Back in 2009 I did the big chop. I transitioned for nine months before finally cutting off all of my relaxed ends. I was left with a teeny fro and started experimenting with all sorts of hair products. At that time there were only a few online resources like blogs and hair forums. There were Youtube videos but not anything like the hair tutorials we have today.
Everyone talked about what worked for their natural hair and I found it odd that a lot of those things didn’t work for me. I finally realized that people who lived in other climates had different hair issues than what I faced here in Colorado.
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“What do you use to moisturize your hair?” or “I never had dry hair like this back east/down south” are common things that I here from people here. It’s true that there is little to no humidity in Colorado so our hair can feel very dry in the Rocky Mountain region. Hopefully in today’s post I can help bring light to the subject.
A Few Things to Help Maintain Your Hair’s Moisture in the Colorado Climate
1. Avoid Products with Glycerin
For a while there I was trying everything under the sun. If a product sounded good for someone else, I was out the door to hunt it down at the local beauty supply. I started to notice that products with glycerin just never really moisturized my hair like it did for other people.
That’s because glycerin is a humectant and will draw moisture to your hair. This is great if you live in an area with high humidity. Since we live in a dry climate, mostly absent of moisture, the glycerin can pull moisture from the hair instead.
Read more about the pros and cons of glycerin on natural hair here.
Tip: Adding a humectant to a deep conditioner can actually increase your hair’s moisture levels. I sometimes add glycerin or raw honey, another humectant, to my deep conditioner before applying it for a moisture boost. When used this way glycerin’s humectant abilities are a plus.
2. Use Filtered Water
We have hard water in Colorado. All that means is there are minerals in the water here that can deposit onto your hair and buildup over time. Calcium is one of the minerals found in Colorado water. You can also check the hard water map to see if your area has hard water. When mineral deposits build up on the hair it can feel dry and brittle. This can be one of the reasons why you have dry hair just by living in Colorado.
Tip: One thing you can do is attach a water filter to your shower plumbing to help remove the minerals from your water. You can also use filtered water in a spray bottle when styling your hair instead of water from the tap.
3. Clarify Your Hair
Hard water can be a nuissance but you can minimize the drying effects by clarifying your hair. When you have excess buildup of any kind, whether it be calcium or from hair products, it’s always good to clarify your hair. You can do this by simply using a clarifying shampoo. What makes a shampoo a clarifier is the ingredients. Not only will it do a good job of removing mineral deposits and product buildup but also work to get rid of chlorine after swimming. You will notice a huge difference in how your hair reacts to products after cleansing it with a clarifying shampoo.
Note: It’s not suggested to use a clarifier often so once a month should do the trick. A sulfate based shampoo can also be used to remove chlorine after swimming.
4. Deep Condition!
If you really want to get your dry hair back on track fast then a deep conditioning treatment is in order. That really is the best way to give your hair the moisture it needs. Using heat to help the deep conditioner penetrate the hair strands will make the treatment even more intense.
Tip: Be sure to use a product that is heavy on ingredients that will provide moisture. There are a lot of treatments that are meant to strengthen the hair which can lead to breakage if used too often. That is because they are more protein based.
There you have it; some of the reasons why you may be experiencing dry hair in Colorado. Feel free to browse through my older posts to get an idea of what works for someone who has dealt with dry natural hair here. You can also leave a question or comment below. Stop back for new posts each week!
Thank you for this. My hair used to have more volume and moisture and since moving to Colorado it’s been flat and dry :-/