30 Hair Mistakes You Could Be Doing

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

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

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

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 scalps 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

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

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

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

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!