How to Tackle Every Type of Hair Damage
When it comes to hair damage did you know there are different types? Mind blown, right? You see not all hair damage is born equal and whether you’re dealing with thinning, dull tresses or fragile, broken strands knowing the cause of the damage and the type you’re dealing with is half the battle. Here we reveal what could be causing your hair damage, how to identify your type of damage once and for all, plus how to get your hair on the road to recovery.
Are There Different Types of Hair Damage?
You may have thought all these years that there is just one type of hair damage, the unhealthy kind, but in reality there are different types of damage with different causes. If you can find out what your hair damage is then it will be much easier to fix it.
There are four key types of hair damage: mechanical, chemical, environmental and hormonal. But, for starters, how do you know whether you hair is damaged? Well, healthy strands are soft and shiny, they reflect the light well. Damaged strands, on the other hand, don’t reflect the light and look dull not shiny. This is because when hair is damaged the scales on the outer cuticle of the hair don’t lay flat, they rough up which means strands become porous, moisture can easily be lost and strands can become tangled.
How Can I Fix My Damaged Hair?
The best way to fix damaged hair is to identify what type of damage you’re dealing with. Here goes…
1) Mechanical Hair Damage: This is caused by overdoing it with the styling and heat tools, that’s brushing, teasing, straightening and tonging.
What are the effects? You strands will be more fragile, prone to breakage, feel dry and look dull.
How Can I Fix Mechanical Hair Damage?
- Always use a wide tooth comb to gently coax knots out of your hair.
- Avoid hairstyles that require tension at the scalp.
- Air dry your hair or use the diffuser attachment on your hairdryer.
- Use the Biolage Advanced Fiberstrong range, which leaves hair 12x stronger after just one use.
2) Hormonal Hair Damage: This can be caused by stress, physiological changes or certain medications.
What are the effects? Slowed scalp activity (read: growth), hair loss, thinning, weakened strands, change in texture or loss of colour.
How Can I Fix Hormonal Hair Damage?
- Manage stress levels, perhaps try yoga or meditating whatever helps you feel calm, and try to get enough sleep.
- Visit your GP to determine whether physiological changes could be at the root of the damage.
- Eat a balanced, nutrient-rich, diet to feed your scalp and strands from the inside out.
- Use the Biolage Advanced Full Density range to reduce hair loss due to breakage by 95%.
3) Chemical Hair Damage: This is caused by the overuse of treatments such as colouring, perming or chemical straightening.
What are the effects? Swollen, stretched and weakened strands that are super porous.
How Can I Fix Chemical Hair Damage?
- Always apply a leave-in conditioner like Biolage All in One Coconut Infusion.
- Use a clarifying shampoo to remove any product build-up.
- Cover your hair when you’re out in the sun, as UV rays can make the damage worse.
- Use the Biolage Advanced KeratinDose range for hair that is 90% more conditioner after one use.
4) Environmental Hair Damage: Sun, sea, salt, pollution and chlorine can all wreak havoc with your strands.
What are the effects? Porous strands, residue build-up and colour fading or changing.
How Can I Prevent Environmental Hair Damage?
- Always apply a leave-in conditioner like Biolage All in One Coconut Infusion.
- Use a clarifying shampoo to remove any product build-up.
- Cover your hair when you’re out in the sun, as UV rays can make the damage worse.
- Use the Advanced Oil Renew range which instantly reduces porosity for hair that feels soft.
How Can I Be Sure What Hair Damage I Have?
If you’re not exactly sure what is causing your hair damage, you can head to your local Biolage salon and have a consultation. The stylist will carry out four tests on your hair.
- The cuticle test, where they feel the hair shaft to asses how damaged it is.
- The hair resistance test, where the stylist will stretch a strand to see how well it returns to its original state. This can tell them whether you hair is structurally weak.
- The comb test, where the stylist brushes your hair and checks for hair loss. No more than 10 hairs should come out at any one time.
- The dryness test, which involves the stylist placing strands of your hair in water, if they sink then they are porous.
What are the Best Products to Repair Damaged Hair?
Biolage has a range of damage repair products that are designed to treat different types of damage. We touched on them above, but let’s take a closer look…
Biolage Advanced FiberStrong for Mechanical Hair Damage:
The range consists of a shampoo, conditioner and fortifying cream that contains bamboo that leaves strands stronger after just one use. Ceramides encourage the hair cuticles to lie flat, as well as helping the hair to retain more moisture over time, so strands are softer and shinier.
Biolage Advanced Full Density for Hormonal Hair Damage:
This trio of shampoo, conditioner and fortifying cream works to expand the diameter of each of the strands, as well as working to prevent damage so your hair instantly looks and feels thicker whilst hair loss is prevented over time.
Biolage Advanced KeratinDose for Chemical Hair Damage:
Designed for brittle hair, the extra gentle sulphate-free shampoo in this range is packed with pro-keratin, a protein that’s naturally found in healthy, flexible hair. It also boasts strengthening silk that helps lock in moisture to prevent frizz. Load up on the conditioner and fortifying cream for hair that’s 90% more conditioned in just one session.
Biolage Advanced Oil Renew for Environmental Hair Damage:
With a silicon-free shampoo, conditioner and leave-in cream, this system is packed with soybean, coconut and argan oils that quench thirsty strands, and leave the most porous hair looking smoother and shinier. Hair is easier to manage and frizz is reduced after just one use.
Can Mayonnaise or Coconut Oil Repair Damaged Hair?
Sure, you could slather your hair with fat-rich mayonnaise or trendy coconut oil and while they would moisturise your hair, knowing how damage is different for everyone and requires quite a sophisticated formula of ingredients to tackle the problem, the mayo and coconut oil might be best left in the kitchen.