Proper Care of Combination-Type Hair

Many people have a combination hair crisis. There's lots of oil in the sebaceous tissues of the scalp, but your hair still stays bone dry. It is an especially common problem for those of us with long hair or curly hair - or people who shampoo too often, which is pretty much all of us!

The body possesses the innate ability to prevent drying of the hair shaft. Called sebum, it is the oil your scalp secretes. In a perfect world, sebum would be enough to prevent dry hair and also not give you greasy hair. That ideal escapes us sometimes for reasons within we can’t control. If you want to prevent the oiliness and dryness all in one fell go, follow these steps

1. Shampooing. It should be expected that the suggested washing techniques for dry hair are not the same as that for oily hair. Often it is what leads us to having combination hair difficulty in the first place. There are so many varieties of shampoos for every kind of hair type. It is tempting to apply the strongest shampoo to oily hair or lubricating dry hair with a large amount of oily products. Be careful however, since each method might be more destructive than beneficial.

2. For hair that tends to feel oily. Do not pick the most powerful shampoo out there. Your scalp, sensing its dryness, will just produce more sebum to make up the difference.
Hair that is very oily can be washed daily in order to keep the scalp clean. You should massage normal shampoo into the oily scalp-area for the best results. Do not use a shampoo-conditioner two-in-one. As you do this to avoid the dry lengths of hair. It can even stay on the scalp for a few minutes. Take care to thoroughly wash it out once you're finished!

3. Washing hair that is dry. You should wash all of your hair simultaneously. If you have dry hair, you probably do not need to wash it every day. It shouldn't be washed nearly so frequently, in fact. Frequent shampooing may be one of the reasons for the partial dryness in your combination hair. Use a mild shampoo which contains humectants. In addition, use shampoos that have acidifiers in them because they help heal all damaged cuticles. They put an outer protective layer on the hair to further avoid dryness. Each time you wash your hair you need to slather the dry part with conditioner, but avoid getting any of it on your scalp.

4. Restore the sebum level. The cause of dry hair in the extremities is low sebum levels. Washing or just the curly nature of your hair, means the sebum isn't extending from root to tip as it ideally would. Find an oil that will replace the absent sebum - one that behaves similarly to sebum in our hair, to reduce the dryness in your combination hair. The cuticle will be coated with non-essential oils to keep the moisture out. One oil that can imitate sebum in your hair and penetrate the cuticles is Jojoba oil. You should only apply a few drops and spread it around making sure you get the tips and only on the dry part of your hair. Avoid the scalp!

5. Heat is a foe of moisture! Because your hair is not moist enough (sebum is not hydration considered moisture), lessening the exposure of your hair to heat from hair styling instruments will prevent dryness. Even the sun can cause damage! Experiment with blowing your hair dry for less time, or stop altogether. If faced with a situation where you have to use it, make sure to select a lower setting. If you are stepping out into the sunlight, pick a conditioner that contains sunscreen. Your hair will benefit.

6. Nutrition. To an extent we can control sebum. When we are teenagers, the hormones naturally make the scalp secrete more oil. However, you do have some control. You can also adjust your diet, aside from using different products and adjusting your grooming habits to reduce oily hair near the scalp. Does it surprise you that eating a lot of oily foods and grease will lead to a scalp with a lot of sebum? Cause and effect! Half the answer to reducing the levels of sebum in your scalp, is that you should drink more water, eat more veggies and fruits, and take in less alcohol. Furthermore, drinking extra water can do wonders for healing dry hair.

7. Do not touch. Even if, like me, you're constantly perplexed - don't scratch your head so much. If you touch your scalp, you leave grease deposits into your hair. Hands are innately moist and greasy (and maybe dirty). You don’t want to put more oil on an oily scalp, do you? If you sense the need to feel a scalp, feel another person's. They'll only be adding more oil to your face when they slap it, though!

8. Think about treatments that are chemical in nature. Wouldn’t you like to know what its like to have just one hair type - oily or dry? Maybe the real cause behind your combination hair is getting a perm or coloring it. Chemical treatments such as these can potentially cause the hair to become dry and damaged. Applying humectant-rich shampoos and occasional oil to the dry reaches of hair and avoiding those treatments for a while may help.

Don’t give up on ideal hair. There's always that other part, that other condition even if you remove one of the two conditions bothering your hair. You'll still have the oily scalp if you remove the dryness. If you are able to cure your oily scalp, you will probably still be faced with dry hair. Work on both issues through a combination of good nutrition, the appropriate products and changing your grooming habits. Turn the combination into healthy, reliable hair!