What can we do at home to help preserve the quality of our hair?
A lot of the damage to our hair occurs because our hair becomes dry during the day. It is important to make sure that the moisture levels within each hair is maintained at their optimal levels. If the hair stays too dry for too long, it will become brittle and weak. The longer the hair is, the easier it is to lose its moisture and become damaged.
We can add moisture back into our hair when we shampoo, but most of that moisture is naturally lost within the next 22 hours. For short hair style, shampooing our hair every day is not such an inconvenience and in any case the hair can’t become too damaged before the next haircut. Looking after the condition of long hair is trickier. When washed it can take hours to fully dry if dried naturally. If you use a hair dryer to dry it quicker, we are just starting the process of losing the moisture within the hair that much quicker. Not helpful at all!
Conditioners
This is where conditioners, especially deep conditioning masks, come into play. The role of a conditioner is retaining the moisture within the hair better. When we shampoo our hair, the cuticles on the hair follicle are open, which increases the surface area of the hair. More surface area means more area for moisture to leave the hair. If we can close the cuticles up, the surface area is reduced and the chances of our hair becoming knotted is also reduced.
Deep Conditioning Mask
Now to get that Salon quality conditioned feel, you need to find a Deep Conditioning Mask that is packed full nutrients, vitamins and proteins. Typically, you would leave a Deep Conditioning Mask on your hair for anywhere up to 30 minutes. It’s not unusual for people to leave them in for hours at a time! These long-lasting conditioners not only help to keep the moisture in the hair, but also provide long lasting nutrition to the inner cortex of the hair. Using a hard hitting, long lasting conditioner is even more important if you are regularly colouring your hair. While it may make your hair look great, without the proper maintenance your hair will deteriorate much quicker than normal.
While Hair Conditioning Masks can be great, they might not be the best solution for you. If your hair is very very fine, a hair conditioning mask might be too heavy. The result will be flat looking hair with the look of little volume. Not ideal at all. Stick with a regular conditioner if this applies to you for the best results.