DAMAGE CONTROL
On the road to getting gorgeous hair, a little tough love is required
MIND THE SPLIT
You can usually spot split ends with the naked eye, but another sign the strands are starting to fray is that your hair is tangling more easily. The fix is simple: get a trim every two months, says stylist Ali Holmes of Wild Life Hair Sogo in Sydney’s Surry Hills. And while most stylists will insist there’s no substitute for a snip, there are polymer-packed serums that can fill and mend ends until you can get to the salon.
LOOK FOR THE LOVE
There’s damage and then there’s damage.
And the deciding factor can be the colourist you visit. Find someone who really cares about the integrity and quality of your hair health. There’s a lot that happens in the salon that can make all the difference to how healthy hair feels between appointments, says Holmes. For instance, proper use of colouring chemicals, not using an overly strong developer and avoiding overlap of colour or bleach on previously coloured hair.
WATCH YOUR WASH
There’s a reason your colourist tries to send you home with a colour-safe shampoo every time you leave the chair. Maintenance matters. The best formulas are sulphatefree, which helps hair retain moisture for longer, and they often contain ultranourishing, plant-derived ingredients. In general, if your hair feels lacklustre (and even if you’re no longer colouring your hair), treat your hair wash as you would cleansing your skin: use it as an opportunity to clarify, but also to add moisture.
HYDRATE, ALREADY
Keeping damaged hair hydrated is important, says Holmes. For fine hair, add daily moisture with a lightweight, leavein conditioner, paying special attention to ends and damaged areas. For coarse or curly hair, raking a hair oil through strands when you need it will bolster hydration and add definition.
REPAIR BONDS
One of the newer ways to repair damage is by mending the bonds within your strands. Olaplex is a favourite of many colourists, who speak of this hair strengthener with reverence. In salons, the formula protects hair from further damage during the colouring process and strengthens by reforming the protein bonds that are often fragmented or broken when you’ve overbleached. There are plenty of at-home bonding treatments, such as K18, Redken Acidic Bonding Treatment and the Goldwell Dualsenses Bond Pro range, which help strengthen and repair. These formulas are perfect for coloured hair, but they also work on locks that have been frazzled by too much heat.
WAVE HEAT GOODBYE
OK, not completely. However, relying on hot tools to style your hair daily can lead to a vicious cycle of styling to hide damage (caused by the constant heat styling). Here’s the problem: heat opens the cuticle so you can shape your hair into lovely smooth styles, but it then also leaves strands vulnerable to becoming overly dry and breakable. One way to help, says Holmes, is to use a thermal protection formula beforehand. Also, try not to add heat daily and, when you do, experiment with lower heat settings.
GO DEEP
A great way to reverse damage is to add a weekly deep-conditioning treatment to your regimen. The nourishing ingredients coat strands, and can help camouflage damage and keep dryness at bay for days. Comb the formula through hair in the shower and leave it on for a few minutes so it has time to get the job done. Or, opt to keep it in overnight for even deeper conditioning. Keep an eye out for ingredients such as vitamins B and E, lipids, as well as rosehip, almond, and coconut oils.