healthy hair tips

I’ve been on a healthy hair journey for almost 2 years now. I can best describe the experience to that of a roller coaster. Between trying new things, sometimes failing at them, learning what my hair needs, and what to avoid at all costs, I think it’s safe to say I’ve finally found what works best for my dry, wavy hair. I do want to preface by saying this is all based on my personal experience. Everyone’s hair is different and what may work for me may not work for you and vice versa. If you are finding yourself to have serious hair damage concerns it is best to speak with a certified trichologist or doctor on the matter.

Alright, so moving on to the habits I learned I should be doing regularly. Here’s a quick breakdown and reasoning behind them.

Hair Habit Must Do’s

Mindful Hair Brushing

I used to rake through the tangles in my hair with whatever brush or comb was lying around. I’d start at the top of my head and work my way down. Since then, I’ve learned that kind of brushing can contribute to A LOT of breakage and split ends, which we definitely don’t need if we’re trying to grow our locks. Starting at the ENDS and working your way up helps with preventing breakage and split ends from occurring, keeping hair healthier and stronger.

Microfiber Towels

The things you learn when you want to start actually taking care of your hair. If you were like me, you’d use an identical towel to the one you had wrapped around yourself after getting out of the shower, twisted and plopped it on top of your head, and called it a day. Well, apparently that rougher towel material can also contribute to hair damage. It makes sense when you think about it, but it never crossed my mind all those years let alone was something I thought I needed to worry about.

Did you know that our hair is at its most fragile state when it’s wet? I had no idea until I dove into the world of hair care. Microfiber towels are great because they’ll soak up all that excess water and moisture like as sponge. It’s also said that they don’t create as much friction with our hair (also helping to prevent breakage), and may help to reduce frizziness, which being a dry and wavy haired girl I am all about.

Silk

Having a silk pillowcase and silk bonnet or scarf is an absolute MUST at bedtime. I feel like a total grandma saying that but if you’re a fellow curly or wavy girl, it will be a game changer! Silk is a wonderful option to sleep on because, unlike other fabrics, silk does not create friction with our hair when we sleep. Hair friction can cause split ends, breakage, tangles, a super cute bedhead look..it’s not ideal, so silk is definitely the way to go.

Did You Know?

Since researching more on proactive sleep routine hair care methods I’ve also learned that NOT sleeping with our hair down is most beneficial. Who woulda thought? But again, it makes sense if you think about it. Whether you’re rolling around, tossing and turning – if your hair is down it’s likely going all over the place, which can definitely lead to friction and potential damage. Styling in a loose braid or up high in one of those loose pineapple buns with a silk scrunchie are a couple great options to protect your hair.

Refresh VS Washing

Back before I was a mom, when I had time. I’d say I probably washed my hair every other day. & I’d go over it with a straightener EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Honestly, I don’t know how my hair hung on for as long as it did. Well, with three rambunctious boys, a house that always needs cleaning, and what feels like a never ending list of things to do.. I do not have time to wash my hair every other day. And it turns out, I don’t need to anyways. Which I’m taking as a mom win because that is a process in and of itself.

Turns out it’s actually GOOD for our hair to NOT be washed so much. When we don’t wash our hair as often, it allows the natural oils to moisturize our scalp and move its way down our hair, helping to prevent dryness and giving it a little extra shine. However If you have super oily hair, you may need to wash your hair more than once a week. If you’re hair is on the drier side like mine, you’ll only need to wash it once maybe twice a week (unless you have a very active lifestyle – out in the sun, sweating a lot, swimming, doing intense workouts..in those kind of instances it will be best to wash your hair more to keep your scalp clean).

Since I have dry, poofy, frizzy wavy hair, it 100% needs to be styled almost everyday. Otherwise I look like a got struck by lightning. That’s when I discovered refreshes. They’ve helped so much with looking more put together while still working towards my hair health goals.

So what’s a refresh? Well..it’s a refresh. A touch up with the help of a few go to products that bring life and definition back to your hair. As far as what products you should use for your refresh, well.. that depends on your hair type. Since my hair needs all the moisture it can get, I reach for the hair oils, mousse, and gel for definition, hold, and a hydrated look. Some swear by wetting their hair when doing a refresh as it can help to reactivate some of the product you already had in your hair, but I don’t prefer this method as I find it a bit too risky since our hair is super fragile when wet. I don’t want to be adding fuel to the fire and potentially causing more harm than good to my hair as I try to heal it.

Another perk with refreshes is that I don’t need to use heat, which is awesome when you’re trying to heal your hair from heat damage. Heatless curls and reapplying a few of those products mentioned above have been my go to’s when I’m wanting to look put together.

And there you have it! A few of the must do habits that have helped me go from heat damage, hair thinning, frizzy dry hair to embracing my natural waves, adding shine, definition, and life back to my once dull and brittle hair. If you’d like to see what kind of products I use to set the foundation for healthier hair, visit my Instagram @honestlymommin – I’ve tried a handful of popular, trendy products that didn’t even make a dent in my hair progress, so I was beyond excited to have finally found something that worked and was visibly showing healthier and prettier results.

What would you like to see next? Let me know in the comments!

Talk soon
Kath

My personal story and journey to healthier, growing hair

Fall of 2021 is when I first recognized that my hair had considerably thinned..ALOT. I’ve always had very thick, wavy hair, so this was a new insecurity and challenge that I was not used to. Since then, I’ve been on a slow but steady healthy hair regrowth journey.

If there’s one major takeaway to share it’s that you’ve got to be patient. It’s not easy, but it is worth it and you do see the results in time. So, I figured I’d share some helpful tips and hair care routine changes that I made to help my hair get back to it’s healthiest and fullest state. Of course if you’re unsure about anything with your hair, it’s always best to consult with your doctor first. This is my personal experience and what has been currently working for me.

Hair Care & Routine

Knowing what I know now, it’s amazing to me that my hair pulled through as long as it did without the proper care. Here’s a few hair care habits that I used to do, why it was NOT good for the health of my hair, and what I do now.

Towel Drying. After washing my hair, I used to aggressively shake it out in a towel, wrap it up for a half hour, blow dry it on high heat, then straighten it – sometimes with heat protectant sometime without. Literally cringing as I type this! Thankfully, now I know that using a standard bath towel can increase the risk of damaging and causing breakage in our hair. The coarse, rough texture of a towel can contribute to this breakage along with the weight of a heavy towel on top of your head. Something I did not know before this journey was that our hair is at its most fragile state when it’s wet. Makes sense, but still, something I never thought about. Now, I am as careful as can be when my hair is wet. If I need to detangle it, I’ll use a leave in conditioner and then comb starting at the ends of my hair and work my way up – also to prevent breakage. If I want to wrap it up I ALWAYS use either a lightweight microfiber towel or a cotton T-shirt.
Hydrating my Hair. Personally, my hair is on the dryer side, especially at the ends. Based on my lengthy hair health research, this can also contribute to hair breakage which we definitely DON’T want if we’re trying to grow our hair out. If we get split ends, not only will that hinder the chances of us getting our hair to longer lengths but if we don’t get regular trims that split will work its way up our hair, leading to more damage and a necessary, shorter haircut. Which is the last thing we want if our goal is longer locks. In an effort to be proactive with this, I use oil on my hair – specifically at the ends almost daily (especially in the winter time, when our hair and skin can be at its driest). You can use whatever oils you prefer, my favorites have been jojoba, amla, and almond oil. Those have seemed to work best with my hair type (dry, wavy) and don’t make it feel too weighed down. Along with this I also check my hair ends on a consistent basis and trim any split ends that I can find.
Products. I never used to think twice about what shampoo or conditioner I was using. Granted, I never had any hair issues so I didn’t think it mattered. Now I’m not only super mindful about the ingredients in our food, but also what we’re putting ON our bodies, because that will affect our health too.

Knowing your hair type is also very important because a lot of brands have products that will help enhance the appearance, texture, and taming of our hair. Also knowing that the brand you’re buying from is reputable and has great reviews is equally important.
Scalp Care. Again, never took this into consideration but scalp health is so important if we’re wanting to grow healthy hair. That’s where it all begins! Personally, having a clarifying shampoo or rinse has been so so helpful. Clarifying shampoos/rinses are amazing because they remove any buildup on our scalp or in our hair. Think of it like our weekly face mask, it removes the dirt and build up so that we can achieve that clear complexion we want. It’s not something you want to use at every wash, as it can dry your hair out if used too much, but it is great to include into your hair wash rotation.
Hair Oiling. I am obsessed with hair oiling. It has not only brought new hair growth, but has left my hair feeling shinier and healthier overall. Because my hair is on the drier side, I only wash it 1-2 times a week. Honestly, I try to go as long as I can because I’ve read that it’s actually better for our hair not to wash it super often. Over washing can wind up stripping our hair of its natural oils, creating that dry, dull feeling and appearance.

When I’m hair oiling, I’ll first thoroughly detangle my hair. Then I’ll concoct a mixture of my go to oils in a bowl, use a dropper and distribute it around my scalp. Here are my favorite oils that I currently include in my hair oiling routine:

~ Rosemary Oil
~ Pumpkin Seed Oil
~ Amla Oil
~ Castor Oil
~ Black Seed Oil

After I’ve oiled my hair, I’ll usually wrap it up in a hair clip and leave it in anywhere from 1-3 hours. I try to avoid tightly tying my hair back with a hair tie as this can also cause breakage along with a receding hairline. If I can leave my hair loosely styled and tied back, then that’s my go to. If I’m having a productive day and really on top of it, I’ll throw my microfiber towel in the dryer to warm up for a few minutes and then wrap my hair up in that. The reason being that heat will help activate the oils.

Once that step is complete, I’ll wash my hair using shampoo, a clarifying rinse, apply a hair mask from the mid length to the ends of my hair, and then use conditioner. It’s a lot of steps, but I’ve found that they are crucial if I want to keep moving forward with healthier, growing hair.

Now that I’ve shared my current care routine and experience, here are some additional hair tips that I’ve learned along the way and applied to my daily routine:

Always brush your hair starting at the ENDS, then work your way up
Scalp massages are not only so relaxing but they’ll help in promoting hair growth
Applying oil to the ends of your hair will help moisturize and prevent split ends
Avoid using heat on your hair everyday. Shoot for every 3-4 days to avoid heat damage
After applying your conditioner in the shower, rinse it out with COLD water. The cold water helps with closing your hair cuticles.
When washing your hair with shampoo, only apply to your scalp. When washing your hair with conditioner, only apply to the mid length and ends.
Washing your hair everyday should be avoided if possible as it will strip your hair of its natural oils
Pay attention to your water intake and nutrition! What’s going on on the inside is much more important and pertinent than outside.

As I said before, patience is so key when you’re on a hair growth journey. We live in a world of instant gratification, tempting hair extensions, and “quick fixes” that can sometimes lead to more damage than good. My journey is ongoing. I have my days where I’m frustrated and feel like things are going nowhere. That is until I look back at pictures and can clearly see the changes. Not to mention, seeing and finding alll the new hairs growing is such a great feeling!

Talk soon.
Kath

Tag: healthy hair tips

Habits That Helped Me Achieve Healthier, Wavy Hair