Caring For Damaged Hair

Title		Caring For Damaged Hair
Date		N/A
Source		Daily Glow ™ Editors of Daily Glow ™
You want your hair to be luscious, vibrant and healthy. But treatments, products and daily abuse can conspire to damage your hair. Here are some of the top causes for hair damage — and the steps you can take to minimize damage, or to cover up its unattractive appearance while strong, healthy hair is growing in. What is damaged hair? Damage occurs when the cuticle—the outside layer of each strand of hair—gets abused by chemicals, heat exposure or rough treatment. Damaged hair is usually dry, brittle, rough, frizzy and porous. Treating your hair with care can keep damage to a minimum. What can I do to prevent damaged hair? If you're reading this, you probably already have damaged hair. But in the future, taking these steps can help limit damage to your hair: If you blow dry your hair, use the lowest heat setting and leave your hair just a little damp so it can finish drying naturally. Choose conditioner with sunscreen to help protect your hair from damage caused by the sun. Minimize treatments such as coloring, perms and relaxing, and talk to your stylist about ways to make these treatments less damaging. Use a wide-toothed comb, not a brush, to work tangles out of wet hair. Protect your hair from chlorine and chemicals by using a swim cap when you head to the pool. Wear a hat or scarf on windy days to help protect your hair. Limit your use of curling irons and hot rollers, and if you use heat treatments apply a protector to your hair beforehand. How can you treat damaged hair? Once hair is damaged, it can't be repaired. But, with good care you can make the hair appear healthier. Shampoo. To treat damaged hair, choose a gentle shampoo. There are lots of products on the market designed for damaged hair. Because washing can further dry your hair, shampoo only when your hair needs it—once or twice a week should be plenty. On other days rinse your hair with lukewarm water, or simply keep your hair dry and style it. Conditioner. A good conditioner can help minimize the unattractive appearance of dry hair. Use a light, leave-in conditioner every day, and try a deep conditioner once a week. You might want to try a periodic hot-oil treatment as well. Style. Talk to your stylist about a haircut that can minimize the appearance of damaged hair while the healthy strands are growing in. Ideally, you'll want a wash-and-wear style that doesn't require heat treatments or a lot of products to look its best. You'll likely want to steer clear of coloring, perms and relaxers while your healthy hair is growing in, so the new hair can avoid damage. Since hair only grows about a half-inch per month on average, you might want to consider a short haircut. Then, once the damage grows out, you can let the healthy hair grow longer if you like. Don't make it worse. If you've damaged your hair with at-home coloring, perming or relaxing, don't try to fix the problem yourself. You could escalate the problem and even lead to lots of breakage. Instead, seek professional help. Your stylist has almost certainly faced the same problem before. While there's little hope of repairing damaged hair, following these steps can help it look as attractive as possible while your new locks come in.
Labels	Damaged Hair, Hair Care, Hair Products, More Links, Hair Tools