12 Common Haircare Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
While you may think that you’re doing everything right by your mane, haircare mistakes are surprisingly easy to make. Once these become a habit, you’ll be unwittingly sabotaging your strands each time you think you’re giving them the love and care that they need, and it won’t be long before you’re shocked at the damage that has developed.
To prevent this, it’s important to regularly reassess your haircare habits to ensure that you’re on the right path. If you aren’t sure where to begin, keep reading as Evalectric talks through 12 common haircare mistakes that so many people make, along with how to avoid them.
1) Washing Your Hair Too Often
There’s no arguing with how essential it is to keep your hair clean. However, when it comes to haircare, there is such a thing as too clean, and you really don’t want this for your locks!
Each time you shampoo your strands, you wash away natural moisture and protection. This naturally replenishes over time…unless you wash your hair too often and continuously interfere with this cycle.
How often should you be washing your strands? There’s no set number – it all depends on your hair type and other factors. However, with over-washing being one of the most common haircare mistakes around, avoid washing your hair unnecessarily. Save the shampoo for when your hair actually needs it. Using an argan oil shampoo, like Evalectric’s Moisturizing Shampoo, will also help to counter moisture loss while preventing the appearance of heat damage.
2) Using Hot Water When Washing Your Hair
Love spending time in a steamy hot shower? Unfortunately, if you want your mane to thrive, this is a habit that needs to stop ASAP.
Why? Hot water has a stripping effect on your hair’s natural protective layer. Similar to over-washing, it will, in the long run, cause your hair to turn dry and brittle.
To prevent this from happening, turn the temperature down when you’re in the shower. Not only will this do your hair the world of good, but it will also benefit your skin, too!
3) Failing to Adequately Protect Hair Before Heat Styling
If you regularly heat style your hair, you’re probably already aware of how important it is to use a heat protectant. These products ensure the even distribution of heat, preventing your strands from burning and harm.
However, sometimes, even those who use a heat protectant still end up with heat damage. How? Because they’ve made a mistake when applying it.
The first rule to follow is to apply your heat protectant while your hair is still damp, but not soaking wet. This allows for better penetration. Make sure that every single strand has been covered – any missed hairs will end up damaged. Sectioning your hair before applying your heat protectant can help with this. Finally, wait until your heat protectant, as well as your hair, is completely dry before you move in with your heated styling tools.
4) Applying Conditioner to Hair That’s Too Wet
A conditioner is applied in the shower after shampooing hair, meaning that your hair will, of course, be wet at this point. However, if you apply a conditioner to hair that’s over-saturated, the product will sit on top of that excess moisture and end up washed away. Very little of it will actually infiltrate your strands.
To avoid this, gently wring excess moisture out of your freshly-washed hair before applying your conditioner. Spend some time working the product into your locks to enhance absorption.
5) Aggressively Towel-Drying Hair
One of the biggest haircare mistakes that people make is when it comes to their towel-drying technique. Yes, a towel is the best way to remove excess water from wet hair, but vigorously scrubbing that towel over your mane isn’t the best way to do this.
Wet hair is extremely fragile, meaning that it should always be treated with a gentle touch. Aggressive towel-drying causes friction and damage, resulting in frizz and breakages.
The best way to towel-dry your hair? Start with a microfiber towel. They’re much smoother than terrycloth, meaning they create less friction. Rather than rubbing this on your hair, gently squeeze out excess moisture. Microfiber is extremely absorbent – it’ll soak up all of that water in no time!
6) Immediately Using the Highest Temperature When Heat Styling
There’s a misconception out there that the hotter the temperature of a heated styling tool, the better it will work. As a result, people tend to crank their styling tools up to the hottest level without really thinking about it. This, however, is one of those haircare mistakes that could be causing your mane some serious damage.
There’s a reason why many heated styling tools, like the Evalectric Classic Styler range, come with an adjustable temperature dial. Not everyone needs an extremely high temperature to style their locks. The less heat you expose your hair to, the healthier your hair will look overall. So, start with a lower temperature and gradually work your way up until you find a heat setting that’s enough to straighten or curl your strands without causing unnecessary damage.
7) Not Deep Conditioning
Another one of the big haircare mistakes that people make? Not deep conditioning. Granted, if your hair is perfectly healthy, then this might not be needed. However, for everyone else, a regular conditioner, although important, is unlikely to provide your hair with all of the moisture and nutrients it needs.
Deep conditioners are essentially intensified versions of regular conditioners. They come in many forms, from masks to oils. Find one that’s compatible with your hair type, and your mane should really start to thrive.
8) Tearing Through Tangles
Tangles are a problem for many, especially those with curly hair. No matter what you do, they’re often hard to avoid, which is why it’s important to have a good de-tangling technique. Tearing through those tangles is definitely not the way to go!
Instead, the best time to de-tangle is in the shower, after you’ve applied a conditioner. Use a detangling brush and start with the ends of your hair. Once those are tangle-free, move your brush upwards and de-tangle the next section, working your way up to the top of your head.
9) Underestimating the Impact of Sun Exposure
While sun protection is a big part of skincare, it’s often neglected when it comes to haircare. However, the sun not only breaks down the protective outer layer of each strand, after which it damages the protein within, but it also strips away natural oils, exacerbating frizz and split ends.
How can you protect your hair from the sun? Using some sort of physical barrier, such as a hat or a scarf, will go a long way in shielding your strands. Alternatively, there are now plenty of SPF haircare products out there that you could add to your routine.
10) Sleeping With Wet Hair
Were you ever told that sleeping with wet hair could cause you to catch a cold? Once people learn that this is a myth, they sometimes change their ways and start going to bed with a wet mane. However, although your health may not be at stake, sleeping with wet hair is one of those haircare mistakes that will severely damage your strands over time.
As we mentioned earlier, your hair is fragile when it’s wet. It doesn’t take much for strands to snap and break, which often happens when you toss and turn in bed at night with wet hair.
Although it may require you to adjust your hair-washing schedule, always take the time to fully dry your hair before hitting the sack. A professional-level blow dryer, like the Evalectric Pro Beauty Dryer, will help you get the job done quickly.
11) Applying Conditioner to Your Roots
We’ve already talked about a couple of haircare mistakes that involve conditioners, but here’s another: applying your conditioner to the roots of your hair.
Why is this a mistake? Conditioners are formulated with rich ingredients that, when applied to the roots of the hair, quickly cause buildup. This leaves the roots looking limp and flat. Plus, your roots don’t actually even need a conditioner – your scalp will quickly produce more oil to replace what was lost, and your roots will be the first to benefit from this.
The ends of your hair won’t be quite so lucky. It takes a while for that oil to travel down to those tips, which is why conditioners are designed for this area.
12) Forgetting to Clean Your Hairbrushes and Heated Styling Tools
In the same way that you need to regularly clean your makeup brushes and tools, your hairbrushes and heated styling tools need to be looked after as well. It’s something that many people don’t do enough, meaning that each time they use that brush or tool, they’ll be reintroducing dead cells, bacteria, product residue, and oil onto their scalp and hair. This not only leads to dull and greasy strands, but also leaves your scalp more susceptible to infection, and makes styling harder, too!
To prevent this, make cleaning your haircare and styling tools a regular part of your schedule. A quick clean every few days followed by a deeper clean every couple of weeks should suffice, although this can be adjusted depending on how often you use each tool. Either way, keep them clean, and both your hair and your scalp will thank you!
How Many of These Haircare Mistakes Have You Made Lately?
Are you guilty of making any of the above haircare mistakes? The good news is that you’ve identified those mistakes, meaning that you can now take the necessary steps to put things right so that you’re truly giving your hair the very best care.
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