Most of us deal with damaged hair at some point in life. Whether you’re dealing with extreme damage or only a few split ends, it’s important to know what to do to fixed damaged hair.
Here we’ll explore helpful information on hair damage, what causes it and some DIY tricks you can use to repair the damage.
Hair Damage – What Causes It?
According to 2006 surveys conducted by Regis salons, about 70% of women in America believe that they have some hair damage. A later survey by Head & Shoulders in 2012 found that those numbers had dipped to only 57%, which is an improvement.
Healthy hair has become a fashion statement, and technology has brought about improved products that help to keep hair healthy while minimizing damage.
Of course, certain hairstyles can cause damage to hair, but the real problem for hair goes far beyond hairstyles. To understand hair damage, you’ll need to look at a bit of chemistry, which will explain why some things lead to hair damage while specific products help undo the damage and strengthen hair.
First, you have to realize that your hair is dead. Cells are no longer dividing, so your hair is not a living thing. However, hair can be damaged and degraded, much like what happens to clothe when it’s over-exposed to harsh chemicals like those found in bleach.
Your hair is mainly keratin protein, although it also includes melanin(which gives your hair color), lipids and water. Healthy hair has a cuticle layer with overlapping scales, which lie perfectly flat. That cuticle is naturally coated with sebum, which gives hair a beautiful shine.
The cortex of hair is mostly made up of keratin protein, which is made up of amino acid chains. Cross-linked together, those chains form many different types of bonds, including the following:
Salt Bonds – Weak salt bonds provide 1/3 of your hair’s strength, but these bonds depend on the hair’s pH. Any strong alkaline or acidic solutions can break these bonds.
Hydrogen Bonds – When you wet your hair, these bonds break and then reform again. This is why your hair is very fragile when wet and when you dry it, you can reshape hair. These bonds may be reduced if hair doesn’t have enough moisture. While these bonds are quite weak, there are a lot of them, which make up 1/3 of your hair’s strength.
Disulfide Bonds – These are permanent bonds that chemical processes, such as relaxing and perming, may break. Relaxing curly hair results in the permanent breaking of these bonds, while perming will only break some of the bonds to reform hair into curls. Unfortunately, breaking these bonds results in weaker hair.
In the cortex of your hair, you’ll also find pigment granules. However, bleaching and coloring change those granules using chemical reactions that alter the color of your hair. These chemicals also affect hair strength, shape, moisture, and elasticity.
Running through the center of each piece of hair is the medulla, although it may be absent in some hair, such as blonde or very fine hair. Then, you have “intercellular cement,” which is proteins and lipids that keep the cells of the cortex joined. While you can’t see all these things when you look at hair, these things can be seen using a microscope.
Top Causes of Hair Damage
If you want to keep hair looking great, the best thing you can do is focus on preventing hair damage. This involves knowing what cause hair damage. Understanding the top causes of hair damage can help you avoid activities that will further damage your hair.
① Coloring and Bleaching Hair
Permanent colors and hair lighteners both work in the hair’s cortex. Bleach lightens the color of hair by breaking down the hair’s protein chains. Before depositing a new shade of color, permanent colors lightens hair, although it’s not quite as stressful on hair as bleaching. The real problem begins when you repeatedly use these treatments. Each time you color or bleach, the cuticle of the hair is opened, but the hair is unable to repair itself or re-close that cuticle.
What to Do : To repair this damage, hair ingredients that may help include amino acids, keratin protein and moisturizers. However, they need to penetrate hair all the way to the cortex, and they must seal the hair’s cuticle to provide results.
If you want to continue coloring, only apply color to new hair growth to minimize damage. Avoid over-bleaching hair, retouch only the roots and use leave-in conditioners to help eliminate dryness. You should also avoid the sun and salt water after coloring or bleaching.
② Perming/Texturizing, Straightening and Relaxing Hair
All of these chemical treatments can begin weakening your hair. You can protect chemically altered hair with some good hair care, but when you retouch hair with these treatments, hair that has already been treated ends up with even greater damage.
What to Do: When using relaxers, make sure you save the hairline for last to minimize damage. After chemically texturizing or straightening hair, be sure to use products that moisturize hair each day. Keep heat to a minimum when you style hair and use a deep conditioner once a week.
③ Hair Extensions – Applied Incorrectly or Too heavy
Even Jennifer Aniston found out the hard way that hair extensions can cause hair damage. However, if you already have extensions, never try to remove the extensions by yourself unless you’re using clip-ins. New, safe extensions use flat tape bonding, which is safer for hair.
What to Do: If you have extensions, routine care is essential if you want to avoid breakage. Hair some be gently combed, and detanglers should be used. When styling, conditioning or shampooing, be sure that you do so only in a downward direction.
Tugging and pulling should also be avoided. Make sure that you never use extensions that are too thick or too long, especially if you have fine hair.
④ Mechanical Hair Damage
Mechanical hair damage causes split ends and can rough up the hair’s cuticle. This type of damage occurs by brushing hair while it is wet or by rubbing, tugging or pulling hair. Usually, this hair damage occurs on top or at the ends, so carefully blog hair dry, use a large tooth comb to comb hair and work upward from your ends.
What to Do: When hair is wet, use a detangler and go slow when dealing with hair. Products for styling should be applied starting at the roots and onward toward the ends, starting at the back of your hair and working forward. This helps make it easier to style and manage your hair.
⑤ Heat Damage to Hair
Heat damage is one of the most common types of heat damage and can lead to split ends, dry hair or brittle hair. It could even burn the cuticle. Unfortunately, only a small number of women use thermal protectors before using heat to style hair.
What to Do: Protect hair before using heat with a thermal protector, then make sure you keep the heat moving so it doesn’t stay in one place and damage hair. You should also take breaks from time to time from styling hair with heat to keep hair as healthy as possible.
If hair is overly damage and is split or pointed at the end, it’s time to cut hair. Hair this damage needs to be cut off for the best results.
Solutions for Damaged Hair
The good news is that there are great products and even home remedies that can help you fix damaged hair. Here are some great recommendations to try.
- Shampoos – L’Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 with Pro-Keratine and Ceramide is an excellent home treatment, while L’Oreal Professional Serie Expert Fiberceutic offers a wonderful salon shampoo.
- Conditioners – At the store, try picking up Herbal Essences Hydralicious Reconditioning Conditioner for Dry or Damaged Hair. Online or at salons, the Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defense Conditioning Spray offers an excellent option to try.
- Home Remedies – If you want to try a home treatment, try using this hair mask and leave on hair for 20-30 minutes to allow it to penetrate. Rinse thoroughly when done.
The Recipe:
- 1 Egg {for the protein -& the natural moisture)
- 1 Avocado {this guy is a hair power house it’s oils are light and moist and full of nutrients that will moisturize an smooth out your tresses}
- 3 TBS Olive oil {for shine & strength}
- 1 TBS Honey {Which is a natural humectant – which means it attracts and locks in moisture and helps seal split ends!}
Directions:
① Blend all the ingredients together until its relatively smooth. Starting with the ends, massage the goop (cause trust me it is goopy.
② It does feel a little like your having a food fight with yourself at first) into your hair right on up to the scalp (my scalp had seen a little too much sun, and this soothed it so nicely!)
③ Let it sit for about 20-30 minutes, then rinse and shampoo as usual.
The Result:
When I got out of the shower after using this, I was surprised because my hair didn’t feel much different but once it started drying, HOLY COW! Such softness and shine.
It air-dried frizz free as well….and made me wonder why I pay so much for intense deep conditioners when this is just sitting in my kitchen.
Hi mam,
Do we need to apply oil to our hair before applying this mask? Or for non oily hair?