3-Day at Home Hair Boot Camp For Dry Hair

Photo: Renato Abati / Pexels

Attention—about face! (I’ve always wanted to say that.) Due to nationwide shelter-in-place orders, we’re not able to visit our local salons for a number of professional treatments that quench, strengthen, and soften your hair. And for those of us with dry or coarse textures, that can be especially tricky.


Welcome to hair and scalp boot camp. Get ready to transform and maintain dry, damaged hair with this intense 3-day conditioning routine. Plus, clarify your scalp to build a healthier foundation for hair growth.

Perform this 3-day routine every month and incorporate the following leave-in products into your daily routine to tame and revive hair textures that need some extra TLC.

Day #1

To Do: Clean scalp and strengthen keratin structure.

Products:

  • Detoxifying scalp mask

  • Intensely moisturizing conditioner

The first day of boot camp focuses on starting completely fresh, beginning with your scalp. Apply a detoxifying mask to your roots, preferably one that exfoliates and conditions, to provide a clean base for the rest of boot camp. Go for a formula that incorporates both clarifying and conditioning ingredients, like purifying Hungarian Moor mud and flake-fighting celery seed extract.

We recommend applying Omorovicza Revitalizing Scalp Mask directly to dry scalps and thoroughly massage it into your skin. Leave on for 10-20 minutes. Rinse out and follow with the proper shampoo and conditioner for your hair type. Towel dry hair thoroughly.


Instead of reaching for your favorite leave-in, grab a tube of intensely rich conditioner, specifically formulated to repair your hair’s keratin structure. Keratin is the key structural protein that makes up hair. Dry and over-processed strands translate to a weakened keratin structure, which means major hair breakage.

We nominate Raincry Radiance Rinse Conditioner for the job. Infused with strength-restoring keratin amino acids, this conditioner has intense shine-inducing and split end-repairing properties to fortify hair. Slather on a generous amount of conditioner, finger comb to completely coat your from root to tip, and let air dry. Leave on all day and overnight as an intense hair shaft repairing treatment.


Day #2

To Do: Moisturize scalp, replace hair hydration.

Products:

  • Nourishing hair and scalp mask

  • Hydrating hair mask

Good morning, crunchy locks! Your hair might not look or feel soft right now, but prepare for your stiff hair to transform after you shower. Hit the water, and rinse out the baked-on conditioner.

In the shower, squeeze out excess water and apply a regenerating mask to nourish both hair and scalp. Incorporating intensely nourishing shea, macadamia, camellia and hazelnut oils to energize scalp and hair, apply Sisley-Paris Regenerating Hair Care Mask. Leave on for 10 minutes and rinse out.


Towel dry strands and apply a deep conditioning mask with revitalizing ingredients, like biotin and argan oil. We recommend Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask, which blends rosehip, sweet almond, and argan oils with vitamin B5 and biotin to protect against further damage. Apply the mask from the mid-shaft down to your ends, avoiding your scalp (let it breathe!). Leave on for the remainder of the day and overnight to let your hair fully marinate in the moisturizing formula.


Day #3


To do: Adopt a new leave-in conditioning routine.

Products:

  • Leave-in scalp treatment

  • Leave-in conditioner

It’s the last day of boot camp! It wasn’t that bad, right? Hop in the shower and rinse out yesterday’s conditioning treatment. After you towel dry, get ready to layer on some mane-strengthening and scalp-soothing products. It’s time to update your quarantine hair routine.

Start with applying a fast absorbing scalp serum to nourish sensitive skin and prevent dandruff, itchiness and irritation. We recommend sectioning your hair and applying Oribe’s Serene Scalp Soothing Leave-On Treatment directly to your scalp. The sensitive scalp-approved formula gently exfoliates, soothes, and nourishes your skin with a calming concoction of cucumber, chamomile, and aloe.


Supercharge your hair with a powerful leave-in conditioner that keeps up hair hydration. Infused with hyaluronic acid, vegetable collagen, and coconut oil extract, R+Co Sun Catcher Power C Boosting Leave In Conditioner is a triple threat. This leave-in conditioner locks in water molecules, improves scalp circulation and softens strands to keep the positive effects of boot camp going strong. Reapply and layer as needed throughout the rest of your week.