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You don’t need a personal stylist to keep your hair looking amazing from day-to-day. A few simple tricks could help to keep your hair shiny and flowing. Here are just a few haircare hack worth trying.
Wash your hair with olive oil
Olive oil can work as a natural conditioner, bringing shine and softness to your hair. For best results, apply only a small amount of olive oil to the dryest areas of your hair and then cover you hair with a shower cap for 15 minutes. After this time, rinse out the olive oil with hot water. If your hair feels greasy afterwards, you may want to rinse again (this could be a sign you’re using a little too much). This hack can be particularly useful for those with very dry and dull hair.
Wash your hair with egg
Olive oil isn’t the only kitchen ingredient that you can wash your hair with – you can also wash your hair with egg. Because egg is an emulsifier, it can help get rid of dirt and grease and leave hair squeaky clean. It’s also full of proteins, helping to make hair stronger. For best results, whisk up egg whites in a bowl and then apply to the hair – after five minutes rinse out with shampoo. This should be done no more than every two weeks.
Wash your hair in cold water on humid days
Humidity causes many people to get frizzy hair. Washing your hair with hot water on a humid day could intensify the frizz. By washing your hair with cold water, your pores and follicles will contract and your hair is more likely to lie flat and look shinier. Some people wash their hair in cold water every day to help battle frizz – but this may be a step too far for some people!
Dry your hair with a microfibre towel
Regular towels aren’t ideal for drying hair. In fact, they can often cause knots and unwanted frizz. Switching to a microfibre towel could prevent this from happening – these towels have a much less rough surface, whilst still being able to absorb moisture. Try to quick light dabbing to dry your hair rather than a vigorous scrubbing motion as this will reduce hair damage.
Let your hair air dry before blow drying
Blow drying sopping wet hair can often increase the risk of heat damage. If you have the time, you’re better off letting your hair air dry for a bit. Once it’s 70% dry, you can then try blowdrying it – this could be much healthier for your hair and it could minimise frizz. You should use a cool setting when blowdrying (many hairdryers have a cool setting, but not all do).
Comb/brush your hair when wet
Contrastingly, the best time to comb and brush your hair is actually when it’s wet. When hair dries it often develops knots – combing or brushing these knots out can pull on the roots and damage your hair. When it comes to long hair (especially curly long hair), it can also be healthier to comb up from the tips to the roots. This reduces tugging, causing less damage to the roots.
Use dry shampoo to add volume
Making hair appear more voluminous isn’t easy. However, a lot of people have discovered that dry shampoo does the job quite well. You don’t want to use too much dry shampoo as it can take on the appearance of hair gel. You can make your own dry shampoo using cornstarch.
Use a silk/satin pillowcase
Want to avoid bed hair? A silk pillowcase can stop hair becoming unkempt overnight by offering a more slippery surface. This material will also absorb any sweat. Materials like satin can have a similar impact. In fact, satin can be used in the lining of a hat to also prevent hat hair such as these satin lined beanies. Satin tends to stay cool for long periods, whilst silk can warm up easily when body heat is applied.
Embrace the power of bobby pins
Bobby pins are a great tool for keeping hair in place and can be used to easily hold many hairstyles in place. The wavy side of the bobby pin should always be placed against your head as this helps it to maintain grip. As well as helping to hold up updos and ponytails, bobby pins can be used to secure the end of a braid. When skilfully done, these bobby pins can remain virtually invisible.
Stop fly-aways with a toothbrush
Fly-aways are those hairs in the hairline that have tendency to break away throughout the day and make it look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge. They can be caused by hair getting dry or from static energy from a hat. You can hold these hairs down by spraying some hairspray on a toothbrush and gently brushing these areas of hair. The small amounts of hairspray will keep these hairs in place, whilst keeping your hair looking natural on the surface.
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