This post is all about the habits that damage your hair.

When it comes to hair damage, it’s not only about the well-known bad hair habits like hair dyeing, applying too much heat, or not trimming split ends. A lot of stress to your locks actually come from your daily hair care habits, most of which seem rather harmless. However, repeated daily, they do damage hair in long term, causing split ends, hair loss, bald patches, etc.

Here are top 8 bad habits that damage your hair and how to correct them.

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Habits that Damage Your Hair:

1. Using regular hair ties

Regular hair ties cause irritation and breakage to the hair. The best option is to choose silk/satin scrunchies – they are super soft to the hair and cause no breakage or damage. I’ve been using silk scrunchies for a year now and I love them. They slip so easily off the hair and never cause any tangles.

Mulberry Silk Scrunchies

2. Not protecting your hair while sleeping

Hair friction against pillow can easily damage your hair, thus it is super important to incorporate a simple hair care routine every night before going to sleep. Protecting your hair while sleeping will help minimize hair breakage, hair fall and hair entanglement significantly! Here are major mistakes that you should avoid:

Sleeping with wet hair. Hair is most vulnerable when it’s wet so it’s very important to dry your hair completely before going to sleep to prevent any hair damage.
Sleeping with your hair up in a bun or high ponytail. This causes tension on your scalp and lead to eventual hair damage. Instead, go with a classic loose braid.
Not applying serum/hair oil on the ends of your hair. Use just a little of this product on the ends; this will help prevent split ends.
Sleeping on a cotton pillowcase. If you want to upgrade your night rehimen, sleep on a silk pillowcase. Due to its smooth surface silk pillowcase causes so much less friction to the hair compared to regular cotton pillowcases. Also, silk pillowcases don’t absorb any moisture, keeping the hair smooth and shiny, without entanglement.

3. Skipping conditioner and hair mask

It is so important to use hair conditioner every time you wash your hair. Conditioner seals the hair follicles. The best conditioner I have ever used and can really recommend is Davines – Natural Tech Renewing Conditioning Treatment. It makes my hair super soft, hydrated and healthy looking.

4. Overbrushing

Overbrushing can irritate scalp and stress the hair, causing it to break and fall out. It is best to brush the hair only twice per day – in the morning and before going to sleep.

5. Not cleaning your hair brushes

Cleaning your hair brushes is as important as cleaning your makeup tools! Broken hair, dead skin cells, oils, product residue, and dust mites can easily build up on your hairbrush which then can serve as a ground for all sorts of bacteria. This increases the risk of infection which in turn can cause a dry and itchy scalp, as well as make your hair greasy quicker.

Wash your hair brushes at least every two weeks or more following these steps:

First, use a hair brush cleaning tool to remove the hair from your hairbrush.
Then clean thoroughly the brush using clarifying shampoo and a toothbrush.
Then put the brush in a bowl with water (or sink) and add some vinegar. Let it stay for 10 min and rinse thoroughly.

6. Wearing tight hairstyles

Pulling your hair back too tight causes damage to the hair follicles. For this reason avoid wearing tight hairstyles – this can cause loss of hair from the root and even bald patches. Instead wear looser styles – low ponytail, braided ponytail, fishtail ponytail, etc.

7. Malnutrition

Protein

Hair is made almost entirely of protein. For this reason, it’s important to consume enough protein every day. Protein is a nutrient essential for your body, and it cannot make this nutrient by itself. If you’re on a diet that is low in protein, your body will start “eating” protein from your hair, skin, and nails. Here are the best sources of protein from food:

eggs
nuts and seeds
fish
lower fat dairy products (milk, yogurt)
beans, peas and lentils
Tofu, soybeans and soy products.

However, I personally always feel that I don’t consume enough protein per day. For this reason I use additional vegan protein powder, and make delicious protein shakes daily using milk/soy milk, protein powder and banana.

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential for healthy hair growth and may help in preventing hair shedding and thinning. The best vitamins for hair growth include B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, biotin and iron. (2)

Here are some healthy foods that are rich in:

B vitamins: leafy greens, legumes, eggs, milk, yogurt;

Vitamin D: egg yolks, vitamin D fortified foods (orange juice, cereals, soy milk, etc.);

Zinc: legumes, seeds, nuts, dairy, eggs, whole grains;

Biotin: egg yolks, legumes, nuts and seeds, sweet potatoes, bananas, broccoli, avocados;

Vitamin E: Wheat Germ oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts;

Iron: spinach, legumes, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, broccoli, Tofu, dark chocolate, fish.

8. Not protecting your hair from UV rays

If your hair has prolonged exposure to the sun, UVA and UVB rays can damage the outside cover of the hair strand, called the cuticle. Sun damage can come in the forms of discoloration, dry and brittle strands, broken or split ends, thinning and frizziness. (1) To avoid this you can either limit exposure to the sun (UV rays strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.) or use a hair spray which protects the hair from UV rays.

Moroccanoil Protect & Prevent Spray