New country making my hair bad?

[xcoolamandax]

I recently moved from the southern U.S. to Egypt. It's a lot hotter and dryer here. Before I came i'd been cowashing my hair for quite a few months. It was doing wonderfully. My hair was soft and shiny and manageable. Now that i've moved, my hair is dry and tangly. It tangles a lot, especially at the ends. I lack all the hair knowledge you lovely ladies possess so i'm at a loss. What could I do to make my hair normal again?

[MissAlida]

It would help if you'd try to type your hair, or if you can't, you should upload a photo, so we can help you. Without knowing your hair type, I'd say try moisture treatments. Either hair masks or deep treatments found at stores, or you could make your own. You could also try to leave your conditioner on for a longer period of time, say 1-2 hours under a shower cap and a towel. You could also try, -and it has worked wonders on my tangly hair- , ACV or white vinegar rinses. Or if you don't like the smell, even tough it fades away once your hair is dry, you could use some other acidic rinse, like lemon juice or chamomille tea. You just put 1 tbs in 300 or so ml of tap water, and do a final rinse after you've washed your hair. You can then rinse it out or leave it in. I usually rinse it out. Good luck:).

[deltadeliquent]

Check your water hardness. I had the same issue when I moved from soft water Oregon to hard water England.

[Madora]

Wear your hair up to prevent tangles.

To help with moisture issues, mineral oil (also known as baby oil) helps a lot. You only need a few drops (on damp hair). Helps keep the moisture in your hair plus it is a great detangler and helps combat the frizzies.

Here's more about it: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225

[swearnsue]

I live in a dry climate and I make sure to drink water during the day, use a humidifier to keep the indoor humidity between 20% and 30%, use gentle shampoo and preoil. I also use Madora's suggestion about the baby oil, just one drop or less on my damp ends is all it takes.

I wonder if a clarifying would help? The different water mixed with any buildup on your hair making it tangly?

[Windflower]

We moved from damp Washington to dry Kansas and I had similar issues. Damp bunning with a bit of oil helped me a lot.

[brave]

Guessing like others have said that it might be a water hardness issue, or that your old products were just fine for moisturizing in the south where conditions were humid, but aren't cutting it in a desert environment.

For hard water -- try a chelating shampoo. This is different than clarifying; it's mean to get rid of mineral build-up, not product.

For products meant for a desert environment, make sure you're not using too many humectants (which will actually suck moisture from your hair, if it's dry outside), and maybe consider sealing your wet hair with an oil (MO works very well, so does jojoba, shea, etc -- lots of options) or a silicone-ey product (this will also add a good deal of slip, but if you're COing it means you will either have to watch what products you use or occasionally clarify).

Dew points (http://pittsburghcurly.wordpress.com/dew-points/) are basically what you're dealing with here I suspect. If you look up the weather for where you used to live, and the weather where you live now, I'm gonna guess southern USA was high dew point and egypt to be low dew point. Your hair will react differently and your products will probably need to be changed.