3 Ridiculously Easy Ways to Fix Dry Hair Right Now
Dry hair is a fickle, fickle thing. Add more conditioner to your shower routine, and you’re stuck with a greasy, lank mess. Avoid heat tools for a week, and you look, well, like you’ve avoided heat tools for a week. But instead of fighting with your dry hair until summer, you can fix it right now with a few simple product swaps and routine changes.
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Whether you’ve got curly, wavy, or straight-ish-with-a-weird-kink-in-the-middle hair, you can still beat dryness this winter with practically zero effort on your part. And to make the process even easier, we spelled out the top three ways to hydrate your hair tonight, so you don’t even need to search for answers. Keep reading to find your dry-hair fix, and then test them out tonight.
TO PREVENT DRY HAIR…
Ditch your shampoo.
Fun fact: Most shampoos contain sodium lauryl sulfates (SLS), a harsh detergent that strips away your hair and skin’s natural oils, leaving your hair dry, fluffy, and frizzy. We’re not saying you shouldn’t wash your hair, but at least switch to a cleansing conditioner, which combines the oil-busting properties of a shampoo and the hydrating properties of a regular conditioner to make a cleanser hybrid that’s both gentle and hella moisturizing. Our favorites: Matrix Biolage Cleansing Conditioner for Fine Hair and Head and Shoulders Moisture Care Co-Wash.
TO TREAT DRY HAIR…
Stop using hair masks in the shower.
Sounds weird, since you’ve probably always applied your deep conditioners and hair masks to wet hair while in the shower, but hair strands actually swell when they’re wet, making it difficult for the conditioner to effectively penetrate your hair. Instead, 30 minutes before you hop in the shower, comb a hair mask, like It’s a 10 Miracle Hair Mask, through dry hair, section by section, then clip it up into a topknot until you shower. Repeat the mask once or twice a week.
TO MAINTAIN HYDRATED HAIR…
Swap out your dry shampoo.
Don’t freak—you won’t be relegated to a life of oily hair; you’ll just fall in love with a new product: dry conditioner. Just as the name suggests, dry conditioners moisturize your hair without requiring you to take a shower. They’re similar in texture to your dry shampoo, but their formulas contain micro conditioners, like fruit and nut oils, which add moisture back into second- and third-day hair. So next time your hair is feeling dry and fuzzy, soften it back up with a dry conditioner spray, like Amika Silken Up Dry Conditioner Spray, or Pureology Fresh Approach Dry Conditioner Spray.
