Dull Hair? Put The Same Effort Into Your Scalp That You Do Your Skin

Dull hair, thinning hair is just screaming for some attention

You are not power less to dull hair or thinning hair. There are some things you can do. In fact, the most recent hair experts we’ve chatted with suggest the solution is simple: Treat your scalp the way you treat your skin: Keep your scalp healthy and clean and use products with skin health-boosting ingredients – and don’t forget to exfoliate.

Stop using a drying cleanser

Just as you know not to use a harsh cleanser on your face to the same for your scalp. So check the ingredients for sulfates on your shampoo, which can result in dull hair. It may be listed as: sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, or Ammonium laureth sulfate. “Using shampoo with sulfates regularly will dry out the hair and scalp,” says Bill Edwards, chief executive officer at Regenix . “A shampoo that is free of sulfates and parabens, such as regenix shampoo, can be used frequently with no drying effects.” And choose a shampoo with moisturizing benefits. He recommends Regenix Moisture Balance Shampoo ($27 US at regenix.com) because it contains natural, state of the art conditioning agents like panthenol, hydrolyzed wheat protein and glycerin.

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Use gentle but effective micellar water

Micellar water has been getting a lot of buzz in skincare lately. As a skin cleansing water, it leaves skin soothed, instead of red and dry. There is a new shampoo that contains micellar water. Michelle Salese, Redken’s research and innovation scientific liaison, hair care and styling, says that the micellar technology used in the Redken Clean Maniac Haircare with Micellar Shampoo “is responsible for the cleansing function.” She adds that the gentle-cleansing formula was created to cleanse the hair and scalp of pollution, grit, build-up and sebum. “The micelles gently lift impurities away from the hair as they are rinsed off,” she says. (Find a salon near you.)

Book yourself for a facial for your scalp

A salon scalp mask just be what thinning hair needs. Although not as stressful on skin as a peel, a scalp treatment can help exfoliate the dead skin cells and promote a healthy scalp, too. Try a Derma Renew Therapy treatment at the salon (find a salon near you). “That tingling you’re feeling, that means it’s working,” says Christopher Marrello, owner of Raffaello Salon and a spokesperson for Nioxin, a Canadian haircare brand. “It’s the peppermint that is penetrating the scalp to exfoliate dead skin cells and excess sebum.” He recommends getting the treatment as often as you would a regular facial – about every one to three months.

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Try dry brushing

Dry brushing has been around for ever, but more and more spas are offering this exfoliating service. And when you do it to your scalp it does the same thing: Removes dead skin cells that may clog the hair follicle. Give your scalp a microcirculatory massage, says Cyndie Kalkhourst, national educator for Aveda. She recommends the Pramāsana Exfoliating Scalp Brush ($20 at aveda.ca). “The bristles are looped nylon, and they are in this pattern and shape because they stimulate microcirculation at the root by penetrating the surface of the epidermis. What it does is it lifts off all of the congealed dead skin cells on the surface of the scalp.” Do this before you shower to wash the flakes away. “Imbalances with sebum will make your hair less shiny, get less volume and less strength. It’s exactly like dry brushing.”