Are you making your hair loss worse by trying to make it look better?

Lots of things change as we age, some changes are welcome whilst others we would probably prefer to do without. The changes to our hair, for most of us, belong to the latter category.

As we age, our hair not only loses its colour but unfortunately, it also becomes finer.  As this happens, many of us will go into styling overdrive to try to recreate the voluminous locks of our youth. We start washing more often for fluffier bounce, we use blow dryers, rollers, curling wands and more and more hairspray to make less look like more. But did you know that all this could actually be worsening the problem you’re trying to disguise?

Washing your hair

Washing your hair too frequently leads to a reduction in the sebum necessary to keep your hair healthy and hydrated. If you’re constantly washing away this natural moisturiser, your hair is likely to become dry and brittle and may break more easily. Try to cut down on washing your hair and make sure to use good quality shampoos and conditioners to nourish your hair. It’s also a good idea to wash your hair in cooler water as hot water can further damage your hair.

Heated styling products

Blow drying, hot rollers, curling wands and hair straighteners are notorious for causing hair breakage. The excessive heat used to change the shape of your hair also dries and fries it at the same time. If you must use heated styling products, load up on a good quality moisturising conditioner and use a leave in moisturiser as well. Some companies also make heat protection sprays but the jury’s still out on whether these sprays really do much to protect your hair from heat.

Hairsprays/Mousses/Gels

Loading up on styling products to get your look just right can be harmful to fine, weak hair. Whilst light use of your favourite product should be ok, going overboard can dry out and weaken your hair. Stay away from really heavily gels that cause your hair to become super sticky and opt for lighter, moisturising hair sprays and mousses. Also, avoid brushing your styling products out as you are likely to cause a lot of hair breakage that way. Instead, gently wash your products out in the shower and if you still have some tangles left over from your style, use a wide toothed comb to comb your conditioner through your hair. This will minimise the damage and breakage from trying to brush knots out of dry, brittle hair.

So what can you do to add volume to your finer hair without making it worse?

Hair volumisers and concealers like BOOSTnBLEND® are a great option as the all-natural ingredients won’t interfere with your hair’s natural cycle. Tiny cotton fibres electrostatically cling to your hair to make each hair appear thicker, without stripping out natural oils or making your hair sticky or brittle. You can also try flipping your hair forward and brushing the underside of your hair. This puffs up the layers of hair underneath creating an overall voluminous look.

As with everything in life (and even more as we age!) moderation is key. If you can’t do without any of the volumising techniques mentioned above, simply trying to cut down on how often you use them or how much, should make a difference to how much hair you have tomorrow!

Happy volumising, ladies!