A healthy head of hair can boost your confidence exponentially, but how much confidence do you have in your ability to actually keep your hair healthy? In fairness, hair is pretty delicate—and once damaged, very hard to "fix." Dyeing, heat processing, and even the environment can take a toll on your tresses. But there are a lot of everyday hair care habits that can help keep your mane in top condition. There are also a lot of things you can stop doing. Here, two top New York City hairstylists, Eliut Rivera of Eliut Salon and Siobhan Quilan of Art + Autonomy Salon, share the top hair care mistakes they've seen. If you're guilty of any of these? Cut. It. Out.

1. Putting your hair in a ponytail constantly.

"This will cause breakage, especially if your hair is highlighted," Rivera told us of one hair care faux pas: keeping your hair pulled too tight, too often. "A lot of time you can see the breakage on the crown area." Too much traction from severe pulling can even damage your hair at the follicle, causing a type of gradual hair loss called 'traction alopecia.' Eventually, the hair loss can even become permanent, according to hair loss supplement brand Viviscal.

Looking for a compromise? Amazon reviewers love these "ouchless" ponytail holders.

2. Spending all your money in the salon but skimping at home.

"People spend so much time and money at the salon, but then they don’t want to invest in quality products to keep up their hair at home," says Quinlan. She notes that a lot of drugstore hair care products are cheaper because they have cheaper ingredients that can often be harsher on your hair. "People are always shocked by how much of a difference stylist-recommended products make versus just whatever happened to be on sale. There are so many products options because there are so many different hair types and environmental [factors] that can affect your hair," she told Real Simple. "Most stylists really do care about your hair; they aren’t just trying to sell you stuff."

To maintain your salon-quality locks at home without blowing your budget, try stylist-approved Olaplex products.

3. Masking your face but not your hair.

Masking is having a moment. All you have to do is scroll through your Instagram feed to find everyone from Chrissy Teigen to Drew Barrymore slathering hydrating honey, detoxifying charcoal, and soothing aloe all over their faces. Quinlan says you should be giving your tresses the same TLC—after all, hair is made of a lot of the same stuff as skin, most notably keratin. "Everybody says they don’t have time [for deep conditioning masks]," says Quinlan, so she suggests mutlitasking. Just mask your hair before any activity that lets you wear a bun for an hour and shower afterward, like a workout…

I’ve done a lot of strange things in the name of journalistic intrigue—run-commute for two weeks, become a morning person, brush my teeth with charcoal, put my Tinder profile in the hands of a sexologist. So when I recently announced to a table of 12 over sushi that I'd be taking a coed naked yoga class, the crowd was less than surprised that I'd sign up for something so, well, out there.

But the truth is, I didn’t sign up for naked yoga because an editor suggested it. I signed up for naked yoga because I wanted to be the type of person who signs up for naked yoga.

My dinnermates chirped about who they thought that type of person would be: “A bunch of hippy-dippy liberals with bushes!” said one friend. “Big dicks. Only dudes with big dicks would take naked yoga,” said another.

I pictured something a little less Woodstock and a little more empowering. I signed up anticipating free-spirited, bold urbanites who didn’t let anything hold them back–not their free-flying bits, not the wafting stank of crotch sweat, and definitely not a broken heart!

See, my confidence had taken a mega-hit after getting broken up with earlier this summer. While journaling and stacks on stacks on stacks of self-help books were serviceable, naked yoga seemed to promise immediate gratification. “Ready to open the door to self-kindness and healing?” the website of Naked in Motion asks. “We offer you the opportunity to shed your clothing, and along with it, judgments about your appearance, limiting personal beliefs, and critical self-talk.”

Um, hell yeah! I thought when I read the class description. Ready to embrace my inner so-over-my-ex goddess, I reserved my mat.

RELATED: How to Get Over a Bad Breakup, According to 6 Women Who Came Out Strong

But in the two hours leading up to the class, excitement and self-congratulations at my own daring were replaced with fear and self-annoyance: What the F had I gotten myself into?

I messaged my gym-mates and texted my nudist-beach-loving buds.

Dude… should I have gotten a wax?

I packed turquoise underwear, is that embarrassing? Should I have packed black, instead?

WTF do you wear to arrive to a naked yoga class? I’m wearing a black dress and a jean-jacket–does that sound too try-hard?

Their responses were mostly the same: “OMG, I can’t believe you’re doing this. Let me know how it goes.” At 6:50 p.m. sharp, when the doors to class would open, I got in the elevator that led me up 11 flights with a middle-aged man in khakis.

When I got into the space, I realized my expectations had been a little off. Instead of immediately stripping when I got in the door, I gave Willow, the founder of Naked in Motion, my name, and joined my classmates who sat fully clothed and crossed-legged in neat rows facing the windows…

In this age of Photoshop and FaceTune, it’s rare to see major beauty brands advertise products without altering the texture of a model’s skin. There are companies who agree how important it is to show un-retouched skin, but few actually do it. However, Urban Decay shared a series of Instagram photos featuring models with “real skin,” and beauty lovers are praising them.

In reality, we’ve become so accustomed to seeing perfect skin on advertisements, in magazines, and on Instagram that people are cheering the a brand for showing models with skin texture, freckles, and—wait for it—pores. By letting the makeup shine on its own without the aid of filters, you can see how incredible the products really are.

Even if Urban Decay didn’t realize they would get this kind of response, it’s clear that people want to see more of this. And while they can still improve their Instagram feed, we’re glad the brand is taking steps to highlight people who aren’t naturally flawless.

People are happy to see “real skin” on Urban Decay’s Instagram, and we don’t blame them.

Hopefully, this will help people think twice when they reach for the FaceTune app, because these models look stunning without it.

Scars, peach fuzz, freckles, sun spots, lines—this is part of what makes us unique.

We hope that more brands take note. The praise people are giving Urban Decay for these photos are proof that people want to see more of this on their Instagram feeds.