10 Things That Could Be Damaging Your Hair! (Healthy Hair Tips Pt. 2)

Hi babes! My name is Michelle, and I’m known for having long blonde silky hair. I’ve maintained my healthy hair through 10+ years of getting bleached highlights. I want you guys to know my secrets, which is why I started this blog post series. I beleive that the rate your hair grows is genetics and what you eat. However, how healthy your hair stays, is strictly how you care for your hair.

To figure out how to get “healthy hair” we have to get to the root cause of “What causes damaged hair?” Well, in my opinion, damaged hair is just dry hair. Dry hair = breakage. Therefore moisturized hair = healthy hair.

If you missed part one, go read that first then come back, because I talk about how important it is to have moisturized hair and I give my favorite leave-in products/hair oils.  Now let’s dive into the 10 things that could be damaging your hair.

1. Coloring Hair 

This is the obvious one! Specifically bleaching my hair damages my hair. I started getting highlights in my hair when I was 14. My hair had a hard time holding curl back then. Now my hair holds curl really well, and I’ve realized it’s because I’ve been getting my hair colored for 10+ years. Yes, I made the stupid mistake of letting my roommate box dye my hair brunette once, I also got it professionally dyed brunette once, and I did bleach highlights myself with bleach from Sally’s beauty supply when I was broke in college.

Now I have learned that it is important for me to get my hair done professionally because they use bond builders & ingredients that are better for your hair than what you can get at Sally’s. I get highlights in my hair about 3-4 times per year. It’s the perfect balance between healthy/damaged hair for me. It’s important to find your balance of how often you should bleach or dye your hair.

2. Heat

This is the second obvious answer. I’m not saying that you should never style your hair with heat ever again. It might be a good idea to turn down the heat on all of your styling tools though. Try not to go over the same strand of hair twice. If you can, style your hair one day, then avoid heat the next few days. There are heat protector products that you can use to avoid heat damage. I’ve linked my favorites below.

3. Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo literally soaks up the oils in your hair. If you have really oily hair, this probably won’t damage your hair, but if you are just using dry shampoo all the time when your hair isn’t actually that oily, then it might be drying your hair out and damaging it. I’m not saying to never use dry shampoo, I’m just saying make smart choices when it comes to using dry shampoo. 

4. Hairspray

So I never use hairspray. I just hate how it makes my hair crunchy, and it weighs down my curls making my hair straight. The last time I used hairspray was probably at my high school dance performance when I used to do slick dance buns. If you have flyaway hairs that stick straight up, I would recommend using a natural hair oil or a styling cream. The worst decision I ever made was brushing through my hair after a long day of wearing a slick hairsprayed bun. My hair would break off because of the hairspray, and what I should have done is jumped in the shower and brushed my hair while I had conditioner in it. If you love hairspray, I would recommend looking for a natural chemical-free option if that exists.

5. Texture Spray

I love texture spray, and it’s breaks my heart that it dries out my hair. Texture spray makes my hair look like a sexy, beach goddess. Unlike hairspray, it doesn’t make my hair crunchy. Texture spray usually contains salt in it, and can actually have hairspray ingredients in it. There are so many variations of texture spray. Sometimes it’s an aerosol, and sometimes it’s a wet spray. Overall, it makes my hair tangly, and I have to avoid brushing through my hair after I use it.

6. Brushing Your Hair When It’s Dry or Tangled

This is one that we don’t think has long term effects, but sometimes when I brush my hair, pieces of hair break off because of the tangles/my damaged ends. If your hair gets tangled super easy like mine does, a good trick is to jump in the shower, put in conditioner, and brush out your hair with a wet brush or wide pick comb. When my hair is wet, it becomes elastic like and stretchy and won’t break off. Or I wait until I”m out of the shower, throw in a leave-in conditioner and detangler and brush out my hair after.

7. Using Products With Chemicals

So all I’ve heard is that supposably DMDM is an ingredient that can cause hair loss. That’s crazy! You can also search “hair ingredients to avoid” on the internet, and lists of harmful ingredients will pop up. A few to avoid are parabens and sulfates. I try to find clean beauty brands and sulfate free products. One clean beauty brand I love is Shea Moisture.

8. Swimming in Chlorine or Salt Water

It’s no secret that chlorine can damage your hair. Before you go swimming, get your hair wet in a shower, and use a leave in conditioner. That way when you jump in the water, your hair won’t soak up as much of the chlorine water.

Now I actually haven’t done much research on whether salt is “bad” for my hair. I think because it’s a natural mineral it probably is fine. But I can imagine that salt is very drying.

9. Using Hair Elastics

Have you ever put those tiny elastics in your hair then tried to take them out and they end up breaking and getting all tangled up in your hair? You are literally breaking your hair! Switch to scrunches or clips that are less harsh on your hair & won’t get tangled up when you take them out.

10. Blow Drying Your Hair

Blow drying my hair dries out my hair. My hair just doesn’t feel as moisturized and healthy as it does when I let my hair air dry. I think air drying my hair lets the leave-in products soak in better too. I like to let my hair air-dry at least 80%, then I use a blow dryer to dry the rest.

Healthy Hair Tips Part 3!

Click here to read healthy hair tips part 3. Be sure you subscribe to my email list so you know when the next blog post is released. Thanks for reading my blog! xx Michelle