There is nothing as disappointing as your hair feeling wet when you are at the point of styling it. This wastes your time as you have to wait for it to dry or blow dry and puts your hair’s health at risk. Styling damp/wet hair is risky as it may lead to breakage, dryness, itchiness, and dandruff. What makes the hair feel wet when it’s actually dry, and what can you do about it?
Keep reading to find out below, as this article tackles everything you need to know about hair that feels wet when dry.
Why Does My Hair Feel Wet When It’s Dry?
Product Buildup
The products we use in styling and moisturizing our hair often leave insoluble sticky residues that don’t wash away with regular shampoos. These residues deposit on the scalp blocking the follicles and binding on the hair strands, making them brittle. A greasy scalp, breakage, tangling, dryness, and hair that feel wet when dry are signs that your hair is suffering from product buildup.
Low Porosity Hair Type
Low porosity hair refers to one that has tightly packed and overlapping cuticles. This results in a situation where different products have difficulty getting absorbed into the hair shaft, and they instead sit on top. Hair also takes a long time to dry after it’s washed, which could be why it feels wet when dry.
Using the Wrong Hair Care Products
Believe it or not, the hair care products you use on your hair could be why it feels wet when dry. Different hair types require varying effects to achieve the best results. If your hair is curly, consider using rich nourishing products to provide it with the moisturization it requires.
Washing Your Hair Too Often
Many people make the mistake of thinking they are doing justice to their hair by washing it often. This is wrong as such an action does more damage to your hair than good. Frequent hair washing reaps the scalp of its natural oils, causing dryness. A dry scalp triggers the oil-producing glands to produce more oils, creating an overly oily scalp/hair.
Using Too Much Shampoo or Conditioner
You may be tempted to use excess shampoo or conditioner, hoping that such an action will help eliminate dirt faster and give you the shine you desire. That’s not right, as using extra shampoo or conditioner adds to hair stickiness due to difficulty getting rid of it during the rinsing process.
Washing Your Hair with Hard Water
Hard water has a history of leaving the hair dry. In addition, hard water also makes your hair sticky by depositing some minerals, for example, calcium, that form buildup in your hair.
How to Avoid Your Hair Feeling Wet When Dry in 2023
Wet hair is a nightmare you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Such hair is prone to breakage and harbors other severe conditions such as dandruff, fungal infections, itchiness, and hair dryness. Many negative consequences are associated with styling hair that still feels damp. Such hair has many split ends and may fall out easily. Moreover, wet hair is susceptible and quickly reacts to the products you apply.
It’s therefore advisable to give your hair time to dry or blow dry to eliminate the dampness. Better still, you can quickly eliminate the moisture in your hair by incorporating the following measures.
Give Your Hair Enough Time to Dry
The reason why your hair could be feeling wet could be that it’s actually wet. It would help to allow your hair to dry completely before applying the styling products. Therefore, this requires you to wash your hair early enough to have enough time to dry.
Don’t Wash Your Hair Too Often
Washing your hair now and then is a dangerous affair that leaves the scalp stripped of essential oils. This forces the sebaceous glands to overwork to produce the needed oil to replace the lost one and moisturize your scalp. Overproduction of oil results in an overly oily scalp and greasy hair. To avoid such greasiness in your hair, take a break between washing the hair to give it time to breathe and take in the required nutrients.
Use the Right Products for Your Hair Type
You must normalize using the right products for your specific hair type. To actualize this, you must first be familiar with your hair type and know what products to apply. Different hair care products work for varying hair types, such as straight hair type, wavy, and curly. The first step to understanding your hair type is to know its texture, scalp condition, whether oily or dry and the porosity of your hair.
If you, for instance, are highly porous, use moisturizing conditioners and shampoos to give your damaged hair the moisture content it needs to get back to life.
Use Clarifying Shampoos to Get Rid Of Product Buildup
It would help if you regularly got rid of product buildup by clarifying shampoos such as Olaplex No.4C Bond Maintenance clarifying shampoo, and Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo, among others. Many people make the mistake of using ordinary shampoos, hoping that such products will get rid of the buildup. This can never happen as regular shampoos only have the power to get rid of excess oil and other forms of dirt, unlike clarifying shampoos with unique ingredients to remove the buildup.
Don’t Use Too Much of Any Given Hair Product
Whatever hair care product you feel is necessary for your hair, never use too much of it. Such an action will lead to a buildup in your hair, which has dire consequences, as discussed above.
How Best Can You Avoid Your Hair Feeling Wet When Dry
Every woman’s dream is to have healthy, shiny, and glowing hair that’s easy to style and care for. This dream, however, doesn’t actualize for most people who struggle with different hair challenges such as breakage, scalp irritation and itchiness, frizz and damp hair, and dandruff.
Suppose you are among the people struggling with your hair feeling wet when it’s dry; it’s time you change your hair care routine and incorporate clarifying shampoos, work with the right products for your hair type, allow your hair enough time to dry, and avoid washing your hair too often. Such actions will result in you having healthy glowing hair that can withstand breakage.
