On 27 August 1935, a Pasadena mail carrier named Rudolph Hass was granted US Plant Patent No. 139 for an avocado tree. He had grown it from a seed planted in 1926 at his small grove in La Habra Heights, California. It is often cited as the first patent ever granted for a tree, and every commercial Hass avocado since descends by grafting from that one tree. The patent was widely ignored, which is its own little lesson. The creamy green fruit took over the world anyway.

Avocado oil has been part of hair care ever since, and Food For Soft lists it by its botanical name, Persea Gratissima Oil. The brand behind the line has a nice origin too. Matrix was founded in 1980 in Cleveland by the husband-and-wife hairdressers Arnie and Sydell Miller, and Arnie had already spent twenty years behind the chair. That salon-first history is why I take Matrix Food For Soft seriously as a dry hair routine rather than a trend. The brand describes the shampoo as a system with the conditioner, claiming 7x more moisture for up to 72 hours when used together, versus a non-conditioning shampoo. That is the brand's claim, and worth knowing that the shampoo contains sulfates, fragrance and dimethicone, which some people avoid.

The trick is to use the first grid as a system, not a pick and mix. The Hydrating Shampoo and Hydrating Conditioner are the daily pair, and the Rich Hydrating Treatment Mask is the weekly boost. The Multi-Use Hair Oil Serum is the finishing step, and the XXL Volumizing Mousse is for anyone with dry hair who still wants lift. Matrix makes other lines too. Instacure Build-A-Bond Mighty Bonds Shampoo is for very damaged hair, A Curl Can Dream Moisturizing Cream is for curls, and Mega Sleek is the anti-frizz shampoo.

Rinse your conditioner longer than you think you need to. Dry hair that feels greasy after a hydrating conditioner has usually been given too much of it, not too little, and the fix is a smaller amount on the lengths only.

The grid is a run of pairs, and the pairing matters. shu uemura's Urban Moisture shampoo and conditioner are sold as a matched pair. Fable & Mane's Hydrating Shampoo is made for thick, dry, damaged hair, so it is the one to look at if your hair is thick. BondiBoost's Heavenly Hydration has aloe in the name and is a lighter option.

On the conditioner side, Nécessaire's The Moisture Conditioner is the plain, well-behaved one. RŌZ's Foundation Hydrating Conditioner sounds like a base layer, and that is how I would use it. Act+Acre's Daily Hydro is meant for daily use on dry, damaged hair, and UNOVE's Deep Damage Repair shampoo is the quietly impressive entry for a first try.

A pairing I like: a hydrating shampoo from one brand with a conditioner from another, as long as both say hydrating. It stops you from buying a whole system you may not like.

What I would skip: a hydrating shampoo if your scalp is oily and only the ends are dry. Wash with something lighter and put the moisture where you need it.

Damp hair, not wet and not dry, is where a leave-in works best. Towel it first, then smooth it through from the mid-lengths to the ends.

Sienna Naturals' Dew Magic is a hydrating anti-frizz leave-in, and the one to try if frizz is your main complaint. Verb's Hydrate Detangling Leave-In is for dry, frizzy hair, the one to keep by the comb. OUAI's North Bondi Conditioning is the conditioner-style leave-in of the group, and Kenra Professional's Daily Provision is the salon-side option for everyday use. Ceremonia's Guava Hydrating Leave-In is the one I would reach for if I wanted fruit in the name.

Then the oils. Virtue's Hydrating Healing Hair Oil, Gisou's Honey Infused Hair Oil and Bumble and bumble's Hairdresser's Invisible Oil are the three that finish a blow-dry. The Invisible Oil says frizz reducing right on the label, and Gisou is the one with the honey.

An oil is a finish, not a moisturizer. A leave-in puts water in, and the oil seals it.

What I would skip: oil on your roots. A dry scalp is not the same as dry ends, and the oil will only make the top look flat.

Put the mask on before you shampoo, at least once. Masking before you shampoo is a habit many stylists like for dry hair, and it is easy to test on a single wash day.

Briogeo's Honeybear Hydrating Hair Mask has a honey scent, as the name says. UNOVE's Deep Damage Repair Hydrating Hair Mask is the one from the shampoo I mentioned earlier, and they match. amika's Hydro Rush has hyaluronic acid, which is the same ingredient Food For Soft lists, and Mane's Hydration Hugs is the mega moisturizing one.

JVN's Nurture Intense Hydration is for people who would rather use one big mask than three small ones. Emi Jay's Dream Crème in Toasted Sugar is the pretty jar for the bathroom shelf. Mizani's Moisture Fusion is a deep conditioning mask, and Virtue's Restorative Treatment Mask has keratin.

A mask is a weekly habit, not a daily one. Leave it on for the time on the label, wrap your hair up, and rinse with cool water.

What I would skip: a mask on a day when your hair already feels soft. More is not better, and hair that is over-conditioned goes limp.

For most people, my advice is to start with the Food For Soft shampoo and conditioner together, and see if your hair agrees. If it does, add the mask once a week. If it does not, the grids above give you plenty of routes into dry hair care that do not involve sulfates or heavy fragrance. Keep the mask for wash day, the oil for the ends, and judge the whole thing after a month, not a week.

Hass grew one tree from one seed, and the whole world ate from it. You only need one good conditioner. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together tgin Honey Miracle Hair Mask and the Rest of the Line and Greasy Hair by Noon.