The Secrets To Beautiful Hair

We all know someone with beautiful hair that always looks so healthy, shiny, and full of body don’t we. Now, usually, they are blessed with very good genes, but they do take extra good care of it to keep it looking so good.

In this post I’m going to share with you the things that women with great hair do every day.

Silk Pillowcases for Healthy Hair

Traditional pillowcases made of cotton are porous and absorb the moisture from your hair. Hairdressers worldwide recommend sleeping on silk if you want beautiful hair. Every time you toss and turn in your sleep, your hair gets intertwined with the fibers of cotton pillowcases. You don’t have that issue with silk pillowcases because silk is a friction-free material, so your hair will glide over the pillowcase, meaning less damage. If you have frizzy hair like me, silk pillowcases will really help. They fight the frizz by helping your hair retain that moisture. As well as the hair benefits, silk pillowcases just look so luxurious. When you switch to silk, the first thing you may notice is you don’t wake up looking like you’ve been electrocuted.

Eating the Right Foods for Hair Health

One of the things women with great hair do every day is eat the right foods. What we eat plays a huge role in our hair health. Proper nutrition is one of the most important factors in making our hair grow and look its best. According to a dietitian, these are the 15 top foods to include in your diet for really healthy hair:

Salmon: a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and proteins that can help reduce inflammation.
Eggs: full of protein and essential nutrients to help hair health.
Peanuts and peanut butter: a great source of biotin known to stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss.
Spinach: full of magnesium, iron, and folate.
Sardines: for omega-3 and vitamin D.
Chia seeds: a great vegan or vegetarian source of omega-3s, which help achieve beautiful, luscious locks.
Pumpkin: loaded with iron and beta-carotene, vitamin C, and E.
Avocado: contains biotin and vitamin E, both great for the hair.
Grapes: contain OPC that stimulates hair follicles.
Buckwheat: can amp up fiber, zinc, iron, and B vitamins in the diet to help healthy hair.
Flax seeds: great for the scalp and can prevent dryness.
Sweet potato: full of beta-carotene that turns into vitamin A and can protect against dry and dull hair.
Chickpeas, lentils, beans, and peas (pulses): full of folic acids, one of the B complex vitamins to help keep hair healthy and renew cells for hair growth.
Asparagus
Unsweetened plain Greek yogurt.

I counted 11 on the list that I regularly eat and have in my diet. I’d be interested to know how many you eat regularly, so do let me know in the comments box below.

Avoiding Heat Styling Products

Those ladies with beautiful hair avoid heat styling products as much as possible. Extreme heat really damages the hair, zapping the moisture from it and making the colour fade quicker. Switch to something like the Zuvi Halo hair dryer that dries with light rather than extreme heat. This fabulous little hair dryer has great reviews in Elle, Glamour, The Times, and Vogue, all singing its praises. It works by drying the water on the surface of the hair, leaving the inside hydrated and healthy. Think of it like air drying your hair on a walk outside, but at a much faster rate.

Washing Hair with Warm Water

You may already know this, but you shouldn’t wash your hair in water that’s too hot because it can blast out the volume and leave it looking a little limp and lifeless. So, every day or whenever you wash your hair, keep the water warm but not too hot. The warm temperature will still allow you to work up a lather with your shampoo and stay hot enough to rinse the suds clean. If you can bear it, finish with cool water, which will remove the excess product without stripping away the moisturizing ingredients and still give a lovely shine.

Protecting Hair from the Sun

Women with gorgeous hair always protect their hair from the sun, either with a hat, a scarf, or some kind of heat-protective spray with SPF.

The easiest and quickest way to protect your hair from the sun is by putting on a hat or a scarf, but surprisingly, not all hats are rated with a UPF. However, any hat or scarf is better than nothing.

Through the years, scarves were really popular, and I think they look so glamorous. I wish this style would come back again, as it’s a great way to protect the hair and look chic at the same time. If hats or scarves aren’t your thing, try some protective hair care, which will help protect the hair from sun exposure to prevent damage and dryness.

Sticking to the Same Shampoo and Conditioner

I’ve got a friend with the most amazing hair, which I’m very envious of. She’s used the same brand of shampoo and conditioner for years because it suits her hair, so why swap? Apparently, it’s a myth that if we stick with the same brand for too long, our hair will become immune to it. That’s meant to be rubbish. Hair can’t become immune to a certain hair product. A change in your hair condition is more likely due to something else, like the weather, diet, health, or medication, rather than the product itself.

Taking Care of Your Scalp

Many of us take the health of our scalp for granted and don’t give the skin on our heads much consideration, but the health of our hair is determined by the health of our scalp. There are many scalp serums, gel masks, and exfoliators these days, as well as specialized treatments that have become popular. Scalp brushing and combing can really help your scalp health as well. And, of course, there’s a scalp massage, which research has shown gives hair a natural growth boost. Plus, it feels fabulous.

Taking Supplements for Hair Health

Ask any woman with fabulous hair her hair secrets, and she’ll probably tell you she takes some kind of supplement to keep it in tip-top condition. Good Housekeeping did a test with 150 people over three months in 2020. Here are the top five:

I’ve not tried any of these, so I can’t comment, but I do take some supplements: biotin, B12, and collagen by Purolabs.

Personally, I think they’re helping with my hair growth, but it could be lots of different things. I’d be interested to know if any of you take any of those on the list and how they’re working for you, so let me know in the comments box below.

Treating Hair Gently

Those ladies with glorious heads of hair treat their hair very gently to avoid damage. Philip Kingsley once said:

“Imagine what would happen if you brushed your wool sweater 50 times a day. It would fray and wear out, and the same goes for your hair.”

Pulling a brush roughly through your hair from top to bottom can cause breakage, scratch your scalp, and worsen tangles. So, go easy on your hair.

Getting Regular Trims

A lady with great-looking hair is usually quite good friends with her hairdresser, getting regular trims every six to eight weeks to keep it looking good and prevent split ends. It won’t make it grow any faster, but it promotes healthy hair growth and looks much better for it.

Perfecting the Hair Washing Routine

Women with gorgeous hair have their hair washing routine down to perfection. It’s not a quick wet-the-hair, shampoo, lather, rinse, and go routine. It’s far more meticulous. Beautiful hair takes a lot of looking after.

A little goes a long way. Using too much shampoo and conditioner can make your hair look limp and lifeless. It’s not a one-size-fits-all answer to how much to use because it depends on your hair texture and density. Fine hair needs about a nickel-size amount of shampoo, coarser thicker hair needs about two quarters amount of shampoo, and if you’re somewhere in the middle, a quarter-size should do it. But it’s always going to vary depending on your hair type.

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