5 Ways to Repair Dry and Damaged Hair
If you’ve followed me from the very beginning, you’ll remember my damaged hair horror story. Long story short, I walked into a salon with fairly healthy hair and walked out with a damaged scalp and extremely damaged hair. My hair started breaking in half, and I wanted to cry when I brushed my hair. It was miserable, but thankfully, the mishap helped me learn a handful of tips to repair dry and damaged hair.
While my hair is so much healthier than it was in the past, I still have to deal with dry and damaged hair. My naturally blonde locks tend to dry out in the hot Florida sun, so it’s important for me to stay on top of my hair’s health. Today, I’m sharing five of my favorite tips for healing dry and damaged hair to help you get your hair in shape for spring!
Tips for Repairing Dry and Damaged Hair with Hair Food
1. Cool down your hair styling routine – literally.
Believe me, I am well aware of the magic of heat styling your hair. A minute of blow drying can add massive volume to your hair, and a few twirls of the curling wand can make uneven texture disappear. While the effects of heat styling can be beautiful, they only offer a short-term solution to your hair problems and oftentimes cause even further damage to your hair. By eliminating or reducing the amount of heat styling used in your hair styling routine, you will prevent / reduce additional damage to your already dry and damaged hair.I could never swear off heat styling all together, but I do try to use the least amount of heat possible on my hair to prevent damage. I only wash my hair a few days a week, and I try to skip heat styling completely on at least one of those days. I’ll air dry my hair, add a moisturizing styling cream or serum and leave-in conditioner to tame my natural waves.
If I really want my hair to look great and absolutely need to use heat tools, I will still attempt to use them for a short amount of time. Instead of spending half an hour blow drying freshly-washed hair, I’ll let my hair air dry until it’s about 75% dry and then use the hair dryer only for the last few minutes. You can also use the cool setting on your blow dryer to prevent damage as well! If I need to use my curling iron, I’ll use the lowest heat setting and least amount of time necessary to get the desired look.
Even if you’re a die-hard heat styling gal, I encourage you try to reduce the amount of heat styling in your hair routine each week. You’ll see a difference in the health of your hair quicker than you might think!
2. Use Moisturizing Hair Products without Parabens or Mineral Oil
I’ve talked about my love for Hair Food‘s collection of pure shampoos and conditioners in the past, and I’m happy to report I’ve found another winner from their line. My husband and I have been using the Hair Food Moisture collection for the past few weeks, and I have been so impressed with how it has made my hair look and feel! This paraben-free shampoo and conditioner duo is infused with honey essences inspired by the way honey soothes to give your hair luxurious moisture and nourishment.
The Hair Food Moisture conditioner is equally fantastic. The conditioner’s recipe contains three essential hydrators to lock in hydration, so your hair feels moisturized from within by smoothing the cuticle. Plus, the hydrating formula protects your hair from future damage. I love this conditioner because it gives my hair a hefty dose of moisture without weighing it down. I’ve always had fine hair, but since I’ve had a baby, my hair is thinner than ever. This conditioner helps revive my dry and damaged locks with moisture without stealing away any volume.
If you’re dealing with dry, damaged, and dull hair, definitely check out the Hair Food‘s natural shampoos and conditioners at your nearest Ulta. The paraben-free, and mineral oil-free formula is also amazing for color-treated hair. I love the Moisture collection’s hydrating formula and delicious honey apricot scent, but honestly, I’ve had a great experience with every Hair Food product I’ve tried. When I use these products, I always have a good hair day!
3. Establish healthy habits for your body and your hair.
You may be wondering why I’m talking about health in a post about dry hair. Here’s the deal: your appearance is directly correlated with your health. Think back to the last time you were sick. You might remember having dark circles under your eyes, dull skin, and limp and lifeless hair. Now think about how you look and feel when you’re well-rested and on vacation. If you’re anything like me, I’d bet the same dark circles were lightened, and your previously dull skin suddenly had a healthy color and vibrancy. Oh, and funny enough, your hair probably looked a whole lot better! Your health doesn’t only affect how you feel- it affects how you look too.While you’re establishing healthy habits for treating your hair on the outside, why not also develop healthy habits to treat your hair (and skin, for that matter) on the inside too? While there’s many things you can do to improve your health, I recommend choosing simple goals that you can consistently maintain. Prioritizing sleep, eating a balanced diet with lots of healthy fats, vegetables, and fruits, exercising regularly, staying hydrated, and monitoring your stress levels will work wonders on your appearance, mood, and overall health.
4. Be gentle with your hair.
When you hair is dry and damaged, it’s extremely delicate, so it’s important to use gentle methods for handling your hair. Instead of forcing a hair brush through knotted hair, use a hair brush designed to reduce damage and gently brush through knots and tangles after applying a leave-in conditioner. When styling your hair, choose hair ties and bobby pins without metal pieces that snag and damage hair.
And of course, use hair products to gently wash and treat your without drying it out. Think of dry and damaged hair the same way you’d think of sunburned and irritated skin. Handle it with care and choose gentle products, like the Hair Food Moisture collection, that will soothe your hair instead of causing further damage. These simple actions will help prevent future damage while you’re repairing the existing damage. 
5. Find a hair styling routine that works for you AND your hair.
When my hair was at its most damaged a few years ago, I knew I’d have to rethink my styling routine. Over the years, I’ve founded a routine that works beautifully for my lifestyle and for the health of my hair. Instead of daily washing and styling, I only wash and style my hair three times a week on average. This schedule gives my hair and scalp time to breathe while also allowing me to maintain nice-looking hair throughout the week.
I won’t get into the nitty gritty details of my weekly washing and styling routine in this post, but let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in reading in the future! To keep things short and sweet, let’s just say that I try to stick to this routine: wash, blow dry, and style on one day, wash and air dry a few days later, and wash, blow dry, and style a few days after that. This routine allows me to maintain my signature curls throughout the week without adding too much work to my schedule or too much damage to my hair.
Depending on your lifestyle and hair type, you may want to tweak this routine. Experiment with your hair and find out the least amount of times you can wash and style your hair per week. Your hair will thank you for it!
These five tips are guaranteed to help your dry and damaged hair look better than ever, but I’d love to know YOUR favorite hair care tips too! Leave a comment below with the hair tips and products that have changed your hair for the better!
