Your hair looks dry, thin, rough, brittle and dull.
You also have increased hair breakage and your ends have split and broken with white bits showing at the ends.
And the worse, some parts of your hair are discolored and get tangled like a spider web.
Yes, this is what living with damaged hair looks like.
Nightmare, isn't it!
The good news is- it can be reversed. But, with a lot of patience of course.
But before I give you tips to reverse the damage, a word for the wise.
"Nothing works overnight. Be consistent."
And now, let's get into 5 awesome ways to reverse heat damage:
1. Avoid heat styling
Please give your hair a break. Aside from your wash day routine, try to minimize how much handling your hair goes through. The friction alone from styling is enough to unsettle smooth cuticles. Heat does the same thing, and if used on too high of a setting, it can cause serious damage.
If you must, when heat styling, stick to temperatures below 400-degrees. You may think that the more coarse your hair, the higher the heat needs to be, but this actually isn’t true. If you’re blow drying, start on a medium setting. If you feel like it’s taking forever to dry, you can always go up to a higher setting. The same goes for flat irons and curling irons. Test it out by starting in the high 300-degree range. If it’s not working, slowly inch up in five-degree intervals.
2. Avoid harsh shampoos
By using a harsh, chemical-based shampoo, you run the risk of further drying out your hair at the wash phase. Wet hair is extra fragile and a target for breakage and more damage, so avoid using harsh shampoos.
Treat your hair gently. Avoid being too rough when you shampoo. This also means steering clear of brushes and fine-tooth combs that can snag frayed and fragile strands. Instead, use your hands to gently work a repairing shampoo through your hair.
After gentle shampoo session, don't forget a nourishing conditioner to give your hair the special treatment they deserve.
3. Use hair treatments
Deep conditioning may be an extra step in your routine, but damaged hair will need it. Whether it’s a protein treatment, a conditioning mask, or a repairing spa treatment, give your hair some serious moisture and protein replenishment once a week until you start noticing a change.
Hair is made of protein that’s often lost when hair is damaged, so try a protein treatment, particularly if you color-treat, relax, texturize, or use high heat with any bit of regularity step will help reconstruct and strengthen hair from within. On the outside, you’ll notice less shedding and breakage.
Once your hair starts to feel and look like it’s back to normal, you can cut your hair treatments to once per month.
4. Silk pillows for your head
If your tresses are already damaged from the use of heated styling tools, you’ll also want to limit any other forms of damage, too. Something many people don’t know is that when you sleep on a cotton pillowcase, your strands rub together, causing friction and resulting in more damage (eek!).
However, when you sleep on a silk or satin pillow, both the amount of friction created and moisture absorbed from your strands will be reduced. Sweet dreams!
You can also try the silk scrunchies from Klara faire beauty to avoid heat styling and further damaging your hair.
5. Go for the BIG CHOP
If you only have trouble at the ends, chopping the split, damaged ends is the way to go.
But, if all of your hair is rough and damaged, you can consider trimming it really short or maybe even shaving your head. Yes, I mean it. It's not the 90s anymore. A woman can shave her head and no one will look again.
Think of it like a plant with a leaf that has turned brown. Sometimes, but not always, pruning that part of the plant off can save the whole thing from going down. In the case of hair, cutting off the damaged ends will help keep strands from splitting even further.
Apart from these valuable tips, I will tell you another secret.
"You are what you eat."
Keep a healthy diet and that will show not only on your hair but on your whole body, both physically and mentally.
Leave a comment