We’ve all heard it before: to get the smoothest, shiniest, and most beautiful hair, all you have to do is to brush your hair 100 times a day.
Now, while we do believe that brushing your hair regularly has a lot of benefits, we can’t help but admit that brushing your hair 100 times a day does sound like overkill.
On today’s ZALA Mythbusters, we’ll explore if brushing your hair 100 times a day is really as beneficial as they say.
According to the myths
The myth originated from the pre-20th-century eras when shampoos and other artificial products weren’t very popular yet. During those times, women would just wash their hair once a week or every fortnight, thus making their hair more prone to dirt and build-up from all the products they used. Even back then, women were already fond of using naturally-made oils and powders for their hair. With their infrequent bathing and love of products, it was easy to see how their hair could get very dirty, very fast.
To combat this, they invented the practice of brushing hair 100 times a day with a boar-bristle brush. Doing so literally brushed away all the dirt from their hair and scalp, preventing many hair problems that we encounter today. Aside from that, it helped distribute their scalp’s natural oils on their strands, stimulate their roots, and combat the development of frizz. Boar-bristle brushes are also naturally much gentler than other types of hair brushes, which make them the best brush type for those who like brushing their hair often.
Benefits of brushing hair often
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Brushing hair has many benefits. Although it’s not that obvious, you shouldn’t overlook the things that it can do for your hair’s overall condition. This includes the following :
Improves blood circulation. Stimulating the scalp helps improve your blood flow which, in turn, provides extra oxygen and nutrients for your hair. This nourishes your hair roots and promotes healthy hair growth.
Distributes natural oils. Natural oils are normally found on your scalp, which is why some people may have oily roots but dry ends. If you’ve got dry hair, it only becomes more important that you brush your hair often so as to distribute the oils to the shafts and ends of your strands.
Removes dead skin cells. Dead skin cells can also build up on your scalp, which can clog your hair follicles and hinder the growth of new hair. By brushing your hair thoroughly, you’re removing this source of the clog.
Activates sebaceous glands. Our sebaceous glands are the reason why there are natural oils on our scalp. It’s important to activate these glands to make your scalp well-nourished and healthy.
Fights frizz. Frizz is, most of the time, caused by extreme dryness. When you moisturize your hair’s shafts and ends, you’ll be able to prevent or at least reduce the chance of frizz.
Can we do this in modern society?
If you’re someone who doesn’t wash your hair often, hates heavy shampoos, and has rather thick strands, yes, you could try it. But if you have thin hair, washes your hair often, and likes using dollops and dollops of shampoo on your hair, it’s better to find another hair care trick that actually works for you. That’s because washing your hair often, using a large amount of shampoo, and having thin hair means that your hair is probably already weak, to begin with. Brushing it 100 times a day could just be too much for your poor strands.
Just because it’s a tradition passed on from generation to generation, but it doesn’t mean that it’s entirely true. One, it’s only applicable for those who don’t brush their hair frequently, and two, it only really helps if you use a much gentler boar-bristle brush on your tresses.
For more hair care tips and tricks, don’t forget to check out our ZALA blog now!
We’ve been talking so much recently about various hair procedures, it must seem like we don’t care much about natural hair. On the contrary, we actually do. Here at ZALA, we’re all about promoting all kinds of healthy hair types, no matter what they may be.
When you think of the term, “natural hair,” what do you think of first? Is it the condition of your hair? What about the length, maybe? Does natural hair mean you’ve never used any dye, regardless if it’s permanent or semi-permanent? If you go from a natural brunette to a striking cobalt blue, does that mean you no longer have natural hair? Straight, curly, fizz, feathered, styled, treated, dry, soft, textured – do you think of these as natural hair?
In this article, we’ve included 4 reasons why we love natural hair!
1. Natural hair is smooth and silky
Don’t you love it when you’re styling your hair and it feels so silky smooth between your fingers, with the subtle scent of natural oils from all your healthy hair products?
It goes without saying that natural is better for a number of reasons. See, the alternative to natural hair is undergoing various procedures to change your locks. These procedures can be rather expensive and may even have non-eco friendly compounds that can damage our hair follicles. On the other hand, natural hair is, well, natural. It should be appreciated and well looked after.
2. Chemicals from hair procedures can be harmful to the environment
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We may love our bi-annual Brazilian blowout treatment or our regular bleach, but let’s face it: the environment isn’t so thrilled about these procedures.
Every hair procedure, no matter how simple it may seem, makes use of chemicals that could be harmful to the environment. It’s not sustainable in the long run to keep using chemicals like that because they have major ramifications to our planet and in turn, us. Keeping our hair natural helps reduce this problem, in one way or another.
2. There’s no one type of natural hair
Natural hair is unique, that much is true. Whatever the length, colour, style, or texture of your hair is, there’s no way that it has an exact replica somewhere else in the strand. Every individual strand of hair on your hand is unique – there is nothing else in the world that is like it.
We encourage everybody to live a life that is true to who they are, so why should we not let individuals be unique with their looks? If you have naturally ginger hair with rich copper tones or maybe dark chocolate brunette hair that you are so happy to say is natural, then you should be very proud. If you haven’t realized it yet, a lot of people would go through various procedures just to get somebody else’s natural beauty.
3. Natural hair makes you, you
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Just like your hair itself, you are also unique. Even if you have a twin, there’s literally nobody else in this world that is exactly like you. Your natural hair is a part of your persona. Owning it and claiming it your own can even give you the confidence to go out and live life to the fullest. When your hair is at its most natural and beautiful state, that’s when you can shine most with the brightness of your own star.
Celebrate your natural hair! For more tips and tricks on how to take care of your locks, check out our ZALA blognow!
Have you ever considered that you might need hair sunscreen in your life? For most of us, we already know how important it is to wear sunscreen when we’re out in the sun to protect us from harmful UV radiation.
Unfortunately, many of us haven’t considered that we also need hair sunscreen to protect our hair as well. Hair sunscreen is all about protecting the condition of your hair – even when exposed under the sun. Here are a few reasons why you should take the time to seriously consider why you need hair sunscreen to protect your hair from the sun’s damaging UV rays.
1. The sun can damage your hair color
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Being out in the sun can change the color of your hair whether it’s your natural color or you’ve color treated your hair. The strong UV rays you’re exposed to during your time in the sun damages your hair with the same level of radiation as it does your skin. Exposing your hair to the sun will lift the color from your hair and make it lighter.
The molecules haven’t been chemically altered in natural hair so they won’t have as much pigment lifted from them. However, if you have colored hair and you want to keep it looking glossy, hair sunscreen will protect your hair and keep it from becoming dull.
2. UV rays can damage your hair’s structure
Your hair cuticle keeps moisture sealed in your hair. When you expose your hair to the sun without protection, it opens this cuticle and releases the moisture in your hair. This causes your hair to become frizzy and dry. Dry hair can cause lots of problems, including breakages and damages that you’ll certainly want to avoid.
By breaking down the proteins in your hair, you end up with brittle hair that forms split ends and breaks easily. If you want to prevent the sun from drying out your hair, you’ll need hair sunscreen to keep this moisture in throughout the summer.
3. Hair sunscreen protects your hair the right way
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You might be wondering why you need a different product to protect your hair from sunlight. You’ve probably guessed that putting regular sunscreen in our hair to protect our scalp wouldn’t work out. You’d leave your hair full of the greasy, white, barely absorbable skin protectant, making it impossible to style.
You need hair sunscreen because unlike other hair products, it’s made with hair-friendly ingredients. One example is essential oils, which won’t weigh your hair down. These oils also provide the correct amount of SPF protection, perfect for our hair. Of course, sunscreen that we wear on our skin tend to have a high concentration of SPF.
It’s pretty hard to argue that the sun doesn’t make your hair dryer and lighter during the sunny months because we’ve all witnessed how fragile it becomes by the time fall rolls around. Hair sunscreen will do the important job of protecting your color and help you keep the moisture and bounce you’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
As long as you remember to select the right SPF for your gorgeous locks, you’ll soon see the benefits in realizing why you need hair sunscreen in your own life.
For more hair tips and tricks, don’t forget to check out the ZALA blog!
How many times do you wash your hair per day? For many people, they consider it hygienic to wash their hair as much as they can. However, based on experts’ recommendations, washing your hair too many times could actually lead to several problems.
Uh-oh, didn’t know that? Here are 30 other hair mistakes you could be doing without even realizing it!
1. Thinking your hair doesn’t need much maintenance
This is one of the worst hair mistakes that you can ever commit in your life. Once you begin to adopt this kind of thinking, you’ll soon stop taking care of your hair as much as you take care of the other parts of your body. And obviously, neglecting your hair just because you think it doesn’t need much maintenance is bound to cause you a lot of troubles later down the road.
2. Brushing your hair wrong
Is it really possible to brush your hair wrong? Contrary to popular belief, there actually is. Brushing your hair wrong could mean one of two things. One, you’re literally brushing your hair wrong. Two, it could be using the wrong brush, which could cause damage to your hair as well.
3. Wearing your hair in a tight ponytail
Tight ponytails are both beautifully simple and awfully sexy, but unfortunately, they’re not too good for your hair. Tight hairstyles, such as ponytails, can cause your hair to tug at the hair follicles, which can eventually lead to hair loss in the future. Try to loosen up a bit!
4. Cutting your own bangs
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We know how tempting it is to style your own hair, but you should know that cutting your own hair, even if it’s just bangs, is something that should be left to the experts. You’ve probably heard horror stories before, right?
5. Using dry shampoo too much
Dry shampoo is a heaven-sent hair product that has saved us all at one point, but did you know that using dry shampoo too many times is also a big hair mistake? While dry shampoo can remove the grease from your hair, it cannot actually clean all the dirt that has already piled up. If you use dry shampoo too many days in a row, it could clog your hair follicles and lead to eventual hair loss.
6. Ironing every day
Using heat tools often is not at all recommended, even more so if it’s every day. If you’re used to ironing your hair on a daily basis, try to lessen it to just a couple of times per week. If you can, it’s much better to avoid it entirely.
7. Conditioning your hair roots
We all know that conditioners are a must in everyone’s hair care regimen, however, there is such a thing as conditioning improperly. Such as conditioning your hair roots, for example. Why is that? Simply put, your hair usually already has sufficient oils at the roots, since that’s where your scalp develops sebum. If you use conditioner on your roots, you’ll risk getting flat or greasy hair once it dries.
8. Not trimming your hair enough
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Even if you may love your long hair, you do have to do regular trimming every 6-12 weeks as part of your hair maintenance. Over time, problems such as split ends and breakages could arise if you don’t trim your hair enough.
9. Using hot water when you shower
Hot water burns your hair. Period. One way to check if your the water is too hot for your hair: if it’s too hot for your hands, you better not use it on your strands.
10. Brushing hair too often
Brushing your hair is good, but too much can actually cause unnecessary friction.This friction can damage your hair and cause some breakages which you obviously wouldn’t want.
11. Using the wrong shampoo
Yes, there is such a thing as using the wrong shampoo. Have you ever noticed the different varieties when you stroll down supermarket aisles? There are shampoos for dry hair, for oily hair, for colored hair, so on and so forth. Make sure you pick one that’s most suitable for your hair type. After all, some shampoo formulations are just better for specific types of hair.
12. Forgetting to use hair sunscreen
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We’re used to putting sunscreen on our skin, why not on our hair? UV rays can actually damage your strands and strip them off of all moisture, so make sure you’re always protected by hair sunscreen when going out.
13. Drying your hair with a towel
What do you use to dry your hair? If you’re like most people, you probably use a towel as well, or something similar. Sure, it may dry your hair much faster, but it’s actually not good for your hair. Regardless of how soft you think your towel is, its texture is still too coarse for your hair. Rough textures like towels can actually cause damage or even lead to frizziness in the future.
14. Ignoring your scalp
Don’t ignore your scalp when you’re washing or brushing your hair! Try this next time while you’ree in the shower. Just massage your scalp gently with your fingers before rinsing off the product and you’ll feel oh so relaxed!
15. Sleeping too few hours
If you lack sleep, your hair also suffers along with your body. You need beauty rest if you want to feel rejuvenated when you wake up since it’s during sleep when your body repairs everything. That includes your hair too.
16. Not using hair masks
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Hair masks are absolutely necessary for keeping your hair well-nourished and hydrated all the time. Even if you may not have any time for them, try to squeeze hair masks into your schedule at least once or twice a week.
17. Letting your hair go dirty
Waiting too long between showers is one of the biggest hair mistakes that you’ll ever make. You should never let dirt and oil pile up too much on your hair, since that will cause lots of issues like dandruff, overly-greasy hair, and even frizzy strands.
18. Blow-drying right after your shower
We’ve already established that towel-drying is not good for your hair, but did you know that blow-drying, at least when your hair is still wet, is also not good? Your hair is at its weakest when it’s wet, which means it’s most vulnerable at this state. Remember, a blowdryer is still a heat tool.
19. Ironing on the lowest setting
Now you already know that heat is not good for your hair, so maybe you’re now inspired to use only the lowest setting when ironing your hair. Don’t. Using heat that is too low may not get you the results that you want, which means you’ll repeat the process again. That’s way too stressful for your hair.
20. Cleansing your hair just once
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It’s always good to cleanse your hair at least twice every time you shampoo, since cleaning your hair just once might not have removed all the dirt.
21. Coloring too often
Coloring can dry out your hair, whether or not you made use of bleach. Try to limit your coloring or highlighting to just once or twice a month, and make sure to follow up with lots of deep conditioning hair masks.
22. Exposing your hair to chlorine
Chlorine is a very harmful chemical for your hair, which is why you should try your best to avoid it at all costs. If you like swimming, you could just wear a swimming cap at the pool.
23. Not using a heat-shield before using hot tools
Do you use any products before using hot tools? If not, then you’re committing one of the most major hair mistakes right now. Heat is your hair’s greatest enemy so you should always make sure that it’s well-protected before using heat styling tools. There’s a reason why heat-shields or heat-protectants were invented, you know.
24. Mixing hairspray and hot irons
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You should never iron your hair while you have hairspray on. Hairspray strips moisture off of your hair, so doing that is one of the biggest hair mistakes ever. So when you apply a heat styling tool to it, you’re basically guaranteeing the damage that your hair will receive.
25. Blow-drying on the hottest setting
Like we’ve already said above, heat is your hair’s greatest enemy. Make sure that when you’re using heat styling tools, don’t select the hottest setting to lessen the strain on your hair.
26. Getting stressed too often
Stress has plenty of bad effects on your body, especially on your hair. Did you know that getting too stressed, too often can actually make you more prone to dandruff?
27. Overhydrating your hair
While it’s bad to not use hair masks, it’s just as bad to overhydrate your hair. One of the big hair mistakes you can do is overhydrating your hair. It can lead to greasy hair, which obviously doesn’t look nice.
28. Eating unhealthy food
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Foods that are high in carbs and sugars can cause a buildup of glycogen in your scalp. Yeast thrives on glycogen, which means that you’ll become more likely to develop dandruff.
29. Keeping your hair too long
Even if you trim often, keeping your hair way too long is still rather problematic, as it makes your hair more prone to breakages and other issues. You might have to tie it in a tight hairstyle if it gets in your way, for example. If you don’t, it could get damaged due to your environment or other external forces.
30. Not maintaining a hair care routine
Last but definitely not least, don’t make the mistake of not maintaining a hair care routine. Regardless of your hair type, you should always follow some kind of regimen to make sure that your hair is in tip-top shape at all times!
Are you doing any of these 30 hair mistakes? For more hair tips and tricks, don’t forget to check out our ZALA blog now!
Have you ever experienced dealing with itchy flakes called dandruff? Annoying, isn’t it? Worse, they look absolutely embarrassing, especially if you’re wearing dark clothing and the flakes end up falling on your shoulders and back. Yikes!
In this article, we’ve listed down a couple of helpful tips on how to prevent dandruff.
1. Use only suitable hair products for you
Not all hair products are suitable for every hair type. There are some products that will be suitable for you, and some that are not. Sadly, these are all a matter of trial-and-error. It’s pretty hard to cross out specific products from the list unless you actually get to try them, which means you’ll have to suffer some bouts of dandruff here and there.
However, if you’re especially sensitive to getting dandruff due to hair products, make sure to remember the ingredients in the specific products that cause you issues. You don’t have to memorize every single item on the ingredients list, just the first couple ones as those are the most active ingredients in the product.
Are you someone who thinks that dandruff is mainly seen on ‘dirty’ people? Sadly, it’s actually true. Poor hygiene is one of the most common and most rampant causes of dandruff breakouts. If you wait too long before showering, your scalp can build up a lot of unnecessary dirt like extra sebum and dead skin cells, which causes visible flakes. This is especially worse for those people who are already experiencing either extremely greasy scalp or extremely dry scalp, as dandruff could result from both situations.
If you’re a Caucasian or Asian suffering from an itchy scalp caused by flakes, the best method to prevent dandruff for the future is to just shampoo your hair every time you shower and use dandruff shampoo at least twice a week. African-Americans, on the other hand, can get away with washing just once a week with dandruff shampoo.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “You are what you eat?” Sadly, for people who greatly enjoy eating foods that are high in carbohydrates and sugars, their eating habits are not doing them any favor. High-carb and high-sugar foods can greatly alleviate dandruff symptoms as these foods can cause an increased buildup of glycogen in our scalp. Dandruff is mainly yeast, and yeast feeds on that glycogen. So more high-carb foods, more chances of getting dandruff.
If you’re really serious about wanting to prevent dandruff, you better start chucking those chocolate bars and ice creams tubs in the trash bin now. Better yet, replace them with healthy foods that promote good hair growth, such as foods rich in Vitamin E and B-vitamins.
Stress is also another common cause of dandruff. When you’re stressed, especially if it’s all the time, your body’s immune system tends to suffer. In its weakened state, more viruses, bacteria, and illnesses can find their way into your body. These can wreak havoc on an otherwise healthy human being. And one of the microbes that could cause dandruff is called Malassezia globosa. Stress helps provide the ideal conditions for this microbe to thrive on your scalp.
So while stress doesn’t exactly cause dandruff, it can aggravate problems and even make those already prone to dandruff break out even more. If you want to prevent dandruff, you better avoid getting stressed as well!
