Having kids has wreaked havoc on my hair. I lost a lot of hair in the first few months after giving birth and it’s been a frizzy, dry mess ever since. Looking into the mirror, I realized it was time to give my damaged hair a little TLC and wanted to share some of the tips I’ve been following to reduce damage and breakage in my hair while I get my lustrous locks back.
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1. Don’t Wash Your Hair Too Often
Every time you wash your hair, you remove the essential oils that keep your hair and scalp moisturized. The drier your hair is, the more prone to breakage and damage it is. For this reason, try to keep hair washing to a minimum to prevent damaging your hair. For those of you that I just know are saying “my hair gets so greasy, I have to wash it every other day,” I would recommend investing in a good dry shampoo (I’m currently loving Refresh Care from Dove) to give you some extra time in between washes.
Personally, I wash my hair every 4 or 5 days to avoid damaged hair. If it feels like its getting a touch oily, I choose those days to throw it in a braid or topknot, since you need a little oil in your hair to give up-dos some texture and hold. You can also give the Ponydry a try – it’s a fun hair sleeve that lets you wash your roots while keeping your ends dry.
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2. Hair Is Breakable When Wet
The bonds in hair are weakened when they are wet, so it’s important to be very gentle to your hair at this stage to prevent damaged hair. Always use a wide-toothed comb to comb through wet hair and never yank or rip through tangles. When drying hair with a towel, make sure to squeeze out excess water with the towel instead of rubbing your hair in the towel. I also let my hair air-dry for at least 10-15 minutes before blow drying; this allows the bonds to dry and strengthen again and also reduces the amount of time spent in front of the dryer.
If your hair is prone to tangling, make sure you brush it before going into the shower and use a wide-toothed comb to evenly distribute your shampoo and conditioner through your hair to avoid further tangles while washing.
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3. Avoid SLS + Harsh Detergents
Most shampoos and cleansers contain a detergent called sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), which removes dirt and oil. The problem? SLS is so good at removing oil that it strips your hair and scalp of every last bit of it. Overly dry hair is more prone to damage and a dry scalp can sometimes cause hair loss. To prevent damaged hair, I try to find a good sulfate-free shampoo. While SLS free shampoos don’t foam as much, I found switching to these gentler shampoos made a huge difference in my hair; it feels much softer and I also experience less hair loss. My current fave SLS-free shampoo and conditioner combo are from the Avon Elastine Propolithera range, which makes my hair feel smooth and smell amazing!
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4. Minimize Heat Styling
When I was a teenager, there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t blow dry and heat style my hair. But now that I have ZERO time for myself, I’ve learned to find ways to style my hair without blow drying or flat ironing it to save time and inadvertently save my strands. Braids and updos can be your best friend when you’re trying to avoid heat styling. If you do need to use heat on your hair, remember to use a heat protectant spray. Some heat protectants also help reduce hair drying time as a bonus.
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5. Beware Of Tight Ponytails
Growing up, my mother always wanted my hair off of my face. She would pull my hair into a ponytail and then pull my hair against the elastic to tighten it further (giving me an instant face lift at the age of 9). To this day, I’m still pulling my hair into a ponytail or topknot with an elastic. As time saving as these styles are, they can contribute to breakage and hair loss because your hair is constantly rubbing against the tight elastic, as well as being pulled back tightly.
If you style your hair into a ponytail or other pulled back updo, make sure you never pull the hair too tightly. Consider using bobby pins to secure your ponytail or topknot instead of an elastic. If you’re loyal to using hair elastics, always try to use the elastics without that little metal binding piece; hair can get caught or rub against the edge of the metal and break. Instead, opt for silk-covered scrunchies or hair cords to reduce damage and tangling. I personally love these Gummiband hair cords for ponytails – they’re super gentle on hair and cute! It’s also a good idea to dump any old brushes that have broken bristles that could break your hair while brushing as well.
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6. Try Not To Colour-Treat Too Often
I don’t care how “gentle” or “nourishing” a hair dye claims to be, the chemicals in the dye still cause damaged hair whenever you use it. I have tons of gray hair that I can’t avoid dying, but I make sure to really stretch out the time between hair dye jobs (usually every 5-6 weeks) to prevent damaged hair. If you feel the need to cover your regrowth more often, consider doing a root touch up instead of dying all of your hair; this ensures that only the fresh regrowth is treated while the middle to ends of your hair (which are already damaged from previous dying) are avoided.
You can also cover up your roots for the day using some root-covering powders and sprays (I love Clairol’s root touch-up powder!)
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7. Hair Mask & Chill
While I’ve been getting really lazy with these lately, incorporating a hair mask into your hair care routine can really help. Select a hair mask targeted to dry and/or damaged hair, which will help moisturize and strengthen damaged strands for the week ahead. Personally, my hair has become so coarse that it only shines like it used to after a good hair mask treatment.
Tip: Use a wide-toothed comb to evenly apply your hair mask from root to tip.
My current hair mask is from the Ouai hair care line. I got it as a sample in one of my previous Ipsy bags and I’m totally in love with the stuff!
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8. Stay Out Of The Sun
Just like skin, your hair can be damaged from the harsh UV rays of the sun. While I avoid the sun like the plague, if you’re planning a day in the great outdoors, be sure to wear a hat. Since sun protection is so important nowadays, many brands have SPF products made to protect your hair from the effects of the sun if you insist on leaving your locks uncovered!
I didn’t know hair can also be damaged by the sun! I try to follow a lot of these tips, although unfortunately I can’t seem to get away from heat styling! Great tips x
http://www.beautyfromkatie.blogspot.com
Sounds like you’re ahead of the game! I actually wish I could blow dry my hair, but it’s hard to find the time with a screaming baby…maybe in a few months.
I wish I knew these earlier! My hair would have been a lot prettier if I had. I had no clue about hair being more prone to damage when wet!
Nicole | The Glam Surge
I try to wash my hair twice or three times a week but in summer, I wash it almost every day which is really bad but the hot weather requires to do so. And less heating tools is always a good idea! x
Yiota
PinkDaisyLoves
The summer months are always tough. I find I can’t use heating tools too often because it’s just too hot in the house!
Yesss tight ponytails can be so so damaging!!!
xx Sofia | SOFIAADOT
I’m lucky I’m not bald at the front, I always wore them so tight!
I never cared much about my hair before, but now I`m trying to take better care of it. I don`t use products with parabens and SLS anymore, which was a nice change. I also try to remember to use heat protection, though I sometimes forget. I do wash my hair a lot, but it`s so greasy otherwise.
http://www.beautynerd.co.uk
I used to never care about my hair. But in the past year I’ve been getting balayage done and finding that it’s a bit damaged from the dyeing. Nothing bad though, but in the past year I’ve switched to using only SLS free shampoos, and I also recently starting using a hair mask!
Samantha Series
I did the same and those two changes helped my hair a lot!
These are great tips! I agree with tight ponytails. They give me headaches at the end of the day so I swap them with a bun during the day to rest my hair!
xx, Kathy
http://www.kathywang.co.uk
I have dry thin and fine hair so I can’t really use hair mask or thick conditioner. I used to wash my hair everyday because it gets limp, oily and whenever I cook (which is almost everyday), the food smells trap in it. what I noticed was after I switched to SLS free haircare, my hair is so much healthier and doesn’t get oily as fast anymore too so these days I wash my hair only once every two days.
ShireenâReflection of Sanity
I can relate…I used to work at an Italian banquet hall years ago and would come home smelling like fried food and tomato sauce. Not sexy.
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