Damaged Hair 101: Our Top Tips for Identifying and Treating Damaged Strands
We’ve all been there - running our fingers through our hair and suddenly realizing something feels a bit… off. Maybe it’s lost that soft, silky texture you once loved, or perhaps you’re noticing more breakage, split ends, or a general lack of shine.
It’s frustrating, but you’re not alone - damaged hair is something most of us deal with at some point.
The good news? While you can’t exactly turn back the clock on damage, you can definitely improve the way your hair looks and feels with the right approach.
We’re here to help you spot the signs of damage early and tackle them head-on, with some expert advice from Color Wow Chief Chemist, Dr. Joe Cincotta, PhD.
How to Tell If Your Hair Is Damaged: 6 Telltale Signs
First things first, what does damaged hair actually look like? It’s important to know the signs so you can address them early on. Here are some common indicators that your hair might be damaged:
1. Dryness and Dullness
Healthy-looking hair reflects light and feels smooth; damaged hair feels dry due to its inability to retain moisture and looks dull due to its rough, uneven surface texture.
(Excessive heat styling, chemical treatments, and harsh environmental conditions can roughen the cuticle, making hair look dull.)
2. Split Ends
Split ends occur at the driest part of hair strands, the tips, when the protective cuticle wears away, exposing inner layers and “shredding” hair strands. This damage can travel up the shaft. But don’t worry! Regular trims can lop off damaged ends and leave-in conditioners can temporarily smooth tips to help prevent split ends from worsening.
3. Breakage and Thinning
Noticing more hair in your brush or on your pillow? This could be a sign of damage, because weak, brittle hair that lacks elasticity and suppleness can break easily from brushing or styling. Thinning can result from over-processing or physical stress on hair follicles.
4. Frizz and Flyaways
Damaged hair struggles to retain moisture, leading to frizz and flyaways. A damaged outer cuticle layer allows moisture to escape, making hair dry and prone to swelling in humidity.
Fortunately, as pioneers of the first frizz-fighting formulas, we have a wealth of anti-humidity products in our arsenal to help you fight frizz.
5. Elasticity Loss
Hair that’s in optimal condition is flexible and elastic, so it can stretch and return to its original length.
Dry, dehydrated, damaged hair snaps easily or doesn’t return to its original shape due to breakdown or cleavage of the keratin protein structure within the hair cortex from chemicals or heat.
6. Tangling and Knots
Frequent knots and tangles could also be sign of hair damage.
When the cuticle is damaged, it becomes rough and snags easily on other hairs, causing tangles and knots.
What Causes Damaged Hair? Here Are 4 Key Culprits
Understanding what causes hair damage is crucial if you want to prevent it from happening again in the future. By identifying the factors that contribute to weakened, brittle, or dull hair, you can take steps to protect your strands. Here are some of the most common culprits:
1. Heat Styling
Frequent use of hot tools like straighteners, curling irons, and blow dryers can dehydrate and weaken the hair structure.
These high temperatures strip the hair of natural moisture, leaving it dry and brittle, and leading to split ends and breakage.
2. Chemical Treatments
Coloring, perming, and relaxing treatments, that raise the cuticle in order to allow chemicals to penetrate into the hair strand, can rob the hair of its natural moisture and proteins.
Harsh chemicals used in these processes break down the structural integrity of hair, weakening it and making it prone to dryness and breakage.
3. Environmental Factors
Sun exposure, wind, and pollution can all take a toll on your hair’s healthy condition. UV rays break down hair protein, causing dryness and color fading.
Wind tangles hair, leading to mechanical damage, while pollution can dull your hair's shine or leave behind build-up that impacts optimal hair growth.
4. Mechanical Damage
Rough handling, such as aggressive brushing, tight hairstyles, and even using hair ties, can cause breakage.
Harsh brushing tears the hair shaft, creating split ends, while tight hairstyles stress hair follicles and fragile strands.
Can Damaged Hair Actually Be Repaired?
No, damaged hair can’t be “fixed” completely. While you can improve the look and feel of damaged hair, you can't truly repair it because hair is composed of dead keratin cells, which means it lacks the ability to heal itself like living tissue.
Split ends and broken hair can't be undone or mended, but you can minimize the appearance of damage and adopt a healthy hair care routine to make your hair look and feel better.
Here’s Dr. Joe Cincotta (PhD)’s stance on the matter:
"While you can't completely reverse hair damage, using the right treatments and taking preventive measures can significantly improve your hair's condition, resilience and ability to grow longer.”
How to Manage Damaged Hair: Top Tips and Products
Now that you know the signs of damaged hair and what to watch out for, it’s time to dive into the next step - how to treat it.
Understanding the cause of the damage is crucial because it helps you choose the right approach to make your hair look and feel better:
1. Take Care of Your Scalp
Optimal scalp condition is the key to optimal hair condition.
Just a few drops of Youth Juice Scalp Treatment every day helps nourish hair follicles and promotes an ideal scalp environment where stronger, thicker, more resilient and damage-resistant hair can thrive.
2. Get Regular Trims
Start by trimming off the split ends. This prevents the splits from traveling up the hair shaft and causing more damage. Regular trims keep your hair looking healthy and prevent further breakage.
3. Use an Anti-Tangle Pre-Shampoo Treatment
Very brittle, frizzy or very curly hair can get matted and even break and tear while you’re shampooing. How do pro stylists stop the knots and get a gentler, deeper clean with tempermental, tangle -prone hair types?
Snag-free Pre Shampoo Detangler moisturizes and gives hair “slip” so you can move it around, massage your scalp and get a deeper fresher clean without painful, time-consuming knots and detangles that lead to damage.
4. Switch to a Gentle Shampoo
Use a sulfate-free shampoo that cleanses without stripping your hair of its natural oils. This will help retain natural moisture and reduce further damage. Our go-tos?
1. Color Security Shampoo - one rich lathering, sulfate-free, residue-free formula for all hair types. Unlike most shampoos, every ingredient rinses off for optimal hair and scalp health. 2. Hooked 100% Clean Shampoo - this residue-free, sulfate-free formula not only leaves no residues on hair or scalp, but also helps anchor hair to prevent shedding + reduce breakage in curly hair.
Both of these formulas are super gentle on your hair, and free of any undesirable ingredients that would typically stay behind and clog the follicles.
“Shampooing and conditioning your hair properly is the most basic but perhaps the most impactful thing you can do for your hair’s well-being,” Dr. Joe explains.
5. Condition, Condition, Condition
Follow up your shampoo with a rinse-out conditioner that provides weightless hydration and easy detangling. Our go-tos?
1. Color Security Conditioners - available for fine-to-normal and normal-to-thick hair types, these conditioners are packed with carefully-vetted, nourishing ingredients that won't dull or darken color.2. Coco-Motion Lubricating Curl Conditioner - instantly gives dry, dehydrated, brittle, “static” curls fluid motion, silky texture, bounce and elasticity.
“Do not underestimate the importance of finding (and using!) the right conditioners in your routine regularly. Heat styling, hair color, UV rays and even ponytails put a lot of stress on your hair,” says Dr. Joe.
Rinse-out conditioners are a must for adding hydration and smoothing your hair in the shower, but what happens after you rinse? That’s where a leave-in conditioner like Money Mist steps in.
This luxe, light leave-in conditioning treatment gives you instantly stronger, glossy, expensive-looking hair. The best part? It’s suitable for ALL hair types.
“We formulated Money Mist to work on multi-levels of hair fibers so it not only makes hair look glossy and luminous, it actively bolsters and reinforces fibers to help make them structurally stronger and flexible… enabling strands to withstand stress and grow longer,” says Dr. Joe.
6. Use a Leave-In Blow Dry Treatment
While Money Mist is your go-to for lightweight, all-over hydration and frizz control, a leave-in blow dry treatment (like our Dream Cocktails range) addresses specific issues like damage, dehydration, or lack of thickness.
Applying one of these leave-in treatments before blow-drying your hair can provide an extra layer of protection and hydration, keeping your hair soft and manageable throughout the day.
1. Kale Cocktail - This leave-in treatment is clinically-proven to make hair 50% stronger in a single blow dry. It instantly strengthens brittle, fragile, damaged hair plus has powerful heat protectant properties
2. Coconut Cocktail - A leave-in that instantly silkens, smoothes, defrizzes dry hair types for sleek glossy blow-dry results. Mimics hair’s essential outer surface lipid layer of moisture (18-MEA) that is compromised or missing in dry, dehydrated, damaged hair. Also a powerful heat protectant that helps counteract blow-dry damage.
3. Carb Cocktail - Bestselling pre-blow-dry boost that instantly thickens fine, thin, fragile hair, making it plumper, fuller plus more robust and responsive when styling. Powerful heat protectant properties.
7. Minimize Heat Styling
Give your hair a break from hot tools, and when you do use them, make sure you’ve applied a heat protectant to shield your strands from high temperatures.
At Color Wow we recognize that regular heat styling is a way of life for most of us, so EVERY styler and treatment product we create has 2-3 types of heat protection already built in!
8. Apply a Deep Conditioning Mask
Incorporate a weekly deep conditioning mask into your routine, as these products provide intense hydration and repair.
Our go-to is Money Masque, Chris Appleton’s 1-step-prep for luxe-looking hair, which penetrates deep to help strengthen, repair and renew suppleness.
9. Protect Your Hair When Out & About
When you’re out in the sun, wear a hat or use products with UV protection. At night, sleep on a silk pillowcase to reduce friction and breakage. Protecting your hair and scalp from environmental stressors helps maintain its condition and vitality.
10. Avoid Tight Hairstyles
Opt for looser styles and use hair-friendly accessories like scrunchies instead of tight elastics. Tight hairstyles can strain your hair and cause breakage. Gentle styling options prevent unnecessary stress on your strands.
Your Damaged Hair FAQs Answered
Does dyeing your hair damage it?
Yes, dyeing your hair can lead to damage, as the chemicals in hair dye can strip moisture and weaken the hair shaft, especially if used frequently or without proper aftercare. However, using quality products and following a nourishing hair care routine can minimize the damage.
Do perms damage your hair?
Yes, perms involve the use of chemicals to break and reform the hair's bonds, which can lead to damage. The process can make hair dry, brittle, and prone to breakage, particularly if the hair is not adequately cared for post-treatment.
Do extensions damage your hair?
Extensions can cause damage if they're too heavy, applied improperly, or worn for extended periods. The tension can strain the hair roots, potentially leading to weakened hair, breakage, or even hair loss.
Choosing the right type of extensions and ensuring they're professionally applied can mitigate these risks. Visit our recommended hair extension products to keep them fresh, glossy, long and strong.
Does bleaching your hair damage it?
Yes, bleaching significantly damages hair by stripping it of its natural color and moisture. The process can leave hair porous, brittle, and prone to breakage.
Minimizing the frequency of bleaching and investing in deep conditioning treatments can help manage and mitigate the damage. For more tips on how to repair bleach damaged hair, visit our guide.
Does blow drying your hair damage it?
Blow drying your hair can potentially damage it, especially if done incorrectly or too frequently. The high heat from blow dryers can strip hair of its natural moisture, leading to dryness, brittleness, and breakage.
Additionally, if the blow dryer is held too close to the hair or used without a heat protectant, it can cause further damage by weakening the hair shaft and cuticle.
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Let’s wrap up! Remember that consistent care and the right products make all the difference when it comes to managing damaged hair.
Not sure where to start on your Color Wow hair journey? Take our 60-second hair quiz to discover the perfect personalized routine for your hair type.
For more tips on maintaining optimally conditioned, strong, healthy-looking hair, visit our blog and check out our full range of products for fragile, damaged hair:
