5 Reasons Why Your Natural Hair Is So Daggone Dry (and How to Fix It)

Does it seem like your natural hair is always dry? You’re not alone. Insufficient hydration is a top struggle in the natural hair community. The lack of retained moisture has nothing to do with your hair type.

Curly, coily, and wavy textures are all prone to dryness when threatened with insufficient hydration. Failing to combat this can cause breakage and long-term damage. Natural hair with a dry scalp and brittle ends, especially, must be dealt with right away to ensure that it doesn’t stagnate the growth of your hair. 

The longer you leave your hair out to dry (no pun intended), the longer it’ll take to get it back to its healthy state. Restoration won’t be an overnight process, but it can be done.

How do you moisturize curly or dry natural hair? There’s a right and wrong way to do it. The wrong way will only leave you with greasy hair and clogged pores. The right approach to moisturizing your natural hair daily will lead to easier manageability, a softer curl pattern, and lengthier strands.

This article will shed light on the reasons why your hair stays thirsty, and our remedies for natural dry hair to help you replenish its moisture. 

Reason #1: The Weather

You may notice that your hair gets drier, frizzier, and more brittle at certain times of the year. More specifically, during the fall or winter months.

Temperature and humidity drops are common during these seasonal shifts, which can do a number on your natural hair if it’s not protected with moisture. Colder weather dehydrates and intensifies the dryness of your hair, making it prone to unwanted breakage.

Hair is more hydrated in the summer months due to humidity in the air. That doesn’t go without saying that summer hair care can be tricky as well, as you face the risk of sweltering heat frying out your curls. 

Transitional months are a time to transition your hair routine. Colder and drier weather calls for increased hydration by way of the LOC method. This method represents the order in which you should apply products to your hair after a regular wash (L = liquid, O = oil, C = cream). Following this pattern literally locks the moisture in your hair and ultimately eliminates dryness.

As for moisture retention? It takes even greater effort during the fall and winter, but protective styling and frequent deep conditioning are a couple of ways that you can protect your hair’s moisture.

By tucking away your hair and ends with braids, twists, and other protective styles, you’ll also see a favorable difference in the way that your hair dodges dryness. We recommend adding the Ultimate Moisture Styling Bundle to your fall and winter routines. These moisture-maximizing products will keep your hair healthy and hydrated during colder months, and also help make protective styles last longer. For our customers, they are essential natural hair moisturizers for dry natural hair.

Reason #2: You’re Not Deep Conditioning Your Hair Enough

While deep conditioning may seem like a time-consuming task, it’s a step that you don’t want to skip in your regular wash regimen.

Deep conditioning is a major catalyst in your hair’s moisture retention abilities. If you have excessively dry hair and you want to quickly replenish its moisture, deep conditioning is a necessary step. You see an improvement in your hair’s elasticity when you perform this process regularly. Bringing limp and lifeless curls back to life is as simple as using the Strengthen Protein Deep Conditioner to restore elasticity. 

Are you searching for good deep conditioning products that you can use frequently? You’ll want to use a treatment for dry natural hair that produces a healthy protein/moisture balance, like the Deep Conditioner Bundle. This system includes the Strengthen Protein Deep Conditioner and our Moisture Balance Deep Conditioner, which effectively restores dehydrated, dry, and brittle curls. These products are infused with protein-rich ingredients that’ll leave your curls feeling silky and soft with each use.

For best results, you should deep condition once a week along with your wash and shampoo regimen. Work in sections to apply the deep conditioner and detangle your hair accordingly. Each shampoo cycle should also be followed by the application of a rinse-out and leave-in conditioner.

Whether or not you use a hood dryer for this process is up to you, but heat does help the conditioner more effectively penetrate your hair cuticles. Otherwise, you can just lay it on thick, put on a plastic cap, and let it permeate your hair and scalp for the amount of time instructed on the back of your product label.

Reason #3: Product Build-Up

Let’s say that you do deep condition your hair regularly and you use all of the necessary products and styling techniques to retain its moisture. Yet and still, your hair continues to dry out. We know how frustrating it can be to feel like you’re doing all of the right things for your hair’s protection, and not see the results of your efforts. In this case, it could be that you have the right approach in mind, but you’re either using the wrong products or too many at one time. 

The use of too many hair oils, butters, and other products will eventually lead to product build-up if you don’t shampoo your hair regularly. Product build-up on your hair and scalp makes it difficult for your hair to absorb moisture, causing dryness over time. 

The natural hair journey can be met with temptations to get your hands on any and every product out there. Us recovering product junkies have ALL been there. You don’t have to hop on every product trend to further your healthy hair journey. All you need is a carefully curated selection of products that work best for your hair type and texture. To avoid product build-up, clarify and detox your hair once a month. A gentle clarifier like our Detox Clarifying Shampoo will perform miracles on your curls. Additionally, this process will allow moisture to more easily penetrate the hair strands.

Reason #4: You ONLY Co-Wash

Co-washing involves the practice of washing your hair with only conditioner. This methodical cross between cleansing and conditioning is great for reviving your curls between wash days. Some people like to replace their wash and shampoo regimen entirely with co-washing. However, this is a big no-no. 

Co-washing alone–without a cleansing agent–will only produce more product buildup over time–and we know how detrimental this can be to your hair’s ability to take in moisture. Your best bet is to stick to co-washing in between wash days and stick with your regular wash and shampoo regimen. We suggest washing your hair every 7-10 days with our Cleansed Moisturizing Shampoo.

Reason #5: Lack of Water

Spray bottles are a must-have for your natural hair regimen. It’s nice to have this necessity on hand when dehydrated curls need a quick refresh, or when you want to stretch or reshape your hair without drenching it entirely. 

It’s also important to have a spray bottle nearby when conditioning your hair, as this ensures that your curls are evenly saturated with water and product. A mist spray bottle would evenly distribute moisture around your hair. This makes it the perfect hair hydrating tool. Also used for styling purposes, spray bottles are quite useful when styling or re-twisting your hair at night.