How to Prevent Dry Hair
Tips for Taming it
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 hair out your tresses. You can learn to treat your dry hair with T.L.C. and teach it to be more manageable . Here’s how:
1. Don’t over do the shampoo.
Over shampooing 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 shampoo,” 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.”
2. 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 shaft.” 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.
3. 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 say their pH is far too high, and alkline shampoos dry out the hair. lnstead, she recommends acidic shampoos.
4. 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 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 for a conditioner. Apply the moisturizer to damp hair, and leave it on overnight beneath a shower cap. Rinse it out thoroughly in the morining.
5. 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 instruction). Wear a plastic bag or shower cap over your hair while the hot oil is on. Then,wash the hair while the hot oil is on. Then, wash the hair thoroughly with a gently shampoo.
6. Slather on the mayo.
Mayonnaise is aother 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 mayonnise. Wrap the hair in a plastic bag for 20 to 30 minutes. Then shampoo and rinse thoroughly.”
7. 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.
8. Give yourself a scalp massage.
One way to stimulate the oil glands on the scalp is to gently massage the scalp during shampoos, say Dygart.
9. Be an egghead.
Dygart suggest 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.
10. Pace your hair treatments.
If you perm on Tuesday,dye your hair on Thurday, and put it in hot rollers on Saturday, your hair is destined to be dry and dameged.
11. 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 for long periods of time.
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