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It is a well-known fact that as we age, signs of ageing start appearing not only on our skin but also on our hair as well. Your beautiful and luscious hair which was once healthy starts becoming weak and thin. Sometimes, excessive use of synthetic hair care products and styling tools can damage your hair and cause premature ageing of your strands. When you notice fine lines start appearing on the skin, you quickly indulge yourself in products which alleviate the signs of ageing. But the ageing of your hair often goes unnoticed. Improper use of hair care products is one of the major reasons for causing premature ageing of hair. Whenever you think of following a definite hair care routine, the first and foremost step involved is shampooing your hair and you will be surprised to know that most of us do not shampoo our hair properly. Shampooing your hair may sound as simple as it seems, but there are certain rules that need to be followed while washing your hair.
Here in this article, we are going to elucidate on how to shampoo your hair properly to prevent ageing of hair.
Hair
Hair is made up of a protein called keratin and the hair grows out of the scalp through the hair follicles. The hair bulb forms the base of the hair follicle. The cells divide in the hair bulb and grow to form a hair shaft. The hair bulb is fortified with blood vessels which nourish the cells, deliver hormones which are responsible for the growth and structure of your hair at different stages of life.
Hair growth cycle consists of 3 phases:
- Anagen (Growth Phase)
- Catagen (Transitional Phase)
- Telogen (Resting Phase)
The growth of hair is determined by different factors such as age, diet, genetics and your overall well being. The hair on an average grows by 6 inches in a year. The hair colour is determined by the melanin pigment which is produced in the hair follicles. With ageing, the pigment cells stop producing melanin due to which your hair turns grey.
Ageing Process
The average life span of your hair is 2 to 7 years. When the hair starts ageing it falls out and is replaced by new finer hair. Over a period of time, everyone experiences hair loss due to various reasons such as hereditary traits, endocrine disorders, hormonal changes, thyroid disorders, nutritional deficiencies and excessive use of hair styling products etc.
Due to ageing, exposure of extreme climatic conditions and excessive use of chemical hair care products, some of the hair follicles stop producing new hair altogether. The hair becomes thin and damaged due to lack of nourishment and finally, they fall out.
Providing proper nourishment, moisturization and proper use of hair care products can improve the overall texture and appearance of your hair fall and help to overcome the problem of hair fall to a certain extend. Keeping your scalp and hair clean is the first and foremost step towards maintaining healthy hair.
Also Read : Ever Heard of Anti-Ageing Your Hair? Let’s Decipher!
Maintaining Healthy Scalp And Hair
In order to have a healthy, beautiful and voluminous hair, you need to take utmost care of your hair and scalp by keeping it clean. We generally wash our hair with a shampoo to get rid of the dirt and grime from your scalp and hair. But the question is - are you using the shampoo and conditioner in the correct way? You should know the shampoo process better in order to avoid early ageing of your hair. Here, in this article, we are going to discuss how to wash your hair in the correct manner. Let us get started.
Hair Wash: Some Do’s And Don’ts
Hair wash is the most significant part of your hair care regime. It not just about cleaning your hair and scalp, but doing it in a proper way which makes a major difference. Many of us wash our hair in a hurry and think that our scalp and hair are clean. Most of us are unaware of the fact that there are some do’s and don’ts which we need to take care of while shampooing our hair, in order to have a healthy scalp, and gorgeous hair. Let us have look at the step-by-step procedure on how to wash your hair properly each time without damaging your hair/scalp.
Do’s
If you wash your hair properly by investing some time into it, you will surely notice a change in the texture and appearance of your hair. Let’s see some of do’s which you need to keep in mind while shampooing your hair.
1. Rinse Thoroughly: You should rinse your hair thoroughly before washing your hair as shampoo lathers well and spreads evenly on wet hair. You may need a lesser amount of shampoo for hair wash if your hair is wet.
2. Rinse Your Hair With Luke Warm Water: Always use lukewarm water for rinsing your hair as warm water opens up the cuticle which helps the shampoo to penetrate deeper into the shaft and remove dirt, grime from your hair easily. It also aids in the absorption of the nourishing and moisturizing properties of the conditioner.
3. Always Dilute Shampoo With Water: Never apply shampoo directly on your scalp as it can cause skin irritation, instead always dilute your shampoo with water as it helps the shampoo to evenly spread on your scalp and hair. If you apply shampoo on your scalp without diluting you may end up using too much of shampoo.
4. Cleanse Your Scalp Properly: You should cleanse your scalp properly by scrubbing your scalp with the diluted shampoo for some time and then wash off your hair. You should use a good conditioner after shampooing your hair. This the most important step after shampooing your hair, as shampoo can dry out your hair, but the conditioner restores the lost moisture back into the hair.
Follow the above-mentioned steps diligently to keep your scalp, hair clean and well moisturized.
Don’ts
Now let us have a look at some of the common mistakes that we make while washing our hair.
1. Shampooing Only The Hair: Your hair and scalp need equal care and attention so that your hair becomes healthy. So while shampooing your hair, you need to shampoo your hair as well as scalp as your scalp is also exposed to all the dirt, dust, grime and pollution. Hence while washing your hair, focus on cleaning your scalp to get rid of dirt and grime, thereby keeping your scalp healthy and clean.
2. Rinse & Repeat: It is absolutely not necessary to wash your hair twice, to get rid of dirt and grime. Instead, one wash with sufficient quantity of shampoo is enough to cleanse your scalp and hair thoroughly. Washing your hair twice can stripe the natural oil off your strands making it dry and frizzy. Unless you have oil massaged onto your scalp and you feel that your scalp is still oily/greasy, there is no need to wash your hair twice.
3. Abrasive Washing: You should lather the shampoo from the roots to the tip of your hair, using your finger and palms, but never scrub the scalp with the nails to cleanse your scalp as it can cause abrasion and cause scalp itching and infection. Your hair is more fragile when it is wet, the vigorous to and fro movement can damage your scalp thereby making your hair more susceptible to breakage.
4. Applying Conditioner On The Scalp: Most people apply conditioner on the scalp and along the lengths of hair, which should be avoided as applying conditioner on your scalp can make it greasy. It is your hair that needs moisturization and hence apply conditioner on your strands starting from the middle portion till the end of your strands. The tip of your hair is the driest, hence apply more conditioner at the tips and leave it for a longer time. Then wash off after some time.
5. Washing Off The Conditioner With Water: The final rinse after applying the conditioner should be with cold water, as it helps to close the cuticle which in turn seals the moisture back in your strands and does not allow the hair to absorb more moisture make the hair frizzy.
6. Rubbing Your Hair Dry: Rubbing your wet hair with a towel can break your hair causing dryness. Instead allow your hair to dry naturally or pat to blot dry your hair.
Also Read : How much shampoo is too much shampoo? How often should we wash our hair
These are some of the common mistakes which we make while shampooing our hair. Thus, by avoiding these few common mistakes which we generally tend to make while washing our hair, we can make the hair look more vibrant, radiant, bouncy and voluminous. The correct usage of hair care products can help to prevent hair ageing to some extent.
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