How To Create Your Healthy Hair Regimen

So you’ve set some hair goals for yourself this year. Most likely all of those hair goals require your hair to be healthy. And healthy hair doesn’t just happen. It takes a little bit of work, some planning, and a good hair regimen.

 
A hair regimen is basically a structured routine using hair products and techniques to care for hair. While creating a hair regimen seems easy on the surface there is a bit of prep work you’ll need to do before diving into picking out products. Mainly because it will be used as a guide for the products and techniques you should be using and to create a schedule for your regimen.

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The first thing you need to know is your hair type because different types of hair require different care. From my point of view, hair type is so much more than whether are you a type 4 or a type 2. Those are good things to know but when it comes to hair type think about things like

• Hair porosity: Do you have low, normal, or high porosity hair?
• Hair density:  How many strands do you have on your scalp. Hair density is measured as high, medium, and low.

The second thing to know is what your hair needs. This means figuring out what is the current state of your hair. Some key things to note about your hair are

• Whether it’s typically dry or oily
• Has there been any abnormal shedding
• Do you have hair breakage
• The condition of your scalp

What to include in a healthy hair regimen

Once you’ve figured out your hair type and needs it’s time to get down to finding the products that will make up your regimen. Now before you get too excited I’m not going be recommending products because what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. What I am going to do is give you the product types that make up a healthy hair regimen.

Cleanser

Since starting my hair journey I’ve become a firm believer that what you use to cleanse your hair and scalp can make or break your hair regimen.

If our scalp is dirty and full of product buildup it can cause big issues like hair shedding, hair breakage, dry hair, dry scalp, and flaky scalp just to name a few. And dirty hair is no better. So a good shampoo is a must.

Choosing a good shampoo though can be a full day's work though. Especially when there are so many types of shampoos - chelating, clarifying, moisturizing, daily use, co-washes, whew. This is one of those times when knowing your hair type and needs comes in handy.

As a starting point using a sulfate-free moisturizing shampoo, and a sulfate-free deep cleansing shampoo is a good bet. From there you can determine if you need to incorporate a clarifying shampoo that has sulfates or a co-wash for more gentle cleansing.

Conditioner

Just like in a hair regimen, we’re going to move to conditioners next. Knowing what your hair needs is key here because conditioners are one of the products that can help most with that because they help provide strength and moisture to the hair.

There are two types of conditioners that can be used at this step of a hair regimen - rinse-out conditioners and deep conditioners. They aren’t the same nor do they do the same thing which is something to keep in mind.

Incorporating a rinse-out conditioner into your hair regimen can be optional. Especially if you deep condition regularly. I’ve found that if I need a little extra oomph of moisture or protein but don’t want to use a deep conditioner a rinse-out conditioner is a great option.

The main purposes of deep conditioners are to repair dry or damaged hair and to prevent dryness or damage. So if you feel like your hair falls into one of those two buckets then a deep conditioner is for you.

How often you deep condition is really subjective. Some people do it every week, like me, while others deep condition once or twice a month. It really just depends on whether or not your hair needs more than a rinse-out conditioner can provide.

Moisturizer

To keep your hair in a good, healthy, manageable state between washes a moisturizer is necessary. When looking for a moisturizer you’ll want one that has water as the first ingredient and doesn’t include mineral oil or petroleum.

You can also spritz your hair with water to add moisture. Water is the best moisturizer out there.

Just like with deep conditioning how often you moisturize between washes depends on your hair. Some people moisturize every day in the morning and before going to bed. Others do it once a day every day or every few days.

Sealant

Once the moisturizer is applied to your hair you’ll want to seal in all of that good moisture with an oil or serum sealant. This helps your hair to stay moisturized longer.

You can use natural oils, or store-bought serums as a sealant. Your hair density can help you to determine how thick an oil or serum you should use.

Optional

If you’re not like me and like to style your hair then you’ll also want to include stylers into your hair regimen. The styler(s) you pick should be based on your hair type and how you plan to style your hair.

If you’re using heat on your hair you’ll need a heat protectant. You may want a blow-dry cream if you blow-dry your hair often. If you wear your hair curly a curl cream or gel may be the way to go.

Hair treatments are also an optional part of a hair regimen because they’re typically used to help fix hair problems. So not every head of hair needs hair treatments. And waiting till your hair regimen is a little more solidified to start doing treatments may make for a more simplified regimen.

That being said for hair that has issues such as severe dryness or breakage incorporating treatments early could be beneficial. Here are some common hair treatments that are used in hair regimens.

• Protein treatments to add strength back to weak hair. 
• Hot oil treatments for dry, dull, and/or frizzy hair.
• Pre-poo to help with detangling and moisture retention.
• Tea rinses to help lessen excessive shedding.

If you’d like to know what products I use you can find my full relaxed hair regimen here.

Check out my video about building a hair regimen for additional tips.