I continue to bleach my hair every 6 weeks. I religiously use a blow dryer and straighten/curl it. Not to mention I tease the s%@* out of it. But I made some changes beginning with my shampoo and conditioner, how I brush, and the linen I sleep on…..and my hair has never been stronger.

Here is a list of the changes I made and the products that I use.

---

How to strengthen your hair:

•Avoid pulling your hair back too tightly. This can lead to traction alopecia (balding at the hairline) from your hair being pulled too tightly. 

•Avoid rubber bands that secure your hair in a tight pony. This creates damaged hair that breaks. Instead switch them out for the spirals, cotton ones, or scrunchies (literally 80s style scrunchies. Yes they still sell them and yes that’s what I sleep in).  

My personal favs: 

•Try to mix up where you put your ponytail. My high bun throughout my pregnancy was in the same spot every day, which led to broken, damaged hair exactly where my bun was. 

•Sleep on a satin pillowcase. You should be doing this anyways for wrinkle prevention. 🙂 This is the key to how people say “I woke up like this” (I finally realized that they actually probably did wake up like that once I started sleeping on one). Also the key to going longer in between washes (because your hair just stays exactly the same! ….You’re welcome. 

Shampoo

•Watch your water temp in the shower. Just like your skin, hot water leads to damaged hair. It damages the cuticle. What I do: crank up the temp to wash/shave, and then turn it down to lukewarm when I rinse my hair/face. And at the very end of my shower, I rinse my hair one good time in COLD water to seal the cuticle (and therefore avoid frizz). [This step sucks, I know.]

•Only shampoo your scalp. You don’t need to ‘rough up’ all of your hair including the ends (the area where all of your damaged hair is). Only shampoo your scalp (and rub hard to get rid of buildup and increase blood flow). Increased blood flow=growth. 

Yes, I actually use of these scalp scrubbers. I use a ton of products so I try to scrub super hard at least once a week. (And my 3yr old thinks it’s fun to use too.)

•Use a clarifying shampoo about twice a month. This will get rid of all of the buildup. And…hello volume! I live for clarifying days! But clarifying shampoos are super drying so condition really well.

Conditioner

•Use lots of conditioner. This alone will repair damaged hair. I apply conditioner about 3 times every wash. Your hair should feel like seaweed. And detangle easily with your fingers. If it doesn’t, rinse (with lukewarm water), and apply more. (And just because I’m extra I usually repeat with a different conditioner each time).

•Don’t be afraid to put a little conditioner at the top. I apply the conditioner at the bottom of my hair…then put the leftovers on top. It needs a little love and hydration too since this is where our damaged hair is. Surprisingly your hair won’t be flat.       Trust me…I’m the volume/hair teasing queen. 

The bedhead is the shampoo/conditioner I use (this conditioner has great “slip”). I also use a few conditioners that say “mask” as every day conditioners. All of these are super hydrating.

Treatments

•If you can’t get your hair soft, try a conditioning treatment or mask. You can even put a cap on and apply heat with a hair dryer to be EXTRA extra. 🙂

•If you still can’t get your hair soft, you probably need a protein treatment. (You definitely need one if you color/highlight your hair because your hair is more porous.) Damaged hair needs protein! Mix it up and do different ones. (Different protein molecules penetrate the hair shaft differently so if you don’t get good results with one, try another.) And fyi, they give you so much volume!

The shea moisture treatment below is what introduced me to protein treatments. This is the weakest of the 3. The redkin one is great at helping repair your hair. The aphogee one is seriously intense and can only be used every 6 weeks. 

•Olaplex no. 3 is great if you color/highlight your hair. It’s a treatment that helps repair the bonds which significantly helps repair damaged hair. It works differently than a conditioner (and your hair will not feel softer afterwards so don’t get discouraged). But if you continue using this, your hair will continue to get stronger with time. **there is an olaplex that your hairdresser can mix your color with, but I am only referring to the one you can do at home by itself (the no. 3).

This is probably one of the best things you can do for hair repair. And unfortunately, there are no alternative brands (but 1 bottle lasts a long time).

•Careful drying with a towel. Ideally you should use an old t-shirt or microfiber towel. And gently squeeze but that is all. Don’t rough it all up. You’re just f-ing up your cuticle and then you showered in cold water for nothing. Gently squeeze. 

Styling

•Avoid…as much as possible….brushing your hair while wet. It is so much more susceptible to breaking when wet. So be gentle, especially if you already have damaged hair.

•Also, be sure to apply your leave-in conditioner or detangler prior to brushing. Start at the ends, brush, then go a little higher, brush….and work your way up. Just be gentle. 

•Use a wet brush. There’s just something about it. It’s the best. I have no reason of how this would help your hair just fyi, other than it feels amazing to brush your scalp super hard….which you should do several times a day to avoid buildup of products and oil. Buildup on the follicle suffocates it and then the follicle dies. So if new hair grows there, it won’t be very healthy. Keep your follicles healthy and brush your scalp HARD [with a wet brush]. :). 😉

•ALWAYS use a heat shield spray. Leave-in conditioners sometimes have a heat protector in them, but if not, you need to use a separate one prior to drying your hair. I then spray a separate heat shield liberally after I dry it and before I straighten/curl it. This is by far the most important product for preventing damaged hair.

•Use other products such as smoothie balm and serum (I usually mix these 2 together and lightly apply it to my ends). And just FYI the order of your products actually matters. Try thinnest/watery-est products 1st and then work your way to the heavier serums. You can then use a ton of products and it won’t feel cake-y. 

Below are 2 smoothie creams that I love. I also use the smoothie balm and serum by Lange (I don’t have a link to, sorry).

•Dry your hair in the direction that it lays. Don’t rough it all up. Use your attachment to direct your heat and angle it (using your round brush) so that the cuticle will lay nicely.  

This is the brush my hairdresser recommended to me and I love it.

•Turn your heat setting down. Yes, this sucks. But if you’re conscientious from the start about sealing your cuticle (like starting in the shower with cold water) and continue to be conscientious throughout the whole process, chances are that your hair has much less frizz and doesn’t need as much heat. 

•Don’t wash your hair as often. Brush, brush, brush (brushing your scalp hard) at night to push around those natural oils. Use dry shampoo (either at night, morning, or both), then brush again. Just remember the more dry shampoo you use, the more buildup you have so you need to brush hard and often so your follicles don’t suffocate.

To really help with buildup, try brushing your scalp with a bristle brush. 

•Try using a wand for a while. Hold the ends so you aren’t applying heat to the ends. And if you are, it isn’t much. It’s much less heat than a straightener or curling iron. 

•Toss out your super strong hold hairspray for something lightweight. Less buildup. Less brittle hair. But you still get some hold.

•Eat a well balanced diet with adequate protein. Vitamins, biotin, and collagen supplements. Stress less. Also, get pregnant. That helps too. 🙂

 

“As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Be sure to check out my skin care breakdown.