Top 3 Ways You’re Damaging Your Hair

I feel like all too often we hear a breaking news report on how things we believe to be healthy for us really aren’t. No matter what we do day-to-day, harm seems unavoidable, doesn’t it? Even doing “good” can end up bad. Well, the positive news is making your hair look beautiful does not have to go hand in hand with damaging your luscious locks.

Like most things, awareness is key to ensuring that what you put your hair through everyday is keeping it healthy, not causing harm.

Heat

It’s no mystery that our hot styling tools cause our hair damage. Most of our curling irons, hair dryers, and straighteners reach temperatures of over 400 degrees – and the horrible part is, we need them to in order to tame our tresses! You think I am ever giving up my hair straightener? Think again.

However, high heat burns your hair. Plain and simple. It’s going to dry your hair out, making it more prone to the frizzes, breakage, and split ends.

The thing about heat, however, is that we need to protect our hair from it if we can’t do anything to eliminate it from our lives – and it is so easy to do so. First, make sure your hair is completely dry when you use hot tools on it – sizzling the H2O off your hair is only going to make things worse. Second, use the lowest settings you can on your irons and blow dryers (without sacrificing functionality, of course). Third, use a heat protectant spray before straightening and curling to cut down on damage.

Sunlight

I just read an article talking about natural ways to lighten your hair and cringed when I found people STILL think it’s okay to dowse their hair in lemon juice and “naturally” highlight their hair, and that it’s safer than chemically lightening. The thing is, you are damaging your hair just as much doing that as you are bleaching your hair. UV rays are just as harsh on your hair as they are on your skin – we just have no feeling in our strands, so we have no idea it’s happening.

Not only should you not dowse your hair in lemon juice and burn your poor hair to crisp (for the same reason we don’t dowse our skin in baby oil and lay out by the pool), but you should protect your hair from the sun all the time. Sunscreens for your hair are everywhere – check out our post from earlier this summer on the best methods of sun protection. It’s SO easy to protect your hair from the sun – most of us just don’t consider it a need.

Color

Here is another area of hair damage that most of us aren’t willing to avoid. Whether you like changing it up, enjoy highlights, or want to cover up greys, it’s highly unlikely we are ALL going to ditch coloring our hair. However, just like hair that is damaged with heat or sunlight, your locks will be much more prone to frizz and breakage.

If you do dye your hair consistently, keep in mind you should wait as long as possible in between all over colorings as you can take, at least 8 weeks. Get root touch up to make a dye job last longer. Also, go to a salon to get your hair done so you can ensure you are putting high quality dye in your hair. Not all hair colors are made equal.

Image Source: Hotbeautyhealth.com

Protect Your Hair from Sun Damage – and Revitalize Your Already Sun Kissed Hair

I remember when I was a teen, I used to dowse my hair in lemon juice and bake in the sun for hours in an effort to naturally lighten my hair (I also used to use lotion instead of sunscreen to get tan, but that’s another horror story for another day). It really did work, and since I couldn’t afford to get highlights on my babysitting budget, it was the next best thing.

What I didn’t know, is that I was doing a lot of damage to my hair, not only from the lemon juice, but from exposing my hair to so much harsh sunlight.

When it comes to protecting hair from the sun’s rays, a lot of people shrug it off.

We’ve all heard it – “why would I need to do anything to protect my hair, it’s just dead protein! It doesn’t need vitamins or any help.” Wrong! Elements such as chemical pollution, heat, and ultraviolet radiation from the sun does critical damage to you hair just as it does damage to your skin.

According to an article on hair care from KidsHealth.org, “When hair is damaged, though, the scales may separate and hair can become dry. Because the scales on dry hair don’t protect the inner two layers as well, hair can break and look dull.” Damaged, dry hair loses shine, is prone to frizziness and breakage, won’t grow as quickly, and is so much harder to style and manage.

So, how do you beat the sun? Protection and prevention first – wear hats when you hit the beach, and get a sunscreen for your hair. Take a look at this LatestHairstyles.com article for top products to treat your hair if you are out in the sun a lot. One of their easiest suggestions? Drink more water. According to the article, “Keeping your body hydrated in turn keeps your hair hydrated.  Drink lots of fresh water to keep you body feeling good and your hair looking better!”

What if you’ve already done some serious damage to your hair and want to turn back time? Well, unfortunately a time machine hasn’t been invented yet, but deeply conditioning your hair or even considering a keratin treatment can revitalized sun damaged hair. TheFrisky.com recommends Rene Furterer’s After Sun products, such as their After-Sun Mask for dry hair.