Restore Damaged Hair

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Does your hair feel brittle and stiff? Dyeing, bleaching, straightening or blowing out your hair a lot can damage it over time. These processes dry out your hair and leave it prone to breakage and split ends. Once your hair is damaged, the best way to restore it is to give it time to grow back in healthy and strong. Use deep conditioning treatments to help bring back its luster, and be healthy from the inside out to promote the growth of new healthy hair.

Steps

Helping Your Hair Recover

  1. Stop using harsh treatments. Many popular hair treatments strip the hair of its natural oils and damage the hair shaft. When you're ready to restore your hair, it'll be very difficult to do so unless you stop all treatments and let your hair return to its natural state. If you're used to relying on treatments to make your hair look the way you want it to, it might be hard to make the shift to natural hair. However, you'll be rewarded with hair that's much healthier in the long run. Here's what to avoid:
    • Chemical hair dyes, either professional or from a box. If you love dyeing your hair, try a natural dye such as henna or tea, both of which actually help to restore your hair instead of damaging it.
    • Bleaching your hair is never good for it. Stripping out the color in your hair does a lot of damage to the shaft, and can cause your hair to get brittle and break.
    • Chemical straightening or curling, like a Brazilian blowout or a permanent. The chemicals that force straight hair to be curly or curly hair to be straight and sleek do a lot of damage to your hair.
  2. Handle your hair gently when you wash and dry it. Hair is a fragile material that needs to be handled with care, especially when it's wet. Wet hair stretches and breaks easily, so it's important to be gentle when you're washing and toweling your hair dry. Think of your hair as though it's a silk dress or a fine wool sweater. You wouldn't roughly scrub it, wring it out rub it dry with a towel, right? Just like special fabrics, your hair should be handled with care.
    • When you wash your hair, massage your scalp with your fingertips and gently pull the shampoo through your hair, rather than rubbing it vigorously. Do the same with conditioner.
    • Let your hair drip dry for a few moments before gently squeezing out the excess water. Use a towel to pat your hair dry.
  3. Shampoo no more than once or twice a week. The scalp produces a natural oil called sebum that protects the hair from drying out. When you wash your hair too often, you wash away this oil before it has the chance to travel down the length of your hair and provide protection. Washing your hair just a few times a week will help your hair stay shiny and healthy.
    • When you first stop washing your hair every day, your scalp will overproduce sebum, since it's used to your routine of washing it away every 24 hours. After a week or so things will balance out and your hair will no longer look greasy right away.
    • If you're concerned about your roots looking greasy on the days in between washings, use dry shampoo to clean things up. You can buy a bottle of dry shampoo or making your own by simply mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda. Sprinkle it onto the greasy areas, let it sit for five minutes, then comb it out.
  4. Let your hair air dry instead of using heat. This is a difficult rule to follow for people who are used to using hair dryers and other heat styling tools to create the perfect look every day. When your goal is to restore your hair to good health, using heat is like taking a step backward, every time. Start letting your hair air dry, and try to embrace your natural look to give your hair the chance to heal.
    • If you feel you really must use heat styling tools, use them on a low setting, and save it for special occasions.
    • Since your hair might take awhile to be completely restored, it may not look the way you want it to at first. You might be tempted to iron out those frizzy curls or bring some life to limp, dry locks. It's worth it to hold out until your hair is healthy; you'll see the texture improve immensely if you're patient.
  5. Don't brush your hair. Brushing with a plastic-bristled brush is very damaging to hair, especially when you try to brush through tangles. You end up pulling out hairs and breaking them off mid-shaft. To detangle hair, use a wide-toothed comb instead of a brush. Gently work it through your hair, starting near the tips and gradually working up toward the roots until you're able to move the comb through your hair without catching on a tangle.
    • It's especially important not to brush your hair when it's wet, since your hair is so much more fragile wet than it is dry. If you use a brush on wet hair you'll end up with breakage and frayed ends.
  6. Avoid restrictive hairstyles. Certain styles pull on the hair and cause it to fray or break. Hair extensions and weaves are particularly bad for the hair. Whether they're sewn in or glued to your hair, they inevitable result in damage (and in worst-case scenarios, bald spots). When you're working to restore your hair to health, it's best to completely avoid styles that are hard on the hair.

Conditioning Your Hair

  1. Condition your hair each time you shampoo. Shampoo is designed to cleanse your hair, and conditioner to keep it hydrated, supple and shiny. When you condition your hair, place a dime or quarter-sized amount of conditioner in your palms, apply it about an inch from your roots, and use your fingers to distribute it down the length of your hair. Focus on making sure the tips get special treatment, since they dry out much more quickly than your roots. Rinse your hair thoroughly when you're finished.
    • Don't use more conditioner than you need to coat your hair lightly. Too much will weigh your hair down and make it look greasy.
    • For an extra glossy finish, rinse your hair using the coldest water you can stand. This will cause your hair shaft to lay flat and appear smoother and shinier than if you use hot water.
  2. Do deep conditioning treatments once every few weeks. Deep conditioning treatments are designed to penetrate your hair to keep it hydrated all week long. Apply a tablespoon or so of deep conditioner to your hair and comb it through from the roots to the tips. Then pile your hair on top of your head and secure it with a clip, and cover it with a shower cap. Wait at least an hour before shampooing it out of your hair.
    • You can buy deep conditioning treatments from the store, or simply use a household item like coconut oil, almond oil or olive oil.
    • Don't deep condition more than once a week, since doing it too often can actually damage your hair.
  3. Try a homemade hair mask. On days when your hair looks limp, dull, or frizzy, a hair mask can restore its nice texture and shine. Apply a hair mask after you wet your hair in the shower, and shampoo it out at the end of your shower. Here are common household items that do wonders for damaged hair:
    • For dull hair: use a tablespoon of honey or one egg white
    • For frizzy hair: use one blended banana or avocado
    • For dry hair: use a tablespoon of milk or yogurt
    • For combination hair: use a combination of any of the above ingredients
  4. Use finishing oil or serum. After your hair is dry, hair oil or serum serves to keep it from frizzing and protect it from the elements. Look for an anti-frizz serum or combination hair oil, and use your fingers to comb just a few drops through your hair. If you don't want to buy a special serum, use a little of one of the following oils:
    • Argan oil
    • Moroccan oil
    • Jojoba oil
    • Egg oil
  5. Try a boar bristle brush. While most brushes are damaging to hair, boar bristle brushes are the one exception. The brushes are made with natural fibers that closely emulate the texture of human hair. They are designed to pull sebum from the roots of your hair to the tips, so that the full length of your hair receives the nourishing benefits of your scalp's natural oils.
    • First use a wide-tooth comb to detangle your hair, then brush your hair from roots to tips with a boar bristle brush. Your hair will be smooth and shiny when you're finished.
    • Plastic brushes do not provide this benefit.

Growing Healthy Hair

  1. Massage your scalp. Massage promotes good circulation in the scalp, which helps your hair grown in healthy and strong. Make a habit of massaging your scalp every day. Place your fingers on your scalp and rub it using a gentle circular motion. This has the added benefit of helping to reduce stress and calm headaches.
    • Oil massages are even more helpful. Use coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil or olive oil to gently massage your head in the shower, then shampoo your hair when you're finished.
    • Some essential oils are said to help with hair growth. Try massaging with tea tree oil, egg oil, lavender or cedar wood oil.
  2. Use natural hair products. Ingredients in your shampoo and conditioner may be making your hair damage worse instead of better. Switch to all-natural shampoos and conditioners that nourish your hair instead of harshly cleansing it and weighing it down with unnecessary chemicals. Here's what to look out for:
    • Get a sulfate-free shampoo. Sulfates are harsh cleansers used in everything from dish soap to laundry detergent, and they're too hard on damaged hair. Look for shampoos that say "sulfate-free" and are made with natural cleansers.
    • Get a silicone-free conditioner. Silicons are added to conditioner because they make hair look shiny and smooth after the first few applications. However, over time they build up in your hair and cause it to look weighed-down and dull.
  3. Be healthy from the inside out. Your daily habits can really impact the health of your hair. If you aren't eating a nutritious diet or getting enough water, your hair will definitely show it. Make a commitment to being healthy inside and out by doing the following:
    • Eat plenty of hair-healthy foods that contain protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and iron. Salmon, sardines, avocados, nuts, and flaxseeds are all excellent for promoting healthy hair growth.
    • Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. When you're dehydrated, your hair can end up getting dry and brittle.
    • Avoid smoking cigarettes. Smoke damage can make hair look dull and dried out.
  4. Protect your hair from the elements. Just like environmental factors like the sun or extremely cold temperatures can affect your skin health, they can affect your hair health, too. Protect your hair with a hat or a bandana when you're outside for long periods of time.
    • Protect yourself from pool chemicals, too. Wear a swim cap instead of submerging your hair in chlorine.
    • Even air pollution can affect your hair. If you often walk or bike near traffic, protect your hair until you get to your destination.
    • Wear your hair in protective styles like rolls and braids so that it becomes less tangled and is exposed less to the elements.
  5. Get regular trims. As new, healthy hair grows in, get regular trims to cut away the old, damaged hair. Getting rid of split ends will give you a fresh appearance, and over time you'll be able to see a big difference.

Tips

  • When conditioning your hair, comb your hair from the roots to the tips, then let it set for 5-10 minutes. The length of time will depend on how soft you want your hair to be. Then rinse most of the conditioner out remembering to leave some in, to lock in the moisture.
  • Try to wear protective styles when you know you will be exposed to the elements.
  • Rinse your hair with cold water it helps seal the locks and keep in moisture.
  • Wear your hair down as much as you can.
  • Don't use heat or dyes it will make it worse.

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