Hair Goals Defined: 5 Hair Care Tips You Can't Ignore

1. Antiseptic

Antiseptic is generally used to kill germs and prevent infections. There are many antiseptic shampoos that help reduce odor-causing bacteria, remove excess oils, and help control dandruff and other skin irritations.

Some antiseptics may dry out the hair, but there are a few good brands that actually have a good hydrator mix and will keep your scalp clean.

2. Porosity

Porosity is how well your hair is able to absorb and hold moisture. Hair can have a low porosity or high porosity.

Hair with low porosity can be compared to a sponge will small holes, which means the sponge cannot retain much moisture, and if the sponge becomes too saturated, the excess moisture will rest on top of the sponge instead of being absorbed.

High porosity is the opposite; it can be compared to a sponge with large holes. The sponge can absorb large amounts of moisture, but if the sponge is flipped over, all of that moisture will fall out. This explains how high porosity hair can lose moisture just as quickly as it absorbs it.

If your hair is low porosity, use lightweight products to moisturize and condition. Pay close attention to build-up on the scalp and hair. If you have high porosity hair, use a heavy moisturizer and lock in that moisture with natural oils.

3. Moisture - Protein Balance

To create moisture-protein balance, you need a strengthening agent (conditioner) that contains protein and will restore, repair, and strengthen the hair. For the moisturizing agent, use a hydrating shampoo.

If you desire lots of body, use a volumizing shampoo, then follow up with 50% of a strengthening conditioner and 50% of a moisturizing conditioner. If one conditioner is heavier than the other, apply the lightweight conditioner first and the heavyweight conditioner second. This will help to trap in the moisture.

A great way to test the performance of your conditioner is to make sure it is penetrating your hair strand. When your conditioner is not penetrating the hair strand build-up occurs.

4. Length Retention

Length retention is all about doing what it takes to maintain the health of your hair and retain length. It's often confused with hair growth in the sense that many women feel that their hair isn't growing when the actual issue is that it's not retaining length due to breakage. Healthy hair maintenance includes trimming split ends/breakage often and keeping your hair moisturized.

To evaluate your hair's condition, ask yourself  these questions:

1. Has my hair been shedding?

2. Is my hair easy to detangle?

3. How often have I trimmed my hair?

4. Do products penetrate my hair, or do they just sit on top of my hair? 

A great way to retain length is to put your hair/ends away in a protective style, such as braids or twists. Also, keep in mind that color-treated hair does not retain as much length as non-color-treated hair, so make sure you have an excellent regimen in place before coloring those strands.

5. Hair Density

Hair density refers to the number of hair strands on your head. A high hair density means you have more strands. A low hair density means you have fewer strands. If you're wondering if there's any way to increase your hair density, the answer is no because you can't increase the number of hair follicles you have.

What you can do is keep your hair healthy by using a regimen that works. If you do this, you can create voluminous styles that appear to be high-density hairstyles. Remember that hair care is not all about long hair, it's about growing and maintaining healthy hair. Healthy hair comes first, long hair comes second.

We hope these tips gave you a boost in your hair care journeys. Apply the tips you think will best suit your regimen and evaluate how your hair responds. If you're looking for a quick and cost-efficient way to find products for your hair, purchase your hair analysis kit to get the exact brands that will work best!