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So you have damage and you have an idea how it happened. Now what?
Welcome to Part 2: How to Prevent and Restore Fragile Hair!
Let’s start with prevention of further damage. As you saw in Part 1, I talked about a few things you can change to help your hair and I'll reiterate some of that here.
One of the biggest things I see when I’m behind the chair is thermal damage, mostly from clients not fully drying their hair before flat ironing or using heat that is way too hot for their hair. A really easy thing to help is simply lowering the heat of your hot tools and making sure your hair is 100%, without a doubt, completely dry! It seems obvious, but the amount of people who use hot tools on damp hair is honestly astounding. You should also be using a heat protectant every time you style your hair.
Some for blow drying are:
always blow down the hair strand, not up it
always keep the airflow moving, don't hold the dryer in one spot
Some tips for using irons:
When flat ironing, keep it moving with steady tension and try not to go over the ends more than twice
When curling, feed in the ends last. When the hair is hot to the touch it’s time to release it from the iron
Another thing to keep in mind is that hair is in its most fragile state when it’s wet. That’s why it’s SO important to use a detangling leave-in conditioner and use a wet brush or wide tooth comb to gently detangle. BONUS: most quality leave-in conditioners also have UV blockers in them to prevent sun damage! Try to avoid really tight hairstyles with wet hair. All that tension on the hair creates breakage because hair shrinks when it dries. When you do put your hair up try to use a scrunchie or invisibobble so that when you take your hair out it doesn’t get caught and ripped.
The right hair treatments will be your best friend during the restoration phase. I’ll go over product recommendations in the next blog, but in the meantime, you can’t go wrong with Olaplex treatments as they are good for all hair types and help to actually rebuild the hair from the inside. Using a hair oil (or 100% pure jojoba oil) on the ends of your hair every night before bed and right after you wash it helps to prevent dryness that leads to breakage. Keratin and moisture treatments are also great options. A good rule of thumb regarding keratin vs moisture is:
Needs keratin - hair feels overly soft (can be stretchy) and loses curl definition quickly
Needs moisture - hair feels dry and brittle (can literally snap off), get tangled easily, and has lots of frizz
Regular trims are another great way to help restore your hair. Sometimes hair is just past the point of no return and no amount of treatments or babying it will help. I usually recommend a decent chop to start (at least 2 inches!) and then a quarter inch every 8-12 weeks as maintenance. I also usually recommend trying biotin and collagen to help promote new growth*.
Hope this was helpful! Drop a comment below or a message in the contact page if you have any other questions!
*This is not medical advice, always consult your doctor first! I personally can’t take biotin because B vitamins give me acne. But collagen works wonders for me. Every person is different and reacts differently to things.
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