My fellow Asians,
As a comrade and brother in arms who also suffers from dry asian hair, I truly learned whether I actually needed to moisturize. There were two different types of days I remember that served as a great lesson for me.
The first day was when I hung out with my friend after class to get boba and she ran her fingers through my hair and told me,
“Man it’s so soft… Who’s the lucky lady?”
My friend and study partner Kayla
The second day was when I was 15 and attending a business party, my parents’ party, that I was forced to attend. I met my family’s friend’s kid’s and the other details were unimportant; what was important was this:
“Woah Jason, your hair is so dry. It’s like, snowing, like dandruff!”
Some guy who scarred me for life
Yeah, okay. Dandruff isn’t the same as dry scalp; but that’s the thing –my hair was so dry it looked like I had a hair fungus to other people. So that’s what we’re left with. One some days, my female friends can’t get their hands off me; on other days, I scared them away because I looked like Santa Claus. Yikes.
So what’s the lesson? The lesson is, don’t treat your hair like crap with products that leave your hair dry and flakey. Yup, sorry grandma, but head and shoulders is not the thing you should be putting on your head. In fact, run the opposite direction as quickly as possible.
Before we get to our recommendation of the best shampoo and conditioner for dry asian hair, we’re going to cover a bit of why you want to use the right products along with how to apply the right technique.
Or, you could just skip right to our top choices because you already know this stuff!
How to use shampoo and conditioner for dry Asian hair: The Right Technique
- Only wash with products a few times a week. Don’t use it everyday, or else you’ll irritate your scalp and make it more dry.
- Use shampoo in a small pump, but mix with your hands before applying
- Use a hair scalp massager. It doesn’t need to be pricey, just get one that can dig deep into the scalp.
- Leave the conditioner on for a bit before washing away.
- Wash your hair with cold water only.
- Dry with a towel before using a hair dryer with cold air.
One of the interesting things about a properly moisturized head of hair is that it also looks more voluminous too. So, if you’ve ever thought to yourself, “oh my god, my hair is usually always so long and big, why is it so flat now?” or “I have such thick hair; why do I look like I’m balding now?” then you know that the lack of moisturizer is what’s making it flat and lifeless.
It is best to keep your hair healthy with some useful products listed. There are a lot of products that are for moisturizing and are too expensive to keep up the voluminous look. However, there are more cost-effective solutions to keep your hair less dry for the season. Here are a few of the best shampoo and conditioners for dry Asian hair that are both reasonably priced and effective.
1. Joico Shampoo and Conditioner
A good budget shampoo and conditioner combos is from Joico; usually you can find it as a pack on sites like Amazon. This brand is very good for dry hair since it helps keep it soft and you can probably keep some shine in your hair for once.
There’s Moisture Recovery, for thick dry hair and K-Pak for repair damage.
Personally, I use Moisture recovery since, well, I’ve got thick hair.
If you screwed up your whole life and damaged your hair with something as evil as head and shoulders because you saw it was on sale at Costco, then use K-Pak for the damage repair. It’s alright, my asian parents always buy on-sale head and shoulders shampoo from Costco even when I tell them not to; so, it’s sort of understandable if you’ve used it and grew up with the stuff.
Then there’s the K-Pak Intense Hydrator and Reconstructor pack which is outside the realms of shampoo and conditioner.
Personally, I don’t think you really need these extra add ons unless your hair really got screwed up from the sun and damaged from adding color. If your hair just needs a quick solution, I’d say that just using the moisture recovery and K-Pak repair damage is enough for your head. Follow the list of instructions I placed above and you should be fine.
Remember: Only use extra products if you’re certain. Overdoing it with any more products than I’ve recommended tends to expose your scalp to too much… “stuff”. It just becomes too much for your hair to handle and the chemical introductions make it more dry.
If you do need the hydrator and reconstructor, they should be used once every two weeks or once per month depending on how dry and damaged your hair is.
2. Biosilk
Another great one is Biosilk.
Unlike Joico, this is more on the pricey side. It comes in a smaller bottle too.
Nonetheless, it’s still worth being on our list.
This is more of a repair and protection type of shampoo and conditioner, so you won’t have to worry about your hair frizz and brittleness.
Note: Though it may be fancy shmancy, you have to get used to the texture. It uses oil, so you should use this in moderation. If you use too much of the product, your hair will drag down after a shower.
Another little great addition is their leave-in conditioner: I found it to be especially useful to have on those days you alternate washing your hair. Their leave-in conditioner keeps your hair shiny and smooth for a long time and it also has a nice scent afterwards.
Honestly, the scent is something you can achieve with just regular cologne or scented water spray, but just having the scent on the conditioner makes a huge difference. There’s going to be days you don’t anticipate your friends running their fingers and hands through your hair or them stuffing their face on your head for a sniff.
Okay, I admit. No one stuffed their faces on my head for a big whiff of scented conditioner. I’ve only ever received, “Oh hey, your hair smells nice…” or “oh, its scented. Nice…”
Regardless, better to smell like a rose than like greasy, oily, unwashed scalp with sweat, skin, and oil buildup!
3. Shiseido (Tsubaki)
This is a more well-known brand that a lot of people mainly use for brittleness and dryness.
“But Jason, if everyone uses it, then it won’t fit the ‘secret weapon against dry hair’ narrative!”
— Probably some guy
Yup, you’ll be basic. You’ll drink Starbucks and like long walks on the beach; or worse, you’ll wear OCBDs and salmon shorts like the guys on Reddit. Oh dear!
Nah, just kidding. It’s okay to be basic. Unless, you know, you never get out of your comfort zone and develop your own style. In that case, you’d need to graduate from Reddit Male Fashion Advice sub!
Anyway, the reason this is well-known and often-used is because it works. It actually works as one of the best shampoo and conditioner for dry asian hair that always feels frizzy like it has been electrocuted.
And hey, it also smells nice! It’s got a fruity scent that honestly gets more compliments from both men and women than the uber-manly stuff. Though, that’s not too much of a comparison since the times I used uber-manly shampoo and conditioner, I got no compliments at all!
Oh, and unlike the other two, you can also get refills for them instead of just getting another bottle. It was pretty convenient since I could just get all the refills in advance.
So that’s our comprehensive list of the best shampoo and conditioner for dry asian hair! It was actually quite hard thinking of which ones were the best both price and quality-wise, but after long hours experimenting and working with some of the best brands, we found these to be the smartest.
If you feel like you aren’t sure which one to pick or you just don’t know what works for your hair, feel free to contact us! I’d be happy to help guide a fellow dry Asian hair sufferer, since I’ve been there myself!
