Read Time: 4 min 14 sec
Hair health can be determined by so many different factors. We get TONS of questions about hair health from customers. Since it is such an important topic in the industry, we’ve put together a hair health test so you can feel confident that you are taking the right steps to keep your hair healthy, or restore it!
There are billions of women in the world and it's safe to say few follow the same beauty routines. Whether it's a 50 step daily routine to a once a week complete overhaul, every woman’s styling, and care tactics are different.
At TYME we want you to take charge of your timeline and implement a healthy hair regimen when its right for you! We challenge you to take on 30 days of keeping a journal of the differences you notice after you implement these KEY tips for healthy hair!
- Texture
- Strength
- Diameter
- Patterns
- Brilliancy
- Scent
Focus On Texture
This test is all about using your sense of touch! Grab a good chunk of your hair and just FEEL it. Healthy hair should feel smooth and soft to the touch. When your hair starts to feel brittle or straw-like, that is a prominent sign that your hair is damaged. Damage that causes this feeling throughout our locks tends to stem from dehydration, over-drying, UV exposure, and excessive heat damage.
Always use a thermal protectant when styling your hair and protect your locks when out in the sun! Using a thermal protectant that protects from UV exposure and heat styling is our recommendation!
Don’t confuse damaged texture with coarseness though. Coarse, textured hair is something to be praised, but healthy textured hair should still feel hydrated!
Focus On Strength
We tend to pay a great deal of attention to the ends of our hair, but how often do you test the strength of the middle to top of your strands? These sections of your hair should be able to withstand a great deal of tension - think about the effort we go through to perfect a top knot or to squeeze that ponytail around for one more loop.
Want to test the strength of your hair? Take a medium to small section and twist! If you start to see “baby hairs” popping out all over the place and not just the bottom, this breakage is a telltale sign of weak strands. Weak strands are the result of over dried and dehydrated hair.
Start your journey back to strong strands with a dusting cut! Keep in mind when blowdrying that your hair should feel cool to the touch once it is dry, and should look shiny. If it is very warm to the touch and dull, you just blowdried a little too long. Great news!! You have the opportunity to fix this every time you wash and dry your hair. Click here for more blowdry tips!
Focus On Diameter Consistency
We’re testing individual strands this time around! At different points throughout your hair (crown, nape of the neck, face frame) run your fingers from the root of an individual strand to the end. If you feel a difference, test a few more pieces to see if the difference in thickness changes consistently in each strand. This change could be the result of chemical damage.
Over processing with bleach and color can weaken your hair over time. Avoiding chemicals on the areas of your hair that feel the weakest will help stop the breakage from becoming worse, as well as micro trims!
Focus On Patterns
Even though women tend to have a more intensive hair care regimen than the average man, we can still fall victim to hair loss. Although hereditary hair loss can be hard to combat, it's important to make sure you’re taking preventative measures to ensure the longevity of your locks! Our hair pattern should be fairly even throughout the entirety of our scalp.
Pay close attention to your entire hairline. If you find that hair is starting to appear sparse around this band, try switching up your hairstyle! Repetitive styles like a high pony or bun cause excessive tension to this band and cause the hair to adapt, resulting in hair thinning or hair loss altogether.
Notice this band of hair breakage in a different spot down the strands? Do you wear your hair up in the same spot frequently? This is a key sign that your hair is breaking where the hairband is placed. Try using something like a soft scrunchie instead! Notice a random thin section of hair?
Pay close attention to that spot when you’re styling next. You may be applying too much heat to this chunk of hair! Always wait to re-curl or straighten until AFTER the initial pass of heat has cooled.
Focus On Brilliancy
We all want our hair to SHINE, but is it too coated with fillers that make our hair look like Barbie's hair? Overuse of heavy, oily products can create excessive shine throughout our locks. Whereas, the lack of conditioner can make our hair look matte and dull. The best combination of product and conditioner is unique to your hair and takes a journey to find that perfect mix, but the work is so worth it! Imagine having gorgeous shiny hair for the rest of your life after only practicing your combinations for a few weeks.
Avoid using oily products, especially before styling with heat tools. Think about what oil does on a hot pan while cooking. Over time this can cause damage to your hair, and there are other ways to add shine into your strands :)
Focus On Scent
Even the smell of our hair is an incredible sign of our hair health. Properly moisturized hair will hold onto scents for days. (Excluding bonfire, that smell lingers for days no matter what!) If you notice a change in the scent of your hair when/after applying heat, that is proof your hair is dehydrated.
Condition well and ALWAYS use a thermal protectant. Avoid over drying and over styling with heat tools!
Grab your favorite bullet journal and take note of these six different categories for four weeks while implementing these changes. Everyone’s results will be different, but its a start of a journey for life long of healthy hair. We would love to hear your results, so please share it with us on any of our platforms!
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