Healthy hair tips: 6 hair facts you never knew

Cotton pillowcases are bad for your hair. Cotton pillowcases – no matter the thread count – can snag your strands and cause breakage. Switch to satin or silk pillowcases for healthier hair!

Never brush or comb wet hair. When hair is wet, right out of the shower, it can be all too tempting to comb what seem like freshly conditioned, silky strands. While hair feels easier to brush when wet, though, your lovely locks are actually 3-times weaker when wet than when dry! So, brush your hair before you shower and gently comb conditioner through locks with your fingers before letting hair dry completely prior to bringing brush to hair again.

Only shampoo your scalp, condition your hair. Hair commercials may lead you to believe that sudsy shampoo should lather your locks from root to ends, but not only is this a waste of shampoo, but also it’s bad for your hair. Shampoo, by design, washes away oils, which is great for cleansing your scalp but unnecessary and damaging with regard to the lengths of your hair. Conditioner, on the other hand, is designed to detangle, moisturize and, well, condition, which is great for the lengths of your hair (especially the ends) but conditioner on your scalp leads to limp locks, a greasy scalp and makes you have to wash your hair more often.

Highlights from the sun are as bad as bleach. A lot of us grew up squirting lemon in our hair with the hopes of the sun highlighting our hair “naturally.” Unfortunately, while those highlights might be natural, they’re fall from healthy. Rather, they’re the result of the sun breaking down your hair shaft. Next time you want highlights, head to a trusted colorist who can give you the same look, with much more control over the process and, ideally, without (as much) damage.

Blow-dry or iron… not both. Heat styling gets a bad wrap but it’s only bad for our hair when it goes too far – or you’re styling with more than one heated styling tool. Let hair air dry and then heat style as desired or blow-dry and go for healthier hair.

Wet your hair before taking a dip. Hitting the pool or ocean? Run your hair under tap water first! Your hair can only absorb a certain amount of water so in wetting hair with tap water first you prevent the chlorine or salt from penetrating the hair and causing