Hair SOS - Saving Your Dry, Brittle, Damaged Hair

Hello everyone. My name is Ann-Margaret. I am a hair-dye addict *insert awkward waving and nodding here*.

There was a while there where I would dye my hair about once a month. My natural hair colour is dark dark brown almost black with a red undertone and so lightening it left it coppery which needed further treatment using de-brassing agents.

I have always been terribly vain about my hair and all the styling, dying and fussing about with it has led to basically one thing: horrible, awful damaged ends. I've also been growing my hair out, so read on and find out the steps I've been taking to bring life to these seemingly dead ends.

1. The perfect Shampoo/Conditioner

Next to a healthy diet almost nothing is more important for your hair than what you use in it while washing it. In general I like to wash my hair every other day. Washing your hair every day is excessively drying and terrible for it.

Choose shampoo that's made specifically for your hair type. If you've got coloured hair, get shampoo and conditioner that's made specifically for colour treated hair. It's really that simple. Shampoos and Conditioners are formulated differently depending on what kind of needs you have. I personally spend ages in the shampoo aisle stressing over which shampoo to get but really, in the end, I grab what type I need and then pick between brands that are known for their reliability and also, the fragrance.

Dove's Damage Therapy System is a very impressive line of products. The line is pretty much all encompassing, from styling gels to moisture replenishing sprays. The conditioner is probably my favourite of all time.

Alternatively, Pantene has come out with a new line that smell wonderful and have a pretty easy-to-use system for: Fine, Medium-Thick and Curly hair.

If you've got a shampoo that you already love then by all means, stick with it. If you feel however, it's not really giving your hair the support you need, hop over to your local drugstore and get a little adventurous with your shampoo and conditioner. Lots of shampoos and conditioners come in Travel sized samples that you can buy and just try out. Give it a go: you might just find yourself falling in love with your hair all over again.

For those of you with oily hair and can't go a day without washing your hair:

I suffer from the same issue. Or at least I did. It might sound strange, but being a dye-addict has given me bipolar hair. It's incredibly dry on days that it's been washed and then the very next day it's grease galore yet stays dry and brittle at the very ends. Washing my hair every other day was torture for me for a while because of the uncomfortable feeling of greasiness.

Turns out however, just like your skin, your scalp overcompensates for the dryness caused by over-washing by producing excess oil. By not washing every day, you avoid drying out your scalp and eventually you will find that your hair is less greasy the day after a wash.

However, if you still need a little extra help with that grease, invest in some dry shampoo. Dry shampoo is an excellent product that absorbs excess oil from your hair leaving you feeling clean and fresh without having to wash your hair. Both Boots and Batiste make excellent dry shampoos, with the one made by Boots having the added bonus of being almost fragrance free, in case the smell most dry shampoos have bothers you.

2. Always use protection

Styling your hair is wonderful but can bring with it many trials. Minimizing damage lies in 3 things: Technique (never ever run your straightener over and over again on one section of hair. This, my friends, is Hair-o-cide), Your Styling Tool and Protection.

Always use heat protectant when styling your hair with hot tools. Heat protectants help form a barrier that protects your hair from burning and further damaging ends.

TRESemmé has long been a favourite within the blogosphere simply because it does its job well and has the added bonus of smelling fantastic. CHI also offers a wide and excellent range of heat protectants from sprays to serums but may be a little pricier.

This of course, is no substitute to giving your hair a break once in a while. Rock those curls every now and then, put the hair dye away and let your hair dry naturally.

3. Condition, Condition, Condition...

Leave in conditioners, hydrating sprays and oil treatments are the way to go if you've got dry hair. My personal loves and saviours are the Dove Daily Moisture Hydrating Spray and Morrocanoil. Both leave my hair feeling silky and my ends less bristle-like.

With any leave-in conditioning treatment, try to concentrate on your ends. This is because your scalp may already produce oils (which you can redistribute throughout the rest of your hair using a boar bristle brush) and may not need the hydration as much as your ends.

Rub the product between your hands and then apply to just the tips. When the majority of the product has been rubbed into your ends, run your fingers through your hair for extra sheen.

Weekly treatments using items you can find in your kitchen are always fantastic and Elle from Elle's Makeup Blog has a fantastic article on homemade hair treatments that's great for all budgets, if splurging on hot oils is just not for you.

4. And of course...

If you hear pulling and tearing when you brush your hair, you're probably doing just that: ripping out your hair.

Get yourself a trim every now and then, about every 4-6 weeks. I know I know! Getting trims is basically a traumatic experience for anyone who has ever tried to grow their hair out, went to the hair dresser's, asked for a trim and got five inches cut off. Trust me. I've been there. But sometimes, no amount of conditioning and protecting can salvage what is already irreparable

Give very explicit instructions. Show them with your fingers how much you want off, and have them cut off how much you want on just a small section of hair - this way nothing gets lost in translation.

Still haven't convinced you? Well, if you're the type whose hair never seems to grow, this may just be your best option. Everybody's hair grows at different rates, but rest assured that everybody's hair grows, even yours. If you find no discernible difference in length with your hair for months, what's actually happening is that your ends are breaking off. You're basically getting a free hair cut, courtesy of your damaged ends that have lost the will to hang on and so just fell away. So trim your hair to start with fresh(er) ends and start taking better care of your tresses.

It's just hair. It'll grow back. I promise.

Have a great one!
x

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Disclaimer:
I am not affiliated with any of the products mentioned above in any way. I have not been paid by them and all products I mention have been bought by me.
Sources:
Images - All images were taken and edited by me