What causes damaged hair?
Damaged hair occurs because of over-styling and chemical overuse.
Damaged Hair Signs Include:
1. Brittle Texture from Too Much Heat from Styling Tools
2. Dulled Shine from Product Buildup
3. Chemical Overload from Coloring Your Hair with Questionable Ingredients
4. Tangles are caused by the outer layer cuticle of your hair being damaged. These cuticles then open up causing the open layers of the cuticle to become snagged on each other
5. Lack of Moisture from Cheap Shampoo that Causes Drying
6. Dry Hair from Inadequate Conditioning
How Should I Repair Damaged Hair?
1. Keep Away From the Heat (Brittle Texture)
Hair Dryers — use on the cool setting — your hair truly does not need the hot or even warm setting to dry hair.
Tip: Heat sensors on hair dryers go out quickly. If you’ve had your dryer for a while, get a new one, or be sure to use it only use on the cool setting.
Curling Irons or Flat Irons — always use a heat-protecting hair serum designed for use with your curling iron or straightener.
2. Product Build Up (Dulled Shine)
Try clarifying your hair each month. Dull and weighed-down hair is often caused by hair product build-up.
Clarifying your hair is the process of stripping away product buildup. This makes hair less weighed down and easier to style. Additionally, healthy hair follicles on the scalp mean an increase in hair growth and thickness.
Remove the build-up by clarifying.
You can either use a clarifying shampoo or add a tablespoon of baking soda to your hair while shampooing.
Rinsing with apple cider vinegar is another option.
3. Coloring (Chemical Overload)
Find a good colorist. A good colorist can help you correct your color and rotate your color from dark to light, for example, to allow the time between coloring to last longer and prevent the hair from being over-colored.
Home coloring? Use a reputable coloring company such as Madison Reed – Professional Color at Home. Free of ammonia, parabens, resorcinol, PPD, phthalates, and gluten.
5. Avoid Shampoos with Sulfates (Chemical Overload and Cheap Shampoos)
Sulfates strip hair of moisture and natural oils, drying it out. Listed as Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES).
A brand I love is Function of Beauty Shampoo & Conditioner. Personalized, customizable, clean, vegan, cruelty-free. Purchase at this link for 20% off your first order.
6. Moisturize Your Hair and Scalp (Tangles and Inadequate Conditioning)
If your hair feels dry or if it is tangling a lot, it’s time to hydrate, nourish, deep condition, and maybe even reconsider your everyday hair conditioner!
Other Tips for What Causes Damaged Hair
- Pre-shampoo your hair with castor oil. Castor oil is amazing and has many benefits. See about Castor Oil for Hair here.
- Deep condition your hair with a good quality conditioner. Then, wrap a towel around your head or a wool cap to generate some body heat of your own.
- Use a t-shirt for drying your hair instead of a towel. Towels cause frizzing. Either air dry hair or use a soft t-shirt.
- Stick to one good-quality brand of shampoo and conditioner.
- Tie up or braid your hair at night. Prevent tangling and breakage.
- Think satin. Sleep in a satin scarf, bonnet or on a satin pillowcase to keep your hair’s moisture and prevent tangling.
- Comb wet hair with extreme care. Keep in mind, wet hair is fragile and prone to breakage. Use a Wet Brush, a broad-toothed comb or pick and brush or comb from the roots to the ends of your hair as gently as possible. You’ll find your hair smoother too.
- Trim your hair every few weeks to get rid of split ends. Cut about 1/4th an inch of your hair every 6 to 8 weeks to avoid the split ends.
- Don’t wash your hair every day. Keep the natural oils and moisture by not washing every single day.
- Apply conditioner from the mid to the ends of your hair. You can even partially rinse it out too. Conditioner is rarely needed on the scalp itself. If your scalp is dry, consider nourishment for the scalp such as this product from Vitality | Hair Envy.
- Use shampoo on your scalp and roots only. You don’t need to add extra shampoo to the middle and ends of your hair as there is plenty to clean all of your hair from washing your scalp and roots. This helps reduce drying.
- Wash and rinse your hair with cold water which is great for strengthening, shining and extending color-treated hair. Incredibly refreshing too!
Summary of What Causes Damaged Hair
Damaged hair comes from over-styling and chemical processing and lack of care.
To repair damaged hair,
- keep away from the heat to prevent brittle texture;
- clarify monthly to prevent product build-up;
- find a good colorist;
- avoid cheap shampoos with sulfates;
- moisturize, and hydrate your hair and scalp to reduce tangles and dryness
Try some of the tips above and my two favorite hair brands: Function of Beauty and Vitality Hair Envy
Other Articles You May Like:
Castor Oil Hair Treatment – How To and Why
Four Easy Hair Care Tips from a Professional