How Moisture And Excess Hydration Actually Cause Frizz And Hair Breakage

Our skin and hair are two different entities, so the concepts which apply to the skin don’t always apply to hair. Case in point: moisture and hydration. Skin and hair respond very differently when treated with moisture, and it can impact hair in ways we probably don’t realise. So, if you live in a very humid place, comb your hair when it is wet, experience frizz, or struggle with hair-breakage at the ends, understanding how moisture affects your hair is key.

What does “moisturised” mean in the context of hair?

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‘Dehydrated’ hair is not the same as ‘dry’ hair, and ‘moisturised’ or ‘hydrated’ does not have the same meaning as ‘nourished’ or ‘conditioned’. Making that distinction in our minds is important if we want to know how to prevent unnecessary hair breakage.

Dry means lack of lipids or oils while dehydrated refers to lack of hydration or moisture. Nourishment and conditioning refer to adding proteins and oils back into hair, whereas hydration means adding water or moisture. Brands use the terms interchangeably, but we can’t do that if we want to understand when and why hair breaks. This is because hair is almost never soft, smooth and nourished when it is hydrated and wet. So actually, damaged hair is not the same as dehydrated hair! Shocking, we know.

How water changes the structure of hair and causes breakage

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We need to forget the myth that we need to lock water into the hair the way we need to lock water into the skin in order to keep it healthy. Water is not good for hair. Just look at how frizzy hair gets in humid weather, when the moisture content in the hair is high.

Hair, in fact, is more fragile when wet. This is because hair is made of overlapping cuticles which are like a protective layer around the hair shaft. When your hair is wet, the outer layer of the cuticles swells up and gets lifted, weakening that layer of protection.

When it’s humid outside, moisture will enter your hair and the subsequent change in humidity will change the shape of your hair, causing hair to get frizzy. So you really need to condition your hair to prevent this frizziness or breakage. This is because oil and water don’t mix and if there’s enough oils in your strands, water won’t be able to enter past the cuticles and cause damage. Ergo, condition, condition, condition!

It’s also a myth that brushing hair or detangling it when it’s wet is a good idea. Many think that it locks in moisture. Many also don’t blow dry hair because they think leaving it wet helps lock in water. Clearly, that’s not true, is it?

How moisture can make hair weak and frizzy

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If you have textured hair, be it curly or wavy, your hair can experience something called hygral fatigue due to excess moisture. This can happen to straight hair as well, but it’s less common. This occurs when hair swells due to constant hydration, causing the hair shaft to contract and expand due to moisture penetrating the cuticles. The result is frizz and a change in the structure of the hair.

Even if your hair isn’t experiencing hygral fatigue, hydration still causes swelling and can lead to breakage if you don’t have enough protein or nourishing lipids in the hair to protect it from the damage water does.

If you want to ensure too much water doesn’t harm your hair, make sure your hair is well-conditioned with nourishing masks and conditioners. Even using coconut oil on the strands before taking a shower can help with this.

Whether to brush wet hair depends on your hair type

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If your hair is curly, you know what happens when it’s combed when it’s dry. So naturally, curly hair needs to be combed when you have conditioner on, when the hair is wet.

But wavy and straight hair are different. You shouldn’t be brushing these hair types when hair is wet, and you need to know that moisture levels in your hair will influence how much they can break during combing or brushing. That is because the breakage that happens to wet hair due to combing is different, based on the type of hair we’re talking about. When hair is damp or wet, it’s weak and vulnerable to breakage. That’s why, it’s not a good idea to comb wet hair, and why anti-frizz products with oils aren’t just superficial but actually help maintain your hair’s structure.

According to Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair by Clarence R. Robbins, the ends of hair are easier to detangle when they’re wet or hydrated. The roots, however, are best combed when hair is dry. So, comb your ends after a shower and wait for the hair near the scalp to dry before combing the top. Just doing this much will eliminate so much breakage!

What shampoos and conditioners which say “hydrating” mean

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The good news is, typically when a brand says “hydrating” or “moisturising”, they mean nourishing and conditioning. So your hydrating and moisturising haircare is not harming your hair. But the confusion caused by such misleading marketing can lead to us underestimating the effects water has on our hair, which is the real issue here.

At the end of the day, just remember that things like hyaluronic acid which hydrate skin are not really helpful for hair. You’re more likely to get benefits from oil-based ingredients like coconut oil or shea butter as far as the hair shaft is concerned. Proteins like rice or wheat protein also help maintain the strength of the cuticle, provided you don’t overdo it the way many do with keratin treatments.

That said, a lot of ingredients beneficial for the skin are helpful for the scalp, so the “hydrating” aspect of a shampoo might be good for a dehydrated scalp, albeit not great for the actual strands of hair. If your aim is to reduce breakage, though, be very careful about protecting hair from humidity, and controlling the amount of moisture in your strands with regular conditioning.

Lead image credit: Instagram.com/janhvikapoor, Nora Fatehi, Qanawat Music Group, QNT Group

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