by Robyn Lines

Created on: November 02, 2009

1. Diet
Great 'hair foods' are coconut, dairy products, sweet fruits and leafy vegetables. Cut down on processed food. Spices which are good for your hair are cumin, turmeric and black pepper. Vitamins B, C & E, biotin and MSM are great for hair. Try taking daily capsules with the necessary vitamins and oils your hair needs. Pure EPA is the best product on the market at the moment.

2. Chemicals
Stay away from harsh chemicals. Use natural shampoo and conditioner. Avoid shampoo that contains sodium laurel/laureth sulfate. When colouring you hair try and find a less harsh dye. Also avoid processes like perming and relaxing. Never use two chemical processes, such as colouring and perming, as this will be a nightmare for your hair and turn it to straw.

3. Stress
Stress can cause long-term damage to condition and colour of hair. Get good sleep and try and stay calm and tranquil. If you feel stressed identify the cause and cure it.

4. Oil
Use hot oil treatments twice a week. You can also use coconut, almond and olive oil. If you colour your hair you may want to avoid hot oil treatments as this can fade the colour much more rapidly. Use an intensive conditioner instead.

5. Wet Hair
Never brush wet hair. Use a wide-toothed comb instead, preferably wooden. You could also comb you hair while still in the shower with conditioner in it. This is the best method to use if you have curly hair.

5. Heat
Blow-drying and heated styling can dry the hair and cause long term damage. Keep it to a minimum. When you do use heat styling make sure you use a thermal protector beforehand to prevent some of the damage.

6. Brushing
Brush your hair with a bristle brush. This is gentler on hair and helps deposit natural oils from the scalp to the ends of your hair. If you have curly hair avoid brushing it. Brush you hair as minimally as possible. If you brush it too much it can cause more damage.

7. Sleeping
Avoid sleeping wearing hair accessories, such as scrunchies and head bands as this can cause damage. If you have long hair consider braiding it as this will limit movement during sleep and prevent it from become damaged through friction. You could replace your pillowcae with a satin or silk one as these fabrics produce minimal friction.

8. Trim
Trim your hair often to avoid split ends. How often you trim depends on how badly damaged your hair is. Dry or damaged hair will need trimming more often. If you dont want to spend money on hairdresser bills you can easily trim it yourself, if you feel comfortable doing so.

9. Shampoo
Use shampoo that is pH balanced and specifically designed for your hair type. Rinse with cool water. Only shampoo once or twice a week, unless your hair is particularly oily. You do not need to shampoo the ends of your hair. Just lather up on the scalp and allow the suds to flow down the length of your hair. Shampoo twice with each wash.

10. Condition
Deep condition once every two weeks. Adding heat with a hairdryer or covering your hair in a towel or plastic wrap while conditioning will help the conditioner penetrate deeper into the hair shaft. Leave conditioner on overnight.

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