Why Does My Hair Feel Like Straw?

Have you noticed that your hair is starting to feel more like straw than silk? In addition to feeling unpleasant, dry hair is a sign that something in your hair care routine needs to change. In this article, we’ll dive into a few reasons why your hair feels like straw and walk you through what you can do to correct it.

Your Hair Is Damaged

The more damaged your hair is, the more holes and gaps you have along your hair’s surface.

Although these holes make it easy for water to enter your strands, they reduce your hair’s ability to hold onto moisture. Make sure you get rid of the damage with regular trims and avoid heat and chemical styling as much as possible. You should also make an effort to protect your hair from environmental sources of damage, like sunlight, chlorine, pollution, and salt water.

You Need to Moisturize Your Hair

Unfortunately, some hair textures are much more prone to dryness than others. The wavier or curlier your hair type is, the more likely it is to be naturally dry. Avoid ingredients that dry your strands out, like alcohol, sulfates, and parabens. Instead, use deeply moisturizing products and coat your damp strands with a serum or heavy oil to trap the water inside. You should also add a weekly or biweekly deep conditioner and a daily leave-in to your routine to provide your strands with all the moisture they need.

You Need to Lay Off the Protein

Do you use a lot of protein-rich hair products? If your answer is yes, there’s a chance that your hair has developed a protein imbalance. While protein makes your hair strong and resilient, too much of it will leave your strands crunchy, brittle, and straw-like. Go through your products and identify the ones that contain proteins, amino acids, or keratin. Healthy hair has a balance of protein and moisture, so try to use them less often and instead switch to more hydrating formulas.

You Have Buildup

While most products either sink into your strands or wash away when you shampoo them, some leave behind a buildup that is much more difficult to remove. Instead, the products stick to your strands and block out water, making them dry and brittle. Buildup can come from a few different sources, but hard water and hair products are the most common.

Hard water, or water that contains dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium, is prevalent in American homes. When you wash your hair with hard water, the minerals coat your strands with a waxy or sticky residue. Washing your hair only exposes it to more dissolved minerals, so you’ll have to prevent hard water buildup by switching to a filtered showerhead.

Similarly, some hair products don’t readily leave your strands with regular shampoo. Instead, you’ll have to eliminate the buildup with clarifying shampoos, which have a higher concentration of cleansing ingredients than traditional shampoos. Although they’re effective cleansers, clarifying shampoo is extremely drying. So, make sure you add moisture back into your strands with a nourishing deep conditioner or hair mask.

There are a number of reasons why your hair feels like straw, but ultimately it probably boils down to a lack of moisture. So, reevaluate your hair care routine and ensure it's giving your locks all the TLC they need. We hope this article has enabled you to do just that!

Author: Andrea Reyes

Andrea is a mother, wife, writer, and natural hair enthusiast of 15 years. Currently on her natural hair journey, she’s been trying countless products and techniques to understand and embrace her natural hair. She is the creator of NaturallyTextured.com, a new website featuring informative articles that share tips, tricks, and techniques aimed to help others learn to love their hair through proper hair care. She writes with the hope of making hair care easier to understand and implement.