Introductions - Dry Hair Guy Needs Guidance For Style Goal

Dry Hair Guy Needs Guidance For Style Goal

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Printed Date: July 22 2025 at 10:15pm

Topic: Dry Hair Guy Needs Guidance For Style Goal

Posted By: HideTheCutlery
Subject: Dry Hair Guy Needs Guidance For Style Goal
Date Posted: January 28 2007 at 11:43am

Hi, I am new to this site. I am a 19 year old (male) first year college student. For a few years now I have wanted to grow my hair out to a particular style but have always chickened out when it became diffucult to manage. Finally deciding to go through with it, I did researching on hair care and was surprised at the amount of simple techniques I didn't know about. I had been making mistakes left and right, for example, combing my hair when wet.

I have rather dry hair that has a very slight curl to it as it grows out (especially more curly when dry.) My hair is about midlength now and I'm feeling somewhat close to my goal. You can see a current picture of me in my avatar.

Picutres of Trent Reznor with what I'm going for...

http://www.scarletpage.com/images/recent14.JPG - http://www.scarletpage.com/images/recent14.JPG

http://ic3.deviantart.com/fs7/p/2005/163/b/b2e9f1bb54923078.jpg - http://ic3.deviantart.com/fs7/p/2005/163/b/b2e9f1bb54923078.jpg

http://www.rhino.com/RZine/images/NIN1.jpg - http://www.rhino.com/RZine/images/NIN1.jpg

So basically long bangs and pretty long sides but relatively short on the back. A huge issue I'm dealing with is the dryness of my hair. I have been using a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner for dry and damaged hair once every 3 days, and my hair just gets horrendously dry, curly, and unmanagable for about 24 hours after the washing (the 2-in-1 isn't the only thing that has done this, shampoo alone or shampoo + conditioner do too.) 48 hours or so after washing it gets oily enough to lay down as I want it to and is good until I wash it again. I am trying to use less and less shampoo/conditioner but this still happens. So I guess I have three questions:

How often should I be washing it, and is there a certain type of shampoo/conditioner that doesn't dry the hell out of hair?

Is there any product that would make the hair simply lay down more without getting the stiff hair look or damaging the hair?

My hair tends to maintain the shape it drys in after showers, but I have read alot about how you ought not to comb or tower dry wet hair as it damages it in its weakened state. The last few times I simply blotted it with a tower and let it air dry I ended up with a head full of frizzy curls.

Thanks, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Replies:

Posted By: Susan W
Date Posted: January 29 2007 at 7:05am

You should be washing it as much as you need to wash it to get it as clean/dirty as you want it (this varies for everyone). Go for shampoo only, then follow with a conditioner instead of doing the combo shampoo and conditioner. Conditioner alone at the end will help with the dryness problem.

You should also definitely try diluting your shampoo, this will help with both dryness and oilyness. Shampoo is very concentrated, and you can dilute it quite a bit with water and still get suds. Diluting will help keep it from overdrying your hair, and will help your scalp get less oily because your scalp will overcompensate less for the dryness. I know you said you like it when it gets oily, but getting it so you have to wash it one day less frequently (which diluting the shampoo will do) will help with the dryness, I'll talk about oil in a minute. Get a small bottle and use it to dilute your shampoo - you can mix it half and half with water, then see how much water you can get away with adding to still get suds when you wash (you can probably go at least 3/4 water). Roll it to mix it, don't shake it, and use a small bottle so you only have to mix what you need per day (its best not to let it sit around in its diluted form). It will take a few weeks to 2 months for your scalp to adjust, but after that you can probably go that extra day without washing.

Now, oil. You like it oily because it makes it more limp / hang straighter like in that photo. His hair is pretty straight, so you may need to straighten with an iron to get it like that, but that heat will be VERY drying, so you may not like it. You can try putting a drop of oil in it if that gets it to hang the way you like, and that will be much better for your hair, and also help with its dryness. You can use jojoba oil, coconut, or even try olive oil from the grocery to see how you like it. Use only a drop and spread it through your hair. It won't look oily unless you use too much - if that happens, just use less. At your length, one drop of oil will probably be plenty.

Another problem that may be leading to your dry hair problem is silicone buildup. I don't know what products you've been using, but getting a clarifying shampoo and using it once would greatly help if that is part of the problem. Any shampoo that says "clarifying" on it is what you're looking for, but this is only for use once every 2 months or so, it is a very drying shampoo, it WILL make your hair feel like straw, and should only be used for buildup removal on the very rare occasion. Use a heavy conditioner afterwards to add back the moisture you will lose from it.

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