The hair on your body has some special jobs. It helps protect you and
keep you warm. Your eyelashes keep dirt and dust out of your eyes. Your
eyebrows also protect your eyes, and stop sweat from running into them.
Most people lose anywhere from 50 to 100 strands of hair each day,
according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
Hair may be dead, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't care for it. You
should wash it regularly. Actually, what you really need to be sure to wash is
your scalp. The best way to get your hair and scalp clean is to:
1.
Get it really wet.
2.
Use a small amount of shampoo. A squirt about the size of a
quarter is enough.
3.
Massage the shampoo into your
scalp. Don't scrub the scalp too hard.
4.
Rinse really well, until you don't see any more
bubbles or suds on your head or going down the drain.
5.
Gently dry your hair with a towel.
6.
Comb it out carefully with a
wide-tooth comb, especially if it's curly. Don't yank or tug on it, because that can break
the hair or pull it out.
7.
Let your hair air dry whenever you
can. Hair dryers can be tough on hair.
If your scalp is itchy, dry, and flaky, it could be because you aren't
rinsing all of the shampoo out. Or it could be because you have something
called dandruff. If you have dandruff, when you scratch your head, the skin
flakes off and lands on your clothes. It's really noticeable if you're wearing
dark colors. You can use a special shampoo that your parents can buy at the
store. There are many to choose from. Talk to your doctor or a skin doctor
(dermatologist) to help you decide on the best shampoo for you.
How often you wash your hair depends on what it's like and what you do
during the day. If your hair gets oily quickly, it needs to be washed more
often. Straight hair can get oily quickly. Very curly hair is not as oily and
can be washed less often. If you have very curly, kinky or thick hair, it might
be too dry and look frizzy. Using a conditioner after you wash your hair might
help, but that doesn't make it healthier. Remember, hair is already dead, but
conditioner can make it look better.
All kinds of things can damage hair and make it break off or get too
dry. To protect your hair, be careful around:
The sun (which is one reason why you
should wear a hat when you go outside).
Chemicals (such as chlorine) in pools (so
you should wash your hair after swimming in a pool).
Products and treatments that make hair curly or straight
or change its color.
Things you use to style your hair, such as curling irons, flat
irons and hair dryers (so don't use them too much, especially if your hair
seems to be getting drier or breaks easily).
One of the common types of hair damage is split ends. Look really
closely at the end of a hair, and you might notice that the end is split apart.
Because hair is dead, though, you can't repair split ends. All you can do is
cut them off.
If you're worried about your hair or scalp, ask your parents to take you
to your doctor or a skin doctor, who also cares for hair.
