Does Your Hair Feel Dry? Pure Excellence Shares Ways to Treat It
Maybe it is time to learn some new care tips for dry hair. In October, we shared care tips for oily hair and reviewed a few possible treatments. This month, Pure Excellence Hair Design puts the focus on very dry hair. If you have dry hair, there are ways to protect its sebum and treat dryness. You could:
- Take cold showers
- Use products with humectants and emollients
- Eat vitamins and foods with omega-3s and antioxidants
- Get a trim
Dry Hair Could Indicate a Stripping of Your Hair’s Natural Sebum
Sebum is a natural oil in your hair. With the right amount of sebum, hair is healthy, shiny, and easy to maintain. While having too much sebum gives hair a greasy appearance, excessive use of shampoo can strip your hair of sebum. Stripping your hair of sebum can result in dryness.
So what is a person with excessively dry hair to do? Here are a few easy suggestions:
Avoid Stripping Sebum by Washing Every Other Day or Less
To avoid stripping sebum and causing dry hair, try to wash your hair every other day. Washing your hair weekly may even be enough, if you have especially dry hair. If going a day or more between washing isn’t ideal, try using a shampoo specifically made to combat dry hair.
Added hint: Wearing a shower cap in between washings can help avoid the drying effects of hot water on hair when bathing. This is especially helpful for those with longer hair.
Use the Right Shampoo to Maintain Your Sebum
Besides not washing daily or using dry hair treating shampoos, simply be mindful of the shampoo you do use. Sulfates in shampoo can strip your hair of sebum, causing dry hair. You could use a shampoo with avocado oil, macadamia oil, coconut oil, or olive oil to nourish and rehydrate hair.
Some two-in-one shampoos for dry hair replace sebum with a silicone coating. Baby shampoo also works well; it’s mildly cleansing and doesn’t strip hair of its natural oil, sebum.
Using Humectants and Emollients Lock the Right Amount of Moisture
To lock moisture in hair, you need humectants and emollients. According to the Oxford dictionary, humectants are “substances … used to reduce the loss of moisture.” Emollients are “preparations that soften the skin.” To maintain permanently-moisturized hair, we recommend using both humectants and emollients.
Humectants
Using humectants depends on the humidity and temperature of the air. The hair’s interior attracts humidity in the air, resulting in dry hair. When the air is dry, humectants draw water out, also resulting in dry hair. Examples of humectants include Aloe, flaxseed gel, glycerol, honey, panthenol, and hyaluronic acid.
Emollients
A lack of emollients causes frizzy and unmanageable hair. Emollients are mostly oils and fats. They include oils like olive, jojoba, and mineral. Shea butter and silicones are also examples of emollients. Often, emollients occur in hair masks and conditioners as well as products made to protect hair ends.
Cold Showers Have Health Benefits for Dry Hair Care
While hot showers are generally considered the norm, taking cold showers has many health benefits, especially for dry hair. Hot water could scald your scalp, causing dry hair. Cold showers constrict pores and cuticles. This potentially locks moisture in, thus preventing dry hair. Be careful, though, as too much water from a cold shower can flatten your hair and strip it of volume.
Eat Vitamins, Foods with Marine Proteins, Omega-3s, and Antioxidants
Taking vitamins and eating healthier foods are a good idea overall. Certain vitamins can improve your hair’s health. Vitamins, supplements, and foods with marine proteins and omega-3s can lessen dry hair and make it shinier. Oxidative stress can affect the youthfulness of hair, but antioxidants thwart the effects of oxidative stress.
Foods with Marine Proteins and Omega-3s
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- Salmon
- Cod
- Haddock
- Flounder
- Halibut
- Trout
- Seabass
- Tuna
- Anchovies
- Sardines
- Shellfish
- And more
Foods with Omega-3s and Antioxidants
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- Grass-Fed Beef
- Walnuts
- Beans: Navy, Kidney, Pinto, Black, Soy, Etc.
- Edamame
- Wild Rice
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- And more
Vitamins That Can Improve the Health of Your Hair
If you don’t like some of these foods, you could always take vitamins to supplement what you don’t eat. There are several different omega-3 and antioxidant supplements available on the market. Make sure you do some research to determine which ones prove reliable and safe. You should also try increase your intake of:
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- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Biotin/Vitamin H
Eating foods rich in these vitamins is highly recommended. Otherwise, we suggest taking a multi-vitamin to ensure you get omega-3s, antioxidants, plus A, C, H, and Marine Proteins. Some prenatal vitamins contain all of these benefits. Both men and women have been known to take prenatal vitamins simply because of how they benefit hair.
Reset Your Dry Hair by Getting a Trim at Pure Excellence Hair Design
Sometimes dry hair simply means it needs a trim. Dry hair causes the cuticle—the protective layer of your hair—to split. The split cuticle causes hair to lose moisture, thus creating dry hair. Getting a trim keeps the cuticles healthy by preventing split ends from advancing up the shaft, causing more dry hair.
Contact Pure Excellence Hair Design for Help with Treating Dry Hair
Split ends also make hair difficult to style, causing it to feel dry. Even hair that isn’t especially long benefits from a trim, especially those pesky split ends. The stylists at Pure Excellence Hair Design can trim off unhealthy hair that’s weighing down fresh growth. While you’re visiting us, your stylist might recommend a routine to you that could prevent your hair from further damage.
For more information on trims, haircuts, hair colors, waxing, and more, call Pure Excellence Hair Design at (540) 362-5093. Follow us on Facebook for updates, too. We are happy to discuss more about new care tips for dry hair.
