Dry Hair - Treating Dry Hair with so many Available Remedies

Your hair feels like straw-dry, fly-away, unmanageable. How could you have been cursed with such a mane? You probably weren’t, according to Frank Parker, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. “While some people are born with hair that tends to be more dry, most dry hair problems aren’t organic or genetic problems at all. They’re instead due to what you’re doing to your hair,” he says. That’s right. Those dry locks are most likely your own fault. Exposing your hair to harsh chemicals such as hair dyes, permanent-wave solutions, and the chlorine in swimming pools and hot tubs dries out the hair. So does shampooing too often and using styling tools such as hot combs, hot rollers, and blow dryers. Even too much sun and wind can dry out your tresses. You can learn to treat your dry hair with T.L.e. and teach it to be more manageable. Here’s how:

Don’t overdo the shampoo. Overshampooing is one of the most common causes of dry hair, according to Parker. “Too often, people think they have to shampoo their hair every day with harsh shampoos,” he says. “It just strips away the natural oils.”

On the other hand, you shouldn’t go too long without a good lather. “Shampoo at least every three days,” says barber, cosmetologist, and hair­ care instructor Rose Dygart, owner of Le Rose Salon of Beauty in Lake Oswego, Oregon. “Gentle shampooing stimulates the oil glands.”

Be kind to your hair. Dygart says dry hair is the most fragile type of hair and is subject to breakage, so it must be handled with care. “Learn to shampoo your hair very gently,” she says. “Try not to pull the hair or put any tension on the hair shafts. ”

When lathering, avoid scrubbing with your fingernails, which can not only break the hair but can irritate your scalp. Work up a lather using your fingertips, instead.

Use a gentle shampoo. Dry hair needs a gentle, acidic cleanser, says Dygart. “Use a shampoo with a pH of between 4.5 and 6.7 for dry hair. Use a gentle cleanser you wouldn’t be afraid to put on your face,” she says. Some people recommend baby shampoos, but Dygart says their pH is far too high, and alkaline shampoos dry out the hair. Instead, she recommends acidic shampoos.

Pour on the conditioner.Dry hair needs conditioning, says Nelson Lee Novick, M.D., associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “Find a conditioner that has as little alcohol as possible in it, because alcohol is drying,” he says. “Products that have little or no fragrance usually have less alcohol. For really dry hair, try an overnight conditioner that you put on and wear a shower cap over and rinse off the next day.”

For severely dry, damaged hair, Novick recommends using Moisturel, a body lotion that contains petrolatum and glycerin, instead of a conditioner. Apply the moisturizer to damp hair, and leave it on overnight beneath a shower cap. Rinse it out thoroughly in the morning.

Pour the hot oil. “Hot oil treatments are excellent for restoring dry hair,” says Dygart. She recommends using over-the-counter hot oil products that you heat and place on the hair for 5 to 20 minutes (according to package instructions). Wear a plastic bag or shower cap over your hair while the hot oil is on. Then, wash the hair thoroughly with a gentle shampoo.

Slather on the mayo. Mayonnaise is another excellent moisturizing treatment for dry hair, says Dygart. “Use old-fashioned mayonnaise, not diet or low-cholesterol types,” she says. “First, shampoo your hair, then apply about a tablespoon of mayonnaise. Wrap the hair in a plastic bag for 20 to 30 minutes. Then shampoo and rinse thoroughly. ”

Nix the 100 strokes. Novick says that because dry hair is so fragile, too much brushing can actually fracture the hair, causing hair fall. He suggests brushing gently and never brushing the hair when it is wet.

Dygart says the type of hairbrush you use is important. She recommends boar-bristle brushes or “vent” brushes, ones with rubberized tips, that don’t pull the hair excessively.

Give yourself a scalp massage. One way to stimulate the oil glands on the scalp is to gently massage the scalp during shampoos, says Dygart. “Use the tips of your fingers to very gently massage all over your scalp,” she says. “It not only stimulates the oil glands, it also feels great.”

Be an egghead. Dygart suggests beating an egg in a cup and, with tepid water (not hot-it cooks the egg!), lathering the egg into the hair and then rinsing it out with tepid water. There’s no need to shampoo afterWard. The egg not only cleans the hair but gives it a lovely shine.

Pace your hair treatments. If you perm on Tuesday, dye your hair on Thursday, and put it in hot rollers on Saturday, your hair is destined to be dry and damaged. “Think about your hair like a sweater,” says Novick. “How many times can you dye it repeatedly before it begins to look terrible?” Novick says people with dry hair don’t necessarily have to abandon styling practices like dyes, permanent waves, or hair straightening, but he says it’s important to space those treatments out.

Hold the heat. Using hot combs, hot rollers, and blow dryers is asking for dry hair trouble, says Paul Contorer, M.D., chief of dermatology for Kaiser Permanente in Beaverton, Oregon, and clinical professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Hot rollers are the worst because they stretch the hair while the heat shrinks it. Hot combs also tend to stretch the hair and expose hair to heat for long periods of time.

If you must use artificial heat on your hair, Dygart suggests that you use a blow dryer on a low setting and avoid pulling or stretching the hair while drying.

Tagged under:  Hair Problems

Filed under: Hair Problems