When you become serious about finding the perfect routine to keep your hair healthy and looking its best, the vast array of products and advice can become overwhelming. There are forums, articles and chat rooms out there all full of individuals who can tell you what did, and did not, work for them. There are retailers, enthusiasts and companies willing to talk all about their products and how fantastic they are. However, it is important to remember that everyone’s hair is different. Everyone has different preferences, cost restraints, time restraints and hair types. What works well for me might not be the best solution for my friends, family or you.
There are three things you will need to find the routine and products you like best. They are the willingness to try new things, patience and persistence. I can offer some suggestions for getting started and for finding things you might want to try, but nothing will tell you what does or does not work well with your hair better than trying it yourself. Here are some tips for finding and trying things that might make their way into your hair care routine.
First, you need to experiment. I know I said that in the introductory paragraph, but it is so important that I needed to say it again. If you see something you want to try, or have heard about a specific product or technique that you think might work for you, then try it! You will never know if it will work well for you until you give it a chance. In your experimentation there are a few things to remember. Always write down what you are using and doing. That way if you are still experimenting with new combinations of routines long after you try your first one, you can keep track of what you have tried, and in what combinations. Keeping an accurate log of what you are doing with your hair will save you time and trouble as you continue to try new things.
Do not change your entire routine overnight. Change one thing at a time so you can tell if it makes a difference, and if you like the change it makes. If you change everything at the same time, you might not be able to discover which things are working for you and what is not. Another thing to remember is to give your hair, and the change, time. Do not expect overnight miracles. I typically give each product between two weeks and a month to prove whether it is worth adding to my hair care arsenal. To know how your hair and scalp will react to any product or technique over the long term you need to give it time to adjust.
When looking for suggestions for products, tools or techniques, do not rule out anyone else’s experiences. But do not immediately take everything they say as the whole truth. While I might have had great success with some things and abysmal failure with others, your hair might react very differently to the same combination of products and techniques. Be willing to ask questions, but no one can know exactly how your hair will react to anything.
Be prepared for some answers you do not like, some you disagree with and many that will be the opposite of other answers you receive to the same question. When looking for advice, you might run across people who swear that products with “cones” are evil, while others actively search for those very same products. Some people insist that the all natural approach is best, while others like only synthetic products and others find that a combination of the two is what works best for them. Everyone is different, everyone’s hair is different, and everyone has different preferences.
The best bet for finding suggestions that you can use for your hair lies in talking to people that have hair similar to your own when looking for specific product or technique suggestions. While they are most likely to have similar results as you, do not assume that your hair will always react to things in the same way that theirs does. Hair type, hair damage, water hardness, climate, altitude, humidity and other geographic factors will all have some effect on how hair reacts. If you have been experimenting and have found a product or technique that works for you, but is not generally accepted by the people you talk about hair with, do not let that stop you. If it works for you, then it works for you and that is what matters. No matter how much other people might doubt that product or technique, if it gives you good results and you are happy with it then that is all that matters.
Do not fall into the trap of doing whatever the most other people are doing, or following the latest product or technique trends. Use each experiment to learn more about what your hair likes, and what it does not like. If your hair looks great after a protein or cone heavy product then take that into account when choosing what you want to try or change next. If your hair does not do well after using cones, oils or some other ingredient then take that into account in your next experiment as well. This is when the log of your routine becomes indispensable.
Finally, do not assume that you will ever be satisfied with a product or routine forever. Even if you find what might be the Holy Grail for your hair right now, changes in your diet, hormone levels, geographical location, climate or the hardness of your water can change everything. There are no absolute truths in hair care, and you might want to keep trying other routines even after you are happy with the health and look of your hair. I cannot stop myself from trying new rinses or herb combinations in my hair, even after finding what works for me. I keep trying and testing products and techniques because doing the same thing all the times gets boring. Not to mention that the season changes and constant influx of ideas and suggestions from those I talk hair with leave me itching to consistently try new things. If you get started, you might never be able to stop experimenting and exploring.