Hair-Care Is Self-Care: Some Hair Care Tips for All Hijabi Sisters
One of the most overlooked yet important parts of a hijabi's lifestyle is hair care, but we tend to disregard it and turn our back on it until the push comes to shove and we suddenly start losing our hair or it starts getting thinner. The life of a hijabi, like every other woman, entails a lot of outdoor activities, accompanied by a lot of pollution, dust, and sweat that get stored inside our hijabs and start damaging our hair. As a result, we experience hair loss, itchy scalp, dryness, dandruff, and split ends. Remember that a hijab is not a fool-proof covering that will also protect your hair, even if it's a full head cover hijab, and as much as you would like to ignore it, your hair needs to be pampered and taken care of as any other part of your body.
To put things into perspective, here are some measures that you can incorporate in your life as part of your daily or weekly routine to improve and revive your hair and give it the attention and care that it deserves
Preliminary Steps for Taking Care of Your Hair
Before taking the first step toward improving your hair, you must recognize the needs of your hair. Do you have curly hair? or is your hair straight? The texture of your hair matters too, because hair products for dry hair will be different than those applied to oily hair. The next step is to release the tension that you put on your head on a day-to-day basis. Tying your hair too tightly builds up a lot of pressure on one side of your head and can cause headaches and recedes your hairline permanently. Try parting your hair differently each day and use bun clips to release the tension. It's always good to let your hair down or tie it in a loose style at home to help you put at ease after a long tiring day.
Baby Hair and Hijab Caps
The most frequent issue every hijabi encounters is pulling those baby hairs inside the hijab. The baby hair is hard to manage, and they keep sticking out of the hijab. Getting a hijab cap seems the only viable way to put it back, but the fabric and material of the hijab cap matter a lot when it comes to your hair. Some under caps tend to suck the moisture out of your hair, making them even more, frizzier and dry. Using a soft hijab cap such as a velvet or satin hijab cap helps to regulate the moisture in your hair and keep your head cool. You can also try pulling your ear out of the cap if the fabric of your scarf isn't sheer or revealing. Concurrently, you can use a velvet wig headband instead of a hijab under cap, which helps to hold back the hair and put your hijab in place. If the problem with baby hair still persists, you can try using hair spray on your hairline.
Hair Wash and Hair Care Products
Next comes washing your hair. It doesn't matter how often you wash your hair as long as you are not putting shampoo in it, but the frequency of using shampoo on your hair can tremendously affect your hair, depending on your hair texture. If you have dry hair and you are putting a lot of sulfates or silicon-loaded shampoo, then you are inadvertently damaging your hair, especially your scalp. For dry and frizzy hair texture, it is always recommended to put sulfate-free shampoos and hair products. Oiling and massaging is another thing that does wonders to your hair as it helps regulate the blood flow and regain the lustrous texture and shine in your hair. For people with dry and frizzy hair, it is always ideal to oil hair twice a week and a hair mask or deep conditioning treatment once a week.
Tips That Slip Through Your Mind but Still Hold Importance
One of the most important things is to let your hair breathe every once in a while. Massaging your head gently or just running your fingers through your hair will help decompress the roots, which also helps prevent hair loss. Additionally, you can replace your regular pillow covers with ones made of silk or satin and just wrap your hair in a loose bun with a scrunchie whenever you go to sleep. This will help your hair breathe during the night and let your follicles relax. Something that not a lot of people know is how much the quality of water that you use affects your hair. Hard water usually dries your hair and sucks up all the moisture, leaving you with an itchy scalp and dandruff. Using soft water for washing your hair will make your hair smooth and sleek, and the difference will be quite noticeable.
A few additional tips to help your hair tremendously include exposing your hair to sunlight. It cannot be stressed enough how much sunlight matters for the growth and nourishment of your hair as it provides vitamin D, which positively affects your hair follicles and promotes hair growth, and reduces hair loss. But too much sun exposure can also damage your skin due to UV rays; hence moderation is the key here. Also, make sure never to tie your hair, let alone wrap it in a hijab, when wet. Tying your hair when it's wet can build up a severe fungal infection and other skin diseases and also result in hair loss.