Keeping hair healthy can be a struggle for many people. From washing it every day to styling it with a straightener, blow dryer or curling iron, hair can easily be damaged over time.

For both women and men, using the right products can make a difference on their hair. Using a dry shampoo every now and then instead of washing it every day, will soak up the excess oil on the scalp, but won’t dehydrate the hair.

It is known that washing hair on a daily basis is not a great way to keep it healthy. Shampooing it every day strips the oils from the scalp and these oils are needed to keep the hair from becoming too dry.

Dryness can be a major problem for those with color treated hair. Using bleach to go blonde can be especially drying.

Janice Lei, sophomore child development major, has short, straight black hair and recently dyed it blonde.

“After I colored it to blonde, my hair became so damaged and dry,” Lei said. “To fix it, I try to [only] wash my hair two to three times a week, and use more oil based products.”

Using oil based shampoos and other oil based products can replenish the moisture lost when washing your hair.

“Sometimes I will put on a lot of moroccan hair oil at night so my hair can absorb the nutrition, then I wash it when I wake up,” Lei said.

Lei says she blow drys her hair after she washes it, but other than that, she rarely uses heat on her hair.

Using heat on your hair can be really taxing. Using a heat protector spray will keep it from becoming damaged by styling tools such as a curling iron.

For those with curly hair, the best way to keep it healthy is to embrace the curls rather than try to straighten them every day. The heat from the straightening iron can really take a toll on those tresses.

Wearing a silk bonnet at night while sleeping can saturate your hair, and sleeping on a silk pillow will help keep it from tangling.

Wendy Chavez, sophomore civil engineering major, describes her hair as “crinkly” and not very shiny or healthy. She bleached her hair by herself at home and was unaware that she was supposed to protect her hair with coconut oil before she bleached it.

Ever since, Chavez has refrained from using heat on her hair to avoid further damage, and took the recommended steps from her hair stylist for a full recovery on her damaged locks.

“From that moment on, I started using natural products to fix [my hair],” Chavez said.

Chavez recommends aloe vera oil to help regain strength in damaged hair.

“Those aloe vera products really started to help me, and little by little, my hair started recovering,” Chavez said.

Men shouldn’t be afraid of trying deep conditioning treatments as well, because it can do wonders for their hair. These treatments make hair softer and shinier.

Other ways to keep hair from becoming damaged is to be gentle with it when its wet. Use only a wide-toothed comb on wet hair.

Trimming your hair regularly helps keep it from damaging further by cutting off the ends where split ends begin. Once an end has split, it can move further up the hair strand, damaging your hair even further.

One last tip: don’t forget about the sun! While it is known that the sun’s UV rays are harmful to skin, it can also be damaging to hair. Wearing a hat can help shade your tresses from those rays!