Tips on How to Always Have a Perfect Hairstyle

With the idea in mind that women with perfect hair must practice good hair care habits in order to have perfect hair; we decided to ask them what it is they are doing (or not doing) in order to have such glorious, enviable, annoyingly great hair. We searched for women with strong, shiny and healthy hair, women with curly hair and straight hair, thick and fine, short and long, and asked them to share their hair care secrets.

Habit 1: Shampoo sparingly

Almost every woman talked to says they only shampoo and condition their hair every other day or two to three times a week. Reader Aly says her thick hair can only handle a washing every three to four days and “actually like[s] it best by the 2nd or 3rd day because it’s weighted down enough!” she says. Reader Lindsay agrees claiming she only washes her hair every three days with gentle shampoos and conditioners that don’t contain sulfates, which she says, “are good for my hair and the environment”. Perfect-haired Holly declares she only uses shampoo twice a week: “I guess you could call that a secret, but it’s widely known that if you wash it to much, it dries it out.” If shampooing only twice a week will leave your hair an oily mess, fret not. Other perfect-haired women like Amanda say they wash it every other day which still protects it from being “dry or over-worked.” she says.

Habit 2: Switch up products

Many of the women surveyed said their secret is switching up their shampoo and conditioner so their hair never “gets used to the same one,” says reader Holly. She changes up her shampoo and conditioners regularly just like perfect-haired Leylie and Jen, who like to “alternate between drugstore and salon products” says Jen. Sounds like variety isn’t just the spice to life, but to hair as well.

Habit 3: Go easy on the brushing

Surprisingly, most of the women we talked to said they rarely run a brush through their perfect hair. Whether or not that’s why their strands are so perfect might warrant further investigation, but most claim to only use a comb, and only immediately after washing their hair in order to “avoid knots” from the shampooing process, says reader Leylie. Reader Aly says, “I actually never brush my hair, which come to think of it is a bit weird, but after that initial blow-out, it usually stays how I want it”. Some, like reader Jen, even admitted to not even owning a brush. She says “I try my best to maintain volume by not brushing my hair.” And for the few perfect-haired ladies that did own up to brushing, they all mentioned that they only use natural fiber brushes.

Habit 4: Let hair dry naturally

Shiny, healthy and strong hair doesn’t like heat styling, and the majority of women we talked to said they mostly let their hair dry naturally. Again, these women may just be blessed with a naturally amazing hair texture and therefore don’t need to tame it with a blow dryer or flat iron, or they might actually have great hair because they don’t subject it to damaging heat. It’s hard to judge, but most, like reader Leslie, claim to let their hair “air-dry overnight in a bun” as they sleep. Others say they limit blow dry time to once a week and mostly use the coolest setting on their hair dryer like reader Chrissy who says she only touches a hairdryer when it is “set to cool ONLY”. Some, like reader Leylie, also dry their hair “a bit with a diffuser,” so they don’t have to walk out the door with “sopping wet hair.”

Habit 5: Trim regularly

The easiest way to get rid of split ends is, of course, to just chop them off. Perhaps this is why women with perfect hair don’t have any because most say they have their hair trimmed religiously — every three months or even “every six weeks”, like reader Leslie does. Those who can’t make it to the hairdresser all the time take matters into their own hands and trim any split ends themselves, like reader Chrissy who says; “I just take Conair hair styling scissors and trim the ends myself.”

Habit 6: Only color hair when necessary

The majority of women with perfect hair say they either don’t dye their hair at all or they do it infrequently. Reader Aly has never dyed her red hair for “fear of damage.” And reader Leslie, who is thankful that her mother never let her dye her hair as a teen, says she’s continued to “steer clear of dye” even as an adult: “my hair has a softness — unlike the fried texture a lot of my friends’ hair.” Perfect-haired Amanda says that refusing to over-processing her hair is her main rule of thumb: “I’m 27-years-old and only for the first time this summer have I ever done any color treatments.” And for the women with fabulous hair that do occasionally color treat their strands — mostly do it only to cover grays or to add subtle highlights.

Habit 7: Eat well and take vitamins

A healthy diet rich in vitamins and nutrients will give you gorgeous hair