It is totally fine to be hands on when it comes to taking care of your hair. As a hairstylist, I encourage my clients to learn how to do their own hair. It is important to know how to cleanse, condition, detangle, and style your own hair and to learn what products work best for your hair. There are services that you can choose to do at home that can cause damage to your hair and scalp and here are the ones you should avoid doing at home.
Smoothing treatments
You can purchase just about any professional brand product online, but you need to know that these products are designed to be used by licensed cosmetologist. There are certification courses that teach licensed hairstylist how to use these products properly. If you purchase the Brazilian Blowout Smoothing System and try to do the treatment at home, you can cause severe damage to your hair if you do not follow the correct steps or if you do not have all the products to do the treatment properly. Doing your own keratin or amino acid treatment at home can cause heat damage if you use the wrong heat setting with your flat iron. Other factors to consider when choosing a heat setting is what other chemicals are in your hair, the texture of your hair, and the amount of texture you want left in your hair after the treatment is complete.
A new hair cut
A new hair cut is supposed to be a fun experience for you under the right circumstance. If you want a new haircut, do your research and look for pictures on social media sites that match the cut you want to achieve. Once you find the look you want, go to that stylist. I know it seems like a breeze to do your own haircut because YouTube videos make it look easy, but precision cuts are taught in cosmetology school and in advance cutting classes.
There are fundamentals when it comes to hair cutting, for example, cosmetologists learn to use projection angles. These angles determine the length and shape of the look you are trying to achieve. The projection angle cosmetologists use are 0, 45, 90, 180 degrees. Precision cuts are created with a guide. A guide initiates the length your hair will be and keeps the cut uniform at any area on the head.
If you want to avoid going to a stylist to fix a cut you tried to do on your own, consult and do your research instead of trying to cut your hair on your own.
Bleaching your hair
Fashion colors are created by pre-lightening your hair with lighteners/bleach, rinsing, and applying the fashion color of your choice. This sounds like it is not a complicated procedure but it can be a damaging service if you leave the powder bleach on your hair for too long. Bleach can lift your hair from a level 1 black to a level ten lightest blonde. During the process of lifting, your hair becomes weaker and weaker because the lightener penetrates the cortex of the hair removing melanin. When the cortex is compromised it causes the hair to break off, feel dry and brittle. A cosmetologist that is experienced with color services can help you achieve any color once it is safe and healthy for your hair and help you maintain the color in the salon and at home.
Bleaching your hair can also cause burning and irritate the scalp. There are different lighteners for different techniques. Some bleach can be used on the scalp and others should not be used on the scalp.
Installing extensions
I see so many women who have tried to glue in tracks or sew in their own extensions. It may seem easy to do your own hair extensions but your scalp ends up suffering the most. You can cause permanent hair loss doing hair extensions at home. Extensions can cause tension on the scalp if they are put in to tight. Some women put their extensions in extremely tight because they want it to last. A cosmetologist that is properly trained to do extensions will avoid using extreme tension to avoid hair loss.
Go to a stylist that can consult with you about the best extension technique for your hair and lifestyle. Also, have expectations that the technique you want to try may not be the best or safest technique for your scalp. Go to a stylist that is about scalp care first and hair styling second.
Going to a hairstylist to remove extensions is just as important. So many women cut their own hair trying to take down their own extensions or cause hair loss trying to remove tracks that are glued in.
Changing Your Hair Color at Home
Changing your hair color from light to dark requires skill by a hair colorist. If you try to darken your hair at home and then decide that you want to lighten your hair again, you will have to spend a lot of money for color correction. A colorist can help you transform your color based on your needs and how often you want to change from light to dark. You may think you are saving yourself money by changing your color at home yourself, but if a colorist has to fix a problem that you caused you will end up spending double to achieve the color you want.
