6 Easy Steps for Repairing Damaged Hair

Elle

You've received the distress signals: dull color, brittle ends, frizz, and breakage. Having too much fun in the sun and saltwater? Chemically overtreating or overstyling your hair? Either way, answer the S.O.S. by following these pro tips for restoring healthy locks.

1. Switch Up Your Shampoo
First off, start with the basics. Swap your go-to shampoo for one with added moisturizing and nourishing benefits, keeping an eye out for ingredients such as natural oils and silk extracts. Ojon Dry Recovery Hydrating Shampoo contains blue agave nectar and macadamia, jojoba, and babassu oils. And the number one rule in sudsing up?

"Wash your hair less," says hairstylist Oscar Blandi. "Washing your hair too frequently can strip it of its essential oils." Repeat after us: Oils are your friends. They prevent further dryness and can help to make your strands happy again. If you are worried about your hair becoming greasy in between shampoo sessions, use dry shampoo. Blandi's own Pronto Dry Shampoo contains natural rice, oat, and tapioca starches to remove buildup and tea tree oil to hydrate the scalp.

2. Crank Up the Post-Shampoo Conditioning
After washing your hair, reach for an ultra-hydrating conditioner, recommends hairstylist Luca Blandi. Look for one with plant-derived moisturizers, like Phyto Phytobaume Réparateur, which also contains keratin to repair hair. Then take care to coat your ends. Blow-dry strands with the conditioner still on, then rinse it out. "Heat allows the conditioner to really penetrate from the inside out," Blandi adds. Only do this two or three times a week to prevent hair from becoming "flat and greasy."

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3. Use Treatment Masks
One of the best ways to tackle damage? Reaching for the scissors. "That way you will get all those nasty ends off," says hairstylist James Brown. If you're not up to trimming your own 'do, Brown recommends using a treatment mask. Look out for products- like Kérastase Masque Oléo-Relax-that are packed with natural goodies, like palm oil or murumuru butter, steering clear of anything that has silicone in its formulation. Twice a week, apply the mask and leave it on for a full hour, using a plastic shower cap to let it really penetrate strands. George Papanikolas of the Andy LeCompte Salon in Hollywood also likes Joico's K-Pak Intense Hydrator, which "replenishes moisture and lipids to overly dry, damaged hair," he explains. What's better? "The hydrating formula seals the cuticle, creating a polished surface, while the shea butter increases elasticity, which is something that dry hair does not have," he adds. Once a week, apply the product after shampooing hair in the shower, leaving it on for three to five minutes before rinsing it out.

4. Love It and Leave It
Let your products go to work while you do. "Leave-in conditioners should be applied to shampooed, towel-dried hair," hairstylist Gerard Caruso says. "Using a towel, squeeze excess water out of your hair and apply your leave-in conditioner from scalp to ends. You may want to apply a little extra if your hair seems to feel drier midshaft to ends." Our pick? Living Proof No Frizz Leave-In Conditioner, containing hydrating proteins that quench dry strands without weighing them down.

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5. Let Your Hair Dry Before Styling It
The worst thing you can do to further dry out your hair is to use heat styling tools like straighteners and curling irons on strands that are still damp, explains hairstylist Ted Gibson. "You get in a rush, and the hair just gets scorched if it's not completely dry," he adds. Instead, when you do wash your hair, let it dry completely before styling it. Then pamper strands by prepping them before using any heat styling tools. Aveda Smooth Infusion Style Prep boasts hydrolyzed wheat protein to protect against surface damage, and a blend of organic aloe, maize, and guar bean to leave locks looking smooth and healthy.

6. Add Some Shine
Damaged hair, meet your match: hair oil. These multitasking products pack a one-two punch, repairing parched strands and then lending them that boost of smoothness and shine they desperately need to look their best. Luca Blandi's go-to product is Oscar Blandi Olio di Jasmine Hair Serum, which contains sweet almond oil and vitamin E to enhance glossiness and fight frizz and flyaways. Or try L'Oréal Professionnel's Mythic Nourishing Oil, containing beneficial and shine-inducing avocado oil and protective, antioxidant-rich grapeseed oil.

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