Achieving healthy hair is a bit more complex than just shampoo and conditioner. Everyone is different, and this is especially true when it comes to hair. Some people have dry hair some people have oily, while some have straight, and some have curly. Other people have long hair and some short; however, all these hair types require different needs.

Wendy Kahler and Juliette Gourdet are both hairstylists at Juliette Gourdet Hair Nails and Braids Salon in Norfolk, Nebraska. They have both been working in hair for years now and are prepared to tell you their tips and tricks to healthy hair.

“The most common hair type I work with is dry hair,” Wendy said.  “For the people who have dry hair, my greatest tip to them is moisture. Depending on the type of hair, for example, afro-textured hair, should not be washed every day. Curly hair should not be washed daily.”

Don’t wash dry hair as often. Now this can be misleading, because you would think that if your hair needed moisture, water would make your hair hydrated, which is not completely true. The overuse of water and moisture in dry hair can worsen the dryness.

After washing your face, does your skin ever feel squeaky clean? So clean to the point where the oils have been stripped, resulting in the need to grab a moisturizer quickly after washing before it gets too dry. The job of a face cleansers job is to do just that, clean the face by removing excess oils, dead skin cells and more. Face cleanser is equivalent to shampoo for hair.

Shampoo’s job is to remove oil, sweat and dirt. The job of shampoo is not to make hair moisturized or hydrated. So, if you have dry hair, why make it more dry by using shampoo every day? Now this is not to say never use shampoo, because in that case, your hair will become oily.

“For people with oily hair, I would recommend switching your conditioning technique,” Juliette Gourdet said. “If you’re applying conditioner directly to your scalp, skip this step. Apply the conditioner only to the ends of the hair. This will cause your natural sebaceous gland to activate with the extra moisture added.”

This is where curly hair and straight hair differ when it comes to dry and oily hair. The reason straight-haired people tend to have more oily hair compared to curly haired people, is because oil is produced at the scalp. Since the hairs are straight, natural oils produced at the root can easily slide down the hair strand.

Curly hair has the exact opposite response. Yes, oil is produced at the root of hair but now, since we’re looking at curly hair, the oil has a hard time sliding down the hair strand because of the coils. This results in dry hair, and especially dry ends. The natural oils produced at the root cannot make it to the ends of the hair strands, resulting in dry, brittle hair.

Once a person has figured out how to treat your personal hair type, they will quickly start to notice their healthier hair. Everyone wants their hair to look like the hair models on the commercials for hair product brands. The models in the commercials hair always looks so silky, yet not oily, and strong, but also soft looking. And of course, they have length, one of the hardest things to achieve when working with hair.

“When it comes to hair growth, I look at it as our bodies are like plants,” Juliette said. “Whatever you put in it will come out through your hair. Watch what you’re putting in your body, and drink water. Trims are also mandatory when working on achieving hair length.”

Many things can cause split ends to hair. Applying heat, putting hair in a ponytail or bun, sleeping with wet hair, and even brushing hair can all cause split ends. Split ends are unrepairable, so it is important to try and avoid causing them, but it is also impossible to avoid ever getting any. Therefore, trims are important when trying to achieve long hair, because when a split end has split all the way up the hair shaft, it causes hair to stop growing. Regular trims are a proactive way of preventing split ends from splitting all the way up to the root, resulting in a delay of hair growth.

“You know your hair is getting healthy when it looks silky and strong. After shampoo and conditioner, a moisturizer of any sort can help you add additional shine and softness,” Wendy said. “There are a lot of different options for hair moisturizers. The task is finding which one works for you. Leave-in conditioner, deep-conditioning masks, and oils are all options for additional softness and moisture.”

Once prepared to have healthy hair, you know achieving it isn’t straightforward. Going on a hair journey is not simple at all, but it also isn’t just about hair. It’s getting to know one’s hair and how to take care of it. When a person is able to to know how to love who they are, theyr are able to take care of their jair and body through every moisturized, strong, silky strand of hair.