Hair Washing -The Untangled Truth!

| Hair Washing | 2 comments »

Step 1: Rinse your hair
This might be the simplest task but it is surprising how many do it wrongly. To wash your hair easily, follow these simple steps:

• Comb your hair first to get the tangles out, then
• Rinse your hair for a minute to get it completely soaked. Use warm water as it opens cuticles of the hair and helps wash off the oil and dirt.
• Rinse your hair with cold water afterwards to close the cuticles and to give your hair that extra shine.

Step 2: Massage your scalp
Massaging your scalp is one of the essential steps in hair washing. To start the massaging, do the following:

• Squeeze a small amount of shampoo on your palm and gently rub your palms together before applying it to your hair.
• Gently massage your scalp with your finger tips. Do not mound your hair onto your head as this will cause your hair to tangle.
• Shampoo your hair for a second time. Leave the shampoo on for a couple of minutes if it's a treatment shampoo.
• Rinse your hair thoroughly until the water is clear. This is important as any leftover residue may cause your scalp to develop dandruff.

Step 3: To condition or not to condition
More often than not, we use conditioner without a proper idea of how it should be done. Follow the steps below to condition your hair properly.

• When your hair is soaked, do not pull or tug your hair because the hair is at its most vulnerable state.
• Gently squeeze your hair to get the excess water out.
• Apply some conditioner from the middle and then spread it through the ends of your hair.
• Do not apply conditioner to your scalp as your scalp produces its own oil to condition the roots. Pile your hair inside a shower cap and let the conditioner be absorbed for ten minutes.
• Rinse your hair until the water runs clear.

Resources taken from Guardian - The one you trust

Would you like your hair blown or air-dried?

| Pro Cons Hair Blown or Aired | 0 comments »

A lot of people argue that blow drying their hair will turn out disastrous. Whatever the reason may be, it is merely a matter of preference. Some people do not have that much to be devoted to styling, hence they opt for blow-drying. While others simply prefer to let their hair dry the natural way.

Air Drying (The Natural Way)
Air drying is for people with short, low-maintenance or curly hair. There are also people with long hair who have it air-dried as it will not subject their hair to excess heat, thus being less susceptible to damage. But if you are going to have your hair air-dried, there are a few important things to remember:

1. Your hair is weakest when wet. Do not rub with a towel as the friction caused will brittle your hair and eventually cause breakage.
2. To dry your hair, blot the water using a towel.
3. Do not pull, tug or grab your hair much when it is wet to avoid hair loss.
4. Fluff your hair with your fingers when your hair is almost dried.

Blow Drying
Blow drying is the most convenient method. This is further reinforced because most people live fast-paced lives and blow drying is faster. But as convenient as it is, blow drying can be dangerous for your hair, especially if overdone, as excessive heat will cause your hair to be brittle. However, fear not as there are correct and proper ways to blow dry your hair without damaging it:

1. Use a diffuser to blow dry your hair as it allows air flow to spread. This also prevents tangling.
2. Set the blow dryer on a cooler setting.
3. When using blow dryer, keep the blow dryer 6 inches away.
4. Blot the water out with a towel before blow drying your hair as this will reduce the time needed to blow dry.
5. You can protect your outer hair strands from being over-dried by bending over and blow drying with your hair hanging.

Resources taken from Guardian - The one you trust

8 Things You Didn't Know About Your Hair

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DID YOU KNOW?

Will trimming your hair make it grow faster? Will more grey hair sprout out if you pluck one? All these and more as we "comb through" the strands of intrigue in differentiating between truths and myths of hair care.

1. Trimming your hair will make your hair grow faster.
TRUTH:
Your hair is not a plant. Cutting your hair will make your hair shorter and not encourage it to grow more. This conclusion was probably drawn from observing men's facial hair, but hair on your head and facial hair have different properties. So regardless of how much you trim, your hair will grow almost around half an inch per month. Trimming only eliminates split ends and makes your hair look neater.

2. Your hair will fall out if you are stressed

TRUTH:

Do not be alarmed because as many as 50 to 120 hair strands fall out daily. You might lose a few more strands of hair if you are very stressed or have major life changing event. Fear not though, as after a few weeks, your hair will almost certainly grow back.

3. Brushing your hair is good

TRUTH:

On the contrary, brushing your hair will pull your hair out of their follicles, possibly weakening the strands, contributing to split ends and hair breakage. You can groom your hair, but once it's in style, stop.

4. Pluck one grey hair and more will sprout out

TRUTH:

If this method is true, men going bald can start throwing away their hair regrowth tonics and start pulling out their hair by the fistfuls. Granted this is not true, but plucking your hair is a bad habit as it will damage the roots of your hair, cause infection or leave scars on your scalp.

5. Sleeping with hair tied into a bun

TRUTH:

Do not sleep with your hair tied up as doing so will result in your hair roots being strained which will cause hair loss! Furthermore, tying your hair up when sleeping will bend your hair, the long term effect of this is that your hair will be bent over so much, it will create waves through your hair.

6. Switching shampoos can make your hair look healthier

TRUTH:

This might seem true but it is not. Your hair cannot tell the difference between brands of products. Your shampoo will work the same very time you wash your hair. But if you have oily hair or use a particularly strong hair styling product that contains wax, it is best to use clarifying shampoo once every two weeks to wash away any leftover residue.

7. Hair colouring will severely damage your hair

TRUTH:

Technology today allows the hair dye product both at home and in the salon to be gentle enough not to weaken your hair. There are even some hair dyes which contain extra conditioners for your hair which will make your hair more manageable than before.

8.Split ends can be mended with the right products

TRUTH:

A split end is jut that, a split end. The only thing that can be done is to trim them off. No amount of right products can "unsplit" the split end. But the effect can be made less noticeable by applying a product containing silicone or beeswax which will temporarily seal the ends together.

Resources taken from Guardian - The one you trust

Find the Correct Style for your Hair!

| Hair Style Tips | 0 comments »

Research! Research! Research!

Research! Look everywhere from television and magazine advertisements to billboards for any hairstyles that you might fancy. Collect pictures, clippings and photographs that you like.

Find out what kind of face you have - round, oval, angular, heart-shaped or square. Choose which feature of your face that you would like to minimize or emphasize. This will narrow your hairstyle choice to those that flatter your face shape or minimize certain aspects.

It looks good, but does it look good on you?
Think about how much time and money that you are willing to spend on your hairstyle. Some styles might be cheap on the first styling but expensive to maintain.

Keep a picture of the hairstyle close and every time you see it, imagine yourself in that particular hairstyle. See if the hairstyle suits you because it might look good on others but not on you!

Time to do it!

It's time to get the haircut. Go to your favourite hair stylist and show pictures of the hairstyle that you want. Show the stylist what exactly you want, do not be shy, let the stylist know everything.

Sit up straight when the stylist is working her magic, don't slouch or cross your legs as it will cause your haircut to become uneven. Watch the stylist through the mirror to see what the stylist is doing and clarify any confusion before it turns into a mistake.

Examine yourself after the stylist is done. If you are dissatisfied with a certain part of your hairstyle, ask the hairstylist to correct it.

Extra Tips:

• Make an Appointment with the salon that you are going. This assures that you get the stylist you want and plenty of time to chat with the stylist on the style you want.

• Use your hand to emphasize how little you are referring to when trimming your hair.

• Talk to the stylist; discuss which hairstyle is suitable for your face. What is the latest fashion and how the hairstyle may or may not suit your lifestyle.

Resources taken from Guardian - The one you trust

Dandruff: The White Flake of Annoyance

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Dandruff, the excessive shedding of dead skin from the scalp which plagues the dark shirt. As you vigorously scrub your shoulder clear of the menacing little white flakes, more fall to replace their fallen comrades.

How does this happen?

And how would it affect you?

It is normal for skin cells to die and small amounts to flake off. Some however, experience an unusually large amount of flaking which is accompanied by redness and irritation. As the outer layer of your skin replaces itself, cells are pushed outwards and in most cases, the cells are too small to be visible and only mature around a month. For those with dandruff, skin cells mature and shed in 2 to 7 days and this results in dead skin cells being shed in large clumps!

Also, do not confuse dandruff with dry scalp as they are two different things. For dry scalp treatment, a good shampoo and conditioner will cure the dry scalp which is "flaking". It is not advisable and unnecessary to get dandruff shampoo for dry scalp. The flakes produced from dandruff are actually oily and not dry.

Resources taken from Guardian - The one you trust

Causes of Dandruff

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Although rare, dandruff can be caused by allergic reactions towards substances such as hair gels, hair sprays, hair oils and sometimes medication! However, there appears to be two types of known dandruff causes - internal and external:

Internal Causes:

• Improper Nutrition
• Lack of Rest
• Emotional Stress
• Allergic Hypersensitivity
• Hereditary Predisposition
• Poor Health & Hygiene
• Excessive consumption of sugar, fat and starch

External Causes:

• Shampooing the hair infrequently
• Leftover residue from shampoo still residing in hair and scalp
• Excessive use of hair gels and sprays
• Improper use of hot hair curlers or curling irons

How do I get rid of dandruff?
Dandruff shampoos have now evolved and are a lot more effective. The best way to know which products work for you is to actually try them. If a product is not successful in controlling your dandruff, then move on to another product. It will take some trial and error before finding a shampoo that suits your scalp

Resources taken from Guardian - The one you trust

Bad Hair Day

| Causes Hair Damage | 0 comments »

Ever had one of those days when your hair just has a mind of its own and no amount of gel or hair spray can hold it down?

Or waking up in the morning and you know this is just going to be a bad hair day? Under given circumstances, most people will either use a copious amount of gel and proceed to pray the hair will just stay down!

Bad hair days are normally caused by poor hair management which includes things that we can and cannot control such as blow dryers, crash diets, hot weather and others. Blow dryers are the cause of many bad hair days. They are known to cause damage to hair by making them dry with split ends.

To prevent a bad hair day from happening, moisturize your hair with hair conditioner. Afterwards, rinse properly after conditioning to avoid dull and uncontrollable hair. To totally avoid having a bad hair day, sleep on satin instead of cotton as your hair will flow easily against satin whereas cotton will promote friction.

Another great trick for a bad hair day is to towel blot your hair and then wrap it into a bun. Decorate the bun with various elegant hair sticks, pins or hairclips. This will allow you to hide the bad hair in plain view and not need various accessories or tricks to keep the bad hair away!

A few other tricks in store for those really hairy moment is to use a stylish looking headscarf to cover your hair, wearing a casual looking hat for your hair and lastly for those really desperate moments, get a wig that blends well with your face's shape.

Resources taken from Guardian - the one you trust.

5 Causes of Hair Damage

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1. Poor Nutrition
A diet which is low in fruits and vegetables and high in fast food will cause hair to grow more slowly. Vitamin B is important in maintaining healthy hair, hair that is not getting enough Vitamin B will be thin, hence if you are having a thinning hair problem, A B-complex tablets would be a good idea.

2. Insufficient Sleep
Studies show that lack of sleep plays a role in changing the hormone balance in our body which leads to hair loss. Stress and fatigue caused from lack of sleep will also result in hair damage!

3. Poor Hygiene
Poor hygiene in hair care relates both to washing your hair too much and not enough. Hair that is shampooed every day will be dry and lifeless because too much of its natural oils are stripped away in the process of washing. If you don't shampoo enough, the natural oil will build up, leaving a greasy limp appearance which causes the hair to plaster itself on the scalp in where dandruff thrives!

4. Sunburnt Hair
Yes, sunburn affects hair as much as it affects skin as the heat combined with humidity will dry, frizz and break the hair! Utilize "replenishing" shampoo and use "leave-in" conditioner to prevent drying of hair.

5. Hair Straightening
Hair straightening is used to make the hair straight and remove curls from hair. And like it or not, when ironing the hair to become straight, considerable damage is done to the hair! Whenever your hair is straightened, the hair should be moisturized to prevent the hair from frizzing.

Resources taken from Guardian - The One You Trust