How to treat heat damaged hair

It can take time to repair heat damage, but there are ways to restore your hair to its glamorous shine and restore health. You must pause the heat setting and work on nourishing and moisturizing your curls. You want to put down the hot tools and give your hair extra care, so embrace the change by scoping out safer products and grab that new sun hat you’ve had your eye on.

Prevent further damage

As mentioned earlier, first pause the heat setting to prevent further damage. Pay attention to hair care by choosing protective styles and styles that create curls without excessive styling (such as braids or twists). Also try to avoid other potential causes of hair damage, such as hair dye, bleach damage, and over tight hair styles. Hair cutting is the most effective way to reduce heat damage and restore the luster of heat damaged hair. This prevents the split ends from continuing to split upward, so the earlier the better.

Moisturize

Heat damaged hair may have difficulty retaining moisture, so you need to develop a hair care routine around nourishing and protecting your hair. When washing your hair, use shampoo and conditioner to give it a shine, then dry it with a T-shirt or microfiber towel. Add heat-damaged hair products, such as deep conditioning masks, to your shampoo routine. Choose a hair mask that moisturizes your hair and locks in moisture. You can also use gloss oils to restore shine. And use leave-in conditioner.

Avoid Heat

The first step to help your hair heal is to stop using heat. If you must, apply heat protectant first and use the lowest setting, other ways to prevent damage are to keep heat and heat setting to a minimum and only use heat tools at low temperatures (around 350 to 400 degrees). But consider using an unheated hairstyle first, such as waves for overnight braids. You can also try protective hairstyles such as Bantu knots or box braids. Dying or perming your hair can also cause heat damage, so it's best to avoid these.

Finally, now be gentle with your hair. From brushing your hair to getting rid of tight hairstyles, treating your mane with love and care will help restore the shine to your beautiful hair.