High Altitude Hair Care (location, not 80's style)

[talervo]

So, I was wondering how many of us are in high altitudes and how it effects your hair? :cool:

I have fine, light brown hair with a fluxating oily scalp. My hair dried out like crazy when I went from sea level to a mile high. The hard water up here didn't help either. Also, my hair is way more fly-away. Probably because of the dryness and/or static? I ended up cutting my waist length hair after about a year up here because I didn't know what was wrong. Now I'm growing it out after learning good hair care tips from this site.

My skin also dried out a lot and I have to drink a ton more water. What's weird is that I don't feel more thirsty...

Right now I'm trying a combination of shampoo bar/citric acid rinse and no water. So far, I've made it 2 days no wash and then wash with bar/CA rinse. Still working on finding the best shampoo bar, though.

[butterflycayton]

I notice when we go on vacation and the water softness and altitude change, my hair compains! If we go higher, it gets very fly away with lots of static. But if we go to a lower altitude it is very limp and gets greasy really fast. I think if a person gives it long enough, it will adjust the the conditions of the air and water.

[ll]

When I was living at high altitude, the main thing I noticed was that I got a lot of unexpected sun damage, even when it wasn't particularly sunny out. I learned that the sun is much stronger at high altitudes (air is thinner / less ozone as a barrier). So my main advice would be to watch out for the sun, and adopt sun protective styles as needed (i.e., hat). :o

[thankyousir74]

I should stick around this thread, as I'll be moving from Miami, FL to New Hampshire....

[Themyst]

I used to live up in Breckenridge, right around 9200 feet, I think it was. I never noticed a change in my hair at all, although I lived down in Denver for about five years or so before moving up to the mountains. I now live right at sea level and still haven't noticed a difference in my hair, but then I could just be oblivious it it all. :o

[missmagoo]

We just moved back up to mile-high after being by the beach for two years.

I personally think that it has more to do with the dryness than altitude. I really have to keep my hair well-moisturized to keep it from totally falling flat.

[Deborah]

I have lived in Colorado for many years now, but when we first moved here from Pennsylvania, my skin and hair went absolutely crazy! I don't think it is the altitude either, but rather the dryness.

For my first year I simply could not turn a light on or off without being badly shocked. I learned to ground myself by resting my arm on the wall before touching the switch. I still got shocked, but not as badly. And my hair was unbelievably static filled. It was long then too, and at that time I wore it down every day, and many days when I brushed, a large halo of full length hair stood straight up and out, and it made crackling sounds. Those were rough days! (Not to mention truly weird. But my friends found it quite entertaining. :rolleyes:)

I used lots of conditioners and moisturizers, and after a year and a half or so, things settled down as my body and hair adjusted to the dryness. I still have to watch that dryness and static, but I am way better.

Welcome to Colorado! :flower:,

[BranwenWolf]

I think my issues are more dryness than altitude. (and I typed this before I saw MissMagoo's post) The area where my parent's house is has very high chlorine levels in the water... my skin went nuts for months.

When I go to more humid places or when we have a humid day here, my hair loves it.
I just learned to step up the oil/conditioner.
Also, every place seems to have soft water by comparison. I get used to using more shampoo and when I go to softer water it takes me 20 minutes to get all the suds out of my hair!

[krn2891]

I've lived in Colorado my whole life and I would agree that its probably more the dryness then the altitude that affects hair. Since I grew up here I think my hair feels weird when I'm down in Florida so I just keep it in braids the whole time. I would just oil your hair until it seems happy.

[Moldilocks]

Hi! I live in New Mexico, though I'm from Colorado.
I agree, the issue has more to do with dryness than altitude. I'm always fighting dry hair (so no help from me), but for dry skin I take fish oil daily. It really helps. Especially in the winter when my back gets itchy.
Good luck to you, and I will be watching this thread for advice.

[talervo]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'll try using oil on the ends. Kimberlily's defrizz spray did seem to work well, too, but I'm still trying to figure out how to use fresh aloe without it going bad quickly. I have a huge plant and want to make good use of it.