If your hair is dry and frizzy, bad hair days may seem to come up more often than not. What can you do to have more good hair days or banish bad hair days forever? A simple change of routine may be what you need.
If you looked at hair strands under a microscope, you would see that hair in good condition looks relatively smooth; if you see any “shingles,” they lie flat like the shingles on a new roof. Dry, frizzy (possibly chemically damaged) hair appears cracked and like the “shingles” are sticking up and out at odd angles. For dry and frizzy hair, conditioning is of the utmost importance. Conditioners make the “shingles” of the hair’s cuticle (outer layer) lie down.

There are different kinds of conditioner and you need to look for the words “for dry hair” or “for frizzy hair” or “for controlling frizz”…anything along those lines will be ideal. These conditioners are generally thicker than conditioners made for normal or fine hair. Dry-hair conditioners are made to weigh the hair down somewhat and smooth down the cuticle.

Rinse-out conditioners are usually inexpensive and found next to the shampoos they’re made to complement on store shelves. For dry hair, it’s better to comb the conditioner through (with a wide-tooth comb) in the shower and rinse without disturbing. Just let the water run down the shaft of the hair. The hair should feel slippery at this point, which is what you want.


Dry-hair conditioners are usually paired with dry-hair shampoos. These shampoos often have emollient ingredients in them to be gentler on hair than traditional shampoos. They shouldn’t strip the hair of its natural oils. You should avoid frequent shampooing for the same reason (no stripping). Once or twice a week is usually enough to shampoo dry hair. In between shampoos, you can still cleanse your hair with “conditioner washing.” Just wet your hair, comb conditioner through thoroughly and then rinse. This is usually helpful to people who exercise frequently and need to rinse perspiration from the scalp, but don’t want to dry their hair out.
For hair that’s damaged, a reconstructive or deep conditioner may be in order. These conditioners, which are normally mud-like in texture, are meant to be left on the hair any length of time from a few minutes to an hour or so. Some instruct users to use a plastic cap and/or heat to get the full benefit of conditioning.

Silicone products can smooth down the cuticle, making it appear smoother. There are several lines of silicone smoothers that can be found in drugstores or salons. These are meant to be applied to freshly shampooed hair while the hair is still wet and then air-dried or blow-dried. For dry hair, it’s best to use a diffuser, which is a tool that can be attached to the end of the blow dryer to diffuse the heat in a larger area instead of concentrating the heat in one space.

Gels are also good products for smoothing hair, but be careful not to use gels with a high alcohol concentration since alcohol is drying. There are gels made specifically for frizzy hair and these contain low or no alcohol.

Too much heat applied to hair can also damage it or dry it out further. You’ll have to be judicious about the use of curling irons, flat irons, and hairdryers. The higher the heat or the longer heat is applied the more damage that can be done. Again, a diffuser is often dry hair’s best friend. It’s also better to use the low setting on a dryer.

If your hair is damaged beyond repair, whether from overzealous perming or coloring, the only way to achieve healthy hair is to cut the damaged portion off. It may be best to consult with a professional for this. Under no circumstances should you perm or color hair that’s already damaged.

To find which products work best for you, you may have to experiment. Once you find what works, stick with it. If a product makes a claim that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If a drugstore brand works better for you than a high-end salon brand, stick with the drugstore brand. Just because it’s more expensive doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best for you.

With a few simple tweaks to your hair-care routine, you may find yourself having more and more good hair days until your bad hair days are a thing of the past.

If you have dandruff, do not worry about being alone with your problem. With one out of every two people in the entire world having, or having had, that same problem as yours, you are definitely not alone with it. Dandruff is a common hair problem. Embarrassing indeed, but a very, very common problem nonetheless.
What causes dandruff? Well, you see, our entire skin, from our scalps to the soles of our feet, sheds dead skin cells on a daily basis. We get a complete coating of new skin every 28 days or so, but we hardly even notice it.

Our bodies also play host to a lot of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, feeding off on the sebaceous oils that our skin produces. Our scalp in particular is home to a kind of fungus called malassezia fungus, and its food is the oils produced by the hair follicles of our scalp. Dandruff happens when, for some reason or another, the malassezia fungus goes crazy and irritates our scalp, causing the dead skin to shed a lot faster. So, instead of shedding the dead skin cells of our scalp for a month, the shedding happens in less than two weeks, and the oil that our hair follicles produce cause these dead skin cells to clump together and become dandruff. Until now, the factors that trigger this phenomenon with the malassezia fungus are still the subject of research.
Dandruff is an embarrassing hair condition, and it can recur despite your best efforts. But with proper hair care, the recurrence of dandruff can be controlled. The best way to keep the flakes at bay is to shampoo your hair every day - picture perfect hair.

Dandruff can, of course, become stubborn, so if washing everyday with your regular shampoo does not stop the flakes from becoming haywire, the next best thing to do would be to start using anti-dandruff shampoos. Look for anti-dandruff shampoos with zinc pyrithione, selenium sulfide, salicylic acid or ketoconazole as the active ingredient. To keep your scalp from developing immunity to these shampoos, go ahead and rotate brands at least once a month.

For optimum results, you can lather your hair with the shampoo of your choice twice. The first wash will clear the scalp of the flakes and the oil buildup. The second one would let the chemicals in the shampoo get absorbed by the scalp - haute hair.
You can also try homemade remedies to wash the flakes away and to keep the dandruff from recurring. What is considered the best homemade remedy to dandruff is a vinegar wash. Mix two teaspoons of vinegar with six teaspoons of water and rub it against your scalp before you go to bed, then wrap your head with a towel. Apply the same solution to your hair once again in the morning when you wake up, then rinse it with water. You do not have to worry about the smell of vinegar in your hair, as the smell of vinegar does evaporate eventually.
Whatever you do, never, ever scratch the clumps with your fingernails. It will cause wounds on your scalp.

Dandruff is an embarrassing hair condition, but it is not unmanageable. Just take good care of your hair and the flakes will go away.

All About Hair Care

Proper hair care will lead to healthier and better-looking hair. Bad hair care tactics, or not taking care of your hair can lead to breakage, fly away, frizziest, split ends, dull hair, and early hair loss. When it comes to hair care, there are a few basic rules that everyone should consider adopting for the long-term health of their strands.

These are the tips for your healthy hair:

Never brush wet hair. This will guarantee breakage. Use a good pick or your fingers to untangle your hair as you dry it. Hair should be about 90% dry before brushing.
Choose healthy habits for your hair. Any habits that damage your body also damage your hair. Exercise, eat well and avoid smoking and alcohol, or at least cut back. Your hair is just one part of the holistic you.
Hot air can be damaging to your hair so when using a hair dryer use the cool setting.
Don't leave the blow dryer in one spot for more than a few seconds, keep it moving and at a good distance away from your hair.
To speed up the drying process, pat your hair dry with a towel and let the remaining moisture in your hair dry naturally.

Gently use your fingers or a pick to untangle any knots while your hair is drying.
While you swim: When swimming where a cap to protect your hair from chlorinated water, if you choose not to wear a cap make sure you shampoo and condition your hair right after you are done swim. Before entering a pool, wet your hair so your hair will soak up the initial water instead of the chlorinated water.

You should wash your hair as often as you feel necessary to keep it clean, but a general rule is for oily hair you should wash it every day or every other day and for dry hair 2-3 times a week.

Try rotating the shampoo and conditioner at regular intervals,your hair responds differently to different products.

Conditioning after shampooing is advisable, because it'll moisturize your hair, give it extra protection, add smoothness, reduce static, and makes it easier to untangle.
When conditioning your hair, try to spread conditioner evenly through out your hair and leave it in for a couple of minutes before rinsing out your hair.
Right shampoo for your kind of hair: If your hair is of dry type, Herbal or Egg shampoo will suit best. If you have Normal hair, use fruit shampoo or henna shampoo. Lemon based Shampoos will suit oily hair.

Other hair care tips:

Henna soaked in water of used tea bags, coffee powder; amla powder and onion peels can make for a excellent conditioner giving your hair the much needed boost.
There are number of hair accessories available in the market today. Use clips, pins and bands to give your hair a different style and an added touch of color.