Dry to very dry hair? Here’s how to care for it properly

You want long hair that feels soft and looks glossy; hair that’s strong and healthy. Fair enough. The only snag is that you also like straightening it, curling it and colouring it — habits that don’t always sit happily with those first wishes. If you’re a fan of blow-dries, highlights, straighteners and other heavy-duty treatments, there’s no way around it: your hair needs looking after. It can be hard to carve out a few minutes while a treatment gets to work, but beautiful hair is like most good things — it takes time, care and a bit of patience. Want to wake your hair up and bring back softness, vitality, shine and strength? Here’s our edit of treatments for dry to very dry hair.

First, a quick last-minute tip: there are pre-shampoo treatments and post-shampoo treatments, and some need rinsing out while others don’t.

If your hair is very sensitised, it’s best to do both. Yes, it takes longer and asks a little more of your hair-care budget, but the results are undeniably there.

Also, for a post-shampoo treatment to work as it should, apply it to towel-dried hair. If your hair is still dripping wet, the product won’t penetrate the hair fibre very well.

Hairdressers also suggest wrapping a warm towel (run under hot water first) around your hair while the treatment works; the heat helps the product penetrate better.

Now that’s said, on to the treatments:

This is a real classic for dry hair: Leonor Greyl’s Huile de Palme has won plenty of fans.

The method is simple: apply it through the mid-lengths and ends a good half-hour before shampooing, brush to distribute it evenly and wait.

Very nourishing and detangling, it helps treat the hair in depth. It can help limit dryness linked to the sun and make detangling easier, but it doesn’t replace proper UV protection.

Worth knowing: you can also apply the palm oil before bed, put a towel over your pillow and leave it on overnight for best results.

Then rinse with warm water and shampoo as usual.

René Furterer’s oil is based on shea butter, well known for being deeply nourishing. Again, apply it before shampooing through the mid-lengths and ends, and on the scalp if needed, then leave it for at least 10 minutes. Nourishing and softening, the shea oil can improve scalp comfort, hydrate and nourish the hair, leaving it looking shinier and feeling softer. If your scalp is sensitive or irritated, it’s worth asking a dermatologist for advice.

The brand also recommends following this treatment with its shea butter shampoo, an extra step in a nourishing softness routine.

Phyto is unequivocal: for ultra-dry hair, it has to be Phytonectar. An oil bath made with egg-yolk oil, soya oil and sunflower oil to nourish deeply and revitalise the hair. Apply it at least 15 minutes before shampooing, so the oil has time to work.

Next, shampoo, towel-dry and apply the Phytokarité mask to nourish damaged hair and improve its appearance (softness, detangling, shine). Careful: this is intensive treatment.

Also worth trying: the very effective Garnier Ultimate Blends conditioner with avocado oil and shea butter. A generous cream for very dry or curly hair, to apply to towel-dried hair. Leave it for a few minutes and rinse with lukewarm water. The result: hair feels soft, is easier to style and, as the icing on the cake, looks wonderfully shiny.

Schwarzkopf’s Cashmere mask is aimed at very dry, tired, damaged hair too. This time amaranth oil is the star ingredient, designed to give elasticity, softness and shine back to ‘stressed’ hair. As with any conditioner, use it on towel-dried hair; the leave-on time is 10 minutes.

Alongside this treatment, which should be used once or twice a week, the brand offers a serum for the ends, to use on damp or dry hair (no need to rinse). Ideal for smoothing the cuticle and protecting and nourishing very dry ends, it’s especially recommended for long hair: the Cashmere Tips serum.

And between washes and treatments, remember to protect your hair from daily wear and tear: heat, cold, smoke, pollution and sun all gradually weaken hair, leaving it drier and duller. To help prevent that, there are day creams for hair, to apply after shampooing or as a top-up through the mid-lengths and ends.

Here are a few examples:

• Carita Complexe Anti-Fourches, a gel with silk silicone and vitamin B5 to smooth the cuticle and protect the ends;
• Carita Crème de Jour Protectrice aux Minéraux Essentiels, to smooth, soften and protect hair;

• Leonor Greyl Sérum de Soie Sublimateur, to nourish, smooth and beautify hair without weighing it down…

Found an effective treatment you wouldn’t give up for anything? Share your secret with readers in search of beautiful hair by leaving a comment!

What it costs

On the price front, it all depends on the range and where you shop. In supermarkets and high-street stores, a nourishing conditioner or leave-in cream usually costs around £5–£12 a bottle. In pharmacies, beauty retailers or salons, a branded mask, oil bath or serum tends to sit around £20–£45 depending on size. A salon deep-treatment add-on is typically around £15–£35 on top of a shampoo, a little more for very long hair. Prices move quickly, so compare sizes — a 200ml tub often works out better value than a 100ml tube — and ask for a sample before investing in a large format.