Using a hair shampoo and a hair dryer in the proper way can do much to enhance the appearance of your hair and avoid damage. Read over this list of key tips and suggestions for great results and great looking hair! How To Use A Hair Dryer Do you use a hair dryer regularly or even on a daily basis? Be sure to observe the following precautions and avoid doing damage to your hair that can take weeks to repair. 1. Don't hold the hair dryer in one position for more than some seconds. Rotate or circulate the hair dryer over your hair. (Be sure you choose a hair dryer with a decent length cord to allow you to do this.) Alternatively, keep moving your hair instead of the hair dryer. 2. Don't hold the nozzle too close to the scalp to avoid burning or damaging the skin. Don't use a hair dryer that is less than 1500 watts. Hair dryers with lower wattage take too long to dry the hair thus increasing the risk of damage. 3. Don't blow dry wet hair. Wet hair is fragile. Be sure you blot or dab your hair dry with a towel first. Alternatively, wrap your hair in the towel for at least 5 minutes. Don't begin blow drying with a brush. Instead, use your fingers initially to get most of the moisture out of the hair before using a styling brush. 4. Don't blow dry un-treated, un-protected hair. Use a heat-defense styling product or leave-in conditioner that gives a protective coating to the hair and avoids heat damage. 5. Don't relegate your hair dryer attachments to a box at the bottom of the cupboard. Get to know the attachments and how to use them. E.g., use the nozzle to concentrate air to the specific areas of your hair that need extra curl or life. Use the diffuser attachment to spread the air over a large area. 6. Choosing the correct shampoo and conditioner can have a big effect on your final result. Select a shampoo and conditioner specifically for your hair type, whether it is dry or oily, thick or fine, or colored. Divide your hair into sections when applying styling aids. Use your fingers or a comb to be sure all the strands receive even distribution of the styling product. 7. Practice keeping your elbows at shoulder level and use your wrists and lower arm to move the hair dryer and hold the brush. This will alleviate aching arms once you master this technique. Extra tip: Don't wrap the tip of your hair round the brush. Begin from the half way mark slowly and gently turning the brush so the hair naturally wraps around. Starting at the tip will only produce fuzzy or frizzy ends. Finishing tip: When your hair is completely dry, angle your head forward and let the hair hang as you blast it with the hair dryer on the cold setting. The cold air will seal the style and help avoid static. Note: Ionic and Tourmaline hair dryers are now available which promise better results. As they produce negatively charged ions they dry the hair faster thus reducing drying time and potential heat damage. Also, they leave hair shiny, smooth, and sleek. How To Use Hair Shampoo How often should you shampoo your hair? It all depends on the individual and the environment in which you live. The essential aim of everyone of course should be clean healthy hair. Whether you need to shampoo daily or not will depend on whether you live in an urban environment where your hair is likely to pick up dirt and grime more quickly. It can also depend on the season of the year. Many find they need to shampoo more many times in hotter weather than in cooler or colder seasons. That aside, the steps outlined below will help you avoid unnecessarily subjecting your hair to harsh treatment or even damage when using shampoo and at the same time get great results. Be sure to choose a shampoo that is suited to your hair type, whether it be oily, dry, or chemically treated. Step 1 Either go through your hair with a wide-tooth comb to loosen dirt and dead skin or gently massage the scalp for a couple of minutes which will do the same job. Combing also has the advantage of making sure your hair is not tangled before you wash it. Wet hair is fragile and trying to de-tangle wet hair can cause damage. Step 2 Thoroughly wet the hair with WARM water, avoid high temperatures. Step 3 After putting a dollop of shampoo on the palm of one hand and then dividing it into the palm of the other hand (simply rub hands together), gently distribute the shampoo over your hair as evenly as possible, preferably using a stroking action. (See Appendix regarding quantity) Step 4 Rinse the hair with generous quantities of warm water. Step 5 Rinse your hair again with generous quantities of warm water. (Generally one time is not enough. It takes a lot of water to thoroughly rinse away the shampoo. Remember, shampoo residue left in the hair can contribute to dull looking hair.) Step 6 Use a towel and dab your hair, (don't rub), to remove excess water. Step 7 Put a dollop of conditioner into the palm of your hand, divide it into the palm of the other hand and evenly distribute over the surface of the hair. Generally this light application will be enough to treat the hair. Generally it doesn't increase the effectiveness of the conditioner to leave it on for extended periods. Conditioner generally works immediately it comes in contact with the hair and hair cuticles. Step 8 Rinse the conditioner away thoroughly with WARM water. Step 9 Dab or pat your hair with a towel to remove excess moisture. Don't rub as wet hair is fragile and liable to be damaged with rough handling. Wrapping the towel around the head for a few minutes can be effective in getting rid of the moisture. How much shampoo should you use? If you wash your hair every day one application of shampoo, a dollop roughly 1 inch in diameter, should be enough. If you wash your hair after two or three days, you may need to repeat the application. The pH factor Some hair shampoos are advertised to give your hair more bounce or body. In some cases these shampoos are alkaline based which can give the impression of added bounce when in actual fact they can make the hair stiff and brittle. Good quality hair shampoos that really add volume to your hair should have an acid balance between pH 4.5 and pH 5.5.
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