Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD “I cut all my hair off and started over. Now my hair texture is hard and brittle. What can I use to soften my hair while it’s growing back?”
10 Ways to Fix Dry, Hard and Brittle Hair
1. Don’t Shampoo Too Often
Shampoos, especially those that contain sulfates and their chemical cousins can be very drying for the hair. Sure, luscious lather may feel like a treat, but it might be drying out your hair. Try to avoid using shampoo more than once a week. Instead of regular shampoos, look for sulfate free shampoos or co-wash cleansers. These products will gently cleanse your hair without stripping it.
Natural clay washes (also called mud-washes) are another excellent choice for cleansing the hair. Rhassoul clay gently cleanses your hair, while still leaving it hydrated and defined.
2. Don’t Avoid Water
It’s water that hydrates the hair. Don’t avoid it. While you may not want to shampoo your hair more than every couple weeks, water should be touching your hair at least once a week. This doesn’t mean that you have to drench your hair if you don’t want to. You can lightly spritz it with water and seal with an oil. Check out this post on night-time hair spritzing. If you’re maintaining a straight style and don’t want to use much water, choose a moisturizing cream or lotion that has water in the first 3 ingredients.
3. Beware of Drying Ingredients
Always look at the labels on your favorite hair care products. The list of ingredients should be in order from greatest to least. The first five ingredients listed are usually present in the greatest amounts and are the most important. Watch out for mineral oil, lanolin and petrolatum in the ingredient list. These products coat the hair, but don’t moisturize it. If you’re using these grease products daily, and then only washing your hair every 2 or 3 weeks, your hair has literally been starving for water for weeks! This can cause hard and brittle hair that has trouble getting longer.
4. Deep Condition Regularly
A weekly deep condition can be super helpful if you suffer from dry and brittle hair. Choose one that is rich in natural oils. Shea butter, baobab oil, olive oil and amla oil are all fantastic oils for the hair. Covering your hair in a plastic cap and sitting under heat (or just doing some housework for 20 minutes) really aids in the penetration of the conditioner, especially with low porosity hair.
Check out on the best conditioners for low and high porosity hair.
5. Don’t Over-Manipulate Your Hair
African American hair is generally the most fragile of all hair types. Ever notice how well your hair grows when you’ve been in braids or a weave for a couple months? That’s because our hair thrives when you just leave it alone. Sometimes, less really is more!
6. Sleep on Satin
This is a super easy, super cheap step, and it makes a huge difference. Purchase a satin scarf or bonnet and sleep in it religiously. Cotton pillowcases will rob your hair of moisture. Just this one step will probably make a difference. Gotta look extra cute at night? Forget the satin scarf, and try a satin pillowcase!
7. Drink Enough Water
If your body is dry and parched, your hair may be too. You have to consume enough water to maintain hydrated and healthy hair. For most people, the right amount is about eight 8oz glasses of water a day. But, this number can vary depending on your body and your activity level. If you find plain water a little boring sometimes, try an infuser, which will infuse your water with your favorite fruit or veggie flavor. This easy and cheap step is healthy, and really gives your water a nice kick.
8. Know Your Hair Porosity
Mastering your hair porosity can guide your choices in everything from hair products and hair style choices to the types of conditioning treatments that you choose to do. If you don’t learn your hair’s porosity, you may be more likely to suffer from hair loss and have problems achieving your hair goals. Check out this post on porosity and how to determine what your hair porosity is.
9. Avoid Too Much Heat
As a general rule, you should try not to apply heat to your hair any more than once a week. Every other week would be even better. Also, when applying heat, you should never allow your hair straightener to go above 350 degrees.
10. Make Sure it’s Not a Medical Problem
Sometimes hard and brittle hair is not related to anything that you’re doing wrong. An underlying medical problem could actually be the cause. Certain infections, vitamin deficiencies and illnesses can cause your hair to be dry. So if you’re experiencing dry hair, it’s a good idea to see a dermatologist to make sure that you’re on the right track.
