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Hair damage is something that everyone wants to avoid, and with good reason. From frizzy split-ends to dull, lifeless strands that refuse to hold a style, damaged hair isn’t pretty. Sadly, it occurs far too often, thanks in large part to harsh or excessive chemical treatments and/or poor practices when it comes to heat styling. While it’s easy to point out the causes of damaged hair and ways to avoid it, the hard part is figuring out what to do after hair damage has already occurred. It can be incredibly distressing to have to deal with hair damage, and the unfortunate truth is that there is no “magic fix” that will reverse your hair damage overnight. Thankfully, there’s a series of steps you can take to slowly but surely reverse the damage and get your hair looking more beautiful and healthier than before! Step 1: Stop Washing Your Hair Once you’ve diagnosed your hair damage, your first step is to not do anything. Seriously, don’t wash your hair with shampoo for at least a few days, only using water to rinse your hair out. Even the gentlest shampoo can further exacerbate damaged hair, so refraining from hair washing can help your hair build up moisture and become more manageable. Step 2: Apply an Intensive Hair Mask A hair mask is an incredible option for infusing your hair with rich moisture, which helps to improve hydration and smooth the cuticle layer. After showering and rinsing your hair with water, apply a moisturizing hair mask like Sutra’s Hair Mask, which features jojoba oil for deep moisturization and omega fatty acids to help boost hair health. For best results, apply the mask before bed, secure your hair with a shower cap, and allow the mask to sit in your hair overnight. Step 3: Get More Frequent Hair Trimmings Chances are that during this time, your ends are going to be split and incredibly frizzy. Because the hair at your ends is older than the hair closer to your scalp, it has been subjected to far more heat and brushing, making it much frizzier and more broken than your roots. Sadly, hair that has reached this stage is at a point of no return, and your best and only option is to trim it and let healthier, less damaged hair take its place. Step 4: Address Your Diet and Stress To get your hair back to its healthiest state, you’ll need to do everything you can to ensure that your hair grows back as healthy and effectively as possible. With improper diet and excessive stress, your body will release hormones which negatively impact hair growth and prevent the sort of thick, luscious locks you are looking to create. Make sure you eat a diet full of essential vitamins and minerals, while ensuring you keep your life as stress-free as possible to prevent the release of cortisol, which also stunts hair growth. Featured in Watch our Video

Dry hair can be the absolute worst. From a lack of body and fullness to excess frizz and flyaways, dry hair can be nearly impossible to style, and is about the exact opposite thing you think about when you imagine runway-ready hair. Because dry hair typically has a raised cuticle layer, this hair also tends to lack its usual shine and luster while feeling rough to the touch. Moving past the superficial signs of hair dryness, dry hair lacks the moisture required to maintain a proper hair structure, which can quickly lead to significant hair damage and breakage while contributing to improper hair growth and compromised hair health. To put it simply, dry hair is to be avoided at all costs. Unfortunately, some of the key causes of hair dryness stem from the poor habits that we have when it comes to our daily hair maintenance routine, making the prevention of dry hair much more difficult than simply buying a moisturizing conditioner or mask. Read below to uncover some of the worst behaviors to avoid in preventing dry hair! Excessive Shampooing Look, we all hate the feeling of greasy hair, and it’s never a good idea to allow build-up to accumulate in your hair. That being said, you really don’t need to wash your hair nearly as often as you may think, as 2-3 washes a week is more than enough to keep your hair clean. When you wash your hair excessively, you strip your hair of its natural oils, leading to a gradual degradation of the cuticle layer, which causes moisture to seep from the inner hair strand. Using Low-Quality Heat Tools We get it, there’s so many styling tools on the market, and it can be hard to discern between high-quality tools and low-quality tools. Unfortunately, low-quality tools can scorch your hair with direct heat that saps the moisture from your hair, leading to damage and breakage. Look for tools that utilize infrared heat, which dries the hair from the inside out, or ionic technology, which utilizes negative ions to preserve moisture levels in the hair strand. Using Harsh Hair Products Some hair types can really benefit from strong shampoos that strip the hair of excess grease and dirt, as these hair types tend to be extremely oily and are quite difficult to dry out. For most other hair types, however, you’ll want to avoid any shampoo or hair product containing harsh sulfates or an improper pH, which can easily strip your hair’s cuticle layer and cause a harsh, dry environment for your scalp. Taking Hot Showers Few things can be more relaxing than a long, warm shower after a tough day. However, washing your hair with this same temperature of water is just begging for disaster. Too-warm of hair will quickly dry the hair out, causing it to lose precious moisture while breaking down the natural oils and proteins that keep the moisture inside. Featured in Watch our Video

When you close your eyes and think of the perfect head of hair, you probably imagine soft, shiny hair with body for days and perfect elasticity and manageability. As great as this hair looks and feels, however, there is a great deal of hard work and dedication that goes into having runway-ready locks. No matter how much money you spend on hair treatments and expensive styling products, hair only looks its absolute best when it is at its healthiest. For hair to feel soft and look shiny, for example, it needs to have a well-fortified outer cuticle layer. And for hair to be manageable and elastic, it needs to have a firm and dense inner structure. Unfortunately, getting and keeping healthy hair can be harder than it sounds. However, we have a handful of key tips that can help your hair reach its healthiest state yet! Wash Your Hair Correctly More often than not, the biggest cause of poor hair health starts with the washing process. While shampooing is a necessary way of removing grime, build-up, and grease, it is also an inherently damaging activity that strips the hair of moisture. Although conditioner can quickly replenish the hair’s moisture levels and counteract any damaging effects caused by washing, excessive washing can slowly break down the hair’s cuticle layer and leave it dry and brittle. Additionally, using too hot of water can cause the hair to leech out moisture and damage its structural integrity. Make sure to wash your hair as little as possible, opting for the coldest water you can tolerate. Avoid Poor Brushing Habits Much like hair washing, the act of hair brushing is also a damaging activity that can serve as the root of many hair issues. Hair brushing is crucial to maintain hair shape and direction while removing any tangles and knots, but poor brushing can damage the hair in a profound way. Over brushing or brushing with too rough of a brush can easily cause hair breakage, while brushing the hair while it is wet can also cause a rapid breakdown in the hair structure. Make sure to brush the hair infrequently, making sure the hair is completely dry and to use a soft, gentle brush. Invest in Proper Heat Styling Tools Lastly, if you are a frequent user of heated styling tools, it Is crucial to make sure you are using high-quality products that are gentle on the hair. Newer heat tools utilize infrared and ionic technologies to heat the hair from the inside out, preventing cuticle damage while preserving moisture levels. For example, Sutra’s best-selling IR2 Infrared Flat Iron applies long wavelengths to heat the hair from deep within, as opposed to directly outside, keeping the hair safe and preserved. Additionally, its titanium floating plates perfectly conduct heat to avoid any hot spots or excessive direct heat application. Featured in Watch our Video