Hi everyone, today I am here with a mood to ramble about beauty routines – particularly hair regime. There are rules in beauty routines and even thought a lot of people say that the rules are meant to be broken, I believe some beauty rules ought to be followed. Or at least know them to break them.
Not knowing them can be bad for you. I feel that ignorance and half-knowledge are dangerous. So here the top 5 hair mistakes that I had been making for many years and recently corected.
When I was growing up, I was quite interested in makeup and beauty. There were far too few items available in the market and the brands were also limited. As far as I remember, there were no malls and we only had Revlon, Lakme and Oriflame. And these were drugstore brands, there was no The Body Shop, Garnier, Neutrogens, Vichy or anything. I had never heard of any of the high end brands I love now – Chanel, Dior, YSL, MAC etc. Because of limited availability of beauty related knowledge, I did what I thought was good for me at the time. And it is astonishing that a lot of people still do these things.

1. Hair Conditioner on Roots?

I started using hair conditioner to “take care of my hair” when I first heard about Garnier Fructis. No one had ever used a conditioner amongst my friends so I felt fancy! Of course it was around 3-4 years of making this mistake biweekly, I came to know conditioner only goes to the ends and not the roots! I was a teenager with no knowledge so I do not find it embarrassing but it did affect my hair badly.
Tip: A couple of years ago I read in a magazine that if you have product built up in your hair (if you use too many finishing products and sprays), using a conditioner before shampoo can help remove it. Condition your hair again after shampooing!

2. Shampoo on ends?

This is something I heard on Youtube (can’t remember where sorry!) but I have seen a significant difference immediately.
So the thing is that I used to shampoo they show in the advertisements. I would lather shampoo on my scalp and then also slowly roll the ends towards the scalp so that the hair gets shampoo-ed from root to the ends.
But the tip I picked up was that lather up in the scalp area and gently massage but let the ends be washed only when you are washing out the shampoo. As in – just let the water containing shampoo from your root wash your ends on its way down!
Tip: If you have dry hair, do not apply shampoo to the scalp directly. Mix it with water in a small mug and then pour it on the top of your head. This makes the harsh chemicals of the shampoo mellow down before touching your scalp. And it is easy to lather shampoo this way!

3. Perfumed hair!

This is something that I do not believe many people do but I have been stupid enough to this for special occasions (at least 8-9 times a year). This also leads to drying of hair but when I was doing this, I was not in the habit of learning the basics of beauty. I just thought – I need my hair to smell good and what do I do to smell good, apply perfume, so I will apply perfume to my hair!
Perfumes contain alcohol (many hair sprays do too) to help evaporate the moisture and not leave dampness behind but this can dry out hair even more. So if you want to have hair that smells good – apply hair mists.
Tip: Spray the perfume or mist on your palms and gently clap your hands to let the alcohol to evaporate and then run your fingers through your hair! It will add a hint of scent to your hair without drying!

4. Tight braids and ponytails.

I have always had wavy hair so I do not like to leave it open very often, I prefer a simple but trendy hairstyle. I am too lazy to spend too much time so I end up doing different types of braids and ponytails. And I loved tight ones to keep all my hair in one place. I hated messy hairstyles. Even at home, I used to tie my hair in a tight normal braid or bun on the top of my head. I used to find a lot of hair strands wrapped around my hair tie. I changed recently and do not tie my hair that tight anymore. In fact, now I get a headache if I keep my hair tied tight for long.
Tight hairstyles if done regularly can lead to hair breakage, hair fall and irritated scalp. Be gentle to your hair!
Tip: Do not tie your hair in super tight ponytails and buns at least at home especially when sleeping.

5. Skipping hair treatments (at-home or otherwise) or being too busy!

We love to pretend to be busy, we boast about our tight schedules and take pride in not having time to eat. This may not be your story but that is how I used to think. I thought it made me look important. Foolish me!
I colored my hair once but never bothered to buy shampoos for colored hair. I didn’t even do hair masks regularly. And I had no time for massaging oil in my hair before washing. It all lead to dry frizzy hair and also lead to premature graying of hair (result of bad diet).
I cannot go back in time and change my past, my gray hair stayed and no matter how much I try to hide it, it shows. No amount Henna saved my hair. I have not colored my hair in 11 years now and the grays are sporuting all over. And I am not even 30!
Tip: Apply hair masks regularly. And if your hair is super frizzy or dry (or both), replace your hair conditioner with hair masks (for a month) for a more heavy-duty nourishment.

***

I now massage my hair and wash it regularly. I use best hair care products I can use, I apply curd or lemon juice or a mixture of warm olive and coconut oil to my hair – I believe I have a good hair care routine now. I never style my hair or blow dry (except for very special occasions – not more than twice a year). The gray hair may never turn black but I see the texture of my hair improving and that is sufficient.
Please do not color your hair without learning how to take care of it properly and use the best products in the market! Building good haircare routine will reward you with beautiful hair throughout your life.
I hope you learn from my mistakes and not face the problems I faced in taking care of your hair. I made these mistakes because there were no blogs or YouTube to guide me. I now know better and make better decisions about my beauty and hair routine! I hope you will too. What are your hair mistakes and your haircare routine?