DON'T LET THE SIZZLE Zap Tressesyour

by Blake Herzog

Arizona heads can get hot in the summer. No matter what the style or substance of your hair, it is going to lose moisture. When your hair is naturally on the dry side, as curly hair tends to be, overly dry climates can lead to serious breakage and leave it uncharacteristically dull.

Our dry heat exacerbates genetically-based dryness and the damage done by heatbased styling, coloring, perming and everyday shampooing, so the solution is a combination of pulling back on these activities while applying moisturizing products — but not so much that they weigh your hair down and cause buildup.

Shampooing your hair less frequently to preserve its natural oils is one way to avoid dehydrating it and can be effective, but many people are too conditioned for a daily hair cleansing to feel comfortable going without it. You can try tricks for your “off” days like dry shampoos, cute updos and hats, which are a good idea for protecting your hair from the sun no matter how clean it is.

There are many other ways to moisturize dry hair, which can help undo the damage done by shampooing, if that’s something you need to do every day.

Fine Hair

Fine or normal hair is usually straight and there’s a fine line to walk between the dullness of dry hair and the oily, grimy look of over-moisturized locks. Wash it every day or every other day, and use lightweight conditioners as often as every other hair wash to moisturize, but go with about half the recommended amount. Since fine hair will absorb the moisture of hair masks more quickly, you can wash them out after 15 minutes or so.

THICK/CURLY HAIR

Curly hair can be washed less frequently, once a week or even less, and heavy, creamy conditioners are ideal for bringing the shine and bounce back, but be on guard against buildup on your scalp from using lots of moisturizing or leave-in products. Remember to use them only on the ends of your hair to avoid this.