You may have heard the old wives tale about how brushing your hair too much can make it fall out. While there's some truth to the fact that brushing too aggressively can lead to hair loss, brushing, in general, is actually quite beneficial for your hair. "Brushing your hair stimulates the scalp to pull the natural oil down the hair shaft and coat the hair with its natural oils," says Daniel Koye, New Jersey-based hair stylist. "Just like Jan in 'The Brady Bunch,' brushing your hair 100 times a day will make your hair smooth and soft, bringing your natural hair oils down the shaft." Just be careful when brushing wet hair, since it's more susceptible to damage. Consider using a brush designed to be gentle on wet hair, like the Wet Brush.
We know — it doesn't sound very relaxing to shower in cold water, but experts say that at least rinsing with cold water at the end of your shower is one way to keep it shiny and soft. "For those who color their hair, the cold water maintains the dye so it lasts longer and will keep cuticles closed and easier to manage," says Koye. For hardcore hair enthusiasts, he recommends an ice cold hair rinse (yep, with ice). For extra conditioning, you can add some of your hair treatment to the mix. "Let your hair sit in the cold water for as long as you can stand and you'll notice your locks shining like never before."
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They protect their hair from the environment
If you wear SPF daily, you're on the right track, but if you're not protecting your hair the same way you do your skin, you could be subjecting your strands to some serious damage. "UV rays can weaken hair and dull your hair color, even uncolored hair," says Danai Schulte, hairstylist and owner of Maven Beverly Hills in California. She suggests using hair products that contain UV protectants. "Additionally, you'll want to use a water filter if your tap water is filled with hard minerals (a very common problem in L.A.)." Think of how your shower fixtures look dull with mineral buildup — it's the same for your hair. "It prevents conditioner from penetrating, causing hair to dry out, and it makes hair color look brassy," she says. Schulte also prescribes her clients a clarifying shampoo or hair rinse once or twice a week to remove buildup for shinier, more pliable hair.
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They take hair supplements
Making sure your hair has all the vitamins and minerals it needs to keep growing strong and healthy is important. That's why Koye recommends that his clients pop two to three chewy hair vitamins a day, depending on the brand, to provide their body everything it needs to have healthy happy hair. Most notably, the best supplement for skin, hair and nails is biotin, a B complex vitamin. Another goodie is vitamin D, a key nutrient that aids your body's absorption of calcium, another essential nutrient. You can take individual supplements for Biotin or vitamin D or score a women's multivitamin or even a hair-specific supplement like Nutrafol that contains all the right amounts of what you need.
Advances in technology make for hot tools that are less damaging than ever before but you're still exposing hair to extreme heat, which is never a good thing. That's why it's still best to let your hair air dry as often as possible. "Excess heat, including blow dryers, dries out the cuticles, making it rigid and brittle," says Schulte. When you do use heat tools, always apply a heat protector, like Rene Furterer Lissea Thermal Protecting Smoothing Spray, to limit any heat damage and try not to go over each section more than once.
