Fortunately combination hair is much easier to treat than combination skin. And there are several fix-it options.

First, you could go short. Extreme but still a solution. You may want to consider at least a trim if part of the reason that your lengths are knotting up is because they’re damaged and frayed.

Second, buy a shampoo for oily hair, and massage it into the scalp only - as it washes out, it will give your mid-lengths to ends all the clean they need. Then use a conditioner for dry or coarse hair, leaving it on just the lengths for a few minutes before rinsing out. You should also be using a deep-treatment in lieu of your conditioner once a week.

Third, buy a detangling spray or smoothing cream that can be used on both damp and dry hair (use it after towel-drying then as needed in the daytime), and a dry shampoo for soaking up scalp oils - a genius way to extend the time between washing.

Finally, if you’re attached at the hip to your hairdryer or straightening iron, give it a rest for a while. By using the right haircare and styling (see above), your hair will soon look better without as much heat-styling effort. And you can always twist it up into a chic updo on days when it’s not behaving as well as you’d like it to.

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