Leaving deep conditioners on for too long – Deep conditioning treatments are a surefire way to give your curls & coils the moisture they crave. But if you use them too often or leave them on for an extended period (or both), it's possible to oversaturate your hair with hydration.
If your curls have too much moisture – Besides feeling limp and heavy, too much moisture on your tresses from heavy oil-based creams, balms and products makes hair lifeless and even fragile in the long-run. Don't let this bring you down, there are many ways to bring life and shine back to your hair.
Daily or Every Other Day: For very dry or high-porosity hair, consider moisturizing and sealing daily or every other day. Weekly: For medium to low-porosity hair, you can moisturize and seal once a week, depending on your hair's moisture needs. Seasonal Adjustments: Adjust your routine based on the season.
When hair becomes extremely porous, water rushes into and out of the hair shaft causing a condition called hygral fatigue. Hygral fatigue means that you are wearing out your hair with too much water. “The telltale sign of dry hair is that the hair strands seem smaller than they used to be.
The signs of protein overload include hair that feels rough and straw-like, lacks elasticity, and is prone to snapping. While dry hair may be a symptom of protein overload, if your hair has lost its natural elasticity and bounce, or you're experiencing more oily hair than normal, it's likely moisture overload.
Signs of High Humidity
Condensation on Windows: If you notice water droplets on the inside of your windows, it's a sign that there's too much moisture in the air. Mold Spots: Mold loves damp environments. If you're spotting mold in corners, on walls, or in the bathroom, your home's humidity is too high.
A good rule of thumb: If your curls feel dry, try washing less frequently. Washing your curls everyday can remove the natural oils of your curls and makes it difficult to retain moisture. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't wet your hair. "Rinse and condition more often; shampoo less," Hallman advises.
Signs Your Hair Is Overly Moisturized
Your hair is limp and falls flat. Your hair is dull and flat-looking. Your hair feels spongy and mushy when wet and feels too soft and fluffy when dry. Your hair has low elasticity — stretches when wet but doesn't bounce back when released.
Curly hair is more likely to suffer from dry hair due to the structure of their strands. The twists and turns in curly hair and coily hair make it more difficult for the natural scalp oils to move down the hair shaft. The curlier the hair, the drier it can be. This makes these types more susceptible to dry curly hair.
There is also another curly camp that believes air-drying can lead to more frizz, as it leaves strands vulnerable to breakage as you move about your day (hair is most prone to damage when wet). So, your outcome will be dependent on how you can protect your damp curls from too much friction until they are 100% dry.
More breakage – Curly & coily hair is more prone to stress & breakage due to its unique shape. With moisture overload, however, you may notice excessive breakage, especially when rinsing out your hair in the shower or combing out your curls.
One major sign is a change in the look and texture of your hair as it may start to look dry, dull, and brittle. Your hair may feel more coarse and struggle to hold a curl when dealing with protein overload. Too much protein may also cause split ends and breakage, leaving hair to shed more.
Even after you've gone to all the effort of styling them, stringy looking curls can still happen! This can be really disheartening. There isn't any one reason for ending up with stringy curls, however most often they're due to insufficient moisture in the hair.
Does the Curly Girl Method make hair curlier? The Curly Girl Method doesn't change straight hair into curls, but it enhances and defines natural curls. By promoting hair health and avoiding damaging practices, it can improve curl definition and texture for those with natural curls or waves.
Most experts recommend washing your hair about 1-3 times a week, but those with thicker curls and coils can often leave their hair for longer, with some recommending every 10-14 days. Coarser curls need the moisture from the sebum as long as possible, or else the hair can feel very dry and brittle.
1A - Type 1a hair is completely straight and can be quite fine in texture, it can also fall out or drop easily. 1B - Type 1b hair is still very straight, but it has a very subtle wave and a slight bend at the end. It tends to be thicker than your friends with straight hair.
When it comes to brushing curly hair, it's best to do so when the hair is wet. Brushing wet hair makes it easier to maintain the integrity of the curl's shape since the water creates a slick surface to detangle any knots. Anyone who's ever tried brushing out dry curls knows an undefined, frizz-filled look may follow.
As noted above, water damage will usually leave walls soft to the touch, or otherwise warped, buckled, and crumbled. It also tends to cause a musty smell and dark brown or yellow-tinted stains, lines, or rings in both ceilings and walls.