If your hair has seen better days, consider how you've been treating it. If your hair has been beaten into submission by your blow dryer, straightener, curling iron and hairspray, it's time to give it a break. Exposing your hair to heat and styling products that contain alcohol may cause create dry, damaged hair that is susceptible to breakage. To keep your hair shiny and healthy, protect and treat it with care.
Step 1
Wash your hair with only conditioner every other day, recommends Paradi Mirmirani, MD, a dermatologist in Vallejo, California in the article "Hair Repair" in the health magazine "Fitness." Washing your hair daily, particularly with shampoo, strips away your hair's natural oils, making it feel and look dry.
Step 2
Hydrate your hair with a lime and honey conditioner, recommends the article "Conditioning Treatments for Dry, Damaged Hair" on beauty website "SheKnows.com." Whisk together 1 tbsp. of honey, 2 large eggs and the juice of 2 limes, and apply the mixture to dry hair. Wrap your head in plastic wrap and leave the mixture on your hair for 45 minutes. Scrub the hair with a small amount of shampoo, and rinse the hair with cool water.
Step 3
Braid your hair instead of pulling it back into a tight ponytail. If you wrap a hair tie tightly around your hair to put it up, cut your hair some slack. Pulling tightly on the hair may cause hair breakage and traction alopecia, a form of hair loss.
Step 4
Add shine to your hair with a hot oil treatment. Mix 2 ounces of castor oil, 2 ounces of aloe vera gel, 6 drops of rosemary essential oil and 6 drops of rose geranium cedar essential oil in a saucepan, suggests Kathi Keville in her book "Herbs for Health and Healing." Heat the ingredients over the stove until they are warm, but not hot. Test the mixture with your fingertips before applying it to your hair. Slather your hair with the mixture, leave it on for two hours, then rinse your hair with warm water in the shower.
Step 5
Cover your hair when going out in the sun. Wear a big hat and spray your hair with a UV-protecting spray before going outside, particularly on sunny days. You can purchase UV-protecting spray at a drugstore or beauty supply store.
Tips and Warnings
- Use a protein-rich conditioner to help nourish dry and damaged hair.
- Consult a doctor if your dry hair is accompanied by any health symptoms.
Things You'll Need
- Conditioner
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 2 large eggs
- Juice of 2 limes
- Hair tie
- 2 ounces castor oil
- 2 ounces aloe vera gel
- 6 drops of rosemary essential oil
- 6 drops rose geranium cedar essential oil
- Hat
- UV protecting spray
References
- She Knows: Conditioning Treatments for Dry, Damaged Hair
- "Herbs for Health and Healing;" Kathi Keville; 1998
- "Fitness;" Hair Repair: Treat Dry and Damaged Hair; Ayren Jackson-Cannady
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