Part of being a hairstylist is to inform people about their hair needs.
It’s common for people to look for your expert opinions about their diverse questions about hair. Sometimes you will get asked some pretty crazy questions about hair.
On the other hand, there are some pretty common questions that you will be asked often.
1. How do I prevent my hair color from fading?
This is definitely one of the most commonly asked questions about hair. The answer needs to take many variables into account.
First off, there are many different types of hair color, and some are made to last longer than others. Most of the punky colors like green, blue, etc. don’t come in a permanent form meaning that you will have to take extra care to make the color last.
Another thing to keep in mind is that red color molecules are a lot larger than other color molecules, meaning that they don’t pack into the hair shaft as tightly as other colors. Because they aren’t tightly packed in, they tend to float out more often, making red colors fade faster than other colors.
For an overall answer to this question, there are a few things you can do to keep your color from fading.
One of the first things I would suggest is to not wash your hair with scalding hot water. Not only will warm water open up your hair cuticle, allowing color molecules to escape, but it will damage your hair… which leads us to our next point.
Damaged hair will not hold hair color as well as healthy hair. A property of damaged hair is over-porosity, which means that the cuticle has been blown open.
When this is the case, color molecules will have plenty of opportunities to drift out.
An option to keep your color looking fresh in between color services is to use color-depositing shampoos/rinses every once in a while. These literally work by depositing more color molecules into your hair when you wash it.
It won’t offer you a permanent fix but will help keep things looking good in the meantime.
2. Should I wash my hair every day?
This is another really common question. Some people swear that you shouldn’t wash your hair every day, while some say it isn’t a big deal.
My humble opinion is that while it won’t hurt your hair to wash every day, it isn’t really necessary. Some chemicals in shampoo, like sulfates, could really dry your hair out.
However, there are a lot of great sulfate-free options out there these days.
Additionally, letting your hair go a few days without washing will let your natural oils build up, which can be very beneficial for your scalp and hair.
On the other hand, my hair tends to look horrible if it goes a day without being washed This makes really hard to have good-looking hair (although dry shampoo can really help with this problem.)
So I guess my answer to this question is that you should wash your hair every day if you care about how good it looks.
If you are more concerned about the health of your hair, go a day or two without washing it. Either way, it won’t make much of a difference.
3. How do I add volume to my hair?
If you want a more permanent solution, I would suggest looking into getting a permanent wave. I know that it sounds like something old ladies do, but I promise that it could provide a lot of volume.
When I say permanent wave, I don’t mean little tiny poodle curls. You could get a body wave, with larger perm rods, creating massive volume.
Another solution is to add texture with a layered haircut.
A great way to temporarily add volume is to use volumizing hair products. My hair is naturally fine, and so I’ll use anything that will make my hair look thicker.
I’d also recommend mousse, and/or root-lifters. Additionally, when you blow-dry your hair, you can either use a round brush to lift your hair up while drying it.
You could even flip your head upside-down while drying it, which can add a lot of volume.
Last, but not least, I would recommend curling, crimping or waving your hair to add some extra volume.
4. Does cutting your hair make it grow faster?
There is pretty much nothing in the world that will make your hair grow faster, except maybe reprogramming your DNA.
They say that supplements, like biotin, can help, but I don’t think anything will make a huge difference.
Cutting your hair will do absolutely nothing to make your hair grow faster. It will, however, cut off your split ends that could prevent your hair from growing.
If you allow your split ends to progress, they will eventually break your hair, making it shorter. Keeping your hair trimmed will prevent this from happening.
So, although it won’t physically make your hair grow faster, it will prevent it from getting shorter. The result is happier, healthier hair.
5. How do I tame frizzy hair?
My hair can get pretty frizzy sometimes, just because it is pretty damaged right now. I really feel like I can offer good advice for this question since I can relate to it.
The best thing you can do to eliminate frizz is to prevent your hair from being damaged.
That means to go easy on color/lightening, and spare the hot tool styling if you can. I often just blow-dry the roots to give my hair lift and let the rest of it air-dry.
If your hair can handle the heat abuse, try blow-drying with a round brush, which will smooth down the cuticle and make your hair look sleek and shiny.
When my hair is really frizzy, which it tends to be on most days, I use a little bit of After Party by Bedhead and Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. These products work together to really tame down the frizz.
There are also some pretty cool shampoos out there that are made to smooth your hair. Personally, I can’t use these because they weigh down my fine hair, but I would suggest giving it a try.
Moisturizing shampoo/conditioner is also a good option since frizzy hair is usually lacking moisture.
Last but not least, don’t brush your hair too much. Brushing dry hair will just make it so much more frizzy, and brushing wet hair can cause more damage.
While your hair is wet, comb it with a wide-tooth comb for the best results.
6. What’s the best way to grow out short hair?
This happens a lot… someone had a super cute pixie haircut for 5 years but now they want to try something new. How do they make the transition from a short, neat haircut to long hair?
Truthfully, they are probably going to go through an awkward phase, where it will be hard to do anything with their hair.
I’d say the best thing to do about this is to find a style for every length and rock it.
Letting the top grow longer while keeping the sides and back tapered and the edges clean will help create a different style while your hair is growing.
Once the top of your hair gets to about mid-to-low ear, it will be easier to create more styles.
The best advice I can give about growing out a pixie haircut is to be patient. It will probably be a long process, as you will be cutting your hair into many different styles along the way.
The other option is to just bite the bullet and let it grow. You can cover the awkwardness with bows, headbands, etc.
It will still take a while to grow as it was very short to begin with, so patience is always key.
7. Are expensive shampoos better for my hair?
This is another controversial question. Some people say that expensive shampoo is a waste of money, while others swear that it will make your hair so much happier.
I’d say that it really boils down to preference.
Drugstore shampoos, overall, tend to have a higher volume of bad ingredients. Certain drugstore shampoos are notorious for having wax fillers that will literally coat your hair with wax each time you use it.
This might make your hair feel amazing the first few times you use it, but over time, it will lead to build-up and breakage.
If you use a clarifying shampoo, this extra build-up wouldn’t be so bad. On the other hand, I’ve also seen some higher-end shampoos with really bad ingredients in them too.
I think that this argument can boil down to the fact that anything in the world can be bad for you if you look for it.
Personally, I feel like higher-end shampoos leave your hair so much smoother. They lather so much better, and your hair feels so much cleaner. Your hair is a lot easier to comb-through and feels stronger.
That is my opinion, and maybe it’s all in my head, but I feel like they make my hair better.
Overall, my answer to this question is that it won’t kill you to use cheap shampoo but I don’t like to use it. It’s really all about personal preference.
8. How do I handle oily hair?
My hair gets oily after the second day of not washing it, but nothing that a little bit of dry shampoo couldn’t fix.
Oily hair usually boils down to what shampoo ingredients work well for your hair and scalp. Sometimes, sulfates can dry your scalp out so much that your scalp overcompensates by producing extra oil.
Also, if you are prone to greasy hair, it’d be wise to stay away from ingredients such as “Argan Oil” or “Moroccan Oil.” These will just create heaviness in the hair.
Creating a perfectly balanced scalp is key in this situation.
When you shampoo your hair, make sure you are massaging the shampoo into your scalp. Sometimes, shampooing twice may be necessary.
Follow up by conditioning, but making sure to not rub the conditioner into the scalp.
Finally, acidic liquids, such as apple-cider vinegar and lemon juice make a really great rinse to help balance out your pH levels.
Just make sure to tilt your head back so they don’t run down into your eyes, because, speaking from experience, it isn’t fun.
9. How do I get wavy hair like all of the celebrities?
The best way for me to answer this question is to show you.
I like this tutorial by FrontRow Clip-in Hair because I really like her end-result. She is basically wearing extensions and uses a curling iron like a curling wand to curl small subsections of her hair.
After she curls the entire head of hair, she sprays the curls, brushes through all of her hair with a paddle-brush and then tames down the frizz with a serum.
The end result is beautiful.
10. How do I get rid of split ends?
This is probably the most commonly asked question about hair. Even though every product in the world will promise that they can mend split ends, it is all rubbish.
They can protect your hair from becoming more damaged, and they can even add protein or moisture back into your hair, but they cannot repair a split end.
Literally, the only way to get rid of split ends is to cut them off.
The best thing you can do is have your stylist cut the tips of your hair every 4-6 weeks. You won’t lose too much length, but you will get rid of those pesky split ends.
Your Turn: Did you
Do you have any other questions about hair that I didn’t answer here? What about more answers to these questions? I’d love to read your feedback in the comments section below…
