The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Your Hair from Pollution
Lustrous, long, and silky hair is every girl’s dream. If you’re one of them, you probably have been wondering about the reasons that make your hair frizzy, dry, and dull. Exhaust fumes, dust, and harsh weather conditions, pollution is a combination of factors that not only damage your skin but your hair as well.
When your tresses are subject to the effects of pollution, it often suffers the consequences. As a result, your hair becomes lackluster and is more likely to break. Every time you step outside, especially in summers, grime and soot settle on your scalp and hair. When these pollutants build up on your scalp, your hair becomes weak and fragile over time and loses the captivating beauty once your hair had.
How Does Pollution Affect your Hair
Whether you have straight locks or curly manes, you will agree that your tresses are more prone to damage. Due to its delicate yet fragile nature, hair requires utmost care, especially when they’re exposed outdoors for long periods. Not to mention, the urban environment we live in, consists of dust and pollutants that can wreak havoc on your hair.
Dirt, dust, gases, and smog, altogether can cause breakage, dryness, scalp irritation, and hair loss. Moreover, if you often use hair styling products, like sprays, serums, and lotion, then your hair is more susceptible to accumulating pollution in your scalp.
Having beautiful hair not only makes you feel good and confident but also enhances your personality and leaves a good impression. Don’t forget, your hair is probably one of the first things that make a statement about your looks.
Therefore, adopting a proper hair care regimen is of utmost importance. It promotes strong, long, and lustrous tresses and helps prevent extensive damage caused by pollution. If you’re looking for ways to protect your hair from pollution, we have got you covered.
But before delving into that, you need to know what damages grime and dust can cause to your hair.
The Damaging Effects of Pollution on your Hair
As we mentioned earlier, pollution can wreak havoc on your delicate tresses. While your hair is fragile and more prone to damage, it’s far likely to become more brittle when exposed to air pollution. You’ll probably be wondering what damage dust and grime can cause to your hair, when build up at your scalp.
If that’s the case, scroll down to discover the harms of pollution that lead to damaged tresses.
· Saps off all the Moisture from your Hair
When you head out, your hair is exposed to harmful gases in the atmosphere. Accompanied with other pollutants, like fumes and dust, this gaseous mix saps off natural oils and moisture from your scalp, leaving it rough and dry.
Moreover, it makes your scalp dehydrated, which eventually makes your strands brittle and frizzy. Not to mention, your hair requires adequate levels of moisture to stay strong and healthy.
· Hair Breakage
Pollutants combined with the scorching sun and hot winds cause your strands to become weak, making them highly vulnerable to breakage. And if you use hair styling tools, such as a dryer or flat iron, the problem multiplies and snags the strength your tresses have. This breakage not only leaves your hair frizzy but can also cause hair thinning.
· Split Ends
Pollution can cause another prevalent problem; split ends. Nevertheless, the tips are the most vulnerable part of your hair. Daily wear and tear and exposure to dust and other pollutants wear down your hair cuticle, resulting in frayed ends.
When left untreated, split ends make your hair drier and more brittle, leaving them to appear lackluster. However, it’s important to keep in mind that split ends are very hard to repair, as they tend to travel their way up to your hair roots.
· Dry and Flaky Scalp
Long exposure to air pollution can damage your tresses. When your strands are subject to the outdoor environment, which carries harmful pollutants such as fumes and gases, they eventually become dull and dry. Especially your scalp is stripped of all the moisture, making it dry and flaky. As a result, you may experience chronic irritation and itching.
· Causes Premature Baldness
Well, this might seem surprising to you, but pollution can cause worst effects on your hair; we are talking about premature baldness. Although hair loss is quite common today, extreme environmental factors can result in severe hair loss.
Not to mention, the harmful gases accompanied by dust and other pollutants, trigger hair thinning and result in baldness.
Ways to Protect your Hair against the Effects of Pollution
Now that you know the damages pollution can cause to your delicate hair, it’s crucial for you to take some steps and protect your hair from the harmful effects of pollution.
1. Shampoo your Hair Regularly
When it comes to shampooing, many people have developed a wrong concept about it. By that we mean, you may think that washing your hair daily will remove all the dirt and pollutants in your scalp and strands. While it’s true to some extent, don’t forget that shampooing your tresses daily will sap off the essential oils and moisture from your hair.
Shampooing your hair twice or thrice every week is an ideal way to get rid of dirt and pollutants that may have built up in your hair. Moreover, this practice will help retain adequate levels of moisture your hair needs to grow.
Shampooing will detoxify your tresses and leave them fresh and vibrant. Use a gentle shampoo, such as Kerotin’s hair renewal shampoo, to retain the natural protective oils in your scalp or locks.
2. Cover your Hair
Whether you’re commuting to your workplace or traveling across the city, make sure to cover your hair with a hat or scarf to protect them from harmful pollutants. This will serve as a barrier to harmful pollutants. Moreover, especially in summers, your hair needs extra protection when you go outdoors.
Therefore, covering your hair will not only protect it from toxic chemicals and harmful pollutants, but also protect it from damaging UV rays. Just make sure not to wear the hats or scarves that are too tight, as it will damage your hair.
3. Use Hair Mask
This might sound surprising to you but as for your skin, masks for hair can actually help cleanse your hair of pollutants and dirt. Well, you don’t need to apply a hair mask regularly; deep cleanse your scalp with a hair mask once in a week. Moreover, if you prefer using natural ingredients, you can make a DIY hair mask as well.
For that, mix one part baking soda with three parts water to form a consistent paste and massage your hair strands with the mixture. Baking soda will help remove the grease and dirt from your hair, leaving them silky and shiny.
4. Deep Condition
You will agree that many women often overlook conditioning their hair after regular washes. However, conditioning your tresses not only keeps them protected from harmful toxins and chemicals in the air, but also rejuvenates the health of your strands.
When it’s about combating harmful effects of pollution, make sure to deep condition your hair weekly. Along with repairing your damaged hair, Kerotin’s hair renewal conditioner penetrates your cuticles and makes them hydrated.
In addition to the effects of pollution, over-styling your hair with color treatments or heating tools can cause great damage to your scalp and strands.
5. Use Argan Oil
The benefits of argan oil cannot be understated when it comes to hair health. Enriched with essential nutrients, argan oil can help prevent the stripping of natural moisture present in your scalp. Not to mention, argan oil stimulates blood flow around your follicles and prevents dirt and dust from clogging your pores.
Moreover, argan oil not only encourages hair growth, but Kerotin’s argan oil rejuvenates hair health, bringing a captivating flair to your strands. Take a few drops of argan oil and apply it to your scalp, give a gentle massage and wash your hair after an hour to feel the difference.
6. Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is not only good for your skin and overall health, but it also rejuvenates your hair health. Not to mention, pollution accompanied by other environmental elements dries out your hair and scalp. Incorporate hydrating masks that strengthen and moisturize your hair and makes sure to drink plenty of water.
When choosing a hydrating hair mask, look for a reparative or moisturizing formula, like Kerotin’s hair mask and use it at least once a week. It will strengthen and moisturize your natural hydro-lipid layer and boost the hydration levels.
7. Watch your Styling Routine
When your hair is exposed to air pollution, they become weak and brittle over time. From breakage to split ends, air pollution causes plenty of damage to your tresses. Therefore, it’s important to mention here that using styling tools, such as hair dryers, straighter, or curling iron will wreak havoc on your stands.
Moreover, it can remove the moisture from your scalp, leaving your hair frizzy and frayed. Make sure to minimize the usage and always apply a heat-protecting product prior to styling your hair with these tools.
8. Avoid Harmful Chemical Products
While summers are here, your hair is more prone to damage due to exposure to sunrays and pollutants. Therefore, make sure to avoid taking harsh chemical treatments, such as bleaching, dyes, and perms. This will not only weaken your hair but also make it vulnerable to damage.
Don’t use too many styling products, such as gels, sprays, or heating tools, or else pollutants will stick to your tresses more easily.
Foods that Build Resistance against the Effects of Pollution
Not to mention, the air we breathe in today, is accumulated with dangerous pollutants. Dust and harmful gases present in the atmosphere damage your hair health. However, there is no denying that besides a good hair care regimen, the diet you consume also affects your hair health.
While we have already talked about some preventative measures, it’s time to mention some natural antioxidant foods that can help your body deal with it. Keeping your body healthy will eventually have positive effects on your hair and can rejuvenate your tresses.
· Amla and Guava
Enriched with vitamin C, amla and guava serve as powerful antioxidants for your body. Along with protecting your tresses against oxidative stress, these fruits boost the production of collagen. Nevertheless, collagen is vital for your skin and hair health and helps rejuvenate them.
Incorporating amla and guava in your daily diet will help combat the effects of pollution, which further makes your hair long and strong.
· Almonds
These nuts are infused with essential nutrients that promote hair growth. Omega 3 fatty acids in almonds stimulate blood circulation around your follicles, which further boost your hair health. Eating almonds regularly will help make your strands strong, shiny, and frizz-free.
Enriched with Vitamin E, almonds can defend your hair against the harmful effects of pollution and protect your hair from significant damage caused by pollution.
· Leafy Greens
Packed with beta carotene, leafy veggies, like spinach and lettuce, play a vital role in mitigating the effects of irritation. That means, if you have developed a dry and irritated scalp, add more leafy greens to your diet to soothe the effects.
· Greek Yogurt
Enriched with protein, Greek yogurt serves as a building block for your tresses and makes them strong. Packed with nutrients, it helps improve the blood flow to your scalp while encouraging hair growth. Along with mitigating the effects of pollution, Greek yogurt helps against hair loss and prevents premature baldness.
