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How to Repair Damaged Hair: 6 Steps to Healthier Strands

Jan 23, 2022

Experimenting with various hairstyles or hair colors is fun. But if you’re fond of switching hairdos, you need to pay extra attention to your hair’s needs. Dye, bleach, and heat styling tools often lead to hair damage. Whatever the state of your hair, establishing a good hair care regimen is a must for keeping your strands’ health.

Let me share some easy-to-apply tips for dealing with damaged hair.

1. Find the root of your hair issues

Common types of hair damage include dullness and dryness, tangles, frizz, and brittleness or breakage. Meanwhile, the usual causes of hair damage are improper or excessive bleaching, chemical dyes, and heat styling. If you want a targetive and sustainable solution to your hair-related problems, start with the roots (no pun intended).

Among the usual reasons behind hair damage, what do you think applies to you? Addressing this question will help you decide which products and tools you need to invest in the most. Nonetheless, there is no single answer to the question of how to repair damaged hair. Restoring the health of your hair often requires multiple techniques and products. So, adopt as many good hair care practices as you can.

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And don’t forget the basics! Drying your hair properly and being careful with wet hair are some of the essential steps to keeping your hair healthy and gorgeous. There are several ways to dry your hair properly, but here are a few key steps:

wrap hair in a cotton shirt and then air dry whenever possible
don’t rub your hair with a towel but squeeze out water softly
detangle before showering because wet hair is more difficult to untangle without pulling

2. Invest in quality products for hair care

Damaged hair is more fragile, so choosing premium hair care tools is key to preventing more damage. In relation to detangling, it pays to use the right comb for your tresses. Use a wide-toothed comb or a brush that's made specifically for detangling hair (like the Original Brush from Wet Brush) in order to avoid breakage. As much as possible, do the detangling before taking a shower because wet hair is more delicate. But whenever you need to brush your wet hair, apply leave-in conditioner to ensure that the comb glides smoothly through your strands without snagging. On the other hand, if you have curly hair, detangling knots while your hair is wet and has plenty of slip is more preferable.

Check out these quality hair products reviews:

When buying hair care or hair repair products, make sure to do your research and read the bottle. Stay away from products that are full of sulfates, parabens, alcohols, dyes, and artificial fragrances. These chemicals can irritate your scalp and dry your hair even more.

3. Trust a professional for advanced treatments

We’ve all tried dyeing our hair at home, and it became very common during the pandemic. Some of us even know how to repair damaged hair without going to a salon. While home remedies and DIY treatments are great ways to save money and personalize our hairstyles, there are certain procedures that are better left to professionals. For example, if you’re planning to bleach your hair, having a professional do it is always the best choice. A colorist will know how to take care of your hair while coloring, including how long the color sits and how much developer to add. Besides messy coloring, your hair can end up with serious damage if you get these steps wrong at home.

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Additionally, extremely damaged hair often requires professional treatment. Pros can help you determine and address all types of hair damage. Plus, in-salon hair treatments involve the use of concentrated formulas that can give your hair an instant transformation.

4. Schedule a regular trim

Trims are essential for removing dry and split ends. Regular trims are as necessary as cutting your nails. Leaving split ends alone can lead to splits traveling up your hair. So schedule a trim every four to six weeks. If you’re growing your hair out, you can wait until eight weeks.

5. Shampoo less, moisturize more

Avoid shampooing every day if you don’t have oily hair. Regular shampoo is good for removing dirt, but you can also refresh your hair and strands with dry shampoo every now and then. Wash your hair with lukewarm or cold water. Cold water is especially effective on damaged hair since it closes the hair cuticle and makes the hair shaft lie flat, so it’s advisable to finish your hair wash with a shot of cold water.

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In addition, you need to invest in products that boost your hair and scalp’s moisture because damaged hair tends to be overly dry. Buy tried and tested hair masks to hydrate and strengthen your tresses. Look for products that have hydrating botanical oils, keratin, and amino acids. Use a deep conditioning treatment in place of your regular conditioner every few washes. Hair oil or serum is among the best hair repair products. Argan oil or coconut oil is a great choice for softening your strands when they feel extra rough. Just apply a small amount to your hair from mid-shaft to ends.

6. Take a break from heat styling, tight hairstyles, and high maintenance dyes

Limit heat styling, bleaching, and coloring sessions since these methods involve damaging heat and chemicals which are harsh on your scalp and hair. Whenever you use heat tools, use a heat protectant on your hair and make sure not to turn the heat all the way up. Leave a space of six inches between your hair and your blow dryer, too. If you like to be extra cautious, use a diffuser when drying hair to act as a buffer between strands and heat. Avoid dyes that require you to go back to the salon for bleaching or lightening every few weeks. Instead, choose a balayage or a rooted look which only requires one or two lightening sessions a year.

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Last but not least, tight hairstyles like ponytails and buns should not be worn often, and especially not while you’re sleeping or when your hair is damp. Tight hairstyles can lead to more breakage and split ends if overdone. While these can be damaging, protective styles for kinkier hair like locs, box braids, or flat twists are necessary for protecting hair against environmental stressors. Additionally, use fabric and not rubber hair ties as these can cause snagging.

Conclusion

So, how do you repair damaged hair? Address the causes of your hair problems, use quality products and tools, go to a professional for treatments and trims, moisture more, and keep away from over-shampooing, heat styling, bleaching, and tight hairstyles.