Each year women spend hundreds of pounds on their locks, placing hair care and treatments in amongst the top five things a woman will spend her money on. But of these women, who visit a hair salon on a regular basis, how many actually know how to truly care for their hair?

The use of any product or treatment, even brushing and styling, can cause stress and damage to the hair, therefore it is important to know what you can do to either minimize or prevent any possible detrimental effects to your locks. Perhaps the first thing to know is what type of hair you have i.e. thick, thin, straight, curly, dry, oily etc. Once you have established this, you can adapt any styling along with products in accordance with your hair type.

With so many hair care products available it can be something of a dilemma to know which ones might be suitable, not to mention effective. In this case a trip to your hair salon may pay off particularly when it comes to understanding which products to buy. The same applies if you are considering a radical change to your hair such as perming, colouring or straightening. These kinds of treatments require not only regular maintenance but also an understanding of what effects they actually have on the hair follicles.

Protecting the hair when outdoors is another important must when it comes to good hair care. The intense sun rays can be quite damaging to the hair as well as the scalp if effective preventative measures are not taken. In addition to heat damage from the sun the hair is also at risk from over exposure to the wind and the cold so understanding how to keep the hair moisturised is necessary if you want to keep your hair looking great all seasons.

Lastly, make sure that you do not over wash or brush your hair and remember that the hair is at its weakest when wet. If blow drying the hair, use on a low setting and with straightening irons remember to use a good moisturiser.