Hair care tips for women with dry hair – Part 3

Dry hair is a very common condition, especially during the dry winter months. It is also common among those who chemically treat their hair and with those who blow dry their hair and use hot styling tools on their hair. Fortunately there are many remedies that can replenish moisture to your hair without making you forego your beauty regimen.

The first thing that you can do to combat dry hair is to treat your hair properly. This includes:

-Shampooing every other day. Commercial shampoos are harsh on your hair and you should avoid using them everyday. They cans trip away your natural oils and leave your hair dry and dull. Shampooing does stimulate your oil glands so you should use a gentle shampoo, with a pH between 4.5 and 6.7, on your hair every other day.

-Use conditioner. Dry hair needs conditioner to add moisture. Make sure that it is a conditioner that has no, or very little, alcohol in it since alcohol will dry your hair out even more.

-Use hot oil treatments. This will replenish oil and moisture to your hair. There are many over the counter products available.

-Be gentle to your hair. Dry hair can be very brittle. Don’t be vigorous in your shampooing. Gently massage your hair and scalp to avoid pulling it and damaging it more. Comb your hair gently when wet just enough to get the tangles out. Use brushes on dry hair only and again only until the tangles are out.

-Don’t overuse chemicals on your hair. Perming, straightening, and coloring your hair all dry your hair out. If you are doing these in a combination it will dry your hair out even more. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have you hair colored and permed, just that you shouldn’t have these done close together. You need to give you’re a hair a chance to recover from one before doing another.

-Use low heat. Heat dries your hair out. Use the lowest heat setting possible when drying your hair. If at all possible let your hair dry naturally.

Once you are treating your hair properly you can start using one or more of the following home remedies to add moisture to your dry hair:

-Mayonnaise. Rub one tablespoon of full fat mayonnaise into your hair and scalp. Cover your head with plastic wrap and let sit for thirty minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm, not hot, water.

-Eggs. Mix three eggs, two tablespoons of olive oil, and a teaspoon of vinegar and massage into your hair and scalp. Cover your head in plastic wrap and let sit for thirty minutes. Rinse

Hair care tips for women with dry hair – Part 5

Dry hair can be annoying, especially if you have such a dry scalp that it flakes. Listed below are some tips for preventing flaky and dry scalps. These tips are not medically proven, just steps that I take to cure my dry scalp.

1. First and most importantly- Do not shampoo everyday. This will strip your hair of natural oils and leave your hair dry and flaky. Also use a mild shampoo. Try an organic shampoo and a good conditioner. Lavender, coconut oil, thyme, mint and other natural products have been known to cure dry scalp. Neutrogena has some great shampoos for dry scalp.

2. Do not scratch- it can lead to sores and make dryness worse. Instead try using a good oil before bedtime and washing it out in the morning. Olive oil works, Emu oil, and I am sure the health food store has lots of options to choose from.

3. Eat right. Sometimes dry scalp can be due to lack of a certain vitamin. Vitamin E, B vitamins, Evening Primrose oil, Liver Cod oil, and just a good multi-vitamin should do the trick.

4. Use a hair wrap and sleep in it. Use a fresh coconut, witch hazel, lavender, and thyme. Wrap hair with a plastic wrap and a warm towel. Sleep in it and when you wake up- no more flakes. There are other hair wraps that work. The key is letting the solution penetrate into your scalp overnight. If it is oily when you wake up, wash it a couple of times. Also, never use a high heat setting to dry your hair with. This can also lead to drying out your hair.

5. Sunlight is good. Some sun light is good for your hair. You do not want to get sunburn, but 15-30 min a day in the sun is good for your scalp. Vitamin D you get from the sun and it is great for hair growth.

6. Exercise. This allows sweat to unclog pores in the scalp and allow more of your natural oils to penetrate in your scalp preventing flakes.

7. Avoid coloring or perming your hair. Harsh chemicals can also lead to dry scalp and flaking. If you color your hair, use semi-permanent color without peroxide. Peroxide is very bad about drying out hair and also turning it orange if you do not mix the solution just right.

8. Avoid Citrus shampoos and things. Putting lemons, limes, oranges, or using shampoos with these products in them will leave your hair dry. However it is a great way to get those natural highlights without harsh chemicals. If you do use citrus products- use a deep conditioner on top of them.

Hair care tips for women with dry hair – Part 4

Dry hair is a common problem for today’s woman. Whether it’s just naturally dry, the result of coloring or highlighting, constant heating with styling tools, living in an arid climate, or a combination of any of these, there are some important do’s and don’ts you need to know to make every day a “good hair” day if you have dry hair.

The “Do’s”

“Do” keep ends trimmed. Dry hair is susceptible to breakage and split ends, especially if you have longer hair past your shoulders. Snipping off one-half inch at least every couple of months will help keep the tangles at bay and your hair will look healthier.

“Do” use a wide-tooth comb specially designed for wet hair at all times, even when your hair is completely styled. Dry hair gets tangled easily and additional breakage will occur if you try to pull a fine-tooth comb through it. Knots and frizzes can be worked out gradually without tearing the hair shaft. Be patient – it may take some time, but it is well worth the effort.

“Do” use quality shampoo and conditioner brands, such as Matrixx, Biolage or Paul Mitchell, formulated for dry hair. These products generally contain botanical extracts and deep conditioners that help dry hair recover lost shine and manageability. Less expensive brands may contain wax, which coats the hair and actually drys it out further.

“Do” use a glosser or detangler on wet hair to make combing less of a chore. Garnier Fructis Weightless Leave-In Anti-Frizz Serum, Sleek & Shine is a wonderful product that controls frizz without weighing down your hair. Made with nutritive fruit micro-oils, it nourishes both curly and straight hair, and keeps split ends and flyaways to a minimum. It also washes out easily.

“Do” eat foods rich in protein and essential fatty acids, such as nuts, fish or chicken.

The “Dont’s”

“Don’t” wash your hair every day. This constantly strips the hair of essential natural oils needed to combat dryness. If you have extremely dry, brittle hair, try shampooing just once a week. This will give your hair some needed time to recover between washings.

“Don’t” use hairsprays, mousses or gels that contain alcohol. Alcohol dries out the hair shaft and is especially damaging to hair that is relaxed and/or color-treated. If you must use some type of holding or fixing product, there are several on the market that do not contain alcohol. Giovanni L.A. Hold Hair Spritz is enriched with organic botanicals, will provide firm hold and

Hair care tips for women with thin hair – Part 2

Not every woman who has thin hair wants or can afford hair weaving or scalp implants to make her hair look fuller. These procedures are costly and you can often tell when they’ve been done.

The hair doesn’t look natural and doesn’t always complement the face.

There are some daily habits you can form, however, to help give your hair a much fuller look. Part of your day-to-day routine should already involve allotting enough time for you to care for your hair properly. Thin hair requires more of an investment even after washing hair regularly and properly.

VOLUMIZE

The main strategy for making thin hair appear fuller is to add volume. Shampoos, mousses, gels and protein conditioners give women with thin hair good options. Most of these products lift hair and keep it from being flat against the scalp. Be careful not to use volumizing products that are too heavy, and don’t apply them directly to your scalp. This not only makes the hair *appear* thinner, it really does thin your hair. Always use volumizing products in moderation.

FIND A SUITABLE HAIR STYLE

If you have a lot of length, but no volume, you might try a good, blunt short cut. Length weighs the hair down. Shorter cuts give you a chance to layer your hair over thin areas. Get a trim about every six weeks, too, and keep your ends blunt.

CHOOSE A GOOD COLOR

Color on thinning hair can be somewhat tricky. You want to choose a color that is close to your scalp color can give the impression of thicker hair. Darker colors draw more attention to the thin areas of your hair.

Highlights also can give drab color a boost. A few well-spaced highlights give you what you need, so there’s no need to overdo it.

BRUSHING

Use a round brush or a large-tooth comb to lift your hair and add body. Backbrushing, or gently brushing your hair from the ends toward the scalp in sections, can also give you volume.

SPRITZ

Use a bit of table salt in a small bottle to make a homemade spritz for your hair. For more volume throughout the day, carry the spritz bottle in your purse and spray your hair a few times a day.

AVOID HEAT DAMAGE

It is best to let your hair air dry to prevent breakage, since hair is weakest when it is wet. Air drying always is a better solution than blow drying. Extreme heat from blow dryers, curling irons and flat irons pull on your hair and can cause it to break, or worse, make it even thinner.

If you must use a dryer, try one with a diffusing attachment that allows you to use heat to volumize. To perform what stylists call “root lifting,” add gel to the roots of your hair to make it stand up. Be care not to use the most drying brands, though. Hair breaking at the root will most certainly require a short, short haircut.

Hair care tips for women with kinky hair – Part 2

“Small combs and kinky hair mix like oil and vinegar.”

~ Author unknown

Caring for “kinky” hair really isn’t more difficult than any other type of hair as long as you know what to do. I’ve dealt with mine for years and managed to obtain a variety of styles with minimal cost. The main strategy is to follow a 5 core principals.

These core principals will keep kinky hair at its prime and help you avoid its usual pitfalls like dryness, breakage and tangles. So here what to do.

Principal #1 – Condition your hair on a regular basis.

Kinky hair tends to be dry. As a result, it’s important to invest into a good hair conditioner designed just for it. Try Nexxus, Abba or Carol’s Daughter products. Get one that you use right after you shampoo your hair and follow it up with a daily leave-in conditioner. The conditioner, more than actual hair oil, is the key to keeping your hair from breaking and a way to combat dryness.

Principal #2 – Don’t over heat your hair.

Hot combs, flat irons and other tools that create a lot of heat are often used by people with kinky hair. I know this very well. However, it’s usually in a way that damages it. So avoid all of those tricks your grandma taught you like keeping a curling iron in your hair for 3 seconds to tighten the curl. It’s not really true and will damage your hair. Instead, lower you temperature level down a notch or two when you flat iron and blow dry on low. You’ll notice after a while that the condition of your hair improves and you still get the same beautiful effect.

Principal #3 – Wrap your hair at night or sleep on a silk pillow.

Unlike straight hair, kinky hair tends to mat up or tangle at night, even if you have a relaxer in it. As a result, it’s important to wrap it up in a silk scarf or sleep on a silk pillow. I enjoy doing the latter and it gives a double benefit. Not only does it help your hair stay tangle-free, it also reduces wrinkles in your face.

Principal #4 – Go for hairstyles that fit your hair and budget.

I paired up the tip of matching up the perfect hairstyle with a corresponding budget because both need to work together in order for a person to maintain kinky hair. In other words, if you want to perm your hair and it requires that you see a stylist once a week, only do it if you can afford it. Why? If you can’t, your hair will break off. Then, you’ll have a mess on your hands. Remember, it’s hard to hide bald spots on a head of kinky hair. So do what you can “afford to maintain.” It will help you keep your hair in top-notch condition.

Principal #5 – Wash your hair at least once a week.

A lot of my friends don’t want to wash their kinky hair more than twice a month because of the time it takes to style it and the dryness. However, the build up of dirt and grime takes away from its luster. It also keeps kinky hair from growing. So, if you want your hair to breathe and move, you’ll need to wash it at least once a week. Just be sure to condition well afterwards.

In conclusion, kinky hair isn’t difficult to care for as long as you follow a few core principals. By using them, you’ll ensure yourself a long, happy relationship with your hair.