The Dirty Dozen: 12 Hair Mistakes You May Be Making
By Sally Wadyka

It’s easy to have gorgeous-looking locks when you walk out of the salon, but it’s how you care for your hair on a daily basis that really makes a difference in the long run. “Even if you have a fantastic cut and you’re skilled at styling your hair, it’s not going to look its best if you mistreat it,” says Renee Cohen, senior stylist at Serge Normant at John Frieda, New York City. Here, the most common mistakes women make when it comes to their hair care—plus expert advice on how to fix them.

1. Washing your hair every day—or more.
While we’re not advocating the greasy grunge look circa 1992, it can be good for your hair to get a break from daily washing, drying and styling. If you color your hair, skipping the shampoo on occasion will help your shade stay rich longer since the sulfates in many shampoos fade away color. And for all but the oiliest heads, daily (or even twice daily if you hit the gym) washing can strip away too much of your natural oil, leaving hair dry, brittle and more susceptible to breakage. Try every-other-day washing, and if the roots look a little greasy on day two, sprinkle on some dry shampoo or hair powder and brush it out thoroughly.

2. Not getting regular haircuts.
If you’re trying to grow your hair out of a style you no longer like (or just desperately wanting to add inches to your strands), you might be tempted to avoid your stylist’s scissors for months on end. But you’re really not doing your hair any favors. Not only will you wind up with so many split ends that you will need to lose several precious inches anyway, but your hair will quickly start to look obviously overgrown. “Your hair can look good at every stage of transition between styles or while waiting for your bangs to grow out,” says Cohen. “By continuing to get trims, your hair will look fuller and healthier, and you’ll never have that ‘I’m growing my hair out’ look.”

3. Using too much conditioner.
It makes sense that fine hair will get weighed down by excessive conditioner, but even dry, coarse hair may not need as much as you think. “If you routinely use too much, the product can build up on your hair and leave a residue that makes hair appear dull and lifeless,” says Cohen. Try using the lightest formula your hair can handle (a detangling rinse is perfect for normal to fine hair), and doing an occasional deep treatment if hair needs it. And when you apply your conditioner, skip the areas closest to the scalp and concentrate the product more toward the ends of the hair.

4. Overheating your hair.
Chances are you blow dry your hair at least once a day for several minutes. And you might even follow that up with more hot stuff—like a curling or straightening iron. So it’s no wonder that your hair looks a little fried. “You might literally be burning your hair,” says Cohen. To protect it, she recommends using a product specifically made to protect hair from heat—it will help seal up the cuticle to keep the heat from damaging the strand. And ditch any brushes that have metal paddles or bristles—they will heat up as you blow dry and can singe fragile locks.

5. Fighting your hair’s natural texture.
There’s nothing technically wrong with trying to curl your straight hair or straighten your curly hair. But just know that you’re setting yourself up for spending a lot of time and energy—and possibly frustration—to achieve your desired style. And sometimes, all that effort may be for naught. If it’s a humid day, you are much better off letting your hair remain in its natural state—because the second you walk outside, it’s going to revert back to it anyway!

6. Choosing the wrong styling products for your hair type.
Just as you select your moisturizer and makeup to suit your skin type, you need to select the right kinds of styling products in order for your hair to look its best. Loading up your fine hair with a heavy styling cream or a silicone product will leave your locks limp. And trying to style your thick, coarse, curly hair with just a spritz of spray gel won’t tame your frizz or help hold your style all day long. For best results, look for a line of products that are designed specifically for your hair type and style.

7. Thinking that more is better.
Even if you’re using the correct styling product, you can still ruin your look by using too much or too little of it. Too little just means that you won’t get the most benefit from the product (i.e., not using enough frizz-taming serum will leave you still frizzy). But too much can cause several problems. “It can actually make your hair harder to style because as the product dries in your hair it can get so stiff that it‘s hard to get the brush through,” explains Cohen. Excess product can also flake after it’s dry—making you look as if you have dandruff. Surplus silicone-based serum will leave hair limp and greasy looking. How much to use? For silicone products, Cohen recommends starting with as little as possible (just rub a drop between your palms and run over hair) and adding more if needed. For styling cream or gel, an amount the size of a quarter should do the trick. And with mousse, a handful is about right.

Thanks, BB, I enjoyed reading that.  I'm going to try a little less gel and see if it is better for my hair.

My husband told me he saw something similar to this, but couldn't remember where! Thanks BB.

2.  I'm trying to psyche myself up for a scheduled trim on Friday.  I don't really want to, can't see any visible damage but the hair that was streaked last summer is quite clearly thinner from root to tip than the undyed hair so I imagine it's more fragile and it would probably be good to keep getting quarterly or tri-anual trims until the last of the dye streaks ends are gone. 

After closely examining my hair yesterday and seeing that the only damage is that the dyed strands are thinner than the undied strands, I definitely don't want to dye my hair permanently again.  The dyed strands may be of an average diameter by other people's definition but I can see that they're roughly ½ the diameter of the undyed strands.    Well, at least it's not a perm I'm cutting my way out of.  Been there, done that, more than once.