How to Make Your Hair Healthy and Shiny

Treat your hair right to keep it healthy and shiny.

If you want your hair to look its best, keep it healthy and shiny. Strong hair starts from the inside, with a diet packed with vitamins and nutrients. Pamper your hair and protect it from heat damage to maintain the healthiness and shine.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Wash your hair in warm water, and rinse with cool or cold to promote shine. Use a good quality shampoo and conditioner. You don't need to spend a fortune, but go for natural products when you can, and make sure you use a formula that is right for your hair type and scalp condition.

2. Don't wash every day unless you're highly active or work in a dirty job. Washing your hair every two to three days is plenty, and keeps you from stripping out the oils and nutrients that keep your hair and scalp healthy.

3. Avoid brushes, as they can pull and damage hair. Choose a wide tooth comb or pick, especially if you have curls. Make sure whatever you use has rounded ends, never use anything that has hard metal or sharp ends to avoid scalp damage.

4. Skip blow dryers, curling irons, flat irons and other heat styling tools. They can dry and damage your hair. If necessary, use curlers, cool dryers and other heat-free or low-heat tools.

5. Avoid chemical treatments. Perms, straightening and coloring can all seriously damage your hair. Occasional trips to a good salon for a perm or color can be fine, but frequent chemical treatments are likely to do long term damage to your hair or scalp.

6. Massage mayonnaise into your hair from the root all the way down to the ends if you need a deep conditioning treatment. Keep it off your scalp and let it set 5 to 7 minutes, and then shampoo and condition as usual. This natural treatment adds a lot of shine and moisture to dry hair.

References

• WebMD: Top 10 Foods for Healthy Hair
• MSNBC.com: Secrets to Strong, Shiny, Healthy Hair