Dry, thin or curly: How to care for different hair types

If you’re looking to learn how to care for different hair types, you’re in luck. Whether your hair is damaged, dry, curly, straight, or fine, we’ve put together our top tips to help keep your tresses looking healthy, shiny and beautiful. So now we’ve got your attention, want to see what made our list? Scroll down to discover our helpful hints and product recommendations that’ll help you look after various hair types now.

Top hair care tips for different hair types

If you have damaged hair…

Tip: Try using a nourishing oil

Be honest now: how often do you use a hair oil? If you have damaged hair (whether it be from the environment, colour or heat styling), this is definitely something to consider including in your routine. The Dove Advanced Hair Series Regenerate Nourishment range has been specifically designed for extremely damaged hair and the Dove Regenerate Nourishment Serum-in-Oil (£6.99*) is a product we particularly love.

Like the name suggests, it tows the line between a serum and an oil (combining the restorative qualities of the former and the nourishing benefits of the latter), making it the perfect hair care and hair styling product all at once. So not only will it help strengthen your tresses against breakage, but it should help smooth and make your hair easier to style, too.

If you have dry hair…

Tip: Try an oil treatment

There are many reasons for dry hair: over-styling, excessive heat, and internal and external dehydration are just a few of the usual suspects. Our hair care tip for this hair type? Introduce an oil treatment into your pre-shampooing routine. The VO5 Give Me Moisture Hot Oil Treatment (£4.28*) comes in four individually-packaged tubes and can be used before hair-washing to help add moisture to your thirsty locks.

If you have naturally dry hair, however (i.e. not caused by damage, but more genetics), then gentle yet nourishing products like the Dove Nourishing Oil Care series might be more suitable.

If you have curly or coily hair

Tip: Use the right hair care

Because of the ‘S’ or ‘Z’ shape of curly hair, the scalp’s natural oils have more trouble travelling down the hair shaft than for those with poker straight hair, which often equals in dryness and loss of curl definition.

However, the good news is, there are super easy ways to rehydrate your curls and increase manageability – and it’ll sound pretty obvious, but you’ll be surprised at how many people forget that simply using a hair care range that’s specifically designed for curly hair is half the hard work done! We love the Dove Advanced Hair Series Quench Absolute range, which was formulated to help tackle these curly hair issues all in one go, plus it’s infused with buriti oil, so the formula is nice and nourishing too!

Try: Dove Advanced Hair Series Quench Absolute Shampoo and Conditioner (£5.99 each*).

If you have thin or fine hair…

Tip: Try reversing your hair washing routine

When you apply conditioner, are you applying it mostly to your scalp or just your tips? Making sure that you concentrate your conditioner application only to the lengths of your hair rather than your roots can make a big difference. And while his technique is one to note across the board for all hair types, it’s even more important for fine or thin-haired ladies. Because fine hair often has issues with retaining volume and lift at the roots, applying too much conditioner can weigh it down, not to mention irritate the scalp.

But if you’re one of many who still find the usual wash-out conditioners leaving behind heavy, greasy-feeling hair, perhaps it’s time to switch it up and apply your conditioner first? It may sound rather unconventional, but there’s logic to this, we promise. In fact, the game-changing TRESemmé Beauty-Full Volume collection even includes a Pre-Wash Conditioner (500ml, £5.99*) that can help fine hair hold onto volume while doing its job of cleaning. Smart, right?

*RRPs are Unilever suggested retail prices only, it is at the discretion of the individual retailers to set the actual price.