Short Hair Maintenance

Everyone knows the basics of long hair care - be gentle with it, avoid tangles and split ends. The needs of short hair are very different.

Grow Healthy Hair

With a short cut, your hair has less time to age, so you need to make sure that your hair is healthy and beautiful the moment it springs from the root. Make sure to stay hydrated and eat enough protein; your body needs proteins to produce keratin, the material hair is made of, and the natural oils that keep it shiny and manageable. If you have fine hair, this will also help strengthen it.

Keep Clean

If you are going from a long style to a much shorter one, you will notice that your hair feels very oily for a few weeks. Your scalp needs some time to adjust; don’t start shampooing more often. Soon your hair will return to normal.

You only need a tiny amount of shampoo to wash short hair. A few drops, no larger than a dime, will do. If you use too much shampoo you will dry out your hair and scalp, and your air will become limp and dull while your scalp is itchy and dry. Similarly, be careful with the amount of conditioner you use so you don’t weigh down your hair and make it look greasy.

Brush your hair daily to distribute oils and keep it from tangling.

Dealing With Cowlicks

When your hair is short, it’s very easy to cause it to behave poorly by sleeping on it, ruffling it, and so on. It can easily be bent into an unflattering position, giving you bed head or an awkward cowlick. While it’s nice to look tousled if you do it on purpose, accidental dishevelment is rarely as pretty.

Some cowlicks are caused by the direction your hair grows naturally. There’s nothing you can do about these other than style around them so they look like they belong. Most cowlicks, however, are caused by putting pressure on your hair for a while. This is what causes bed head as well. To prevent it, make sure your hair is dry when you go to sleep, and consider using a silk or satin pillowcase so your hair can move around easily. If you need to fix a cowlick, use warm water to soften and reset your hair. Style it wet and let it air dry for the best results.

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