One of the keys to beautiful looking hair is preventing damage, and repairing damaged hair. When hair is damaged by heat, chemical treatment or exposure, or mechanical friction, it can look frizzy, frayed, or dry. Brittle hair can fray, causing split ends, which exacerbates damage to your hair.
Even though hair can become damaged by a variety of factors, there are methods to repair your hair, and keeping it healthy, full, and voluminous.
How to Tell If Your Hair is Damaged
There are some telltale signs your hair has sustained damage. Dull luster, a dry brittle texture, split ends, random breakage, and excessive tangling are all signs your hair is damaged and needs a repair regimen. Frizzy hair can be a sign your cuticles are damaged and porous, unable to retain moisture. If you hair is limp and lacks it’s normal volume, or if it is dry and straw-like, these are also signs of damage.
What Causes Damaged Hair?
There are four main causes of hair damage: chemical, mechanical, environmental, and heat damage.
Chemical damage is caused by bleaching, hair coloring, relaxing, or other chemical hair treatments. Mechanical damage comes from over-brushing or over-styling hair. Environmental damage is caused by the elements, like sun, wind, excessive cold, and humidity. Heat or thermal damage is a result of over-using heated hair styling tools without hair protection.
Chemical Damage
Hair dyes, relaxers, perms, and bleaching are all chemical processes that weaken and raise cuticles. Over-washing hair with harsh shampoo may also remove oils from the hair and leave the cuticle scales raised, which can lead to moisture loss.
Mechanical Damage
Damage caused by normal hair activities taken without care. Over-brushing your hair, aggressive detangling, towel drying, rushing a ponytail, braids that are too tight, and heavy hair extensions can all cause mechanical damage to your hair, harming the cuticles.
Environmental Damage
Exposure to elemental conditions like UV rays and the sun, chlorine from swimming pools, cold weather in winter, windy days, and high humidity can all damage your cuticles. Air pollution can also harm your hair cuticles, stripping the hair of natural oils.
Heat Damage
Thermal damage to your hair comes from heat styling tools like flat irons, blow dryers, crimping irons, and curling wands. Too much heat can lift the outer layers of the cuticle and cause damage.
How to Repair Damaged Hair
Damaged hair can be repaired with deep conditioning, hair masks, and thoughtful care of your hair. Trimming out split ends, getting enough nutrients and vitamins, avoiding harsh styling procedures, coloring, and heat styling can all help repair your hair over time. For chemically damaged hair, use products that restore moisture and protect color-treated hair.
A once-a-week deep conditioning regimen or leave-in hair masks can help repair and strengthen the cuticles.
Avoid shampoos with sulfates and parabens, they can dry out your hair and remove natural oils.
Whenever possible, avoid heat styling tools when you are repairing your hair to prevent further degradation of your hair. Don’t blow dry your hair, air dry your hair or carefully towel dry by patting it dry, never rub the towel on your hair.
Preventing Further Damage to Your Hair
To take care of your hair you must be conscious of what products you use. Look for shampoos that are sulfate free and paraben free. These will be healthier for your hair than normal shampoos. Sulfates can strip your hair of their natural oils, leaving it dry and brittle.
When possible air dry your hair instead of using a blow dryer. Towel drying must also be done with thoughtfulness. Don’t rub the towel on your hair, blot the hair dry or squeeze gently to preserve the hair cuticles.
If you do need to use heat styling, be sure to use a heat protectant first. Apply a few minutes before using the curling iron or other heat tools.
Deep condition or use a hair mask once a week to help moisturize the cuticles and keep them lying flat. This will help your hair retain moisture and reduce frizz. Rinse your hair with cool water to help seal the cuticles.
When you detangle your hair, use a wide-tooth comb so it reduces the damage to your hair. Work from the ends up towards the top of the hair when you detangle, using gentle strokes.
A Hair Maintenance Tip You Might Not Know
Replacing your cotton pillowcases with silk or satin pillowcases will help protect your hair. The cuticles of your hair are made up microscopic interlocking scales known as scale cells. Cotton cloth contains small fibers that pull at the scale cells of the cuticle, causing slight mechanical damage when you move around in your sleep. Silk pillowcases are a smooth surface which minimizes this damage. Cotton pillowcases can also draw a small amount of moisture from your hair, causing it to dry out. Silk pillowcases do not have this characteristic, meaning natural hydration and oils are retained by the hair strands, reducing damage and frizz.
Become a Professional Hairstylist at Our Sacramento Cosmetology School
If you are looking for world class training to become a professional cosmetologist and hairdresser, Paul Mitchell the School at Campus has a proven training program to help you start your beauty career. In about 30 weeks. You will learn the vital hairstyling and skin care skills you need to start your cosmetology career. Our expert instructors are seasoned veterans of the beauty industry; the curriculum is a world class program developed by elite professionals in the hairstyling industry. Financial aid is available for qualifying students.
For more information, contact our Admissions team or call us at 888-675-2460.