Hair can be fun to play with. We can do all kinds of things to our hair, from dying it and cutting it into different styles to curling it or straightening it. You can use your hair as a display of your personality and style, showing people who you are. It's really important to a lot of people, and it can be upsetting if your hair doesn't look its best. But when we don't take care of our hair properly, it can lead to dire consequences. Too much styling or neglecting your hair could damage it, and it can be difficult to rescue it.
Once you've damaged your hair, rescuing it isn't necessarily easy or even possible. However, damaged hair doesn't have to remain damaged forever, especially because your hair will keep growing. Even if it's damaged now, you can encourage it to grow out in a healthier way.
What Can Damage Your Hair?
There are multiple reasons your hair could be damaged. You might have neglected it, perhaps because you've been struggling to care for yourself or you just didn't feel like paying much attention to your hair. Or you might have given your hair just a little too much attention, damaging it with dyes, heat, or other styling choices. Identifying why your hair is damaged is a good start if you want to correct it. It will help you to stop any behaviours that might be damaging your hair and make some changes so you can take better care of your hair in the future.
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Can You Save Damaged Hair?
If your hair is already damaged, can you save it and make it healthy again? Not exactly. Hair regenerates while continuing to grow, and once it has grown out of the hair follicle, it's not alive anymore. So while your skin is capable of constant regeneration and healing, your hair can't really be changed once it's been damaged. However, although you can't completely rescue damaged hair, you can still improve its appearance and help your hair to grow healthier in the future. You can strengthen your hair and reduce the likelihood of your hair being damaged. You can also use certain products and hairstyles to reduce the appearance of damaged hair.
How to Rescue Neglected Hair
Damage to hair can't really be reversed, but you can still do some things to rescue your hair. With the right steps, you can first help it to look better and then help to prevent future damage. Try these steps to rescue your damaged hair and give it the nourishment it needs.
Halt Damaging Behaviours
To start with, make sure that you stop doing anything that might be damaging your hair. Giving your hair a break from styling, dyeing, and using any heat treatments can allow it to rest and grow out in a healthier way. You probably have a good idea of what could be damaging your hair, but if you're not sure, consider speaking to your hairstylist to get their opinion. They can probably give you some tips on what you could be doing wrong and how to correct it. Remember that it's not necessarily just how you treat your hair that could damage it. Other things could affect your hair's health, including your diet, whether you smoke, and your mental health.
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Get It Cut
Regular trims are important if you want to give your hair a helping hand and repair any damage. Of course, if you're prepared to get rid of all the damaged hair at once, you could cut or shave it as short as possible. It will allow you to grow your hair anew without having to slowly trim off the damaged hair and split ends. However, this definitely isn't the best choice for everyone. If you're not ready for a really short cut, you can stick to getting frequent trims to stay on top of the untidy ends.
Cutting your hair into the right style can also help to reduce the appearance of damaged hair. The right haircut or hairstyle can not only improve the look of your damaged hair but could also help to protect it and prevent further damage. If you want to cut it shorter but you don't want to get rid of it all, there are lots of cute short styles that could work for you.
Find the Best Products
The products you use can also help you to rescue your hair if you haven't been taking good care of it. There are shampoos for damaged hair which, although they won't repair your hair completely, can help it to look healthier. They can also help to strengthen your hair as it grows so that you can reduce the likelihood of damaged strands later. Lots of shampoos and conditioners, as well as products like hair masks, are advertised for dry and damaged hair. Look for products that are going to moisturise your hair and give it the hydration that it needs to grow healthier.
As well as general products for damaged hair, you'll find some products catered to different hair types and colours. For example, you can find shampoo designed for bleached blonde hair or dyed hair. Look for strengthening products that will help to give your hair the strength that it deserves.
You can find products that will protect your hair from further damage too. If you're fond of heat styling, cutting back on it is a good idea to help your hair recover. However, when you do use heat to style your hair, make sure you're using a heat protection spray. It will help to prevent the heat from damaging your hair while also still allowing you to style your hair in the way you want to.
Try a Rescue Treatment
Switching your usual hair products to something suitable for damaged hair can help. Another product to consider is hair masks and similar rescue treatments designed to nourish your hair. These treatments can give your damaged hair some much-needed moisture so that they don't look as dry or brittle. They're like super-strength conditioners that are great for a quick fix when you want to improve the look of your hair. You might also want to consider keratin wraps, which can also help to nourish your hair with this essential protein. It's easy to do these treatments at home, although salon treatments are also available.
Wear Extensions
Do you feel like you need to cut off the worst of your hair, but you don't really want to wear it too short? If you're not really into short cuts, you could consider wearing extensions. Of course, you don't want more permanent extensions if you're trying to let your hair heal. Instead, consider the option of clip-in extensions, which you can easily wear or remove as you wish. If you want to get a good colour-match (especially if you've dyed your hair), you can buy some natural extensions and dye them to match your hair colour. Even when your damaged hair has grown out, you might find the extensions useful to help give your hair more volume.
Image from Pixabay - CC0 Licence
Find New Ways to Get the Style You Want
Taking a break from your usual styling methods can leave you feeling at a loss. You might still want to get the same style but find it difficult when you're trying to avoid heat or other damaging styling options. However, there are often other ways you can style your hair to get the look that you want. For example, you can curl your hair without using heat to get the volume and the curls or waves that you want with less damage. Of course, you can also explore new styles to find something you love without the unhealthy hair habits.
Learn to Love Your Natural Hair
Some people play around with their hair a lot because they're not happy with their natural hair. They feel like it's boring or it doesn't represent their personality or style, so instead, they choose to dye it, straighten it, curl it or do various other things to it. But all of these choices can lead to hair damage, which might mean messing with it even more to try and cover up the damage. Learning to love your natural hair for what it is can make a big difference. You can allow it time to heal and avoid causing further damage.
Follow Healthier Habits
Building healthier habits is important if you want to prevent damage to your hair in the future. It will help you to keep your hair healthy and start giving your hair what it needs. Think about how you've been treating your hair and what you can change to ensure it looks and feels good in the future. Start using the right products and the best styling techniques to protect your hair, and find a haircut that you're happy with too.
Damaged hair can't exactly be reversed, but there's plenty you can do to improve its appearance and make it healthier in the future.
