Tender scalp? How to make salon visits less painful

Most Kenyan ladies have a tale to tell regarding how horrific salon visits used to be in their childhood. There are some who sat through the grueling experience that characterised these visits with the fear of being punished if they ‘misbehaved’. Then there are those who would dramatically cry or fidget thus only prompting the frustrated hairstylist to escalate their ‘animosity’. Others opted to shave their hair completely which was sometimes coupled with a great dislike for hair thereafter.

However, in the current age where information sharing has become the norm, it is easy to get solutions for every problem. Here are some ways to make your salon visits less painful.

Trim the ends of your hair whenever possible

Going for long without putting your ends in check only works against you in ways you would not believe. For instance it compromises your hair’s ability to retain its length since split ends lead to hair breakage.

Secondly, weak ends tangle easily and it becomes easy to comb your hair hence the pain.

To avoid split heads and the pain that comes with tangled ends, trim your hair at least once a year. You will notice the difference instantly.

Have a good routine

Photo by Charisse Kenion / Unsplash

There is more that goes into building a successful routine for one’s hair than the use of shampoo. For instance, you must understand your hair porosity or long your hair takes up and retains water. Porosity is categorised into low, medium and high porosity.

Low porosity describes hair that takes a while to soak in water. High porosity on the other hand takes up water quickly but at the same time loses it almost instantly.

Knowledge of hair porosity determines the products to use in order to keep the hair moist and the texture soft a little longer. Moisturised hair is easy to comb hence less pain..

Monitor your triggers

Certain triggers cause pain to a sensitive scalp. As a result, the first step should be to understand these triggers. These could be certain hairstyles that are too tight, a stylist who is not gentle, products that exacerbate or reduce the pain felt on your scalp among others.

Once you identify the triggers, eliminate them one at a time. If at the end of your little experiment nothing has changed, then it means it time to see a trichologist because sometimes pain indicates the onset of an infection or health problem.

Speak up

‌Whenever you go to the salon and you notice a hair stylist being reckless with your tender scalp, notify him or her politely. This applies to children too, an adult should always be present during children’s hair appointments.

Start by bringing up the child’s sensitive scalp to the attention of the stylists then observe if this information is taken into consideration during the styling process. If this is not considered, leave.

ALSO READ : How to choose the right hair salon for kids

Try out natural hair salons

Photo by Suad Kamardeen / Unsplash

Most natural hair salons if not all, have picked up techniques that are more gentle and soothing to tender scalps. Nevertheless, do your research and find a salon that will cater to your special needs.

Massages

Massages give instant relief from the tension held in the scalp by improving blood flow. Improved blood flow to your head improves the general health of your hair and scalp.

Avoid direct heat on hair

Exposure to direct and indirect heat may sometimes be the cause of the pain you feel on your scalp. If your hair is hard to style, try moisturizing instead of exposing it to heat. Contrary to what many believe, natural hair is easy to style and manipulate while wet and will save you from pain and heat damage.

In conclusion, being an intentional consumer makes all the difference. A consumer who is well informed  and understands the choices they have to make in order to achieve their desired results. This applies to your hair care regimen as well. The hair care routine you pick determines whether you avoid certain problems or exacerbate them.

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