Often, when people shop for hair care products, their sole focus is on how that product will benefit their strands. Little attention is paid to the scalp, even though scalp health directly influences how healthy your hair itself looks and feels.

So, if you’re new to scalp health, where do you begin? Read on as Evalectric explains how to pamper your roots for hair that feels stronger, softer, and bouncier.

Use a Gentle Shampoo

It goes without saying that keeping your scalp clean is a big part of scalp health. Allowing oil, bacteria, dead cells, and more to build up on your scalp will interfere with how it functions, causing problems for the rest of your locks.

However, in the same way that using the wrong cleanser on your face can cause skin problems, using the wrong shampoo on your scalp will lead to hair problems. Ideally, you want a formula enriched with proteins and vitamins, yet one that’s not going to completely strip away the oils that naturally keep your hair conditioned and lubricated. This is something that the Evalectric Moisturizing Shampoo excels at!

Don’t Over-Wash Your Hair

Even with a gentle shampoo, washing your hair too often can lead to scalp problems, affecting overall scalp health. Sadly, it’s a mistake that’s commonly made. Many often fall into a habit of washing their hair every X number of days, even if their hair doesn’t actually need to be washed.

Doing this will, in the long run, strip your scalp dry. This can cause a variety of problems. In some cases, the dryness causes dehydration and flaking while others experience an increase in oil production, meaning greasier strands as a result.

So, how often should you be washing your hair?

Ideally, wait for as long as possible in between washes. If your scalp is already oily, this may mean washing it every other day instead of every day. However, if your hair is dry or damaged, try not to wash it more than once or twice a week. 

Take a Shampoo Break By Co-Washing

Another way to cleanse your scalp without turning to the surfactants used in a shampoo is by co-washing. This involves using a conditioner to wash your hair instead of a shampoo.

Since many shampoos have a drying effect on the scalp, co-washing every once in a while will give your scalp a break. As you can imagine, this downtime helps it to feel rebalanced, which is key to good scalp health. Start co-washing regularly and you’ll also notice that your strands feel smoother and stronger.

When co-washing, go with a conditioner that’s lightweight, hydrating, and packed with antioxidants. The Moisturizing Conditioner from Evalectric would be a great choice. Infused with argan oil, it will do your scalp and your strands the world of good!

Invest in a Water Filter For Your Shower

While we’re on the topic of washing your hair, let’s quickly talk about the water that you use to do so. In some parts of the world, the water is treated with minerals, including calcium and magnesium.

How does this affect scalp health? Those minerals can sometimes clog follicles, resulting in scalp irritation. They can interfere with your scalp’s sebum balance too while also potentially reacting with some of the ingredients in your hair care products. 

Installing a water filter in your shower can help to prevent all of this. The filter will catch any minerals and metals before they’re released onto your head, saving your scalp from coming into contact with them.

Protect Your Scalp From the Sun

You’re probably already aware of how dangerous the sun’s UV rays can be for your skin. Hopefully, you’re taking measures to prevent sun damage, such as keeping your skin covered with SPF. However, what about the skin on your scalp?

Sure, your hair provides some level of protection. However, your scalp where you part your hair will likely be exposed to the sun, as will other parts of your scalp if your hair is thinning or has been tied up/back in certain ways. The hairline can also be a problem area.

What can you do about this? While SPF products for the scalp and hair are available, simply keeping your scalp hidden under a hat or a scarf will do the job just as well. Look for a hat/scarf that comes with a UPF rating. This will show that it’s capable of blocking UV rays from passing through the material.

Don’t Leave Your Hair Wet For Too Long

While there’s no denying that there are some benefits to allowing your hair to air dry, leaving it wet for an extended period of time could end up harming your scalp health. Whether this is because you tied your wet hair up because you were in a hurry to leave the house or you’ve left a deep conditioner in your strands for a few hours too long, moisture provides the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

What makes this problem worse is that many bacteria, including the strains that interfere with scalp health, thrive in a neutral pH, meaning that of water. Allow water to linger on your scalp for too long and you could be battling some unwanted bacteria.

With that said, after washing your hair, there’s nothing wrong with allowing your locks to air dry for a while. However, once they’re about 80% dry, reach for a blow dryer and finish the job yourself. Ideally, pick a blow dryer with a powerful motor, such as the Evalectric Pro Beauty Dryer. This way, you’ll be able to dry your hair in a shorter amount of time, saving it from being exposed to heat for too long.

Be Smart When Heat Styling

There’s no getting away from the fact that using heated styling tools is always going to be more damaging than not using them. However, it’s also understandable that you may sometimes want to rock pin-straight tresses or voluminous curls for a change! This is why it’s important to be smart when heat styling – so that you can achieve your goal without hurting scalp health.

The first step lies in finding the right heated styling tools. Sure, tools that promise extreme temperatures may seem appealing but the more heat you use, the faster you’ll dehydrate your scalp. Instead, pick tools that allow you to be in control of how much heat is emitted, just like the Crazy Pink Classic Styler from Evalectric. This way, you can dial down the temperature to a heat that’s high enough to style your hair but low enough to minimize the appearance of scalp damage.

Take a closer look at our Classic Styler range and you’ll notice that these flat irons come with negative ion and far infrared technologies. These features help to encourage moisture retention, keeping your scalp and your strands feeling healthy.

It goes without saying that if you heat style regularly, make sure that you take plenty of rest days in between. Even if you’re smart about heat styling, your scalp will really benefit from going heat-free a few days a week!

Regularly Exfoliate Your Scalp

Every dermatologist will tell you that exfoliation is crucial for maintaining skin health, and this includes the skin on the scalp.

How do you exfoliate your scalp?

The easiest way is with a scalp scrub. These are just like face scrubs but are designed specifically for the skin on the scalp. All you’ll need to do is massage some of the scrub onto your scalp the next time you’re washing your hair.

The act of massaging your scalp will provide other benefits too. The boost in circulation that it will give you will do wonders for scalp health!

Avoid Oiling Your Scalp

Oiling the scalp is a common practice in many cultures. It’s believed to hydrate and moisturize the scalp, benefiting the hair in turn.

However, recent research suggests that oiling the scalp could actually be detrimental to scalp health. There’s a fungus that relies on oil to thrive and multiply, after which it causes dandruff, dermatitis, and other problems. Oiling your scalp gives this fungus the perfect environment to flourish.

With that said, there’s nothing wrong with oiling your scalp before you’re about to shampoo it. Pre-wash oil treatments can be great and since they’re going to be washed away soon, there won’t be enough time for fungus to grow in it. However, avoid applying oil to your scalp after you’ve washed your hair. This may feel like a difficult habit to break but you could find that your scalp feels so much healthier as a result.

Eat a Scalp-Friendly Diet

Of course, caring for your scalp from the outside is only one part of the equation. For optimum scalp health, you need to ensure that you’re giving your scalp what it needs from within too.

This means turning your attention to your diet. A fresh and balanced diet is always going to be the best way forward but there are certain foods out there that are known for being particularly beneficial to the scalp and the hair, such as:

• Eggs – packed with protein, biotin, and other scalp-loving nutrients
• Berries – loaded with antioxidants to prevent the appearance of free radical damage
• Spinach – a great source of vitamins and iron
• Oily fish – salmon, herring, and mackerel contain omega fatty acids that keep the hair and scalp feeling strong and resilient
• Nuts and seeds – brimming with vitamin E and minerals
• Fresh fruits and vegetables – full of vitamins that will leave your hair feeling stronger
• Beans – another great protein source that also offers up other important nutrients

Summary

Ask any expert and they’ll tell you that the secret to a healthy mane is a healthy scalp. This makes it so important to have an understanding of how to go about caring for your scalp so that you can give it all it needs. From using the right products and techniques to knowing how to feed your scalp from within, keep our guidelines in mind and your scalp, as well as your hair, will soon be feeling healthier and more energized than ever before!

Click here to treat your scalp and your hair to more exquisite bestsellers from Evalectric.