How to Build a Hair Care Routine

Your hair faces an array of stressors – including heat styling, chemical treatments, pollution, UV radiation, and rough styling habits – every day. And every time you’re exposed to these aggressors, they compromise the integrity and resilience of your strands.

While damaged hair can’t be reversed, you can build a supportive hair care routine that’s tailored to your unique hair type to help you work towards your hair goals.

Dyson’s research into hair science has enabled our engineers to understand what maintains healthy hair and what places stress on strand proteins. In this guide, we’ll help you identify your hair type and concerns, define your hair goals, and explore which Dyson hair care formulations can support moisture, shine, vitality, and bounce.

Factors to consider when building a hair care routine

Hair needs differ depending on type, environmental stressors, lifestyle habits, and the status of natural or dyed hair.

Below, find out how these factors shape a healthy hair routine.

2. Your current hair health

Before you can build the right hair care routine for your needs, it’s important to assess the current state of your hair.

Ask yourself: 

• Does it break easily?
• Is your scalp dry, tight, or excessively oily? 
• Are split ends visible?
• Are you experiencing thinning or more hair fall than normal?
• Do your strands feel rough or coarse?

If your hair is chemically processed – either through bleaching, dyeing, perming, or keratin straightening – it may be drier or more damaged than natural, untreated hair. These types of chemical treatments can weaken your hair’s keratin bonds and make it difficult for the cuticle to retain moisture, which exacerbates hair concerns.

Additionally, if you use conventional stylers on a regular basis, you may be experiencing some heat damage. Keep in mind that temperatures above 230°C will weaken or melt strands. As mentioned above, damage to hair can’t be undone, but you can adjust your hair routine to restore moisture and strength to encourage new growth.

3. Your hair concerns

Your hair concerns can result from your specific hair type or from external aggressors, so your hair care routine should be tailored around the needs you want to target.

Common hair concerns include:

• A dry, flaky scalp
• Excess oil
• Split ends
• Heat damage
• Frizz
• Flyaways
• Dullness
• Dryness and brittle texture
• A lack of volume
• Increased hair shedding

Remember, the New Zealand climate can also play a role in seasonal textural changes. High humidity in the upper North Island can cause cuticles to swell, which leads to increased frizz and changes in curl patterns. Conversely, cooler climates in the South Island have lower humidity ¹, which can dry out your hair and scalp and cause seasonally related dandruff.

4. Your hair goals

Outside of your hair health and concerns, it’s important to also set your desired outcome for your hair routine. A considered hair care routine should work toward specific, measurable hair goals:

• Hair growth – maintaining a balanced scalp to foster an environment for growth.
• Strength – reinforcing weak or damaged strands to reduce breakage.
• Hydration – adding moisture to dry hair so it feels softer.
• Smoothness – curbing frizz and flyaways.
• Shine – smoothing the hair surface so it reflects more light.
• Volume – lifting the roots so hair looks fuller.
• Manageability – your natural hair texture is easier to style and your curls last longer.

Step 1: Wash with a shampoo for your hair type

Cleansing is the first step of all hair care routines. A shampoo works to clear impurities like dirt, pollutants, product buildup, and excess sweat from the hair and scalp. This helps keep the scalp balanced and primed for future growth.

To support your hair type and texture, select a shampoo designed for you. You can apply your shampoo to your scalp and roots, then massage thoroughly. Ensure you rinse well.

Step 2: Condition your mid-lengths and ends

Like your shampoo, we recommend choosing a conditioner that complements your hair type.

For fine or thinning hair, opt for a lightweight yet hydrating formula that won’t weigh down your strands. Thicker, curlier hair types should seek out rich, nourishing conditioners that deliver lasting hydration to dry strands.

Be sure to work your conditioner throughout your mid-lengths and ends using either your fingers or the Dyson Detangling comb. To help the conditioner penetrate the cuticle more deeply, allow the formula to sit for three to five minutes before rinsing.

Step 3: Apply a leave-in scalp treatment

If you’re building a hair care routine for hair growth, don’t neglect your scalp. Oil imbalance and flakes can disrupt the environment hair needs to grow consistently.

The Dyson Amino™ leave-in scalp bubble treatment is enriched with niacinamide, caffeine, and Ectoin® Natural to comfort and strengthen the scalp moisture barrier. This lightweight treatment delivers 11 amino acids to the scalp: reducing hair loss by 65%, oil by 62%, and visible flakes by 88%*, creating the conditions to support consistent hair growth.

This scalp treatment can be applied to either damp or dry hair. Start by sectioning the hair, then massage the product into the scalp. You can use approximately eight to 10 pumps to cover the entire scalp. Do not rinse.

Step 4: Smooth, detangle, and protect with a leave-in conditioning spray

Nourishing your scalp is just one component of a healthy hair routine: your lengths and ends bear the brunt of friction, dehydration, and heat damage. This means that strengthening and hydrating these areas is the key to smoother, softer, more resilient hair fibres over time.

You can boost moisture retention with the Dyson Omega™ leave-in conditioning spray. This innovative, omega-rich formula delivers lasting hydration to hair, while protecting strands from UV exposure and heat styling up to 230°C. Enjoy up to 90% less frizz instantly and up to 48 hours of control². 

Spritz onto damp hair, then comb through your mid-lengths and ends to distribute the product evenly.

Step 5: Use a pre-style cream before applying heat

Before introducing heat to your hair routine, apply a pre-style cream to smooth strands, improve manageability, and give your styles lasting hold.

Start by choosing a Dyson Chitosan™ Pre-style cream that’s right for your needs. Our unique formulas are categorised by hair type and light or rich conditioning – so you get the flexible hold and nourishment you need.

• Dyson Chitosan™ Pre-style cream Straight to wavy light conditioning – ideal for lightweight hold that smooths frizz without weighing hair down.
• Dyson Chitosan™ Pre-style cream Straight to wavy rich conditioning – perfect for extra nourishment on thicker straight and wavy hair types.
• Dyson Chitosan™ Pre-style cream Curly to coily light conditioning – a lighter blend of conditioning agents that support curly and coily hair patterns.
• Dyson Chitosan™ Pre-style cream Curly to coily rich conditioning – designed for thicker curly and coily hair types that require deep hydration.

Step 6: Blow-dry and style to your preference

When blow-drying, it’s important to use a tool that will protect the integrity of strands. Unlike traditional hair dryers, the Dyson Supersonic Nural™ hair dryer measures air temperature over 40 times a second to regulate temperature output and prevent extreme heat damage. It is also engineered with Scalp protect mode to automatically adjust the temperature the closer the device gets to your scalp.

Whether you’re styling with the Dyson Airstrait™ or the Dyson Airwrap™, both devices use directional airflow to create tension and style the hair – without high heat.

• For sleek, straight hair, we recommend the Dyson Airstrait™ straightener and dryer.
• For a bouncy blowout, soft waves, or long-barrel curls, opt for the Dyson Airwrap™ multi-styler and dryer.

Step 7: Finish with a post-serum or hair oil

For the final hair care step, seal in your style with a post-serum or finishing oil. This will help minimise frizz throughout the day and lock in your style for longer.

Smooth the Dyson Chitosan™ Post-style serum through your mid-lengths and ends to tame flyaways, improve radiance, and give your style flexible, all-day hold³.

To hydrate dry tresses and deliver instant shine, coat your lengths and ends with the Dyson Omega™ hydrating hair oil, which is formulated with a blend of nourishing oils. Simply warm the oil up in your palms first, then smooth or scrunch through your hair.