Damaged Hair Treatment and Prevention

Do you have damaged hair? If you do, it's robbing your hair of its health, vitality and good looks. A hairstyle is only as good as the hair that makes it, so if yours isn't up to scratch it's time to learn exactly why so you can do something about it.

If your hair is starting to look like a birds nest or haystack then odds are...it's damaged! But to know for sure you can do these simple checks.

Does your hair have any of the following characteristics?

What Damaged Hair Looks Like

Dry - Does your hair have a dull parched look? Dry damaged hair tends to have a grey tinge to it. It doesn't reflect light and isn't easy to style. It will also have the tendency to break easily.

Limp - Is it hard for your hair to hold a curl? If your flip 'flops' after a few hours then it's likely that you have limp hair. This is caused by high levels of porosity in the hair that make the strands to absorb moisture. Over processing is usually the culprit of limp hair.

Frizzy - Do you look like a Chia Pet when you go out in humid weather? Your frizzy hair might be caused by insufficient moisturizing and over use of heat styling tools.

Weak and Brittle - This is what makes hair breakage a big problem. When your hair doesn't have the right balance of strength and moisture it becomes brittle and snaps under the slightest pressure.

Spilt - If you take a look at the end of one of your hair strands, if it forms a "Y" you have split ends. Despite what you might have heard there's no was to repair split ends. You can only cut them off and do your best prevent them from happening again.

There are many bad habits that cause weakened and damaged hair. To see improvements you'll have to...

Infrequent Conditioning - Conditioning your hair with every single wash is very important. Deep conditioning with moisture and protein is also a must.

Using the Wrong Products - This is just as bad as not using any at all! Look for products specifically designed for your hair type and issues.

Overusing Heat Styling Tools - Don't fry your hair with hot tools. Find gentler no heat styling options.

Over Processing - Don't let your stylist leave chemicals in your hair longer than necessary. The hair should be no more than 80% relaxed in order to maintain some of its strength.

Double Processing - Color and relaxer don't mix without damage. Choose one or the other for your healthiest hair.

Wearing Non-coated Rubber Bands - When you take these out they will take your hair out with them. Wear them coated or not at all.

Pulling Hair Too Tight - Not only will this lead to weakness and breakage but you might end up with serious hair loss as well.

Leaving Braids in Too Long- Six to eight weeks is the longest safe time for braids to be in your hair (if you take good care of them!). You need to take them out so you can deep condition your hair regularly.

Waiting Too Long Between Relaxers - This is just as bad as not waiting long enough. If you don't properly moisturize, and handle your hair gently it will snap at the line of demarcation (where the natural hair meets the relaxed hair).

Now that you know what the common causes of damaged hair are you can find out about techniques, treatments and products to get yours back on track. Keep the above guidelines in mind and you'll never have to worry about your hair looking 'jacked' again!

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