14 Essential Tips to Prevent Horrible Dancers Hair

It is difficult to imagine any activity or job, that is harder on hair than competitive dancing. Swimmers have exposure to harsh chlorine, but they have the option of swimming caps. Dancers don’t. Supermodels have to deal with hairpieces, millions of pins and hairspray. Dancers do as well. But dancers also deal with the impact of glue, sweat and amount of hairspray used, that would put many models to shame.

The problem for dancers is two fold: all of this is terrible for hair health, but highly styled hair is part of the package we have come to expect. With that, here are a few tips to prevent horrible dancers’ hair:

Be careful of pulling your hair out:

1. Make sure that you and your partner work out your differences calmly.
   • Hair pulling never solved anything :).
2. Never keep a tight ponytail in the same place for too long
   • A super tight ponytail is often the start of a competition hairstyle, but move it around – high, low, middle of your head or to the side, to prevent an unsightly bald spot due to too much tension on one patch of roots.
   • Never sleep with a ponytail. If you feel the urge to keep your hair off your face, a loose braid is much kinder to your scalp than a tight elastic. It also gives a nice wave, rather than a sharp dent when you loosen it in the morning.
3. Rough material can be rough on hair
   • A cotton pillow will pull your hair as your head moves around on it at night.
   • A satin pillow will allow your hair to slide and stay in tact.
4. When blow drying, don’t pull your hair with a brush
   • Your hair is weakest when it’s wet, so pulling will over-extend it. Heating will cause it to break.

Keep the blood flowing:

1. Dance long, dance strong, dance often
   • That is how good blood flow starts
2. Massage your scalp to help the blood flow to your roots.
   • Do not massage the hair. That will just pull and stretch the hair out of the roots.
   • Put your fingers on your scalp and move the skin. Nice and slow with circular motion. Go gentle.
3. Take cold showers
   • Cold temperatures stimulate an increase in blood flow, as your body sends warm blood to heat up the cold body parts.
   • When you shower, let the cold water hit your scalp directly. If you can last 5-10 minutes with cold water pouring onto your head, that’s amazing!

If you value your hair, protect your hair:

1. Sun can burn hair as much as it can burn skin
   • Fight back and glam it up by slicking your hair back with a bit of sunscreen or by wearing an awesome hat.
2. Do not set your hair on fire 🙂
   • Use hair protection products before using flat iron
   • Never flat iron after any hair oil application (such as Moroccan oil)
   • Think about it, heat on oil will literally fry the shaft of your hair.
   • Use these oils after you use heat and never before.
3. Use flat irons with ceramic plates.
   • Ceramic radiates heat to the inner shaft of the hair, which can reduce the chance of hot spots on the plate, preventing hair burns.
   • Ceramic plates do not need as much heat to be effective
   • Solid ceramic plates are also an excellent choice because the surface area is remarkably smooth. With this, the plates glide along your hair without catching.

Keep it natural:

1. Free your hair whenever you can
   • It is fun to have hair with awesome shape that glistens like a gemstone on the comp floor, but it is just as much fun to let your hair just be what it wants to be, when you are off the floor.
2. A natural hair mask can give your hair a stunning shine.
   • Mix yogurt, olive oil and lemon juice. That is all you need.
   • Massage it into your hair and cover your head with a shower cap for 15 mins. Wash thoroughly after.
3. Eat well
   • Salmon, avocado, almonds and eggs all help your body maintain great hair.
   • Actually, any oily fish and most nuts are rich in omega 3, will aid the growth and health of your hair
4. Avoid shampoos with sulfate, silicone and paraben.
   • This is to avoid loading the scalp and hair with harsh chemicals that make hair brittle and more prone to breakage.

If you are starting to loose hair, you might need to make a trip to the drugstore:

1. Minoxidil helps to recharge hair growth for men
   • Now there is also a formula for women.
   • Since it is no longer patented, it is cheaper and more widely available than ever before.
2. There are anti-hair loss lotions formulated for women.
   • It is always better to use a lotion than a shampoo. The anti-hair loss shampoos are helpful, but since you wash them out, they are not as effective
3. Biotin and other vitamins.
   • Biotin is a form of vitamin B. It is an important vitamin for hair strength and growth.
   • You are probably not truly deficient in it, because if you were, you would be pretty sick. That said, a little extra boost is a great help.
   • Vitamin D, zinc, or iron, are also related to hair growth. Be sure to keep them in mind. Consult with your doctor as dosages are very personal.
   • Specially formulated hair loss vitamins can be a bit pricey. Whether you are a man or a woman, pre-natal vitamins work just as well, and could be a better choice to prevent horrible dancers hair, as they are easier on your budget.

Author: Miss P [Celebrate DanceSport]
Photography: Egorich.ca
Exclusively for Dance Comp Review