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It’s no secret that one of the biggest keys to achieving healthy, beautiful hair is keeping your hair hydrated and moisturized. When hair is dry and dehydrated, it lacks the structural integrity needed to hold shape and create the kind of full, bodacious hairstyles we crave. Additionally, when hair is dry, it begins to lift its outer cuticle layer to absorb more moisture, leading to hair that feels rough and bumpy to the touch while looking dull and lifeless due to losing its natural sheen and shine. While many of us automatically correlate moisturized hair with thick, oily products like a hair oil or a leave-in conditioner with heavy butters and waxes, one underrated class of hair hydrators is the humectants. While oils and butters work as emollients by sealing the cuticle layer to hold in moisture while filling in the bumps and cracks of the cuticle layer, humectants work by penetrating the hair shaft and drawing moisture into the hair strand and causing it to swell. One of the most popular ingredients in this category is glycerin, which is an extremely effective and cheap ingredient for attracting water and moisture into the hair and skin. However, glycerin can be quite sticky and have a negative skin feel, and many hair types react negatively to glycerin in humid climates. Thankfully, a trendy skincare ingredient used for attracting moisture is also quite effective when used in hair, all without the sticky feeling and negative reaction of glycerin. Say hello to hyaluronic acid! What is Hyaluronic Acid? Hyaluronic acid is known as a natural moisturizing factor (NMF), meaning it is a naturally moisturizing ingredient found within our skin. This sugar molecule is extremely important in maintaining the health and hydration of our skin, from ensuring water is attracted to the epidermis along with keeping it looking supple and smooth. The secret to hyaluronic acid is in how incredibly efficient it is at attracting water, with studies showing that this magic ingredient can absorb up to 1000 times its own weight in water! Much like a sponge, hyaluronic acid pulls a massive amount of moisture from the environment and draws it into your skin, causing it to swell and look supple. Hyaluronic Acid and Your Hair So we know how effective hyaluronic acid is for your skin, but what about your hair? Much like with your skin, hyaluronic acid, when applied to the hair, can pull water from the air and draw it into the hair strand, causing it to plump and swell. The result is hair that looks thicker and fuller, allowing for more body and volume. Additionally, hyaluronic acid typically has a high molecular weight, meaning that rather than penetrate the hair strand, the acid molecules coat the outer cuticle layer, allowing water to pass through while sealing the outside and keeping the cuticle smooth. To use hyaluronic acid on your hair, you can use the same hyaluronic acid product that you use on your skin, applying it to damp hair after shampooing and working it from roots to tips. The result? Hydrated, moisturized hair that looks fuller and healthier!

We spend so much of our time and focus on perfecting and maintaining our hair health, and for good reason. Our hair is what makes or breaks our look and style, and its visibility means that much work and attention go into making it look its very best. However, much like an iceberg, so much of what goes into making your hair look great involves a great deal of work under the surface. You see, while few people may realize it, a huge factor in proper hair growth and hair health is the condition of our scalp and hair follicles. When our scalp is inflamed or irritated, it can create a cascading effect that can eventually lead to hair loss and a breakdown in the strength and structure of our hair strand. Clearly, keeping your scalp healthy and happy is a must for great hair. The Dangers of Scalp Inflammation Did you know that the leading cause of hair loss and improper hair growth is scalp inflammation? When the scalp is irritated and inflamed, it leads to circulatory issues that causes the hair follicles to improperly function. The result? Hair that grows out poorly and creates weak, brittle strands. To prevent this, you’ll want to avoid anything that will cause irritation to your scalp, such as scalding hot water or an ingredient that causes your skin to react poorly. Additionally, make sure to provide your scalp with proper hydration and moisturization, taking steps such as applying an oil directly to the scalp to prevent dryness. Buildup and the Hair Follicle Buildup of residue on the scalp, whether it be from dry skin flakes, product residue, or excess oils, is a major no-no for a variety of reasons. For starters, this buildup can be extremely uncomfortable to deal with, causing the follicle to look greasy and unsightly. Additionally, this buildup can fall off our scalp and onto our clothes, creating an embarrassing look for many of us. However, the worst risk associated with buildup on the scalp is the way in which the buildup can block the hair follicle from properly growing, preventing proper hair growth. To prevent this impediment, you’ll want to make sure you are consistently cleaning your scalp when washing your hair, working your shampoo into the roots and scalp. If this isn’t enough, you can also utilize a specialized brush that can loosen the debris from the scalp, as well as a detoxifying and exfoliating shampoo that contains ingredients like clay or charcoal to increase cellular turnover. Feed Your Scalp with Nutrients! Lastly, when it comes to babying your scalp and keeping it at tip-top shape, you need to think of your scalp much in the same way that you think about the skin on your face. Much like your face needs to be washed, moisturized, and provided specialized treatments and serums, so too does your scalp! Supplying your scalp with things like vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids can do wonders in improving your overall scalp and hair health. To do this, apply a product like Sutra’s Hair Cocktail, which includes marula, argan, and rose petal oils to infuse the scalp with maximum nutrition! Featured in Watch our Video

So you’ve come home from a long day at work, you take a shower, and you’re faced with a dilemma: should you take the time to dry off your hair, or should you jump straight in bed? We’ve all been there, and for many of us, we’ve opted for the latter. While going to bed with wet hair isn’t the worst thing in the world, there are certainly a number of risks you run into when it comes to your hair health after a night of sleeping on a wet head of hair. Follow our guide below on the dangers of sleeping with wet hair, along with some valuable tips for what to do if sleeping with wet hair is unavoidable. The Cons of Sleeping with Wet Hair Let’s get one thing straight: if you can avoid it, you should never fall asleep with wet hair. For starters, wet hair is inherently more porous and less structurally sound than dry hair, making it much more susceptible to breakage. When you toss and turn your head at night, the friction of your hair against your pillow can be a recipe for damaged, broken hair. As if that weren’t bad enough, when you fall asleep with wet hair, the warmth of your head against the pillow combined with the dampness of your scalp leads to the perfect breeding ground for fungi and bacteria. The result? Sleeping with wet hair can be a recipe for frustrating scalp conditions like dandruff, dermatitis, and eczema. How to Sleep with Wet Hair Safely Despite the negatives associated with sleeping with wet hair, there are times were doing so is unavoidable. With that being said, there’s a number of precautions one can take to make sleeping with wet hair as safe and risk-free as possible. Sleep with a Silk Pillowcase Silk pillowcases have seen a recent boost in popularity over the years, and aside from being excellent for your skin, these smooth materials provide a frictionless material to prevent your hair from breaking and tangling while tossing and turning at night. As an added bonus, these pillowcases are exceptionally breathable and cool to the touch, helping to prevent any bacterial or fungal infections from a hot or humid environment in the scalp. Tie Your Hair Back To keep your hair from being tangled and knotted, one of the best things to do with wet hair is to tie it back in a knot and away from your face. Doing so will keep your hair organized and tucked away, free from getting twisted and pulled in your sleep. Apply a Leave-In Conditioner To keep your hair protected and coated while you sleep, apply a rich leave-in conditioner that seals and coats the outer cuticle layer to keep it soft and smooth, allowing it to glide against your pillowcase to prevent breakage. To make things even better, sleeping with a leave-in conditioner can provide the sort of intense boost of moisture that dry hair types crave! Featured in Watch our Video

Hair damage is something that everyone wants to avoid, and with good reason. From frizzy split-ends to dull, lifeless strands that refuse to hold a style, damaged hair isn’t pretty. Sadly, it occurs far too often, thanks in large part to harsh or excessive chemical treatments and/or poor practices when it comes to heat styling. While it’s easy to point out the causes of damaged hair and ways to avoid it, the hard part is figuring out what to do after hair damage has already occurred. It can be incredibly distressing to have to deal with hair damage, and the unfortunate truth is that there is no “magic fix” that will reverse your hair damage overnight. Thankfully, there’s a series of steps you can take to slowly but surely reverse the damage and get your hair looking more beautiful and healthier than before! Step 1: Stop Washing Your Hair Once you’ve diagnosed your hair damage, your first step is to not do anything. Seriously, don’t wash your hair with shampoo for at least a few days, only using water to rinse your hair out. Even the gentlest shampoo can further exacerbate damaged hair, so refraining from hair washing can help your hair build up moisture and become more manageable. Step 2: Apply an Intensive Hair Mask A hair mask is an incredible option for infusing your hair with rich moisture, which helps to improve hydration and smooth the cuticle layer. After showering and rinsing your hair with water, apply a moisturizing hair mask like Sutra’s Hair Mask, which features jojoba oil for deep moisturization and omega fatty acids to help boost hair health. For best results, apply the mask before bed, secure your hair with a shower cap, and allow the mask to sit in your hair overnight. Step 3: Get More Frequent Hair Trimmings Chances are that during this time, your ends are going to be split and incredibly frizzy. Because the hair at your ends is older than the hair closer to your scalp, it has been subjected to far more heat and brushing, making it much frizzier and more broken than your roots. Sadly, hair that has reached this stage is at a point of no return, and your best and only option is to trim it and let healthier, less damaged hair take its place. Step 4: Address Your Diet and Stress To get your hair back to its healthiest state, you’ll need to do everything you can to ensure that your hair grows back as healthy and effectively as possible. With improper diet and excessive stress, your body will release hormones which negatively impact hair growth and prevent the sort of thick, luscious locks you are looking to create. Make sure you eat a diet full of essential vitamins and minerals, while ensuring you keep your life as stress-free as possible to prevent the release of cortisol, which also stunts hair growth. Featured in Watch our Video

Dry hair can be the absolute worst. From a lack of body and fullness to excess frizz and flyaways, dry hair can be nearly impossible to style, and is about the exact opposite thing you think about when you imagine runway-ready hair. Because dry hair typically has a raised cuticle layer, this hair also tends to lack its usual shine and luster while feeling rough to the touch. Moving past the superficial signs of hair dryness, dry hair lacks the moisture required to maintain a proper hair structure, which can quickly lead to significant hair damage and breakage while contributing to improper hair growth and compromised hair health. To put it simply, dry hair is to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, some of the key causes of hair dryness stem from the poor habits that we have when it comes to our daily hair maintenance routine, making the prevention of dry hair much more difficult than simply buying a moisturizing conditioner or mask. Read below to uncover some of the worst behaviors to avoid in preventing dry hair! Excessive Shampooing Look, we all hate the feeling of greasy hair, and it’s never a good idea to allow build-up to accumulate in your hair. That being said, you really don’t need to wash your hair nearly as often as you may think, as 2-3 washes a week is more than enough to keep your hair clean. When you wash your hair excessively, you strip your hair of its natural oils, leading to a gradual degradation of the cuticle layer, which causes moisture to seep from the inner hair strand. Using Low-Quality Heat Tools We get it, there’s so many styling tools on the market, and it can be hard to discern between high-quality tools and low-quality tools. Unfortunately, low-quality tools can scorch your hair with direct heat that saps the moisture from your hair, leading to damage and breakage. Look for tools that utilize infrared heat, which dries the hair from the inside out, or ionic technology, which utilizes negative ions to preserve moisture levels in the hair strand. Using Harsh Hair Products Some hair types can really benefit from strong shampoos that strip the hair of excess grease and dirt, as these hair types tend to be extremely oily and are quite difficult to dry out. For most other hair types, however, you’ll want to avoid any shampoo or hair product containing harsh sulfates or an improper pH, which can easily strip your hair’s cuticle layer and cause a harsh, dry environment for your scalp. Taking Hot Showers Few things can be more relaxing than a long, warm shower after a tough day. However, washing your hair with this same temperature of water is just begging for disaster. Too-warm of hair will quickly dry the hair out, causing it to lose precious moisture while breaking down the natural oils and proteins that keep the moisture inside. Featured in Watch our Video

When you close your eyes and think of the perfect head of hair, you probably imagine soft, shiny hair with body for days and perfect elasticity and manageability. As great as this hair looks and feels, however, there is a great deal of hard work and dedication that goes into having runway-ready locks. No matter how much money you spend on hair treatments and expensive styling products, hair only looks its absolute best when it is at its healthiest. For hair to feel soft and look shiny, for example, it needs to have a well-fortified outer cuticle layer. And for hair to be manageable and elastic, it needs to have a firm and dense inner structure. Unfortunately, getting and keeping healthy hair can be harder than it sounds. However, we have a handful of key tips that can help your hair reach its healthiest state yet! Wash Your Hair Correctly More often than not, the biggest cause of poor hair health starts with the washing process. While shampooing is a necessary way of removing grime, build-up, and grease, it is also an inherently damaging activity that strips the hair of moisture. Although conditioner can quickly replenish the hair’s moisture levels and counteract any damaging effects caused by washing, excessive washing can slowly break down the hair’s cuticle layer and leave it dry and brittle. Additionally, using too hot of water can cause the hair to leech out moisture and damage its structural integrity. Make sure to wash your hair as little as possible, opting for the coldest water you can tolerate. Avoid Poor Brushing Habits Much like hair washing, the act of hair brushing is also a damaging activity that can serve as the root of many hair issues. Hair brushing is crucial to maintain hair shape and direction while removing any tangles and knots, but poor brushing can damage the hair in a profound way. Over brushing or brushing with too rough of a brush can easily cause hair breakage, while brushing the hair while it is wet can also cause a rapid breakdown in the hair structure. Make sure to brush the hair infrequently, making sure the hair is completely dry and to use a soft, gentle brush. Invest in Proper Heat Styling Tools Lastly, if you are a frequent user of heated styling tools, it Is crucial to make sure you are using high-quality products that are gentle on the hair. Newer heat tools utilize infrared and ionic technologies to heat the hair from the inside out, preventing cuticle damage while preserving moisture levels. For example, Sutra’s best-selling IR2 Infrared Flat Iron applies long wavelengths to heat the hair from deep within, as opposed to directly outside, keeping the hair safe and preserved. Additionally, its titanium floating plates perfectly conduct heat to avoid any hot spots or excessive direct heat application. Featured in Watch our Video

Keeping your hair game at tip top shape is a constant balancing act. For example, the majority of us need to utilize heat styling to shape our hair into the desired style, yet too much heat styling can lead to damage and breakage. Similarly, most of us need some sort of frequent shampooing to prevent excess buildup and grease accumulation yet washing one’s hair too often can easily lead to dryness and split ends. When it comes to maintaining your hair, perhaps the most important tool in your arsenal is having the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work for your hair type. This can be tricky to determine from person to person, but there are a handful of tips that are almost universal to all hair types. Read our list below and learn what bad hair care habits you need to immediately cut out! Mistake #1: Washing Your Hair Too Often Look, it’s tempting to want to wash your hair as often as possible, especially if you are a frequent user of styling products and hair sprays. However, too much washing can quickly strip away the hair’s outer cuticle layer, which leads to severe moisture loss and dry, brittle hair. Aim to wash your hair as infrequently as possible, with 2-3 times a week being a good starting point, adjusting more or less frequently depending on how your hair responds. Mistake #2: Not Using a Heat Protectant Like hair washing, using a heated styling device can lead to significant breakage and hair damage if you aren’t careful. Using temperatures that are too hot for your hair can lead to a rapid degradation of the hair structure, which is a disaster for your hair health. Thankfully, a dedicated heat protectant product like Sutra’s Heat Protector is able to coat your hair with a lightweight protective layer that lessens the impact of direct heat on the cuticle. Mistake #3: Using Low-Quality Heat Styling Tools While we all love to heat style our hair, it’s a delicate art of applying as little heat as possible while sufficiently utilizing as much energy as is needed to create volume and lock in a style. Although a low-quality device can damage the hair strand with harsh, direct heat application, newer-generation styling tools utilize infrared and ionic technologies to apply heat from the inside out to dry the hair as gently and rapidly as possible. Mistake #4: Under-Moisturizing Your Hair For many of us, one of the worst things we can imagine with our hair is having it weighed down by too much grease and excess moisture. Because of this, many tend to opt for lightweight conditioners, with some even skipping the conditioning step altogether. Unfortunately, this just leads to dryness and brittle hair that not only lacks fullness and volume but is also prone to damage and breakage. Look to incorporate a high-quality conditioner like Sutra’s Replenishing Moroccan Conditioner that provides intense moisturization without weighing your hair down. Featured in Watch our Video

It’s no secret that your body undergoes a rather unusual and oftentimes exhausting journey throughout the process of pregnancy. From skin changes to weight fluctuations, there’s simply no shortage of physical disruptions to have to be on the lookout for during your pregnancy. Sadly, these physical disruptions often include changes to your hair, which can be incredibly challenging and frustrating to try and navigate during this time. The hormonal changes caused by pregnancy can lead to a severe disruption in your hair’s natural growth cycle, and it’s likely that you’ll experience incredibly inconsistent periods of accelerated hair growth followed by accelerated hair loss.  Pregnancy and Your Hair During pregnancy, your hormones are elevated to an extraordinary degree, along with an increase in overall blood circulation in the body. Because of these two physical changes, your hair’s growth cycle is significantly altered, and it takes a significantly longer amount of time for your hair to fall out than usual. The average woman sheds around 100 or so hairs on a daily basis, but during pregnancy this number can be dramatically reduced. As a result, it may seem as if your hair is growing faster than before, requiring more frequent trips to the salon for a trim. What Happens After Pregnancy After giving birth, your body no longer requires an elevated level of hormones and increased blood circulation, causing a dramatic drop in hormone production and reduced blood circulation. Because of this, your hair starts to play “catch-up” when it comes to returning to its pre-pregnancy growth cycle, which can cause an extraordinary amount of hair loss in a short period of time. Following pregnancy, it’s not uncommon to shed nearly 400 hairs a day, which can come in the form of large clumps of hair falling out at once. While there’s nothing you can do to prevent your post-partum hair loss, you can certainly adopt several strategies to make this period more tolerable: Tip #1 Use High-Quality Hair Tools Heat styling is damaging enough to even normal hair, and it can be a disaster for the kind of brittle, thin hair you find yourself with following birth. Take it easy on your hair and allow it to normalize during this bumpy period. Tip #2 Aim for Volume With your hair rapidly falling out, you’ll be left with lots of brittle, limp hairs that lack body and volume. Look for volumizing conditioners and leave-in treatments to add a bit of fullness and body to your hair. Tip #3 Keep Your Diet and Stress in Check While you can’t completely prevent hair loss following birth, there are certainly several things that can make the hair loss better or worse. Diet, for one, can play a huge factor, as you’ll want to ensure you supply your body with enough vitamins and minerals to ensure your hair’s follicle production is up to par. Additionally, stress can make things much worse, so try keeping yourself as relaxed and stress-free as possible. Featured in Watch our Video

Take a look at the hair care aisle in your local grocery store and you’re likely to find dozens upon dozens of products geared towards solving the issue of hair loss. Hair loss and premature balding have long been the most common hair-related issues, and the number of products and remedies geared towards solving these problems goes to show how difficult it has been to find an effective cure. Thankfully, there are several natural products that you might already own that can help you on your journey to better hair growth! Aloe Vera It’s very likely that you already have this in your medicine cabinet, as aloe vera has been used for decades as a useful sunburn remedy. But did you know that its benefits extend to the world of hair care, as well? What makes aloe so effective in soothing sunburnt skin is its naturally soothing and hydrating properties that help to reduce inflammation and accelerate the healing process. Given that scalp inflammation is one of the leading causes of hair loss, it makes sense that aloe, when applied to an inflamed or irritated scalp, can help to reduce hair loss as well! As if that weren’t enough, aloe is packed with multiple vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that help boost hair and scalp health. Rosemary Beloved by many for its relaxing, tranquility-inducing scent, rosemary oil is beginning to gain traction as an effective ingredient in skincare and hair care applications. Rosemary oil has been proven to be a natural antibacterial and antifungal ingredient, making it an excellent option for treating fungal and bacterial infections which may impede hair growth. When looking at its chemical compounds, rosemary is packed with triterpenoids such as ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, camphor, and betulinic acid. These triterpenoids possess potent anti-inflammatory and skin-healing properties, which assists in healing scalp inflammation, one of the key contributors to hair loss. Additionally, rosemary has been theorized to contain components which help prevent the expression of DHT, which is a testosterone-linked hormone proven to cause hair loss in men. Peppermint Aside from evoking feelings of the winter holidays, peppermint oil has long been a staple in personal care products such as body washes, shampoos, and conditioners due to the stimulating, tingling sensation it provokes when applied to skin. This stimulating feeling is a result of the oil increasing blood circulation in the applied area, which is caused by its active chemical compound, menthol. Menthol is the active ingredient in countless pain-relief products due to its ability to both soothe inflammation while stimulating blood circulation to promote the healing of damaged muscle and tissue. Similarly, menthol, when applied to the scalp via peppermint oil, can potentially soothe and calm inflamed and irritated scalps while also stimulating blood circulation to expedite the healing process. Additionally, this extra circulation could potentially stimulate underactive hair follicles, which can help boost the natural hair growth process. Featured in Watch our Video