Dry and damaged hair turns out to be a problematic deal. But sometimes, the hair care efforts also do not help in achieving good hair.
Moreover, many people suffer from dry hair conditions for prolonged periods that eventually become a nightmare. So if you are curious about how to know if your hair is dry, it’s worth considering certain signs that will give you the right ideas regarding your dry hair.
How to know if your hair is dry at the initial stage?
You will notice that the hair doesn’t have enough moisture, and it will feel like the hair is becoming gradually dull. But these are not the end symptoms. You can perform certain tests that will give you the correct information.
How to tell if hair is dry? – The list of symptoms
Many signs of dry hair clearly indicate the extent of the damage your hair is undergoing.
• The hair becomes brittle texture. While touching, you can see that the strand hairs and the split ends will be visible.
• Sometimes, it may also come with an itchy scalp and dandruff. When you don’t take care of the hair properly, serious issues increase.
• You can notice that the dry hair starts becoming easily knotted and is vulnerable to breakage.
• The follicles also start becoming damaged in no time.
• Sometimes, you may see that it becomes completely straw-like. The hair shaft becomes fragile and also vulnerable to breakage.
• Dryness can result in split ends and unruly hair. At a point, you may notice that the hair becomes stiff and crunchy when you touch it with little movement.
• Whenever you are using heat styling products the chemical products, you can see that your hair will look worse and will take a longer time to recover.
A broad explanation regarding the signs of dry, dehydrated, or the weak hair
This is the proper guide that will be helping in decoding the hair problem. So here have a notion about how to know if your hair is dry.
- Vulnerability to breakage
In case you see that your head is breaking a lot, it’s the clear-cut sign of dry hair. When your hair is becoming fragile, brittle, you must note that there is protein deficiency. The hair is made of the protein keratin. Whenever your body isn’t producing enough keratin in the hair, it will be vulnerable to breakage.
- Lack of flexibility
Healthy hair is always flexible, and you can play around with it as much as possible. But at a point, you will feel like you are causing damage to it. This happens when you see that your hair has become vulnerable to breaking.
Whenever you are trying to bend, it tends to become more damaged. This is a sign that your hair is not having enough nutrients.
- Rough texture
So, if you want to know how to tell if hair is dry, first of all, remember that good hair is Shiny and soft. But, if you start noticing struggling with brushing or combing the hair, it’s a clear sign that your hair is dry. Sometimes you can see that your hair starts attaining a stray texture. With that, you can stay confirmed that your hair is dry.
- Split ends
When you’re questioning why is my hair so dry, note that overtreatment with styling products and coloring agents can be one of the causes. Split ends are one of the major signs of dry hair. If you see that there are a huge lot of split ends, it’s a sign that your hair lacks enough nutrition. This sign calls for having the trim. Also, invest in hair conditioning by considering the regular trimming under the professional expertise; you can curb the roughness to a huge extent.
- Rougher than usual hair
How to know if your hair is damaged? In case you have hair that is tangled up, it is something that calls for much care. At the time, you may notice that touching the hair makes you feel like its dry or dehydrated. You can start noticing the split ends because this is the first sign.
You must take into consideration more conditioning and less heat styling. If you have used the excess of the chemical treatment for a long time, the hair becomes exposed to dryness.
- Heavily greasy hair
Heavily greasy hair isn’t always linked to sweating. Sometimes you see that after having the nourishing treatment, the hair starts feeling coated or greasy. This is a time that you are hair is getting more than the protein that it requires. The protein-heavy products also make your hair look worse.
- Dry scalp with dandruff
When you’re questioning how to tell if you have dry hair, remember dandruff is one of the major signs. It is one of the most serious situations when you need to take care of your hair. Dandruff alongside itchy scalp hair confirms that your hair is dry. The scalp is often lacking moisture and good cleansing. For rectification of this condition, you must consider a good shampoo with sulfate-free composition. Clarifying shampoo can do wonders. You should opt for using the moisturizing conditioner.
What does dry hair look like?
Dry hair has a brittle texture with visible stray hairs and split hairs. Besides, itchy scalp and dandruff will be visible at times. Moreover, you can see that your hair may start looking like straw.
All such signs indicate that your hair is dry and damaged. So what are the tests that can determine your hair is dry or not?
Tests to determine your hair is dry or not
Well, for that, first of all, you can consider the float test for hair porosity.
The test for hair porosity- the float test
You don’t have to consider bringing in technological materials for measuring the hair porosity. The simple water test can be the best one. You will have to just shampoo and rinse the hair for the removal of the product buildup. Once you see that the hair becomes clean and dry, just go with plucking out a strand. Now you have to drop it inside the bowl that is filled with water. Right after that, let it sit there for two or four minutes. You will have to notice whether the stand is sinking to the bottom of the bowl or is still floating at the top.
Inference:
• The low porosity hair will be staying right at the top of the water.
• If you have medium porosity hair, you will see that it will float and will stay suspended in the middle.
• If you have high porosity hair, it starts sinking into the bottom of the bowl.
Right after the determination of the porosity, you can also determine the right product that you can involve in your hair care regimen to treat hair.
During high porosity, the structure of the cuticle layer has overlapping scales that are lying flat. The type of hair has the nature of repairing the moisture. Whenever you are making it wet, it becomes vulnerable to build-up due to the conditioning products. This is something that makes your hair look stiff and straw-like.
Medium porosity hair is the one that has a cuticle layer in a little looser way. This is something that will be allowing the right amount of moisture to penetrate the hair and will trap it inside.
The hair with a normal porosity has the tendency of holding the style and the colors well. However, you must make sure that you are not coloring your hair too much. High porosity hair will be losing its luster very easily. The cuticle becomes vulnerable to damage and also has a gap in between it. This is something that makes your hair vulnerable to frizz.
Diameter determination test
Diameter refers to the width of the individual strand but not the number of the strands that you have on the head. For finding out the diameter, you will have to just take one hair and lay it on the table. Then you can find out what category it falls under.
If it is fine hair, you can see that you can barely feel the diameter.
In case it is medium-diameter hair, you can see that it is already thick or textured. Medium hair is the one that is between fine and coarse hair. Comparing the diameter is possible by comparing the hair strand to the piece of the simple Sewing thread.
Inference:
• In case you see that the hair is thinner than the thread, then you have fine hair.
• In case you see that it has the same thickness as that of the thread, then it is the medium hair.
• In case the hair is thicker than the thread, then you have dry and coarse hair.
Density determination test
Density refers to several individuals’ hairs that you have on the head. To determine the hair density, you will have to take the section of the hair right from the front and pull it to the side.
Inference:
• If you have thin density hair, you can see that the scalp underneath through the hair easily with most of the scalp exposed.
• When you see that the scalp is clean and visible through the hair, you can be sure that it has the normal density.
• Thick density hair is the one that will show your scalp. Barely again, the medium-density hair is the one that lies between the thin and the thick hair. You can see the scalp a bit but not fully.
The diameters and the density are the necessary tests related to measuring the dryness of the hair. But, if you notice the signs mentioned above, you should consider taking the perfect hair care regimen compulsorily.
Now, you must be questioning why is my hair dry? The following section will help you get the idea.
Reasons behind the dry hair
There is no one reason behind dry hair.
- Rarely indulging in a head massage is one of the major reasons.
- Brushing hair too often or too many brush strokes can make the hair dry.
- Washing hair too often makes the hair worsen.
- Too-hot water can increase the chances of Dry scalp.
- Hair that has no natural lubrication is more susceptible to dryness.
- Age is a factor too. As you’re growing, hair makes less oil. Hormone changes( mostly after menopause) can also lead to dry hair.
- Environmental conditions like dry, hot climate, frequent sun, and wind exposure, causes problems.
- Chlorinated or salty water is yet another major cause.
- Lack of protection due to the cuticle’s protective layer makes hair vulnerable to the lack of moisture and oil.
- Using a harsh shampoo can be no less in causing the problem.
- Blow-drying hair too often can make the hair worsen.
- Heat damage from straighteners and curling iron make the hair bad.
- Harsh chemicals, including dyes, perms, and relaxers, can be tedious for hair health.
- Health problems including Eating disorders, Hormonal problems like hypoparathyroidism and hypothyroidism, intolerance to cold leads to dry hair.
The easy treatment to curbing the dry hair
Following simple practices for the care of the hair can give you good results. You can wash your hair less often or use mild shampoo for that. Using the conditioner can make sure that you don’t have to suffer anymore. Avoidance of alcohol in the hair is a must. Using natural oils for retaining the growth pattern is a must. You can try deep professional conditioning for good growth. Trimming the split ends is a must. For recovery, take vitamins and minerals like iron, folate, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and Selenium.
Final words
You’ve come to know about how to know if your hair is dry. Dry hair isn’t that alarming in the initial phase. But, with time, when left untreated, it only makes your hair even more pathetic. So, do take into consideration identifying the symptoms in time to keep away the issues.
