Hair
Styling your hair is optional with a daily hair care routine. It varies greatly from person to person so we won’t go into it. However, styling is important as it gives you a finished appearance that contributes greatly to the success of your outfit. Plus, it keeps your hair healthy and strong. Just make sure that your hairstyles for your daily hair care routine are gentle on the hair and do not put stress on the roots by pulling too hard. Tight hair styles are a strict no-no for daily hair care. You can try those on occasion, but definitely not everyday. If you tend to go with more elaborate hair styles that require the use of hair sprays or serums, make sure you use as little of the products as possible. Most of the professional products are good enough that you do not need to use more than a spritz or a dab. Use too much and you risk weighing down your hair with all the junk.
Another tip with hairstyles for a daily hair care routine is to go with one that complements the natural style of your hair. For example, if you have wavy hair, go for a style that accentuates that rather than trying to straighten them all the time. This will have two advantages. One, you will be playing up to your natural beauty. And two, you will use less hair products, heated curlers or hair straighteners, which translates into less hair damage.
Night-time Daily Hair Care Routine
Life is so hectic that all you can do at the end of a long, hard day is take your shoes off and get into bed. But hold on a second. Your hair has been through the same trials you have. It has had to deal with the pollution, sun, the stress you have undergone because of an important meeting, the lack of proper nutrition because you were too busy to eat a proper lunch that day, not to mention its own share of stress from the buildup of hair products. It needs a little TLC before you snuggle under the covers.
First brush your hair. You don’t have to do 100 strokes – that’s a myth anyway and not a healthy practice. Just run a brush through your hair a few times so that all the knots that got in there during the day get untangled.
Another nighttime daily hair care routine you should incorporate is to tie your hair before you go to bed. It doesn’t matter how you secure your hair. Just make sure that it is not tight or uncomfortable. A simple loose plait or ponytail will do. The idea is to keep it off your face and to make an attempt to keep it in place so that it does not get pulled in different directions as you twist and turn when you sleep as that can cause tangles and breakage. When you tie your hair before bedtime, you will experience less of a hassle with it the next morning.
So there it is – a truly simple daily hair care routine guide which, you have to admit now that you have gone through it, is really simple to follow. All great things start with simple steps. Good luck on your journey to healthy hair. Don’t forget to tell us how it goes. And if you have any gems of daily hair care wisdom that we haven’t included here, please do share.
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