by Cassandre of cassandrebeccai.com
Oh the frustration that comes along with dry hair! At some point in my journey, I was so fed up with how incredibly dry my hair was, I began to seriously regret my decision to go natural. Thankfully it wasn’t too long after that, a conversation with some friends and a little trial and error turned my hot, dry mess to a notably sheen‑y, moisturized mane.
If you suffer from dry hair, like myself, here are 4 things you can do that might help to cure your incredibly dry hair:
1. Use a shower filter.
If your hair has gotten progressively drier despite all that you’re doing to help it, you may be experiencing hard water build up. You’ll know you have hard water if you see dried up mineral deposits from water droplets around your sink or faucet. Mineral build up has a way of dulling strands and preventing your hair from retaining water.
Invest in a shower filter like Aquasana that will remove the minerals in your water and see the difference it makes in helping your hair to be more moisturized.
2. Use an oil that is more occlusive.
Get your hands on an oil that creates a good barrier around your hair so that water cannot escape so easily. There are many naturals that will tell you that their hair seems to thrive and stay better moisturized with petroleum jelly, mineral oil or silicone-based products. That’s because those ingredients are especially good at preventing water loss in hair.
There are more nourishing options, though. Butters like cocoa butter, shea butter and cupaucu butter do an exceptional job of keeping moisture in your hair while providing nourishing vitamins and antioxidants. The barrier they provide may not last as long as the other ingredients, but I tend to believe that’s perfectly ok because of the benefits you’re getting from using these high quality, natural butters.
Your hair can also keep in more moisture by using waxy, thick type oils like castor oil, jojoba oil which mimics our naturally produced sebum. I also found that olive oil and avocado oil also help to create that layer of oil that traps in moisture. My tip: use these oils on damp hair for best results otherwise you’ll simply be trapping in dryness.
3. Clarify your hair
If you’ve been piling on products and only co-washing for weeks now, it’s probably time to get your hair good and clean with a clarifying shampoo. Just like mineral build up, product build up is sure to keep out the moisture you’re so desperately trying to put back into your hair and also can be the culprit to your extra dry tresses.
Clarifying shampoos are ‘frill-less’ shampoos that are meant to do one job, strip your hair of dirt and oil. You don’t need anything fancy here. My go to clarifier is Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo. It’s cheap and gets the job done. Don’t forget to follow up with your favorite conditioner.
4. Drench your hair in water once a week.
There really is no better way to get moisture in your hair than to soak it in water. You can use this as opportunity to really help your hair stay moisturized by adding your favorite conditioner. While hygral fatigue is an issue to consider if you want to soak your hair in water every day, especially if you have longer (older) strands, a pre shampoo treatment with coconut oil before a weekly soak or co-wash could curb the effects of hygral fatigue plus give you a moisture boost.
What are your go-to remedies for extra dry hair?
My tips: 1) Use two leave in conditioners.
2) Wear a scarf whenever possible.
Um just use S‑Curl moisturizer…$6.00…I’m just sayin’
I am not sure why you have been down voted, s‑curl moisturisers are so hydrating and cost nothing!
Yea I don’t know either, I once suggested it to my little sister and she was all upset, it turned out that all she had heard was S‑Curl and ASSUMED that I was telling her to get a Jheri Curl.
I assume it’s because changing just one product isn’t going to make a difference.
Yes to all 4. I can attest to these solutions/tricks. I have been telling people about that beast that is hard water. I think that is the number one culprit.
Hard water had me confused about my hair for a solid year. My hair completely changed when I got a shower filter (from home depot), I mean I was thinking my hair was high porosity when it was normal porosity. It was just dry no matter what I would do. Revamping my diet and eating more fruits and vegetables (lots of greens also) took my hair health to a whole other level after that.
I spritz my 4a hair daily in the morning and at night with my own leave-in spray (water, aloe vera juice, a little EVOO, a sqeeze of Kinky Curly Knot Today & 5 drops of ylang ylang). I spray my hair until it’s damp (not wet) and seal with an oil using the praying hands method. I’m currently using Vatika oil, but have used coconut oil & EVOO in the past. In the winter when the air is dryer I’ll occassionally put a shower cap on at night after doing my routine and sleep with the shower cap on. I wake… Read more »
I have been using the GHE method. (Bagging method). This has brought back so much moisture to my hair. I can feel the difference.
Steamer — I have had a floor model from China which left my hair dry and brittle but now I have a table top one. It definitely has softened my extremely dry 4c hair. It feels softer down to the root and accepts moisture from products more easily. Other than that regular moisturising works. Water intake is a big issue too as the problem can often be internal.
All 4 steps are Great tips! Loved the Article! Doing LOC should help with dry hair but, yeahhhhh see I had limited success with that at first. Because I didn’t soak my hair with water/aloe mix instead dampened it & sealed. But all it seemed to do was Make The Citizen’s of ReTwistville Thirstier.…which didn’t make me happy. So then I’m loc ALL the time And thus retwisting 🙁 and there STILL thirsty?? Frankly my hair felt better when I just went a week (aaaand a half. What?? I’m Lazy sometimes) with it in a twist/ out No LOC!! And… Read more »
Lol at the citizens of retwistville 😀
One important thing to note: chelating shampoos are made to remove mineral build-up, so before you switch to filtered or distilled water, you should use one to remove the minerals that are already in your hair.
Thx to all those who support S‑curl moisturizer 😉 it really does work and for god sakes it’s just hair!
My ends get extremely dry and so after I wash my hair I spritz with my rosewater mix and seal with Taliah Waajid The Strengthener.
I don’t have to worry about super dry ends again.
Do I have to chop my hair off if my hair was never chemically treated it was just flat ironed?