We asked professional hairstylists of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the most common mistakes we're making with our hair and their responses were so, so useful:
1. "Washing your hair too often — wash every other day at most, but preferably every three days or so."
2. "Stop setting your hot tools on the highest heat. It varies with hair type, but most of the time if you can bake cookies at a lower temperature than your iron, it's too hot."
3. "Brushing your hair while wet. Especially if you are brushing from the top down. Always use a wide-tooth comb, pick, or even your fingers instead."
4. "If you're going to cut your bangs at home, make sure your hair is clean, dry, and styled as you would wear it. NEVER cut in a straight, horizontal line. Instead, just cut up into them. That way if you mess them up it won't be as noticeable."
5. "Not cutting your hair. I have clients who refuse to let me even do a trim because they want 'long' hair. But the fact is, your hair is continuously growing, so if it's been a year since your last cut and your hair is still the same length, you have breakage and you need a trim."
6. "Rinsing with cold water is better for your scalp than warm or hot — it helps preserve the color in your hair and it keeps it shinier."
7. "Don't bleach your own hair at home! Bleach doesn't lather, so trying to evenly disperse it in your hair like shampoo will only lead to a patchy mess and a lot more money spent for us to fix it."
8. "Not using the nozzle attachment on your blowdryer. When you blow dry your hair without it, you're just pressing that hot metal grate that's inside the dryer onto your poor hair and singeing it off."
9. "If you have curly hair, find a curl specialist. They don't teach us how to cut curls in beauty school, so the average hairdresser will take an approach similar to cutting straight hair — cutting while hair is wet for precise lines. But someone who's had curl training will approach your cut differently, cutting while hair is dry and focusing more on the shape."
10. "Stop putting coconut oil on your hair! It's a raw form of protein that is literally cooking your hair. Even if you wash your hair 20 times, it's still in there, and when you walk out into the sunlight, it's like you're walking into a tanning bed!"
11. "Don’t use box dye. It’s made to work on all hair types, so the chemicals will be very damaging to those with finer hair."
12. "And if you have dark hair, don't expect to go platinum blonde right away and keep your hair. Most celebrities that do it are wearing wigs, extensions, or didn't show you the long, expensive process."
13. "Not using quality products. The reason your hair looks so great when you leave the salon is because of the products we use. It's hard to re-create the look at home when you are using non-salon alternatives."
14. "Don't do the fantasy colors at home. They are damaging to your hair, and the only way to get rid of the colors is to cut the hair off or put a professional dye over it. Plus, we know what we're doing with those colors. You don't."
15. "If you put your wet hair up before you go to sleep, it will cause breakage."
16. "Not using the right shampoo and conditioner for their hair type. I have a lot of textured-hair clients who don't use curl-specific products."
17. "Stop putting conditioner on your scalp — it just makes your hair look greasier. Apply it from the mids to ends only."
18. "Professional products sold outside of a licensed salon are often expired or counterfeit. Professional brands will not sell these products to anyone without a license. So if you see the same stuff your stylist uses at CVS or Target, be aware that you’re probably buying something that isn’t legit."
19. "And be honest with your hairdresser about your hair's history. It can make or literally break your hair."
Any other mistakes we're making? If you're a professional hairstylist, let us know in the comments the hair dos and don'ts we need to know!
Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.