6 Practices That Rob Moisture From Your Hair

My family and I went to the Formula One races last weekend and here is the list of things that I forgot while on my sun filled three day weekend getaway.

Conditioner – for some reason I figured I would not need any.

Satin bonnet* – I went commando for three nights.

Sealing agent – I didn’t need that anyway since apparently I did not plan to keep my hair moisturized or in fact keep up any semblance of a solid hair regimen.

Needless to say that was the perfect formula for a hot mess which I promptly fixed Monday night with a great deep condition and protective style for the week.

We do many things that zap the moisture out of our strands, some of it from pure laziness, some due to styling errors and others due to just plain lack of knowledge.

Even the best of us make mistakes sometimes. The one thing that is most important is knowing what you are doing wrong and taking the necessary steps to fix it straight away.

With that said here are 6 practices that rob moisture from your hair.

1. Sleeping Without A Scarf

The next best thing for a girl without a scarf is a girl with a satin pillow case. If you are going commando and you have cotton bedding, prepare yourself for the epic fail of moisture transfer from your strands to your fluffy cotton pillow case.

It might be a complicated scientific occurrence at night when you do not protect your hair, but regardless of how technical it is, having your hair exposed is the perfect formula for dry strands in the morning.

The only way to really fix a ‘dry haired’ morning if you are natural is to either jump in the shower and cowash or really saturate your hair with a water based leave in.

If you are relaxed you pretty much will have to do the same thing, throw in a protective style too. After solving that problem make sure you keep your bonnet next to your bed so that you never ever forget it again.

2. Blow-drying On High Heat

A blow-dryer can be your best friend or your worst enemy if you do not know what you are doing.

As a matter of fact it probably has more of a tendency to be an enemy than a bestie because using high heat, destroys the strand and zaps the hair of moisture almost instantaneously.

We have mentioned before that the usual causes of permanently broken bonds in hair is due to either chemicals like relaxers or due to the use of high heat.

Once the top layer of your strands are compromised by heat, you end up exposing the inner core of your strand leading to dryness and lack luster hair.

If you plan to blow-dry the best method is the tension blow dry method after your hair has been thoroughly moisturized and protected with a suitable heat protectant*.

Dry the hair angling the blow-dryer down in an effort to keep your layers as flat as you can.

3. Wearing Your Hair Out Often

‘Out Styles’ are fun styles I get it, but the environment meaning the sun, the wind, your clothing and other external factors can rob your hair of moisture on a daily basis if you constantly keep your hair exposed.

Intense heat from the sun can actually break bonds in your hair even though you may never have picked up a flat iron* in your life!

If you plan to wear your favorite cashmere sweater be warned that the price tag makes no promises about reducing friction as your ends brush and snag against the fabric.

The bottom line is do all things in moderation, wear your hair out just as often as your wear it in a bun or other protective styles making sure you maintain balance in your hair care regimen.

You spend a lot of time adding moisture to your hair to protect it and retain length and health so knowing these little things will ensure that your efforts are supported and not shot to H – E – Double Hockey Sticks.

4. Bleaching Your Hair

Bleaching is another bond breaking scenario and even though we can all be suckers for a great blonde job, to achieve that color means literally stripping away your natural color and again chemically raising the cuticle layers of the strand that helps your hair retain moisture.

Don’t even bother conducting a strand test, trust auntie BHI when we tell you that your hair will be more porous and you will have to go HAM on the moisture and protein.

If you do decide to bleach, be really strict with your moisture regimen and protect your hair at all costs from other things that remove moisture from your strands. Other than that enjoy being a blondie for a while.

5. Using Heavy Gels Often

Heavy gels while great for defining your curls will rob your hair of moisture if you are not careful. The key to using styling gel is to moisturize and seal your hair thoroughly first and then add gel to style.

Alcohol free gels are designed to help your hair retain moisture by not having ingredients that dry the hair out all things considered. But the ingredients that allow your hair to ‘freeze’ into place can be drying nevertheless.

The problem arises when you use these heavy gels very often without washing them off thoroughly to remove build up. As a result crunchiness, breakage, and dryness ensues leaving your hair drier as you use a little bit more gel each day.

If you love gel that’s great, just give your hair a breather once in a while, she will thank you eventually.

6. Using Cuticle Damaging Hair Styling Techniques – e.g. back-combing

The hair strand is uniquely made. The cuticle layers are designed to protect the inner most layers of the strand, hold in moisture and at the same time makes your hair appear smooth, shiny and healthy when laid flat. Avoiding cuticle damage is clearly very important for overall healthy hair.

Back combing, usually done by those with very fine flat hair is essentially combing or brushing your hair upwards from the tip to the root in an attempt to create volume. The main issue with this is that your cuticles suffer serious damage and protein loss (similar to scaling a fish) which then leaves your hair drier.

A similar thing happens when you use ‘volumizing’ styling products. They raise your cuticles to allow your strands to rest further apart thereby creating the illusion of volume.

Any styling option you choose should always have a view to smoothing your hair in order to maintain it’s structure and allow the cuticles to do their job of protecting the delicate inner layers of your strands.

The point is, try to style your hair in ways that encourage the natural behavior of your hair, avoiding damage at all costs.