How to Reverse Damaged Hair and Make Your Locks Sparkle Again
By Shehnaz Shirazi
Updated
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It’s every girl’s worst nightmare.
Dry, brittle, and damaged hair sucks.
It takes away the charm from your overall look, makes you look older, and every day just feels like just another bad hair day.
There’s no hiding from it.
We are all guilty for committing girl on hair crimes.
- Excessive heat styling
- Hair color addictions
- Overzealous detangling
- Over washing
All of these rob your hair of its essential nutrients. They stress your hair out and will give you chronic hair malfunctions at some point.
But it’s never too late to make amends.
Today I’ll show you 8 proven tricks that will help you undo hair damage and flaunt a hydrated and lustrous mane in no time !
So let’s put some happiness back into your hair with these guilt-free remedies.
1. Use A Deep Conditioner With Bamboo Extracts
A deep conditioner infused with bamboo extracts is the perfect pick me up for your parched and desiccated hair.
Here’s why …
Bamboo extract is rich in Silica, the most important component in Collagen. This well known magic ingredient that can plump your lips, dewrinkle your face, and reverse signs of ageing is now available for your hair too.
Silica from bamboo extracts:
- Makes your hair supple, elastic, and bouncy
- Improves your overall hair texture
- Stops splits ends
- Improves hair moisture retention
- Helps your hair grow stronger
And even better ..
It alkalises your hair and scalp to maintain a healthy balanced pH which is essential to stop minor hair loss from bacterial growth.
Here’s the best conditioner with pure bamboo extracts I recommend:
2. Give Your Hair Coloring A Break !
From brunette to blonde, blonde to platinum, platinum to “bronde” ombre, changing your hair color can be a blast.
You find yourself rocking so many personalities when your hair looks different.
But once you start experimenting with hair color, it becomes addictive.
You simply can’t stop.
Whether you do it professionally in a hair salon or at home, dyeing your hair carries many hidden risks.
The cocktail of strong chemicals hiding in hair dyes damage your hair in many ways.
For example:
Ammonia, Hydrogen Peroxide, and other sensitisers strip away your hair’s natural protective lipid layer leaving it exposed to heavy hair styling products and irritants.
Hair dye uses ammonia to lift the cuticles and infuse color into the hair shaft.
And to lift the cuticles it also raises the hair pH to relax them first.
The more you do this, the more the cuticles becomes rough making your hair highly porous and they eventually struggle to stay hydrated.
Your hair becomes like a sponge with big holes, unable to retain water.
If you’ve already gone too far with your color addiction …
It’s time to take a break.
Make ammends to your crispy tresses with these lush products from Matrix Biolage.
Biolage products nurture your severely color damaged hair back to life.
3. Oil Your Hair Regularly
According to celebrity hair Stylist Mark Townsend, who counts A-list stars like Rachel McAdams, Dakota Johnson, and Kirsten Dunst among his clients, natural oils are fantastic multitaskers for hair.
It seems like your grandmother and great grandmother knew it all along.
Oiling your hair has tremendous benefits:
- It keeps your hair strong
- It adds a beautiful shine
- It reduces frizziness
- It lubricates your hair to avoid tangles
- It works as heat protectant
- And it prevents breakage
- It cleans the hair shaft from product build up
Use the fatty acids in natural oils to replace the lipids in your stressed out hair.
- Make sure you distribute it evenly on your hair
- Avoid applying oil near the scalp (4-4 inches away is good)
Natural oils I recommend for damaged hair:
4. Do An Egg Yolk And Olive Oil Treatment
Here’s a wacky DIY hair treatment that will give your tired hair a boost of energy and vitality.
Olive oil and egg yolk.
Two very potent ingredients that are cheap and available in your kitchen.
Egg yolks are rich in vitamin A . They simulate sebum production to prevent your scalp from drying. A healthy amount of sebum also keeps your hair naturally moisturized and safe from heat styling tools.
Olive oil packs a powerful punch of antioxidants into your hair and improves the elasticity and shiny appearance.
Combine these 2 ingredients and you get a rich nutritious hair mask that heals your hair from damage and free radicals.
And here’s how easy it is to make at home:
- Place egg yolk, olive oil in a bowl
- Mix it well
- You can add 2-3 tablespoons of water to thin out the mixture
- Start with damp hair
- Apply from root to tip
- Place a shower cap or wrap an old towel over to avoid a mess
- Let the mask soak in for 15-45 minutes
- Then rinse it out
- Be sure to use cool or lukewarm water so the egg doesn’t cook in your hair
- Next, shampoo lightly and towel dry your hair
You can apply your favourite leave-in conditioner at this stage. It will help seal the moisture and when your hair dries it will feel soft and look shiny and vibrant.
How often to apply: Once a week or once every 15 days.
5. Avoid Washing Your Hair With Hot Water
Hot water is a double-edged sword.
It helps rinse away oil and dirt, but at the same time it makes your hair weak.
Here’s what hot water does to your hair:
- It strips out natural oils
- It makes your hair brittle
- It weakens the hair roots
- It dries out your scalp leading to flakes and dandruff
- It opens the outer layers of your hair to make it rough
Hot water opens up the hair pores. This makes the hair loose at the roots. As a result, when you dry your hair after a hot shower, it comes out in piles.
Always finish your shower with a blast of cold or lukewarm water. This helps close the outer layers of your hair and seal in moisture.
By all means take a warm shower, but at the end rinse with cold water.
Cold water rinses your hair better to prevent residues from building up.
6. Avoid Excess Washing
I know too much oil and greasiness is not necessarily a good thing for your hair.
Unfortunately some if us are well oiled machines. Our scalp constantly feel greasy no matter what.
But did you know ?
The more you wash your hair, the faster your scalp gets greasy !
Fact is:
Shampoos strip your scalp from natural oils that keep the moisture balance and harmony for healthy hair.
When you wash your hair with shampoo which contains harsh detergents like sulfates, it strips out your scalp from all of it’s goodness.
So your scalp goes into panic mode to restore balance by producing more oils to compensate.
Stretch your hair washing gradually to two days, then 3 days, then a bit more.
When your scalp is well balanced, it doesn’t feel the need to produce sebum anymore.
After a few weeks, you’ll realise your hair is less greasy.
This is a popular trick advised by No Poo followers and believe me it works.
7. Trim Your Split Ends
Does your ends look straggly, fuzzy and dried out all the times ?
Chances are:
- You’ve been blasting the heat on your hair
- You’ve been using too much chemicals (like hair dye)
- And you’ve been over washing your hair
Or you’ve been brushing your hair vigorously when wet. Leading to breakage and splitting ends.
There’s no point hanging to dead ends.
Before your hair strands split further and break closer to the roots, it’s best to trim them off straight away.
Or, if you don’t want to lose your precious inches …
Seal them up with a split end therapy like GHD.
8. Use A Hair Treatment Mask
Dry hair means thirsty hair.
Use the right products that let moisture seep into your hair.
You want a hair mask that replenishes and whips your dry hair back into shape in an instant.
A hair masque that intensifies the nutritional balance to leave your hair smooth, flexible, and ready to swallow all the nutrients you throw at it.
And here it is:
Don’t let go of your hair.
Failing to address hair damage early means you end up going for the chop and lose a few precious inches.
Nurture your hair with the right products.
Healthy hair saves you hours and hours styling.
When your hairstyle stays on point all day, you know there’s no better confidence booster!
Resources:
Visit Hairguard.com for more information on hair loss treatments.
