Hair Raising Issues

Written by Ageless Moms on May 26th, 2009

With the kind of activities that we have lined up for our kids and the schedule we have at work, who’s got time to think about hair these days? It may seem as though the moment motherhood entered our lives, the central point of our Universe revolves around the people we care for – so what if we go out to the shopping mall with hair sticking out all over the place? You may not think anyone cares about it but you’ll be surprised at who is getting the short end of the deal.

You, of course.

You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of others – but of course you’ve heard that. Having split ends is one of the most common problems for mothers because we no longer have the luxurious time or energy to spend at hair salon or treat our hair to a well-deserved mask. It’s true that we often go for the easiest and quickest solution….which is to snip them off. However, snipping them off is not the only solution; you can prevent split ends and control them to a certain extent. For example, treat your hair well and find out the hair type you have. Some people have thinner and more brittle hair than others. This type of hair tends to break easily, at the slightest tug will cause the hair to break. Heat, permanent coloring, hair dyes, straighteners and styling fluids all cause some form of damage to the hair. They may make your hair look good for a while but the damage is there. When the kids have gone to bed and the husband is sitting out on the couch surfing channels, take the time to treat your hair to gentle emollients like shea butter or coconut oil. These are natural remedies; despite the fact that they may leave remnants in the hair (nothing a good, thorough wash can’t fix) or may not smell as appealing to you at the end of the day, at the very least, it will keep your hair and scalp healthy.

Most mothers like us tend to keep our hair tied up because it’s just impractical to have long hair that is all over the place while we cook or when we’re trying to beat the after work traffic home to pick the kids up. I don’t understand the reason why you have to do that but try not to tie your hair in braids because braids, unless you have really thick, strong hair, causes more damage than a ponytail. Keep it loose and easy if you have to keep your hair away from your face.

I encourage coloring of hair too because it gives moms confidence. Drab hair can claw away at your confidence level, actually, as much as blotchy skin can, so, if you have to color your hair, try going for henna which smoothes out and enriches your hair while coloring it. Henna, I’ll admit, don’t last as long as other forms of stronger chemical-based coloring but at the end of the day, it’s safer. The way to keep split ends at bay is to keep it healthy and strong but also make an appointment with your hair stylist once a month to snip a little bit off the edges. Some moms trim their own hair but I wouldn’t do it if I had a layered hair style.