Keeping your hair in the best condition makes sense, but you could be doing things that interfere with that goal. It’s best to focus on a good routine, as this will help prevent any potential hair loss. If you’re doing one or more of the following things, you could be damaging your hair without realizing it.
Damaged hair could mean hair breakages, split ends, or excessive dryness, to name a few. Here, I’ll go into detail on some of the more familiar ways you could be damaging your hair. You might be surprised at some of these, although you might guess others could be problematic.
1. Towel Drying
Does this surprise you? Gentle towel drying shouldn’t present any problems, but if you do it too vigorously, you can break individual strands of hair. Additionally, wet hair is more prone to damage than dry hair, so it’s a double-edged sword really.
Try and avoid this if you can. Switch to leaving your hair to dry naturally or use a towel to wrap your hair in for a bit instead. Gently run your fingers through your hair to detangle it (although a good conditioner should help with this anyway). Brushing wet hair is also a risk factor for damaging it, so steer clear of that too if you can and go for the natural drying process whenever possible.
2. Regularly Wearing Tight Hairstyles
This could be a ponytail, braids, a bun… anything that sees your hair worn more tightly. It puts pressure on the strands and can cause traction alopecia. If done too frequently, it can permanently damage the area, leading to permanent hair loss.
If you find that your hair is thinning in a specific area relating to the hairstyle you’ve chosen, stop using the hairstyle you were using at the time you noticed the hair loss. This will stop traction alopecia in its tracks. The sooner you do this, the more chance there is of the situation reversing itself.
3. Heat Styling
Heat can damage your hair by drying it out too much. This can also lead to a greater chance of breaking individual strands of hair. The occasional drying session shouldn’t be too difficult, but if you regularly dry your hair or use tongs or straighteners, think about leaving your hair to dry naturally occasionally.
4. Not Having a Regular Trim
Of all the tasks you have in life, having a trim would seem to be something you can safely skip if you’re short of time. However, this can allow any split ends to split further, damaging your hair in the process.
If you’ve been doing some of the other things on this list, you might be more prone to split ends anyway. Letting them extend up the hair shaft means your hair will look frizzy, and it will be impossible for your hair stylist to trim them all. A regular trim can therefore help keep your hair looking its best.
5. Washing or Treating It Too Often
There’s nothing wrong with washing your hair… provided you don’t do it too often. Choose a good quality shampoo and conditioner designed for your hair type; this is something your hair stylist should be able to help you with.
However, don’t wash it any more often than you need to. Regular daily washing, for example, is more likely to strip all the oils out of your hair. They’re there to protect it, so you don’t want to get rid of them all.
As for treatments, anything harsh, such as coloring, bleaching, or perming, is going to take its toll on your hair after a while. If you’re going to opt for a treatment, expand on the time you leave between each one if you can.
How many of the above do you recognize or are guilty of? Even if your hair looks good now, make sure you keep an eye on it to see whether it remains that way. Hair loss or breakage can creep up on you without you realizing. The more you can do to preserve and take care of your hair now, the less likely it is that you’ll end up losing some hair later.
If you are experiencing thinning hair, hair loss and have damaged hair, contact the team at Unique Hair Concepts in New York for a complimentary, in-person consultation. Proudly serving clients in Westchester County, Scarsdale, Manhattan, NYC and the New York tri-state area for over 10 years.
