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?
