You've Heard Of Combination Skin, But What About Combination Hair? 6 Tips To Treat It

The same can be said of your hair, of course. The variables that make up our unique locks are pretty vast, meaning there's a lot to consider when crafting up hair care—and often people can end up pretty confused about what their specific treatment plan should be. This is particularly the case with combination hair, as the type of hair comes with conflicting issues when you travel from root to tip.

Combination hair is a hybrid of sorts. Like combination skin, this moniker refers to a mane that's oily in some places, drier in others. Oftentimes, people may discover it's their roots that run oily, the ends of their hair parched dry—that's because your scalp type can totally differ from your hair type (but more on that in a moment).

Here are some of the most common culprits.

We repeat: Your scalp is your skin, and like the pores anywhere else on your body, some people's follicles can accrue more oil than others (due to genetics, hormone fluctuations, or what have you), even if the length of their hair remains dry (from aging, daily heat styling, or environmental aggressors). And there you have it: combination hair. 

Your hair type totally plays a role here, specifically if you have curls. See, the sebum from your scalp travels down the hair shaft all the way to the tips—for those with a straighter hair texture, this process tends to happen more quickly (as there is a clearer path). For those with curls, the traveling takes longer with all the twists and turns. As a result, folks with curls may have an oily scalp with drier lengths—aka, combination hair.

The perfect wash schedule differs for everyone (see here for our full guide to shampooing), but you can always snag a sulfate-free shampoo to avoid messing with your scalp’s natural balance. These picks are formulated specifically for oily roots. 

Take it from board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D.: "The oil follicles on the scalp are controlled in similar ways to the oil follicles on our face and other areas like the neck, chest, and upper back," she once told mbg. "So, factors like stress that may increase oil production on our face may also increase oil production on our scalp." 

Much like treating combination skin, caring for this hair type is a delicate dance. Here are six expert-backed ways to strike the perfect balance: 

Shampoos and conditioners typically come as a set (a moisturizing shampoo comes with an equally nutrient-dense partner, a volumizing option with a featherweight conditioner), but who says you can't mix and match? It's similar to how you might slather on an oil-absorbing product on your T-zone, coating drier portions of your face with denser formulas: Select a cleansing, purifying shampoo to balance an oily scalp (here are our favorites), along with a hydrating conditioner to work into those ends (our go-to's here). 

Apply them onto your scalp pre-shampoo, massage them into the skin, rinse and follow with your hydrating products (you don't want to strip the scalp completely of its natural oils, as it can lead to dryness and flakes). Find our favorite scrubs here.

That said, you can totally target the nozzle where your strands need a little more love, coaxing some life into dull and dry ends. 

How so? Well, frizz and dull hair is the result of raised cuticles. Your cuticles rise up due to a more alkaline pH1, and a product with a lower pH (hello, apple cider vinegar) can help seal the cuticle back down. See exactly how to do an ACV rinse here.

And when you do reach for the hot tools, make sure to always use a solid heat protectant: Not only do these help absorb the damage that comes with heat, but they can also hydrate the hair and infuse the strand with nutrients. Check out our favorites, here.

If you condition and hydrate your ends to no avail, it may be time to start anew. At a certain point, damaged ends are irreparable—the only way to truly "mend" the dry wisps is to trim off the dead weight. Once you cut those dry ends and properly care for your inches with the methods above, your combination hair troubles may subside. 

Combination hair is quite common (it simply refers to some parts of your hair that are oilier than others), but it's not so difficult to treat. All it takes is being a bit more choosy with your products and playing with different combinations to care for both concerns.