HOME HAIR CARE ROUTINE

Home hair care routine it is the most important ritual but sometimes, because of our busy life style, it is so hard to stay committed to it. In my opinion your home hair care routine is the foundation in achieving the desired hair style/hair colour/hair cut.

A consistent home hair care routine is leaving your hair hydrated and improves elasticity which makes your hair happy to absorb the correct amount of colour within hair colouring process and to resist better to mechanical stress such as hair dryer, straighteners, curlers and other tools.

A healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. The shampoos are designed to cleanse the scalp. The conditioner will embrace your hair to make it smoother and easy to combe. The hair mask will penetrate your hair inside of hair cortex(the middle layer of the hair) to nurture and strengthen it and to seal the hair cuticle in order to improve shine. Never use the conditioner at the same time with your hair mask, but I will explain later about that!

Styling products are a must for your home hair care routine as some of them will protect your hair from heat, and others will help to set and maintain the hair style you want to achieve. Lately professional hair brands developed really good formulas, very versatile so you can find in one single bottle a lot of properties such as protection from heat, leave-in treatment that helps with styling hair as well.

Importance of home hair care routine

I think if I give you a brief description of the hair structure, you will have a better understanding of why is so important to stay committed to your home hair care routine. I will make it as short as possible as I do not want to send you to sleep while reading this article.

As you can see in the picture above, your hair structure has 3 layers: Cuticle, Cortex and Medulla(can be absent at very fine or blonde hair)

Let us start with the outer layer which is the Cuticle. Ideally the cuticles of your hair should stay close at all times, but as we are all different, the hair cuticles may vary from a hair structure to another. Some people have a coarse hair, some people have a normal to fine hair and others have a very fine hair. If your hair looks vibrant and shiny without even blow drying it, means that you are “one of the chosen” 🙂 and your hair cuticles are mostly closed which make your hair feel healthy and look shiny.

But when your hair is unruly, difficult to manage, looks dull or it feels rough when you touch it, means that the porosity of your hair is higher. Porosity is when the cuticles of your hair are more or less open and that is a sign that your hair needs more attention, like weekly hair mask/treatments, hair serums, hair oils. More open the cuticles are, more hydration is lost out of your hair.

If your hair porosity is very high- the cuticles are wide open- and you want to achieve that perfect polished look with mirror effect, you have to take into consideration tools with heat input(straighteners, blow dry,) but please do not use them at more than 185 Celsius degrees maximum once a week. I do not recommend to explode your hair with heat too often, but unfortunately, nowadays is becoming more and more complicated to enjoy our naturalness which is why the hair brands developed really good thermal protection products.

The second layer of your hair is Cortex and it loves to be pampered weekly with hair mask/hair treatments. Inside of the hair cortex is the hair pigment and keratin fibre which is a fibrous protein. The strength of your hair is inside of the cortex as well as your natural colour alongside with all protein and amino acids that your hair has. Also, this middle layer is responsible with the elasticity of your hair. “BOOOM CHA-KRA-LA-KA” 🙂 Now you just made the connection that the hair colouring service will go inside of your hair cortex to take out your natural pigment or to transform it into a new colour. And that process will create an acidic environment inside of your hair, and it will sensitised your hair elasticity as your natural protein will be a little bit disturbed by the professional hair colouring service. Yes, even if the service is a professional one this does not mean that is not happening a chemical reaction inside of your hair cortex.

All magic is taking place inside of the hair cortex. All hair colour is going there as well as your weekly hair treatments such as your professional hair mask/treatments. With a complete home hair care routine, your hair will feel nurtured, replenished, with an improved elasticity. Also, your Hair Stylist will have a feel of your hair and will listen to it and if you have a good home hair care routine, your hair will be more happy to help you in achieving the result you want.

I will not describe today the third most inner layer of the hair, Medulla as it can be missed depending on your hair type but this is also part of your hair and your home hair care routine.

How to use home hair care products

Now, as you have a better understanding of your hair structure and the attribution of each hair layer, it is easier for you to create a home hair care routine. Of course your Hair Stylist will recommend you the best home hair care products that are suitable for your hair condition. “Team work makes the dream work” because you are working in team with your hair stylist in order to improve and to maintain your hair condition

Me, personally I do recommend hair care products that have as less chemically agents as possible as that will help maintaining the pH of your hair in between 4.5-5.5 as normal.

Shampoo

First step in washing your hair is to shampoo it. “How many times?” The answer is twice. “Why twice?” maybe you will ask :). First shampoo will remove sebum excess and the build up from styling products. The second shampoo will give a good cleanse to your scalp. Water your hair, apply first shampoo while giving a gentle massage to your scalp, using the tips of your fingers in circular movements. Rinse and apply the second shampoo and repeat the process then rinse again and towel dry your hair in order to apply the conditioner/hair treatment

Conditioner or Hair Mask

Second step after shampooing the hair is applying the conditioner or the hair mask

I must say that the conditioner unlike the hair mask just embraces your hair as it has larger molecules, is still hydrating your hair but is not working at the deepest level of the hair shaft. If you are on a hurry and you do not have time to use a hair mask, than apply conditioner only. The application of conditioner it has to be on the hair and not on scalp!!! Work gradually from tips towards scalp but not onto the scalp. If your hair is very dense and you feel that your hair needs more conditioner, you can apply more but if you are using a professional home hair care product you should not use a lot of it as those products are very consistent. Then it is recommended to brush your hair gently to be sure that the conditioner is even distributed. After one or two minutes the hair can be rinsed and towel dried before the application of thermal protection/hair oil/styling products

Hair mask

Hair mask is still the second step of your hair wash, because as I mentioned before is either the conditioner or hair mask.

It is very important to treat your hair using a hair mask once a week sometimes twice if your hair is coloured or bleached.

So after you rinse the shampoo off and towel dried the hair it is time to apply the hair mask on your hair only and NOT on your scalp!!! Hair mask is very consistent and unlike conditioner, it has the power to go underneath the hair cuticle inside the hair cortex to replenish the ingredients that are missing because of the hair colouring process or mechanical stress, or external factors such as environment.

After you applied the hair mask and brushed your hair gently, you can wrap your hair in a towel and hold it like that for 10 to 15 minutes. I know the manufacturers say up to 5 minutes but up to 15 minutes will give a good boost to your hair. After 10-15 minutes, you can rinse the hair mask off and towel dry your hair in order to prepare it for a blast dry/blow dry/hair styling

I know how short on time you are but your home hair care routine is also part of your self love and you will feel how smooth your hair is after the hair mask nurtured it a bit longer.

Hair Styling/Hair Drying

This is the third step, whether you style your hair or you just leave it to dry by itself. There are some options here. Say you leave your hair to dry by itself, in that case is still recommended to apply some hair oil or a styling product(on towel dried hair, after your rinsed off the conditioner/hair mask) that will help to enhance the shape of your hair if is wavy or curly.

If it is necessary to blow dry your hair and to use tools with heat input, you have to apply a thermal protection first followed by a mouse or a styling cream that is specific for the style you want to achieve. Again, please be mindful regarding the temperature used over your hair, NOT higher that 185 Celsius degrees. Why? because it weakens the hair shaft and affects it’s elasticity as is taking the protein out of your hair.

Are you asking “How many times per week should I wash my hair?” I hear you :). In my opinion twice per week is enough but if your scalp is oily, you will need a specific shampoo, preferably sulfate free, as washing too often your hair can cause more dehydration to it.

Now, to recap: when washing your hair, shampoo twice, rinse off, towel dry, apply conditioner Or hair mask, rinse off, towel dry, then apply thermal protection/hair oil/styling products

Choose your home hair care wisely

Wisely means to be sure that your shampoo is suitable for your scalp condition. Maybe you have a dry/oily/sensitive scalp. Remember the shampoo is designed for scalp and obviously the length of your hair is washed as well.

The conditioner and hair treatments has to be personalized as well according to your hair colour and hair type. If your hair is natural a hydration conditioner/mask is enough but if your hair is coloured/bleached/stressed with heat, you can choose a repairing conditioner/hair treatment that is protein based. As well as if your your hair is curly/wavy then you may go for a home hair care products that are for curly hair, or if your hair is fine you can opt for volumizing home hair care products. I am sure your hair stylist will recommend you the most suitable home hair care products.

Professional hair care products will always make a difference for your hair. They contain no/less parabens/sulfates/silicons or chemically agents that will disturb the normal pH of your hair. In my opinion if you had a professional hair colouring service you have to continue with professional products for your home hair care. That will help to mantain your Hair Stylist work until your next hair appointment. If your hair cuticles are sealed due to the home hair treatments, your hair will look healthy and the colour more vibrant.

In my opinion, home hair care routine is a good start in finding time for yourself. Imagine that while you leave the hair mask on your hair for 10 to 15 minutes, that is your “me time” and you can use it exactly how you want it. you can take some deep breaths, or you can enjoy a coffee, a glass of wine, dance in the mirror and be grateful for every single cell of your body because supports your everyday.

You can find a wide range of home hair care products that will always fit in your budget, because in the end your hair needs and deserves to be treated consistently.

I hope you will find this article useful and I am open to your questions and feedbacks but until next time

Feel beautiful and your Hair Stylist work will be complete