Friction is the enemy
Textured hair is very delicate. You need to constantly be thinking about moments when your hair may be under excess friction or stress and try to minimize these events to help retain length.
There are many everyday moments that may seem benign, but can actually cause quite a bit of damage to your hair and over time prevent you from achieving your hair goals.
1. Sleeping on satin/silk pillowcase or with a bonnett
- It is estimated that we spend about ⅓ of our lives in bed (8 hours per day) and all the tossing and turning in bed can wreak havoc on your hair. When you hair is against a cotton pillowcase it can snag the hair and dry it out. You should try to always wear a satin or silk bonnet or can even sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase if you can’t keep the bonnet on your head at night.
2. Reduce hair rubbing against clothes
- You may not think about it, but if you have shoulder length or longer hair your hair could be rubbing against your cotton clothes and ruining your ends (the oldest and most fragile part of your hair). This is not to say you can never wear your hair down, but it may be something to keep in mind. You can wear your hair up more often to try to reduce the friction (especially during the winter where environmental conditions can impact the health of your hair).
3. Satin/silk lined hat
- If you like to wear hats, one great way to protect your hair is to purchase hats that are lined with satin/silk. More and more companies are coming out with hats that are lined with satin to protect your hair underneath. It is a worthwhile purchase if you are a hat wearer.
4. Satin/silk hair ties
- Ever wonder why you see multiple strands of hair in your hair tie. You could be using the wrong hair tie. Your hair may be snagging on the metal/plastic piece of the hair tie or the hair tie could be drying out your hair because of the material used. I would recommend that you invest in satin or silk hair ties. You will see a significant reduction in the amount of hair you lose when you switch to better quality hair ties.
5. Drying hair with a towel
- When you use a cotton towel to dry your hair this can lead to a lot of friction and damage to your hair. You can try to let your hair air dry but this can be quite messy with water running down your face. You can also invest in a microfiber towel that has less of a rough surface and can be kinder to delicate textured hair.