Hair Care to Avoid & Never Use

By walking down the hair aisle at any grocery or drug store you can see the amount of hair care products on the market. From shampoo to conditioners, to coloring, moisturizing, straightening and curling sprays, gels, creams, oils or foams, these products promote silky, healthy, gorgeous hair. However, once you get the product home, your hair falls flat, dry and frizzy. Most of the promises that hair care products offer are a load of bunk. Although, even if you are buying the right hair care products this doesn’t mean that you are keeping up with the basic hair care guidelines. 

It’s amazing what people will try to get their hair to look good. Throughout the years you have heard of hair care faux pas that people make however, even after people hear about these mistakes they still try it or continue to do it with their own hair. But all they really need to do is follow the basic guidelines of hair care, use the right hair care products and their hair would be beautiful and healthy, like the way they want it.

Here are a list of hair care don’ts, some of which you have heard of, some which you may be using, and some that just seem out of this world. If you are doing this to your hair, stop it immediately and you will notice a change in the way your hair feels and looks.

1.     Never us a clothing iron to straighten your hair. Whoever thought of using a clothing iron to straighten their hair, probably thought they were ingenious at the time but should have quickly realized how bad it was for their hair. It may have been the cool thing to do in the 70’s but now it is just damaging to your hair. Heating tools, especially clothing irons dry out hair and will eventually fry the hair strands. Today flat irons, blow dryers and curling irons are specially designed to straighten, flatten and curl your hair to your desired style.

2.     Don’t brush your hair when it’s wet. When your hair is wet it is in its most vulnerable state and can be easily stretched and broken. As well as using a regular brush can be damaging to your hair because it’s prongs are spaced unevenly and sporadically causing hair to go every which way making hair more likely to break. Avoid using a regular brush to brush your hair when it’s wet. Using a wide tooth-comb to detangle wet hair is gentler on your hair.

3.     Never purchase at home hair color in a box. It may be cheaper, but it’s not worth it to your hair. If you have never experienced using hair color on your own, this is one thing you can avoid. Ask your friends, it never turns out the way you want it and if used incorrectly can damage your hair. Leave the coloring up to the professionals. They know what they are doing and can make it come out the actual way you want it.

4.     Avoid excessive coloring too frequently or close together. Because of the chemicals involved in coloring hair, avoid coloring hair excessively in a short period of time. The hair can become over processed by the chemicals and break or fall out. Ask your hair care professional when would be appropriate time to return for your next coloring.

5.     Don’t use a clarifying hair product more than once a week. Hair clarifying products are made to be more potent than regular products to strip the hair of daily buildup and residue from the use of other products. If you use clarifying products more than once a week you run the risk of stripping your hair of its natural oils and moisture. This will leave your hair dry and brittle. Consider using a moisturizer when not using a clarifier to return moisture and nutrients back into the hair strands.

6.     Avoid over oiling your hair. Although oiling your hair can improve the health and look of your hair it can also be detrimental if overdone. Do not oil your hair more than twice a week. If hair is over oiled it can block the pores within the hair strands which allow nutrients, and oxygen in. Not to mention that too much oil in your hair makes your hair look unwashed. Excessive oil can also cause dust and dirt to stick to hair strands making it dirtier.

7.     Never use sun-lightening products. Although the sun can lighten your hair, sun lightening products will actually damage your hair. Lemon juice and sun lightening products will actually cause your hair to break and fall out, so never use them.

8.     Avoid over exposure to the sun, chlorine and salt water. The sun, salt and chlorine dries out the hair sucking out the moisture. This leaves the hair without essential oil and nutrients. Hair becomes brittle, weak and lifeless making it easier to break. Always bring a hat, umbrella or sit in the shade when you know you will be exposed to the sun for long periods of time.

9.     Don’t use excessive product in your hair. Although it used to be cool to use a ton of product in your hair, now a days stiff locks are just plain not cool. Over use of product leaves residue on your hair strands that build up over time and which regular shampoo can’t remove. This can lead to your hair becoming lifeless and limp. If you must use a product use only enough to style your hair. The objective is to use as little product as possible to make it look like you aren’t using a product at all.

10.  Don’t cut your own hair. Even though as a little kid we think its funny to cut our own hair, as an adult it is not the way to go. There is no way of knowing if you are cutting straight or if you cut all of your hair. You will always end up with a mess of uneven strands because there is no way of seeing 360 degrees around your head. Even if you are trying to be cheap in today’s economy you can still get a decent hair cut for about $15 which isn’t a lot, and its worth it. That’s why they are the professionals.

So the next time you want to try something on your hair make sure it follows the hair care guidelines and won’t ultimately damage your hair in the long run. Too much of one thing can be very bad for your hair. And always leave the hard stuff up to the hair care professionals!

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