Hair care

Hair loss prevention and treatment is a multi billion dollar industry.
Majority of the people in particular those below the age of 35 who suffer from hair loss symptoms in one way or another are generally willing to pay thousands of dollars to seek cure for their hair loss problems. There is no universal cure for hair loss. Described below are some basic hair care practices that are important to help reduce early hair loss problems.


General
A healthy lifestyle will mean healthier hair for you. Excessive stress, smoking, not exercising and not eating nutritiously are not healthy for your hair.

Hair Products (Gel, mouse, hair spray...)
Avoid and if not possible try to reduce the frequency of using hair styling products with alcohol that dries out hair. Do take note that most hair tonic contains small amount of alcohol.
Avoid putting hair styling products directly on your scalp; if you put it on your scalp you'll clog the pores on your head. The same goes for hair conditioner that is supposedly to be applied to the end tips of the hair. Do not apply hair conditioner directly on your scalp. Do not use hair conditioner if you have oily scalp.

Swimming
Before entering a pool, wet your hair so your hair will soak up the initial water instead of the chlorinated water.
When swimming wear a cap to protect your hair from chlorinated water, if you choose not to wear a cap make sure you shampoo and condition your hair right after you are done swimming.

Drying
Hot air can be damaging to your hair so when using a hair dryer use the cool setting.
Don't leave the blow dryer in one spot for more than a few seconds, keep it moving and at a good distance away from your hair.
To speed up the drying process, pat your hair dry with a towel and let the remaining moisture in your hair dry naturally. Block dries your hair with a towel gently, do not rub your hair against the towel while it is wet cause wet hair is brittle and can break easily when rub against the towel.
Gently use your fingers or a pick to untangle any knots while your hair is drying.

Shampooing and Conditioning
Buy shampoos & conditioners that match your hair type, trial and error is the best way to find out what specific hair product is best for your hair.

Combing/Brushing
Use a brush whose bristles are made from natural animal hairs, it is softer and more flexible that means less damage will be done to your hair.
Hair is most fragile when it is wet so avoid brushing or combing when it's wet, or else it will cause breakage, wait until your hair is almost completely dry before brushing it.
Use brushes/combs with widely spaced bristles/teeth and smooth tips. Sharp toothcombs can damage your hair, cause split ends, and scratch your scalp.

Shampooing
It is important to wash your hair, shampooing removes dirt, dead skin cells, hair oils, any hair products you may put into your hair.
When shampooing, rinse your hair out with mild warm water first before applying any shampoo to remove any dust, dirt, and any other foreign items, then apply the shampoo onto your scalp and massage it gently with your fingertips and work your way outwards. After you are done make sure that you thoroughly rinse out your hair to remove any shampoo residue that may be left.
Shampoo residue may dry your scalp/hair and or attract dirt. It is recommended that you only lather once to avoid drying your hair out, if you have oily hair, lathering again may stimulate your oil glands to create even more oil than normal.
You should wash your hair as often as you feel necessary to keep it clean, but a general rule is for oily hair you should wash it every day or every other day and for dry hair only wash it 2-3 times a week.
Try rotating the shampoo and conditioner periodically, your hair responds differently to different products.
Use a conditioner after shampooing if you have dry scalp, it'll moisturize your hair, give it extra protection, add shine, reduce static, and makes it easier to untangle.
Use a leave in conditioner, it'll hydrate and protect your hair. A leave in conditioner on your hair is the equivalent of moisturizer on your face.
When conditioning your hair, try to spread conditioner evenly through out your hair and leave it in for a couple of minutes before rinsing out your hair.
Put the conditioner in at about an inch away from the scalp, the roots of your hair contain the most oils and usually don't need the extra conditioning.
Be gentle when shampooing and conditioning, don't use excessive force rubbing your hair, remember hair is most vulnerable when wet.

Diet & food intake
Add iron and minerals in the natural form in your diet.
If your hair is oily, cut down on fried food and fat. Drink plenty of water.
Cut down on carbonated cold drinks and drink plenty of water instead. Most drink and food contains preservative and coloring that are not only not good for our hair but also bad for our health in general.

Hair bends
Never use a rubber band on your hair as it can pull and damage hair considerably.
Add iron and minerals in the natural form in your diet.
If you color your hair, limit coloring it to once ever 2 months. Hair coloring damages your hair and the less frequently you color it the better.