How many times have you wanted to cut your hair just because they were dulling and splitting? But then you’d also like long hair at the same time. We’ve all been there. To address such issues, the solution is to focus on your scalp health. The scalp is the base where your hair follicles reside and if you want to improve your hair quality then the secret to it is a healthy scalp. Enough said, now let’s dive right into what are the benefits of a healthy scalp and how you can achieve it!
What do we mean by healthy scalp?
Think of the scalp more as a pot in which your hair will grow. Just like in gardening, the gardener must maintain the soil to develop a healthy plant, you have to treat your scalp well to get healthy hair. A healthy scalp is free from flaking, dirt, greasiness, itchiness, or bumps. Our scalp contains more than 10,000 hair follicles and they all secrete sebum(oil) which helps us maintain the scalp barrier. It also has a healthy amount of bacteria that help to maintain scalp homeostasis. This essentially means that what can or cannot affect your scalp is decided by the bacteria that survive on your scalp.
Before we understand what helps us achieve healthy hair, let’s understand what the benefits of a healthy scalp are.
What are the benefits of a healthy scalp?
A healthy scalp defines the health of your hair and even its structure. Given that, a healthy scalp means good health. Why so? Here are some benefits that it provides to the hair:
1. Stronger hair
When your scalp is healthy, hair follicles are nourished to strengthen the roots. This is also because a healthy scalp means your follicles can utilise the nutrients adequately. With an impaired scalp condition, your follicles will be blocked by dead skin, dirt, and oil which will affect the hair growth and strength. A healthy scalp also has good blood circulation which enhances the quality of the hair strands.
2. Lesser hair loss
Hair with a healthy scalp has a strong hold on the hair roots which is why you will see lesser hair loss. This dials back to the breathing space that a clean scalp provides to hair follicles. Hair loss is when your follicles are unable to hold the hair bulb which grows into a strand. This occurs when your follicles are blocked by the gunk which can irritate the scalp and lead to a scratchy and inflamed scalp. Simply put together, hair loss requires immediate attention to the scalp.
In case you’re confused about the meaning of hair loss and thinning, go through this article.
3. Improved hair growth
Just like our skin, the scalp has its microbiome. This helps us keep a healthy scalp and prevents infection from entering our follicles. Along with this, a healthy scalp provides a good environment for hair to grow. If you’re facing a hair growth concern then you must aim to improve your scalp condition.
How to maintain a healthy scalp?
To maintain a healthy scalp, you need to nourish your body inside out. Broadly, you must look at cleanliness, hair habits like constantly touching or running fingers through your hair, and hair care routine. Here are some aids to your scalp and hair:
1. Hair supplements
Often, your scalp does not have what it takes to maintain the balance of oil and microbiome. In comes micro and macronutrients which are essential for your body. But as we know, with age, these nutrients are scarcely available in our body and hence, supplements play an important role in it. It offers you all the nutrients without you having to weigh your meals every time.
Sublime recommends Nyumi Happy Hair Gummies. It is powered with all the essential goodies and it tastes lip-smackingly good!
Learn more about hair gummies here.
2. Antioxidants
Scalp, much like skin, needs a good dose of Antioxidants. Usually, on a daily note, hair serum and consistently oiling your hair can do just fine to give your scalp some much-needed Antioxidants. Antioxidants are free radical scavengers that can protect your hair from the daily stress that hair has to go through due to degrading air quality. On days when you’re stepping out or styling your hair, it is best to use a serum beforehand.
Sublime recommends Detoxie Dry & Damage Repair, Sun Block Hair Serum. It’s a non-greasy and ultra-light formula that seals in moisture and improves hair strength. You can use this daily and for the weekly revival of hair, you can use Green And Beige Nutrisum Scalp & Hair Strengthening Mask. It’s a mix of oils and fruit extracts to make your hair glossy and soft. It also has saccharide isomerate which can lock in moisture for 72 hours straight even after washing your hair.
3. Probiotics
Probiotics are the glory of a strong barrier. We’ve often heard about some cases where yoghurt works amazingly well for the skin. It’s because yoghurt has microbiomes that can mildly exfoliate, restore the barrier, and nourishes. But we’ve also heard cases where yoghurt creates multiple concerns. It’s simply because the balance of the microbiome is important. Sounds tricky? For the same reason, we’d recommend including a probiotic drink to strengthen your scalp barrier.
We have one such piece that can help you understand the skin microbiome better. It more or less has a similar effect on your scalp too. Except that the types of bacteria are different on the scalp than on the skin. Learn more about the microbiome here.
Sublime recommends Cosmix X Sublime Life Exclusive Bundle. If you’ve used this bundle then you already know how it can benefit not just your hair but also your skin and guts. This bundle is for the ones who’ve used multiple methods to maintain their skin, hair and guts but have hardly seen a difference yet. It has prebiotics and probiotics and even micronutrients to cover all that your hair needs internally to grow well.
4. Exfoliation
Many times even after shampooing, you may end up with dirt and product buildup. This is where exfoliation plays an important role. In case, oil, dirt, or product has been left on the scalp, they can be eliminated by exfoliating. In case there is a product buildup, your follicles will have little to no space to breathe and push up the hair shaft. You will also see no effect of oiling or using serum if you have buildup on the scalp. Hence, exfoliating once every two weeks in case you have a dry and sensitive scalp or every week in case you have an oily scalp and an active lifestyle can save your hair.
Sublime recommends Flawsome Dense Intense Exfoliating & Deep Cleansing Hair Mask. It has ingredients to soothe and exfoliate the scalp. It will leave your hair feeling super clean.
5. Wash consistently
Who is guilty of postponing hair wash day because they were too busy? We’ve all been there. But it is essential to not do that often. Especially in the rainy and summer seasons when your scalp tends to sweat a lot and it is easier for the dust to settle. Washing constantly encourages scalp hygiene practices. If you have a sensitive scalp then you may face hair concerns easily with the change of environment and weather. It’s simply because your washing pattern must be in sync with your surroundings. For example, someone living in the city needs to wash more often than someone living in a clean environment. Sublime recommends Faith In Nature Fragrance-Free Sensitive Scalp. It works well for sensitive scalp without stripping off its natural oil. Mainly because it has Glycerin to add moisture, Citric Acid to cleanse, and sea salt which is anti-microbial and rich in zinc to promote cell regeneration.
What are the signs of an unhealthy scalp?
If you’ve been taking certain healthy scalp changes in your routine then eventually you will be able to strengthen your scalp. However, if you still have an unhealthy scalp then you will notice the following signs:
1. Itching
2. Greasy
3. Hot
4. Smelly
5. Hair loss
6. Bumps on the scalp
7. Dandruff
Summary
A healthy scalp is underrated since many of us focus more on hair than the scalp. But as we’ve understood, a healthy scalp can be achieved if we focus on a nutritious diet, intake probiotics and massage our scalp to improve blood circulation. There are also certain hygiene practices that you must follow, like washing your hair frequently to avoid dirt buildup and oiling it once a week at least. A healthy scalp is a perfect base for happy hair!
- Divya Salvi
