Despite this considerable impact on one’s well-being, research by BrandPartner on personal care found that only 17.4% of those surveyed prioritized hair care. The surveyors cited multiple potential reasons including lack of time and education on the subject. Hair specialists across Houston are filling this gap by educating others on what to do and not do with their hair care.

Planet Curls salon owner and curly hair specialist Gerri D. Curtis said healthy hair starts at the scalp and is the key to healthy hair.

“If your scalp isn’t healthy, your hair will not be healthy,” Curtis said. “It’s more internal as well. So what you put in your body is going to show with your hair.” Curtis said using clean products is crucial when maintaining healthy hair, with her salon carrying clean hair products like Inner Sense and Curly World.

Curtis said when clients are trying to establish a healthy hair care routine, the salon will recommend an Inner Sense product called the Pearl Spa Treatment involving a scalp scrub, detox mask, and a deep hydrating conditioner with steam. Clean hair products are goods that do not use synthetic ingredients or damaging chemicals, but instead use ingredients that overall promote hair health, according to Goldie Locks.

“Every client that I get when they sit in my chair, I tell them that they have to become an ingredient freak, look at the back of your bottle, see what’s in it,” Curtis said.

Curtis also said to continue reading the bottle of products even after a long time of usage to watch out for potential ingredient changes, with one ingredient to avoid being sulfate.

“A lot of people think that they have an oily scalp, but in reality, they’re using shampoo that has sulfate in it, and they’re just drying their hair. They wash their hair… and it just continues to be oily, Curtis said. “If you would just stop washing your hair so much and use a sulfate-free cleanser, your scalp will regulate.”

Prettier Profiles founder and hair stylist Daijah Nabors also uses clean hair products at her healthy hair care-based salon, including her completely vegan, unreleased line. Nabors said the first step to starting a healthy hair care routine however is assessing, or “dating” one’s hair, paying attention to its reactions to products, and getting to know it before creating a regimen.

“Pay attention to the ingredients in the products that you’re using and see the similarities amongst those products,” Nabors said.

Autumn Ayri, owner of Lady Ayri Natural Hair Care salon and natural hair care specialist, said that consultations with several salons are the first step to establishing a healthy hair care regimen to put clients on the right track, with every client’s hair needs being different. Ayri’s all-natural vegan-based hair care line Kinky Secrets Beauty, is named after everyone’s hair being unique with different requirements.

“It’s called What’s your Kinky Secret? Because everyone’s hair is different. So what one person may need, someone else may not … it’s tailored to what you need and what you want.” Ayri said a common mistake she often sees clients make is going home and lathering oil products mistakenly as moisturizers, as well as finding the correct amount of product to use.

“So now, within my resume, … they’re going home with the product [and] I told them the right amount to use, or how to just break it up in sections,” Ayri said.

Nabors said one should try to avoid excessive heat on their hair and excessive force, and to make sure they’re using the correct tools on their hair type.

“If you have thick hair, I wouldn’t recommend a thin-tooth comb. I would recommend a wide-tooth comb for detangling your hair,” Nabors said. “You don’t want to use tools that are incompatible with your hair.”

Ayri said that hair trims should be done once a quarter or potentially twice a year, depending on each person’s hair. Ayri said healthy hair care is all about finding the right salon.

“Getting back on track is hard, but it’s also easy to do,” Ayri said. “It all goes back to finding that salon that works for you and with you, and finding a good regimen and sticking to it.”