Moisture Overload, What Is It And How To Fix It

We know what you’re thinking. Moisture overload?! I thought moisture was good! Well, we’re sad to say there can be too much of a good thing. We can get so hyper vigilant about keeping our hair moisturized, we stumble into something equally damaging, moisture overload.

What Is Moisture Overload

Moisture overload essentially refers to the loss of proper moisture/protein balance in your hair. When you add too much moisture to your hair, it can break down the protein that keeps your hair strong. Signs that you may be suffering from moisture overload are if your hair feels excessively soft and mushy, if you’re noticing that your curl pattern is looser, or if your hair strands stretch but don’t revert or bounce back. It can also lead to excessive split ends, limp or dull hair, a lack of volume, and more. 

What Can Cause Moisture Overload

The main cause of moisture overload is leaving your hair wet for prolonged periods of time. Think back on all the times you have deep conditioned your hair and left it in all day or overnight. While we know this is more convenient sometimes, it’s just not good for your hair. It breaks down the bonds in your hair, wearing down your hair’s natural proteins, and leaving your strands weak and vulnerable. 

How Do You Treat Moisture Overload

The first thing you need to do is wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo, particularly if the damage was caused by leaving a deep conditioner or other water based product saturated in your hair for too long. We recommend you try our DETOX Clarifying & Detoxifying Shampoo. 

After that, you should apply a protein treatment to your hair to restore the moisture/protein balance. You can learn everything there is to know about protein and protein treatments here. 

Moisture overload can be a real shock, especially if you’ve never heard of it. You can avoid this issue by not leaving your hair wet for too long. Try using a hair dryer instead of letting your hair air dry. And if you must air dry, don’t cover it up. Make sure you’re letting the air reach your hair so it dries as quickly as possible. You should also go easy on your product layering. Don’t over apply heavy water based products, as that will make your hair stay wet longer. 

Are you dealing with Moisture overload? What ways are you dealing with it? Share in the comments.