Hair Maintenance For a Knockout Mane

Whether your hair is a crowning glory or a daily embarrassment has everything to do with hair maintenance. If you don't take care of your hair, it will show! These hair maintenance tips will keep your locks shining and stunning all year round.

Regular Trims

Because hair grows unevenly, proper hair maintenance requires regular shaping from a skilled professional. Unless you really know what you're doing, don't cut your own hair. Do-it-yourself haircuts usually look it. They can also result in blunders that require a salon visit to fix. Save yourself the trouble and get periodic trims to refresh your style and keep your mane from looking raggedy.

Maintain Color

If you color your hair, you already know the importance of keeping the roots colored as they grow out. Dark roots with blond hair or gray roots with any color can completely ruin your look and tell the world you color your hair. Whether you color your own hair or visit a salon, be sure to color roots every 3-6 weeks, depending on how fast your hair grows. And remember to refresh the color in the rest of your hair to prevent drabness and fading.

Remove Buildup

Most of us use styling products like hairspray that can build up over time and cause hair to look dull and damaged. City smog or a few hours in a smoky club can coat hair with a sticky substance that can be difficult to remove, even with a good clarifying shampoo. Routine hair maintenance should include regular treatments to remove buildup. Mix a tablespoon of plain baking soda with a few drops of water to make a paste, add a tablespoon of shampoo, mix well and use to wash hair. All the buildup will wash out.

Keep It Clean

Hair maintenance means keeping hair clean. Oil and dust can build up and coat the hair, making it look dull, greasy and weighted down. Use a gentle shampoo if your hair is delicate, otherwise any clarifying shampoo will remove daily dust, oil and other buildup. Follow with conditioner unless your hair is very oily. In winter, conditioner will remove static electricity while in summer, a proper conditioner can reduce frizz caused by humidity.

Brush Daily

It may sound old-fashioned, but brushing your hair 100 strokes every night will help it to look its best. Flip your head upside down and gently brush from roots to ends, moving the brush after every few strokes to include all areas of the scalp. Brushing your hair in this way will increase blood circulation, stimulate the scalp and distribute oils evenly throughout the hair. Regular brushing will increase thickness, make hair shinier and help it to grow faster.

Growing It Out

Growing out a haircut, especially a short one, takes patience and a willingness to forgo the regular trims that keep it looking its best. To keep hair looking good as it grows out, keep the bangs trimmed and have your stylist trim only the tips every 3-6 months. Wear your hair up, pulled back, or in a ponytail to keep it looking neat and well groomed as it grows. Add a baseball cap or headband for variety.

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