Hair is important because it makes us feel confident and creative. We can do so much with it and whenever we walk out of a barber or a salon, we have an extra spring in our step like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever or Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. So, to prevent you from having bad hair days and the subsequent fear of leaving your house, here are things you should not do if you want to maintain beautiful and gorgeous hair.
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00:00We all know the feeling of a great hair day, but did you know you might be ruining your
00:05chances of nailing your look with the exact methods you use to achieve it?
00:09From mixing brands to bringing the heat, here are the ways we're destroying our hair.
00:14While you likely love a good professional scalp massage, it's not something you should
00:18DIY at home.
00:20Everyone in favor of winning?
00:23Dove celebrity stylist Cynthia Alvarez explained why, telling Glamour,
00:27Wet hair is weak and more prone to breaking.
00:30Stroke your scalp from forehead to nape, on the sides, and along the hairline rather than
00:35rubbing aggressively.
00:37This also goes for oily hair, since your scalp will overproduce oil if scrubbed too hard.
00:42Swear off the vicious cycle and leave scalp massages to the experts.
00:47It's easy to rationalize splurging on a top-of-the-line shampoo, especially if you plan to make up
00:52the difference by buying a super cheap off-brand conditioner to use with it.
00:57They've gone wild.
00:58The girls have gone wild."
01:00But Good Housekeeping's beauty lab director, Binyur Arul, says,
01:04"...shampoos and conditioners are developed and tested for efficacy in pairs, which allows
01:08their manufacturers to optimize ingredients for their individual functions."
01:12This is like my dream and my nightmare all at one time."
01:15She claims that mixing brands might actually make them less effective.
01:19The best bet is to buy your shampoo and conditioner in branded pairs.
01:23"...excuse me miss, your hair is completely naked."
01:27"...it better be."
01:28Whether you wash your hair three or six times per week, there's really no one-size-fits-all
01:33number when it comes to this subject.
01:35But celebrity hairstylist Tanya Lee told Insider,
01:38"...paying attention to the little signs your hair is giving you can help you come up with
01:42the best washing schedule."
01:44If your color fades quickly, even when you're using product made specifically for processed
01:48hair, you could be washing too often.
01:51Same deal if your hair is frizzy, feels dry, or is splitting on the ends.
01:55Lee advises,
01:56"...a total lack of moisture from stripping oils can also cause a dry, flaky scalp.
02:01And as your scalp dries out, so does your hair."
02:04But even if you've cut back on how often you wash, there's a right and a wrong way to suds
02:09up.
02:10Pantene celebrity stylist Danilo Dixon told Good Housekeeping that in order to get good
02:14coverage with your shampoo, squeeze it into your palms, then use your fingers to work
02:19it from your scalp to the ends.
02:21And don't forget to rinse.
02:23"...I don't want to be critical, but this is very chewy."
02:26"...Cool.
02:27You're eating a hand towel."
02:29When you step out of the shower with drenched hair, it's second nature to grab a towel and
02:33wrap it tightly around your head.
02:35But celeb hairstylist Monet Everett told HuffPost that towel-drying is actually one of the worst
02:40things you can do to your hair.
02:42Even just squeezing your hair with a terrycloth towel is bad news.
02:46Everett says,
02:47"...this can worsen split ends and cause small craters along the hair shaft, weakening the
02:51hair."
02:52Instead, Everett recommends switching out your cotton towel for a microfiber towel or
02:56even a t-shirt to gently blot and squeeze your hair dry.
03:00You definitely don't want to scorch your strands, but it turns out there's a way to safely heat-style
03:05your hair, according to experts.
03:07Before you hit the blow dryer, celeb hairstylist Charles Baker Strahan told Today,
03:12Put a few drops of oil on wet hair to protect from damage while taming frizz and flyaways.
03:17But the most important step is making sure your hair tools aren't piping hot, no matter
03:22whether your hair is damp or totally dry.
03:25While thicker hair requires higher temps, no one should be using 400 degrees of heat
03:29or more, according to celebrity stylist Jameika Wilson.
03:33She told Today,
03:34"...while you think this gets your hair straight and smooth, you are actually damaging the
03:38hair."
03:39Aw, man, guys!
03:42If you don't brush your hair before you hop in the shower, you're not alone.
03:45However, celeb hairstylist Nunzio Saviano told Shape that shampooing only creates more
03:51knots, so give your hair a brush before you wash, especially if your hair tangles easily.
03:56But don't just brush straight from your roots to your ends.
03:59Instead, detangle your hair by brushing near the ends to start, and then moving up your
04:04head a little at a time.
04:06But this doesn't mean you should forget about your roots.
04:09Stylist Nick Penna told the mag,
04:10"...brushing your roots is crucial for stimulating the scalp and redistributing natural oils
04:15that help condition the hair and keep it healthy."
04:17With these tips, sounds like every day can be a great hair day.