Do you have dry hair and wish that it was more luxurious and silky after shampooing? When you understand the cause of your dry hair, you can take steps to improve your hair’s condition.
Why Is My Hair So Dry?
There are a number of causes for dry hair, from environmental to health issues. Here, we have listed the most common factors:
1. Environmental Factors
Environmental factors that can cause dry hair include swimming in chlorinated water, living in a hot, dry climate, and spending a lot of time under the sun without any protection.
2. Hair-Care Practices
Certain hair-care practices can cause your hair to become dry. This includes washing your hair too often, blow-drying or using other heat styling appliances on a daily basis, chemical hair treatments and using harsh shampoos.
3. Underlying Health Problems
A number of health conditions can also cause dry hair. These conditions include:
- Hypoparathyroidism.This causes the parathyroid gland, located in your neck, to produce too much parathyroid hormone, decreasing calcium levels in the blood. Calcium is important for healthy bones, tissue, teeth and hair.
- Anorexia nervosa. People who suffer from this eating disorder are severely underweight and suffer from malnutrition, of which dry hair is one symptom among many others.
- Hypothyroidism. Dry hair is a common symptom of this condition which causes your thyroid to produce too little thyroid hormone.
- Menkes kinky hair disease. This is a rare genetic condition that causes the cells to be unable to absorb enough copper, which affects hair health and can cause the hair to be dry.
What Can I Do to Fix My Dry Hair?
There are a number of things you can do to fix dry hair, especially if the causes are environmental. Treatments for dry hair include:
1. Use Shampoo Wisely
Washing hair too frequently can strip hair of natural oils, drying it out. So wash every two to three days. Shampoos with harsh chemicals can also dry hair and damage it. Avoid harsh shampoos, which means not to use anything you wouldn’t put on your skin.
2. Handle You Hair with Care
Dry hair is delicate and fragile so be careful. Be gentle when combing and avoid scrubbing with your fingernails, which can break your hair as well as irritate the scalp. Don’t rub your hair dry with a towel, instead, blot it dry.
3. Use Conditioner
Dry hair is thirsty and conditioner can help it retain moisture. Be sure the conditioner you use does not contain alcohol as this can make your hair dryer. You can use an overnight conditioner or a leave-in conditioner, too.
4. Use Hot Oil
Hot oil treatments are recommended by hair care professionals to treat and repair dry and damaged hair. An at-home treatment can be left on for anywhere from five to twenty minutes and works best if you cover the hair with a shower cap. After that, wash with a gentle shampooing.
5. Brush Your Hair Less
Too much brushing can damage hair and cause it to fall out and this is especially true of dry, fragile hair. Never brush the hair when it is wet and stick to a vent brush or boar-bristle brush.
6. Avoid Heat Styling and Blow Drying
Hot styling appliances can cause significant damage to dry, fragile hair, so avoid using them. If you must blow dry your hair, keep it on the lowest setting and avoid pulling or stretching the hair as you dry it.
7. AvoidFrequent Hair Treatments
If you use chemical treatments or colors, it can damage your hair. If you use them too frequently, you can do even more damage. Allowing time between treatments gives the hair time to recover somewhat from the harsh chemicals.
8. Try Natural Treatments
- Vinegar. It can improve cleanliness and shine of your hair while also conditioning your hair. Add one tablespoon to hair when rinsing. You can also massage vinegar into your scalp a few times a week prior to shampooing. Add ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar to a spray bottle of water and apply it to your hair. You can also mix ½cup vinegar to two cups of water and leave in your hair for a few minutes after shampooing.
- Egg. An eggwhipped into room-temperature water can add shine to your hair. Lather the mix into your hair and then rinse with warm water. For a great pre-shampoo treatment for stronger, healthier hair, combine 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Mix well and apply to hair, cover with a shower cap and leave on for thirty minutes. Then rinse and shampoo as usual.
- Nuts or seeds. Snacking on nuts or seeds adds essential fatty acids to your diet and can help keep your hair healthy. Other cupboard items that you can use on your hair for improved health and shine of the hair include beer, a mash of avocado and banana, mayonnaise and some olive oil.
- Hat. If you live in a hot, dry climate, you should always protect your hair when outside by wearing a hat to protect it from the sun and wind. You can also use a swim cap when in the pool or ocean because salt can also dry out your hair.