I’m not going to suggest not dying your hair so don’t you worry. It may be the easiest way to have healthy hair, but sometimes you just want to dye your hair. I’ve dyed my hair more times than I remember. I think playing around with hair color is such a fun and easy way to express yourself. Recently I got into dying my hair fun colors. I started with a vibrant purple, then went lavender gray, and now I have galaxy hair. Throughout this I was very concerned with damaging my hair because I hadn’t bleached it much before. My hair is still very healthy and I will share with you all the tricks I use to keep it this way.

1) Don’t wash your hair

Okay I’m not saying don’t wash it at all, but push your washes as far apart as possible. I only wash my hair 1-2 times per week. That is not to say that I only shower once a week. I shower daily and use a shower cap when I’m not washing my hair. My hair doesn’t get that oily very quickly, but if it does I use dry shampoo to make it appear clean. If I don’t want to use dry shampoo I will braid my hair or wear it up in a style that looks better with dirty hair. In order to only wash your hair once a week you need to train your hair not to get oily. If you are someone who washes their hair everyday just start by washing it every other day. After awhile your hair won’t need as many washes. Continue this process until you are washing 1-2 times per week. It makes a huge difference to the health of your hair. The oils your scalp produces are healthy for you hair and the scalp will get dry if you over wash it.

2) Coconut oil

Like I said before, oil is really good for your hair. My hairdresser suggested that I start putting coconut oil on the ends of my hair and letting it sit for ten to twenty minutes before washing. This provides moisture and also creates a barrier between the shampoo and your hair. This is good since you don’t strip your hair when washing. Another great way to use coconut oil is as a hair mask. If you put it on and leave it all night and then wash your hair the next morning you will have baby soft hair. You can also use coconut oil to tame frizz. I like putting oil through the ends of my hair in order to reduce the frizziness.

3) Wash hair with cold water

I know. It sucks. But it is better for your hair and skin to wash with cold water. This is extremely useful when you have colored hair. Your color won’t fade as much if you wash with cold water rather than hot water. What I tend to do is start my shower hot and then slowly reduce the temperature until I get comfortable with it and then I will wash my hair.

4) Let your conditioner soak in your hair

When I shower I shampoo my hair first and then apply the conditioner. After that I brush through my hair and tie it up, but still leaving in the conditioner. Only then do I wash my body and shave if necessary. Once I’m done with everything else I take my hair down and wash out the conditioner. This way you get the most out of your conditioner. Brushing through your hair is also good because then every strand gets conditioned. I tie my hair up so that nothing gets washed out while I’m cleaning my body. Bonus tip: replace conditioner with hair mask every few weeks. 

5) Cut your Hair regularly

This point is especially helpful for people who want to grow out their hair. It may seem counterproductive, but it really helps. When you get your hair trimmed regularly you won’t have split and brittle ends. I’ve made the mistake of not cutting my hair for months hoping it would help it grow, but once I got it cut I had to cut off a few inches more because I had so many split ends.