6 Home Hair-Care Tips

There are many different factors that can greatly affect how often and with what products you should be treating your hair. A few of these factors are hair texture, hair thickness, scalp dryness/oiliness, chemical/dye usage, and how often you work out.

Oasis Haircuts’ own Master Stylist Elsa can work with you to create personalized hair washing regimen that works for your hair at her hair studio, but for those who can’t come see us in Gilbert, here are a few general recommendations for shampooing short haircuts:

• For Fine, Very Short, or Dry Hair: every other day

• Straight/Thick Hair: 2-3 washes a week

• Wavy or Curly Hair: 2-4 washes a week

• Kinky/Coily Hair: 1-3 washes a month (and make sure to use a deep conditioner & leave-in conditioner for each wash)

If you’re just going in for a quick rinse, regardless of if you use shampoo or not, it’s best to always use a conditioner.

Why you ask?

Using conditioner helps to smooth out the surface or your hair strands to make styling easier.

Conditioner also seals our hair’s cuticles, keeping nutrients and moisture in while keeping environmental toxins out. This is especially important here in AZ as the dry, hot weather can dry your hair out especially quickly!

The longer your hair, the more conditioner you’ll need, and it’s crucial to focus on the ends of your hair rather than the roots near your scalp. This is because the ends of your hair have experienced a lot more exposure to environmental pollutants and are more prone to breakage and split ends.

Research done in Japan showed that massaging the scalp for 4 minutes a day helped increase hair thickness in their participants over the course of their 24 week-long study.

This is done by increasing the blood flow to the scalp and stimulating dermal papillae (the cells that promote hair growth).

Whether you’re massaging your scalp in the shower while shampooing, or giving a loved one a head massage after a long day at school or work, here are our Oasis Haircuts tips for you:

• Avoid using your nails when massaging your scalp as they can cause small tears and cuts! ! Nails also often carry a lot of unsanitary bacteria that can get into these cuts and cause irritation that in turn might lead to other scalp issues.

• Only use your fingertips to apply light to medium pressure to the head in small circular motions.

Using shampoo and conditioner that is specially formulated for your hair type is often very important for achieving your “good hair” goals.

In general, the curlier or longer your hair, the more moisturizing hair products you need. Sometimes adding oil to your hair after a shower can also greatly benefit curlier, coarser hair without making it look greasy. This is because these products actually help seal in moisture and prevent your hair from drying out and frizzing.

Our store carries a variety of specially formulated hair and beard oils that we use on our clients to show them how smoothing these products can be even on the toughest of hair. If you'd rather use something readily available at most grocery stores, then we recommend trying out argan oil: a popular oil that's rich with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

When it comes to thin hair, all hope is not lost! There are certain products that contain ingredients that can help to volumize your hair’s overall appearance (such as the Nioxin line we carry in store).

Most of us grew up giving our wet hair the good ‘ol towel rub and dry, but forcefully rubbing your hair with a towel can actually strain and damage your hair.

This is because hair is usually in a more fragile state when wet. The vigorous rubbing motion causes the hair to fray more easily leading to frizz and to a decrease in volume for most hair types, especially with thinning hair.

It’s best to use a microfiber towel to absorb the extra moisture from your hair in a blotting motion; this means gently squeezing your hair dry in sections.

For our clients with longer hair, we also recommend brushing and de-tangling your hair before you jump into the shower to avoid any post-shower breakage or knotting while you towel dry your hair.

Although you might think that buying a two-in-one product online or at the drugstore might save you time in the shower, it can actually be counterproductive!

Shampoo is meant to remove dirt and other contaminants from your hair. However, doing this also strips your hair of the natural oils your scalp produces and needs to stay healthy. That’s why conditioning is so important.

Conditioner not only helps to smooth out the surface of your hair strands, but it also replaces the oils lost during the shampooing process. Without it, your hair would feel brittle and dry.

Two-in-one products typically don’t hydrate your hair enough, can trap some oil and dirt in your hair cuticles, and are harsher on your hair. In general, we recommend using shampoo and conditioner separately unless they're professional products sold at your salon as these tend to be specially formulated to be gentler on your hair. Some safe items that Elsa gives the green light to are the Mitch Double Hitter 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner or the Sexy Hair 4SOME 4-1 Wash since they are good for freshening up after a workout.