Building an Effective Hair Care Routine for Healthier Locks

Have you ever peeked into your current hair care regimen and thought “Something must be wrong in here”? 

And poof - there’s indeed a step, habit, or a product that keeps you from achieving healthy and strong tresses.

Now, are you ready to tweak your current haircare routine into one that’ll truly make your tresses strong, healthy, and lovely? Doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or a gal, everyone benefits from a great hair care routine!

Our post for today will give you an outline of a basic yet effective hair care routine that suits your hair needs. We do acknowledge that there are diverse hair types, textures, and needs. That’s why we’ve made this guide as inclusive as possible so that everyone regardless of gender or color can build a personalized healthier hair care regimen.

Four Major Factors in Establishing Individual Hair Care Routines

There are certain things you need to take note of before you delve right into creating your new hair care routine. These factors will greatly influence the type of hair habits and products you’ll need for your tresses:

1. Natural Hair Type 

Go back to basics and identify your natural hair type first. Hair types are typically defined by your hair’s natural curl patterns, which all stemmed from the hair follicles deep within your scalp.

Here’s a look at the four main types of hair:

Type 1 – Straight

Type 2 – Wavy

Type 3 – Curly

Type 4 – Coily

Each hair type (except for Type 1) has other categories based on the looseness or tightness of the curls and coils.

Note that the exact hair type of your entire hair could also vary. You may have straight hair on your roots and wavy strands at your ends. Pay special attention to this so you can tailor your care regimens well according to your strands’ needs.

2. Daily Hairstyles and Hair Tools Use

Heating tools and hair accessories come into play here. Your daily hairstyles determine whether you frequently use these tools, and it does have an impact on your hair’s health.

If you wear your hair loosely in a straight and sleek style, you’ll be needing straightening irons daily (considering that you haven’t treated your hair chemically). Similarly, wearing daily curls will also require a heated curling iron.

Some ladies need to wear their hair up in ponytails or buns regularly due to the nature of their workplaces. Hairbands and scrunchies worn for extended time periods could cause undue friction on hair.

3. Any Chemical Processes Done

Have you ever dyed or bleached your hair? Did you go for a perm or have your hair chemically straightened through rebonding? All these chemical processes could affect your hair care routine.

For instance, dyed hair needs to be washed less often to prevent dryness and to let the color stay longer. Bleached hair may also warrant extra moisturization due to the dryness that may result from the chemicals. Extra hydration is also needed for permed or chemically straightened hair.

4. Any Specific Hair Concerns

Most of us always have that one aspect of our hair which we find troublesome. Such issues may include any of the following:

• Split ends
• Frizzy hair
• Dry and flaky scalp
• Excessively oily scalp
• Damaged hair strands
• Dry and brittle hair
• Falling hair and/or bald spots and patches

It’s a good idea to factor in these concerns when planning for the right hair care routine. You can then incorporate solutions for your specific hair concerns in your daily hair care regimen.

What A Basic Hair Care Routine Looks Like

Haircare regimens are highly varied, depending on people’s hair types and individualized factors and hair issues. But here’s the basic routine that you should follow for cleaner, healthier, and stronger tresses:

1. Cleansing

Cleansing is basically getting rid of dead skin cells, product residue, and sebum build-up on your scalp and tresses. At times, it also gets rid of unwanted chemicals on your tresses, like chlorine after prolonged swimming in a pool for instance.

A good shampoo thoroughly cleanses your entire scalp and hair without removing too much of your hair’s natural oils. Micellar shampoos often do the trick and are gentle enough for daily use. For extremely dirty scalp or those with too much product build-up, a clarifying shampoo used once or twice a week is your best bet.

How often to wash your hair depends on a few things, such as:

• Your scalp’s texture
• Your hair type and length
• The levels of oil distributed throughout your scalp
• Your personal preferences

Those with dry to extremely dry tresses opt not to shampoo their scalp daily, as it may lead to further dryness and scalp problems in the long run. Meanwhile, those with very oily hair tend to wash daily or every other day.

Several people fall in between dryness and oiliness, and hence opt to cleanse their hair 2-5 times every week. Water rinses or dry shampoos are typically used to freshen up hair during in-between-wash days.

2. Conditioning

 

The main purpose of conditioning your hair after a wash is to restore moisture back to the scalp and strands. Conditioners can also help reduce tangles, tame down frizz, and improve hair luster and shine.

It is highly recommended never to skip conditioning your hair after every shampoo. It’s because several shampoos, no matter how gentle they are, could still strip off a considerable amount of natural oils on your scalp, leaving your hair dehydrated after a wash.

Some people who skip days washing their hair even use conditioners during their shampoo off-days to freshen up their locks.

People with thick, curly, and coily hair tend to use lots of conditioner on their entire scalp and hair. Those with thinner and straighter tresses can use conditioner sparingly, applying it mostly to the hair ends and avoiding the scalp area.

3. Moisturizing and Sealing

If your hair is really thick or it tends to lean on the drier side, moisturizing and sealing is a two-step combo that’ll further infuse hydration to your scalp and strands. Yes, you can do this even after you’ve conditioned your locks.

Moisturizing is done by using water or water-based products to drench your hair in moisture. Several leave-in conditioners are water-based, so rubbing some of them on your tresses after your shower ups your hair’s moisture levels.

Sealing is done right after moisturizing to keep that additional moisture inside your scalp and hair cuticles. Several oils or butters can be used as moisture sealants, including rice bran oil and jojoba oil.

4. Detangling

Longer hair is prone to tangles, not just after you shower, but also throughout the day. Detangling is an essential step that removes the tangles and prevents knots from forming on your hair. It’s also among your best defenses against hair breakage.

Your hair type, texture, and length dictate how often you should detangle your tresses daily. These locks typically need to detangle more often: 

• Curly and kinky hair
• Rough and dry tresses
• Long hair

Detangling often starts at the hair ends first, going up to the roots last. You can detangle hair in two ways: Dry and Wet Detangling.

Dry detangling simple means removing tangles while your hair is dry. Dry hair is often stronger than wet hair, so many people choose to detangle their tresses while it is dry. A high-quality wide-toothed comb is crucial to successfully detangling dried hair. You can try detangling hair with your fingers also. If your tresses are too coily or curly, you may apply a bit of oil to your strands before detangling them.

Wet detangling is removing the tangles on hair while your tresses are wet. Rub a leave-in or a water-based conditioner to your strands first, then carefully comb through to remove the tangles starting from the ends and up to the roots.

Whichever method you use, keep in mind to comb ends first and work your way up to the hair roots to prevent breakage. Also, treat your strands kindly and delicately, especially if you go for wet detangling.

5. Styling and Protecting

 

Styling your hair may require some tools and products, such as the following:

• Gels
• Volumizers
• Wax
• Pomade
• Mousse
• Hair spray
• Blow dryers
• Heated hair tools (straighteners and curlers)

Avoid damage to your hair by using only the products and tools needed to hold your hair into place. You should also thoroughly wash out your hair after using styling products to prevent a build-up of residue in your scalp.

Keep a heat-protection spray handy if you mostly use heated tools on your hair. Spray it before and after your styling sessions to protect your locks against any damage caused by heat.

6. Spot-treating hair problems

 

Is there a specific hair issue you’re dealing with? Spot-treating your hair problems should always be in your hair care routine, then. Directly deal with any issues you’re experiencing by using products or solutions to cater to your unique hair needs. Here are some examples of hair issues: 

• Frizzy hair - Use protein treatments once or twice a week. Slick down your tresses with a leave-in product or light oil.

• Hair loss – Take FDA-approved medications like Minoxidil and Finasteride (for men only) as directed by your physician. Do scalp massages and consider alternative natural methods such as Ayurvedic hair care or essential oil treatments.

• Dry hair – Apply oils or butters to your hair regularly and use moisturizing hair masks often.

• Dandruff or dry scalp – Pinpoint the main cause of your dandruff first, then address it accordingly. For instance, clean your scalp often if sebum build-up is the culprit of your dandruff.

Certain illnesses such as seborrheic dermatitis can also cause issues with your hair and scalp. Seek your physician’s advice and follow his recommendations to help treat your illness and its related hair or scalp issues.

In A Nutshell

Creating an effective hair care regimen starts from knowing the 6 basic steps of caring for your hair first. These steps include:

• Washing with a shampoo
• Applying conditioner
• Moisturizing and sealing it in with oils
• Detangling with combs and conditioners
• Styling hair and protecting it from damage
• Spot-treating any specific hair issues

Do keep in mind that there are other possible factors you need to consider while building your hair care routine.  This includes your hair type, your preferred hairstyles and tools used to achieve them, chemical processes done to your tresses, and any specific hair problems you might have.

You don’t have to religiously follow all the steps we’ve outlined in this hair care regimen. Feel free to personalize your routine according to your hair’s unique characteristics. Tailoring your routine depending on your tresses ensures that your hair gets the proper nourishment and care it needs to grow and stay healthy.

Over to you! What does your routine look like? Drop us a line in the comments section and let us know!