Regardless of what age you are or how you style your hair, everyone wants healthy and attractive hair that is free from damage and breaking. Your hair is one of the first things that people notice about you, and it is a defining characteristic that can be a source of pride or embarrassment.
Here are some all-natural tips for how to prevent dry and damage hair so you can look and feel your best every day.
What Causes Dry, Damaged Hair?
Hair becomes dry when it doesn’t absorb enough moisture to keep it soft and lustrous. This lack of absorption makes hair become brittle and break off at the ends. Damaged hair is more difficult to style and often has a poor appearance.
Nutritional deficiencies, excessive hair washing, and sun exposure may be to blame for this type of hair damage. If you use lots of chemically-based hair products or frequently style your hair with heated tools, these habits can lead to hair dryness and damage as well. Hormone treatments, weather conditions, and simply using the wrong types of products for your hair also put your strands at risk for dryness.
How to Heal Dry, Damaged Hair
Natural oils are great for healing dry, damaged hair, including the coconut, almond, and olive oils. For example, you can warm a small amount of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, apply it all over your hair, cover oiled hair with a shower cap for at least 30 minutes, and then rinse it out with a hydrating natural shampoo. Other at-home remedies for naturally hydrated hair involve mixing an egg white or mayonnaise with warm water to apply to the hair as a mask to rinse out after 30-60 minutes.
How to Prevent Hair from Becoming Dry and Damaged
To prevent your hair from becoming dry and damaged in the first place, only wash your hair every other day instead of every day. Your hair needs the natural oils it produces to stay healthy, and when you wash too often, you strip your hair of those valuable oils.
Also, limit or eliminate your use of chemically produced hair dyes and other processing products because these dry out hair significantly. Keep your hair protected from the sun and wind by wearing large-brimmed hats, and wear a swim cap while in the pool to protect it from chlorine. Deep-condition your hair once per week with a natural-based mixture as a preventative measure even if you don’t notice damage yet.
When to Be Concerned About Dry, Damaged Hair
You may be self-conscious about the condition of your hair, but hair that is dry and damaged is rarely linked to a serious medical condition. Oftentimes, you simply need to change your hair styling routine a bit and choose natural products over chemical ones to get your hair looking as good as new again.
However, if your dry hair condition does not improve with these home remedies over the course of several months and you also experience unexplained hair loss, it may be time to seek a medical opinion. In some cases, prolonged and severe hair damage could be a sign of a hormone abnormality, such as hypoparathyroidism or hypothyroidism. It could also be a sign of undiagnosed anorexia nervosa that has gone undetected by friends and family members.