Damaged hair is a reality for most women. When you consider the stressors our hair encounters each and every day, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Environmental elements, chemical processes (straighteners, perms, color, and bleach), heat styling (blow drying, curling irons, and straighteners), back-combing, spritzing, and spraying … an armored knight would find it difficult to withstand that kind of abuse! While it’s unrealistic to expect a woman to abstain from any or all of the steps in this lifelong hair-beautification saga, there are some simple tips to minimize the damage in the midst of it all.
- Use a nourishing, moisturizing shampoo and conditioner that genuinely produce healthier hair with each use. Try Keranique, a keratin-enriched shampoo and conditioning system that not only seals each strand to repair the damage, but also fortifies hair at the root to promote stronger, fuller, and healthier locks.
- Speaking of sealing your strands … turn the water temperature to cool (brrr!) while you rinse the shampoo and conditioner from your hair. The cool water closes the cuticles of each strand, sealing in moisture and affording you a sleeker, healthier head of hair.
- Detangle fairly! An optimal time to comb through your hair is in the shower while the conditioner is still in your hair. This makes the process almost effortless. Use a wide-toothed comb as opposed to a brush when detangling wet hair to avoid unnecessary breakage. Keranique has a phenomenal leave-in treatment that repairs damage and protects against heat styling!
- Don’t use the blow dryer if you can help it. On days you aren’t in a hurry to fix up your ‘do, let your hair air dry. When you do use the dryer, use the coolest setting possible so as not to burn the hair.
- Give your hair a break! Full styling isn’t necessary every single day, especially taking into account the damage over-styling can do. Opt for a heat-free style as often as possible. Put the curling iron and straightener away and sport a cute top-knot or some beach-y waves once in a while!
- Put a little space in between salon visits for color to avoid over-processing your hair, and maybe add in a few visits strictly for healthy trims. This will keep split ends at bay and your style looking ever so fresh!
There’s no hiding your hair, so you had better treat it fairly! The good news is that your hair is always growing. If you haven’t heeded these tips before now, it’s never too late to start! Give your hair its best foot forward and see how far a little extra TLC can go for your mane!
