Dryness is one of the leading causes of bad hair days, thwarting your efforts to achieve luscious locks. If you’re constantly waking up to brittle, frizzy strands, you must learn how to fix dry hair quickly.
The proper hair treatment for dry hair will work wonders immediately. But dry hair isn’t just a short-term problem–for the best results, you’ll need to learn how to prevent dry hair as part of your regular haircare routine.
This guide will explore all you need to know about fixing and preventing dry hair. We’ll dive into products, treatments, and even nutrition that will all help.
If you want more help learning how to prevent hair from getting dry, contact our team at My Haircare & Beauty! We’ve helped Aussies master their beauty regimens for nearly 2 decades.
We have over 200 salon-quality brands to help you find the perfect product, whether your goals are figuring out how to avoid dry hair, adding new treatments, or saying goodbye to frizz for good.
Signs Your Hair is Dehydrated
Before you narrow down how to fix dry hair, you must diagnose the issue correctly. Knowing exactly what problems you are contending with will make repairing and preventing dry hair much more straightforward.
So, if you’re starting in the mirror and not sure what hair treatment for dry hair will work best, start by assessing the problem!
Brittleness and Increased Breakage
Brittle hair can manifest in several ways: extra hair strands falling out in the shower, loose pieces in your hairbrush, or a flimsy feeling. When hair loses moisture, it loses elasticity, causing it to snap easily.
Brittle hair isn’t always due to dryness, but adding hydration often fixes the problem. Frequently, a quality hair treatment for dry hair will do double duty and solve your breakage concerns simultaneously.
Frizz and Difficulty in Styling
A key motivation for learning how to prevent dry hair is saying goodbye to chaotic, frizzy days. When hair desperately seeks moisture, the shaft goes haywire, making it nearly impossible to achieve sleek styles.
If you find that even repeated passes of a hot tool aren’t enough to get your hair to cooperate, it’s time to learn how to prevent hair from getting dry in the first place.
Dull, Lifeless Appearance
If the moments where your hair shines just as bright as your personality are a thing of the past, it may be a sign of dehydrated strands. Dry hair creates uneven and rough strands, lowering the amount of light reflected.
The difference between dull and shiny hair is often simply a matter of learning how to avoid dry hair, combined with a couple of proper treatments.
Split Ends and Rough Texture
Another bad hair day where you wonder, why does my hair tangle so easily? This can be common, especially if you’re dealing with other dryness issues.
If your morning beauty routine involves a full-length arm workout of detangling, it’s often due to dehydrated tresses. Learning how to prevent dry hair will stop those split ends and, in turn, lower the amount of detangling you need to do each day.
Sometimes You Can Just Feel it!
Often, the answer to your hair drama is simple. You know your hair better than anyone else, so if something feels off, that alone can be enough to introduce a new hair treatment for dry hair.
Dry hair loses that silky, soft feeling when you run your fingers through it. Instead, it often feels like straw or hay, with extra crunchiness that doesn’t sit well.
Why is My Hair So Dry?
If you’re learning how to fix dry hair, you must know the root causes. There are multiple reasons, each with a different treatment option for preventing dry hair. There can also be overlap, with every factor coming together to create the perfect storm of dehydration.
For preventing dry hair, we recommend tackling each step one at a time so you can adequately diagnose the issues.
Improper Haircare Habits
In this busy day and age, locking down a quick and efficient haircare routine can feel overwhelming. But cutting out bad habits is the best starting point if you want to learn how to avoid dry hair.
If you’re cranking up your hot tools every day, washing your hair every day (or even multiple times per day), or constantly wearing tight upstyles, your hair will be slowly deprived of water.
Genetic Limitations
There are several different types of hair, and learning how to prevent dry hair often involves a battle against your own biology. High porosity hair types will naturally be more difficult to keep hydrated, as moisture will, quite literally, leak out of your hair strands.
However, that doesn’t mean you’ll never learn how to fix dry hair, even with the least optimal starting point. You can achieve the same hydrated, shiny tresses with the right products.
Environmental Factors
It almost feels like an Aussie right of passage to curse the climate for a bad hair day, and for good reason. Between scorching hot summers, humid coastal towns, and mineral-laden hard water, the weather can directly cause hair dryness.
Preventing dry hair is best accomplished by assessing which conditions affect you and investing in appropriate products and treatments.
Diet and Hydration
All those reminders to drink water aren’t just annoying PSAs–they’re a vital beauty secret! Increasing your water intake is one of the essential tips for preventing dry hair.
The same is true for your diet. Healthy hair is often made in the kitchen, so ensure you get your daily recommended values of essential fats, proteins, and vitamins.
How to Fix Dry Hair: Tips on Restoring Moisture to the Scalp and Hair Strands
Now that you know the symptoms and causes, it’s time to learn how to fix dry hair once and for all.
To do so, you’ll need a multifaceted approach: introducing new products with appropriate ingredients, adjusting your haircare routines, including less frequent wash days, lowering heat styling, and adding a hair treatment for dry hair.
Rethinking Your Shampoo and Conditioner
There are so many different types of shampoo available that it can be easy to inadvertently choose the wrong one for your needs.
Start by choosing one of your favourite brands–any salon-quality brand like Kerastase, Redken, Pureology, ELEVEN, or Matrix will do. Then, get out your reading glasses and look closely at the ingredients list.
Aim for shampoos with hydrating compounds like argan or jojoba oil, keratin, and hyaluronic acid. These will ensure your strands remain happy throughout the day.
As for what to look for in conditioner, the list is similar. You want to aim for those hydrating oils, especially if your scalp is stripped of them due to frequent overwashing or heat styling. With a salon-quality hydrating conditioner and shampoo, you’ll be well on your way to hydrated strands.
Adjusting Your Hair Washing Frequency
You mustn’t become overzealous in your excitement to try out your new hydrating products.
Contrary to widespread knowledge, you can’t just wash your hair every single day in the hopes of preventing dry hair. Daily washing will overwhelm your scalp, stripping it of its natural oils.
Lower amounts of natural oil will make it more difficult to lock in moisture, frustrating your efforts.
For the best results while learning how to prevent dry hair, we recommend starting by washing your hair at least once a day. You can add more days between washes as needed.
Don’t be afraid of a bit of oil, either–it helps prevent your hair from drying out!
Reducing Damage From Heat and Styling
It can be hard to give up hot tools, especially given their ability to create striking styles.
But whether you want to or not, if you’re putting an iron to your head every day, you’ll eventually be forced to stop.
That’s because frequent heat use dries out your hair faster than products can fix it. Finding the right balance between heat styling is critical to learning how to prevent dry hair. You can still achieve similar results without heat, such as using foam hair rollers or working magic with a paddle brush in the shower.
Repairing Dry Hair with Oils and Masks
Hair oils and masks are intensive solutions for dry hair. You apply them to damp hair, wrap it in a towel or under a shower cap, and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. You can use light heat from a hair dryer to help the treatment penetrate the strands.
Some oils and masks can even be used overnight, helping you wake up to silky tresses.
Choosing the Right Hairbrush
As with shampoos, there are many different types of hairbrushes, some of which may sabotage your plans to achieve hydrated hair. Low-quality and flimsy plastic brushes can damage your strands, fighting against their natural flow. Instead, invest in a high-quality detangling brush made with boar bristles to achieve the results you’re looking for.
How to Prevent Dry Hair: Long-Term Advice on Preventing Dry Hair in the First Place
New products are just one tool in your arsenal. You can make other long-term changes to help you avoid dray strands.
Hydration Starts Within – Drink Enough Water!
Did you know that your hair strands are among the lowest priority for hydration in your body? It makes sense that your brain, heart, and essential organs get first dibs, but you’ll need extra water to keep your hair from drying.
Sip water throughout the day, totalling around 2 to 3 litres. Herbal teas count, though if you prefer coffee in the morning, add extra water to counteract the dehydrating effect.
Nutrients and Vitamins That Support Hydration
Healthy hair is made in the kitchen. Ensure you get a nutritional profile that includes omega-3 fats, biotin, proteins, and a healthy serving of vitamins. Even minor deficiencies can cause breakage and dehydrated strands.
Protecting Hair From Environmental Damage
The climate can be a huge bummer for your strands, but that doesn’t mean you need to move. Instead, take steps to combat the weather by introducing new items to your hair routines.
For example, adding UV protective products to your haircare routine (including the simple method of wearing a hat) can help fend off the harsh Australian sun. Installing a shower filter to prevent hard water and wearing a swimming or shower cap in chlorinated pools will also help.
Staying Consistent With Hydration Treatments
Your treatments for dry hair aren’t just something to save for special occasions. You should implement hair masks and oil treatments at least once every other week. For leave-in conditioners, you can bump up that frequency for leave-in conditioners to every wash day.
With a dedicated routine, you’ll be able to nip the dehydration problem in the bud.
Silk Pillowcases and Microfibre Towels
Hair dryness has many causes, but perhaps none is more ubiquitous than simple cotton pillowcases and towels. Cotton dehydrates your strands, causing friction and sucking up moisture.
Silk pillowcases can help maintain your hair’s natural oils. You can also use a silk hair bonnet while sleeping for similar results. Similarly, Microfibre hair towels and wraps help decrease drying time, minimise frizz, and set up your hair to retain moisture.
Getting Regular Trims
Split ends can ruin your efforts to keep your hair hydrated. Regular trims keep your hair long, healthy, and split-free.
You want to trim your hair at least every 8 to 12 weeks. Some coarser textures can get away with 14 to 16 weeks, but it’s better to err on the side of caution.
Final Words on How to Fix Dry Hair
Ultimately, fixing dry hair isn’t just about short-term fixes. You can’t just spray your hair with water or hop in the shower to prevent dryness–hydration happens at a molecular level, both inside and outside your body.
Implementing new haircare routines, such as proper nutrition, water intake, wash day frequency, and cutting out heat styling, will go a long way.
But ultimately, there is only so much you can do without the right products.
That’s where My Haircare & Beauty is here to help! As Australia’s #1 beauty retailer, we carry products from over 200 top brands to help you stay hydrated.
You’ll find everything from moisturising shampoo, conditioners for dry hair, hair masks, oils, microfibre towels, and more.
Our friendly customer support team has the knowledge to help you find the perfect additions to your regimen. We also provide speedy shipping, including same-day delivery across the Melbourne metro. So, if you’re ready to say goodbye to dry strands with a quality hydrating shampoo, conditioner, and mask, start shopping at our online store today!
Mel
Mel is a former Hair Stylist with over a decade of industry experience.
She enjoys writing about all aspects of the hair & beauty world including, trends, new products & best-sellers.
