We are always experimenting with our tresses. Or not taking adequate care of our hair due to an erratic lifestyle. The outcome is damaged, dry, and brittle hair. A hair strand comprises three layers. The inner layer is the medulla, encompassed by another middle layer called the cortex. There is also an outer layer, the cuticle, which keeps the hair protected. When damaged, the hair surface becomes or is prone to damage.
To have excessive hair fall or lose the smooth hair texture because, it is lifeless and dry, is truly disheartening. Should you find yourself in this situation, there’s nothing to fret! Today, there are few treatments and hair rescuing therapies that can help you with your damaged hair. Before we hop on to that, let us address the factors that cause hair damage. These factors are:
- Environmental damage
- Chemical damage
- Heat damage
- Physical damage
If you want to know how these damages happen and take place, you can search online and read through the various information available. You can also visit websites like http://evolutionofhair.com/ and others that will help you in knowing the causes and treatments of damaged hair.
Identify the signs of brittle and damaged hair
Not many people are aware of the symptoms of damaged hair. Discussed below are some of the visible signs of hair damage.
- Coarse hair structure: One of the visible signs of hair damage is a damaged hair structure. Want to know if you have a rough hair structure? Just hold a bunch of hair upside down and run the hair ends through your fingers. If the ends are jutting out and it feels rough, chances are you have damaged hair.
- Split ends: It comes with no surprise. Split ends are one of the visible signs of hair damage. Check your hair ends and check if it’s split into two halves. Trimming your hair will solve the problem.
- Loss of shine: Damaged hair will have no shine and luster. When you find your hair strands not shining the way it used to before, know that your cuticle could probably be damaged. At times, even deep conditioning treatment to fails to repair damaged hair.
- Increased hair breakage: Does your hair snap out the moment you brush, comb it or run your fingers through it? If yes, then you have damaged hair. Your hair’s tensile strength weakens when the external layer gets damaged.
- The absence of moisture: Damaged hair is bound to be dry! When your hair isn’t conditioned at all, regardless of what you attempt, there’s no shine. You have to manage damaged cuticles which can’t seal in moisture anymore.
- Excess hair tangles: Smooth hair shafts is a mark of healthy hair! While hair tangles and knots characterize unhealthy hair. Hair dryness makes it tough for the tangles to smoothen out. Ultimately this leads to breakage.
- High porosity: When the hair cuticle gets lifted, the moisture can pass quickly. All the external moisture gets collected in the hair shaft. Also, its swells up which in turn makes the hair frizzy.
- No elasticity: Your hair will stretch up to a point after which it snaps and then completely breaks. Damaged hair has very less flexibility than a fine strand.
How to nourish and protect damaged hair?
Damaged hair needs nourishment and care. You can follow the steps listed below to heal damaged hair:
1. Recognize the signs of damaged hair and repair it
If you resonate with most of the points discussed above, then it’s crucial to take care of your hair immediately. With the correct hair care, you can alter the situation. You can reach out to a professional hair salon that will provide you with a customized solution.
2. Damaged hair needs trimming
Does your hair end resemble a straw-like structure? If yes, then it’s time to get a trim. You need to do this before you go onto any hair restoration works. At times, trimming your hair is all you need to revive your hair back. Get the trimming done with layers, which will smoothen out the damage in a huge way. If your hair stylist isn’t using sharp scissors, chances are it will do more harm. And if you don’t find the cut clean, then you certainly need to look for another stylist.
3. Repairing damaged hair using nourishing oils
We have all heard our grandmothers say it frequently, that an oil massage keeps the scalp and hair healthy. There are many kinds of oils, such as castor oil, almond oil, coconut oil and olive oil that you can use. You can gently massage the oil in your scalp, leave it overnight or a couple of hours and then rinse your hair.
Oil creates a secure barrier in and around the hair cuticle. It also helps to nourish the hair shaft. Generally, coconut oil has good penetrative properties, and it nourishes the hair shaft through its fatty acid. The high protein contained in castor oil helps to replenish the damaged keratin areas of your hair.
4. Try natural hair repair remedies
Natural remedies always work wonders. You can opt-in for anything from bananas, avocado, oil, egg, and honey to make a natural hair mask. These masks are instrumental in reviving the hair health and bring back the lost shine and volume over a span of time.
5. Increase your intake of protein-rich food
Protein is good for hair health. So, make it a point to have protein-rich foods such as soy, yogurt, eggs, and fish. Also, search for food sources that are very rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. You can also apply Vitamin E oil or intake Vitamin E capsules under doctor guidance to nourish your hair. In the case of hair care products, select the ones which are rich in nutrients that support hair health and are low on toxic chemicals.
A full volume shiny hair is what everyone wants. However, poor diet, erratic lifestyle or excess experimentation with chemical treatments often attacks hair health. It makes our hair shine less and the texture entirely coarse. Identifying the signs of hair damage and treating them at the earliest is a smart call. If you want to repair your hair health, you can use the above-discussed methods for hair revival. Along with the above tips, you can also have a look at folexin, a hair supplement which combats any hair loss regardless of the cause of either genetics or just your health.
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