Your dry hair needs a lot of TLC. Be sure to shampoo gently (and not too often!) because shampoo washes your hair's natural protective oils down the drain. Here are some tips for restoring health to your dry hair:

• Do not wash dry hair every day. If you exercise and sweat a lot, just rinse your hair in the shower instead of shampooing. When you do wash your hair, use a mild shampoo that is made specifically for dry hair. Look for shampoo that contains ceramid-D to add body and shine to hair.
• Condition your hair. Dry hair needs to be conditioned every time you shampoo to lubricate the hair. It also prevents static electricity, which creates frizz. For very dry hair, try conditioning it with mayonnaise between shampoos. Leave the mayonnaise in your hair anywhere from five minutes to an hour before washing it out. Jojoba oil massaged into your scalp works well, too. It can be left in hair overnight. Look for jojoba oil in the health food store.
• Try oil treatments. Warm up a little sesame oil or olive oil and leave it in your hair for 10 minutes to an hour (or even overnight). The drier your hair, the longer you'll want to leave the oil in.
• Get a haircut. Dry hair needs to be trimmed often to remove split ends.
• Avoid heat. Dry your hair using the cool setting on your blow-dryer or allow it to dry naturally.
• Wear a hat or bandanna. Protect your dry hair from heat, wind, or cold weather.
• Use a rinse after you shampoo. For blonde hair, an excellent rinse is a cold chamomile tea rinse. Or try mixing a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water to remove residue from hair after you shampoo. For brown hair, rinse clean hair with a mixture of water and half a glass of cranberry juice. Leave the juice rinse on for a few minutes, then wash it out. The cranberry juice helps create highlights.
• Set hair with beer. Believe it or not, beer is a very good setting lotion and it makes hair look healthy and shiny. Spray a little beer into your hair using a pump bottle after shampooing, but before you dry and style your hair. You can store the beer for a week or two if you keep it in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator. back to top