Fatal Mistakes In Hair Care

Trichologists and stylists - about why you shouldn't comb too often and how to use hair oils correctly.

Combing too often

Trichologist Elena Yarutkina does not support the common habit of combing every two hours: “Only as needed. According to statistics, women can brush up to 1000 times a month, when more than 5,000 such movements lead to hair damage."

It is also important to use a high-quality comb - not suitable for metal, wood or cheap plastic

Remember that wet hair is more easily damaged than dry hair - water can disrupt protein structure, affecting the electrostatic interaction of protein chains. Tangling and damage to the ends with wet combing of straight hair is stronger than with dry hair and vice versa in the case of curly strands.

Use shampoos with aggressive surfactants

Frequent use of shampoos with too active surfactants can lead to leaching of the lipid film, which leads to the destruction of the first cortex layer of the hair, and then the inner one. “There is such a statement: oily scalp can be cleaned only with deep cleansing agents with aggressive surfactants and alkalis. Such shampoos cannot be used regularly, because the structure of the hair can be disturbed! Use care for normal hair, and deal with oily scalp separately, together with a trichologist (there is a relationship with your diet and hormonal background),”explains dermatologist and trichologist Elena Dobrogorskaya.

Set a high temperature while drying your hair

This is the most common cause of split ends. The woman does not use thermal protection and famously sets the temperature of the hair dryer above 190 ° C to speed up the process. Moreover, she starts drying immediately after she got out of the shower (you should wait at least five minutes for the hair to dry). Elena Yarutkina explains what happens next: “Hot air evaporates moisture from the space between the fibers inside the hair. Protein degradation begins at temperatures above 190 ° C, which is associated with the rupture of cystine disulfide bonds, and intense exposure to this temperature can even lead to the destruction of keratin.

Wash your hair with hard water

Good tap water in our “latitudes” is a rare guest. Due to the high content of iron, calcium, magnesium and chlorine, the hair becomes unmanageable - coarse, losing shine and elasticity. The founder of the natural care brand Vita Liasota advises installing a filter (not only hair, but also skin suffers from hard water). Also, lemon juice, chamomile decoction and boiling can help to cope with excess minerals in water.

Choose your own anti-dandruff shampoos

Using an anti-dandruff shampoo is part of a comprehensive treatment. You need to understand whether your seborrhea is oily or dry. Both shampoos and basic therapy will be different in both cases. Therefore, only specialists can give general recommendations on the composition of medicinal preparations (and shampoo is one of them). It is better to go for a consultation with a trichologist, exclude simple carbohydrates from the diet, and pass a scraping.

Use natural oils as leave-in treatments

Stylist Alex Nagorskiy advises using special cosmetic oils for hair care. The molecules in natural oils are too large to penetrate. The hair may appear softer and shinier for the first few hours, but this is just a thin film that has no benefit. All cosmetic oils are hydrolysates, they have been specially prepared in order to penetrate into the hair.

Use homemade masks

Whatever your mothers and grandmothers advise you, think twice. If harmless kefir does not bring significant harm, then mustard can dry out the scalp. Trichologist Olga Gurkina highlights several obvious taboos: “Anything that can disturb the balance of the lipid barrier, dry out the dermis, making it vulnerable to bacterial agents, is prohibited to apply: mustard, red pepper, alcoholic tinctures. Homemade masks can be dangerous and it is best to consult a specialist before using them."

Apply multiple products at the same time

Shampoo, conditioner, oil, mask, leave-in spray against split ends, heat protection - a combination of these products will harm your hair, making it dry and thin at the ends. When washing and drying, use no more than three products - if you apply oil, skip the spray.

Using conditioners and hair masks incorrectly

Masks and conditioners for the tip and root zone should be different. The composition of products intended for scalp care should not contain a large amount of oils and silicones - they create a film that disrupts metabolic processes. But in those that are applied along the length, olive, coconut, almond, sea buckthorn oils are ideal ingredients for care (especially in the off-season).