How Do I Make My Hair Shiny?

A good hair day is one less thing to worry about!

A good hair day is one less thing to worry about! Everyone pines for a healthy and shiny mane, resorting to many of the over the counter hair care products that claim to make your hair shiny, smooth, and silky. Of course, you cannot ignore the shampoos and conditioners, but make sure you choose them as per your hair type. Other few things that you should keep in mind while aiming to get shiny hair include:

• When shampooing, concentrate on cleaning the scalp rather than the entire length of the hair.
• If your hair looks limp after using conditioners, avoid using them on the scalp and length of hair. Only use conditioners on the tips.
• If your scalp is oily or you have dandruff, wash your hair as often as once a day.
• If you have treated your hair with chemicals, your hair may be drier, so wash it less frequently, twice or thrice a week. Use hair serums specially meant for colored or heat-treated hair as and when indicated.
• Protect your hair from the damaging effects of chlorine by conditioning your wet hair before swimming.
• If you have dry hair, do not wash your hair without oiling your hair. Oil your hair for at least 1 hour before shampooing. You can make use of any hair-healthy oil, such as coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, or argan oil.
• Do not wash your hair with hot water. Heat damages the hair shaft and dries your hair. You can either wash with lukewarm water or cold water.
• Rinse off the conditioner with cool water. After conditioning, end the hair wash by rinsing off the conditioner with cold water.
• Cover your hair with a scarf whenever you go out in the sun.

Along with hair care, diet plays a key role in giving your hair its natural shine. Have a balanced diet, and your hair will thank you.

Some of the dietary advice for shiny hair includes:

• Include a lot of protein-rich foods in your diet, such as chicken, turkey, lean red meat, shrimp, fishes, salmon.
• Adding healthy lipids to your diet in the form of omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fishes, and flaxseed oil. Cooking foods in olive oil or canola oil is also a good option.
• Eating iron-rich foods, such as beetroot, dates, beans, lentils, spinach, or jaggery (replace sugar with jaggery).
• Consume biotin-rich foods, such as eggs, spinach, almonds.
• Include Vitamin C in your diet by consuming citrus fruits, such as oranges, Indian Gooseberries (Amla), limes.
• Get Vitamin D naturally by exposing yourself to the sunlight in the early hours of the morning for a few minutes. Consume foods, such as egg yolk, mushrooms, and fish.

If the above home remedies do not help make you with shinier and healthier hair, consider visiting a skin specialist or dermatologist. They can identify any medical condition, such as nutritional deficiencies, and treat your hair problems accordingly.