How to Repair Heat Damaged Hair: A Comprehensive Guide

Leave your fears at the door since these tricks will make it simple for you to manage your heat-damaged hair.

Dry, lifeless, and dehydrated hair is a sign of heat damage. Your hair may have lost its sheen, and while it is still coarse and manageable, it is more likely to tangle and break than it used to.

We value the health of our hair and do not want to harm it. It might be challenging to resist the urge to utilise heat tools to create the ideal haircut, though. These tools dehydrate your hair, leaving it dry and brittle. You’ll discover that your hair is currently obstinately defying your attempts to achieve the hair of your desires.

We have remedies if you experience similar problems. Learn how to repair heat-damaged hair by reading on. Before that, nevertheless, it’s important to comprehend why and how heat harms your hair. Discover more by scrolling down.

How Does Heat Damage Your Hair?

The inner workings of the human hair shaft are interesting. The cortex, cuticle, and medulla are the three separate layers that make up this structure.

Heat has little effect on the medulla, often known as the pith or marrow of the hair. Heat and cosmetic treatments, however, have the power to significantly alter the physical properties of hair by removing its top two layers.

Want to know how? Let’s delve into the science:

The outermost layer of defence for hair is called the cuticle. The cuticle’s protein scales mimic the roofing shingles. They cross each other and aid in retaining moisture in the hair strand.

The cuticle layer’s shingle-like cells are increased when you apply your hair to chemical treatments like bleaching, dyeing, and perming or severe heat style.

Raised cuticles on hair increase the likelihood of damage because they let noxious substances in and moisture out.

The cortex, or middle layer, of the hair gets entirely revealed once the cuticle of the hair splits or lifts.

The layer that gives the hair its strength, elasticity, and colour is called the cortex. Damage to the hair’s cortex causes it to become very porous.

The hair can no longer hold moisture, looks choppy, and may even easily break off.

Thus, just as you constantly apply sunscreen before going outside, you should be aware that using heat-styling products and that enormous ball of fire in the sky can both harm your hair.

It’s time for you to learn what heat-damaged hair looks like once we’ve explained how heat may harm hair.

Signs Of Heat-Damaged Hair

Split Ends

If you cherish your heat-styling equipment, you’ll probably finish up with frayed, broken ends. One of the most obvious symptoms of heat damage is split ends. Unfortunately, cutting off split ends or dry hair ends is the only way to fix them.

Unmanageable Hair

Natural hair that has been heat-damaged is stiffer in texture and more challenging to manage. Your hair begins to seem unmanageable and dry from daily wear and tear.

Hair Breakage And Shedding

Rogue hair and flyaways are bad enough, but breaking and shedding are other problematic signs of heat-damaged hair. Your hair may become more fragile and prone to breakage after using heat styling.

High heat also weakens and fragilizes the hair shaft, resulting in hair loss and thinning. Hence, if you are losing a lot of hair, your heat styling equipment may be to blame.

Overly Dry Hair

One of the more noticeable signs of heat-damaged hair is dryness. Overheating can completely dry out your hair, making it brittle and dry.

Thus, if your hair still feels coarse, stringy, and dry after regular moisturising, it may be an indication of heat damage.

Tangles And Knots

Heat- and sun-damaged hair often has broken, frizzy, and scraggly ends. Hair has a propensity to clump together and get tangled when it loses its natural lustre and flexibility.

Dull Hair

Fried hair appears lifeless and dull. This happens when brittle hair strands scatter light instead of reflecting it, giving it a faded, lifeless appearance.

Fading Hair Color

Have you noticed that your hair colour is fading quickly? Straightening, curling, blow-drying, and chemical treatments are to fault. Your hair won’t hold colour if it has been severely damaged.

Limiting the use of heat styling can greatly reduce split ends and other damage. Yet, it might be difficult to fully undo the effects of severe heat damage. Fortunately, using the natural treatments for burnt hair listed below will help your hair become more manageable.

Repairing Heat-Damaged Hair: All-Natural At-Home Remedies

The global hair market is worth a billion dollars. So, it should not come as a surprise that there are countless products on the market that claim to be able to fix damaged hair.

Here are some all-natural solutions that can aid in repairing your heat-damaged hair, so try them out before you pile on the shampoos, hair sprays, serums, creams, and gels.

1. Try An Oil Soak

Your hair can restore its natural substance and lustre with the help of an oil soak. It strengthens your hair and aids in regaining its outer layer of protection.

But you must choose the proper nourishing oils if you decide to include oil soaks in your hair care regimen. For dry, damaged hair, plant oils like coconut oil, cocoa butter, and olive oil are advised.

Yet, a study found that mineral oils and sunflower oil merely have a film-like effect . These oils do not penetrate your hair; they merely topcoat it. As a result, they have no positive impact on your hair.

The steps listed below can be used to treat your scalp with oil and keep it moisturised:

Spend 15 to 20 minutes massaging a nice plant oil on your head.

Cover your oil-treated hair with a hot water-dipped towel or soft cotton rag.

Before washing your hair with a gentle shampoo and conditioner, let it sit on for an hour.

Your hair cuticles will be opened by the heated oil’s steam, allowing the oils to deeply penetrate them. It leaves your hair sufficiently nourished as a result.

2. Switch To Natural Shampoo

The majority of shampoos contain a tonne of surfactants, including formaldehyde, parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), and synthetic scents. These substances have the potential to make hair damage issues worse and further damage the hair.

Choose a natural shampoo that doesn’t contain any of these surfactants and does contain silica or biotin. A component that can strengthen hair and encourage follicle growth is biotin.

Moreover, you can make your own natural shampoo using a few inexpensive items like:

a half cup of distilled water
Castile soap, half liquid
Aloe vera gel, half a cup
ten to twelve drops of vitamin E oil
Glycerin vegetable, 2 tablespoons
a few drops of the essential oils you prefer

To fully combine the components, add them all to a bottle and shake it. A dime-sized amount should be massaged into your hair, and after letting it sit for a few minutes, you should rinse it out with cool water.

3. Use A Hair Mask

Your hair can be calmed, nourished, and healed using hair masks. Also, you already have the ingredients in your pantry. These are some incredibly nutritious hair masks you may apply to eliminate any indications of hair damage:

4. Olive Oil And Bananas

Create your own Homemade restorative hair mask to soften heat-damaged hair:

1 ripe banana, mashed.
Pure almond oil should be added in between 8 and 10.
Massage this mixture into your hair after blending it.
Before removing it with a gentle shampoo, let it sit on for 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Yogurt with Eggs

Protein, which is a key component of strong hair, is abundant in eggs. Lactic acid and milk fat are both present in large quantities in yoghurt. These two substances combine amazingly to repair dry, damaged hair .

The following is a recipe for an egg and yoghurt hair mask:

Stir half a cup of yoghurt into two eggs.
Apply this mask to your scalp and hair all over.
Let it 20 to 30 minutes to absorb.
Use mild shampoo and cool water to rinse it off. Avoid using warm or boiling water as it will cause the eggs to cook.

Olive Oil With Avocados

Do those damaged, sticking-up ends need a quick fix? Your heat-treated hair ends will receive some much-needed gloss from this homemade hair mask, making them appear somewhat healthier.

Half an avocado is mashed.

Add it to a cup of olive oil and combine.
Apply the concoction on your scalp and hair.
Let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes, then remove it with mild shampoo.

Oil And Honey

Trying to avoid cutting your heat-damaged hair and mend it? Try honey! Honey is rich in minerals, antioxidants, and keratin, which is a type of protective protein .

To cure heat damage, use this honey-based product into your hair care regimen:

Combine honey with milk, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, or olive oil to dilute it.
This mixture should be put into a spray bottle.
Spread it evenly with your fingertips after misting it all over your hair.
Within 20 to 30 minutes, wash it off.

Rub In Some Epsom Salt

Epsom salt or magnesium sulphate is beneficial for more than simply splinters and fractures. Moreover, it can be applied on burnt hair. Epsom salt is supposed to enhance the health of the hair and scalp, albeit the data to support this is yet lacking. For heat-damaged curly hair, it functions as a helpful hair activator.

An explanation of how to apply Epsom salt to dry, brittle, and damaged hair is provided below:

A dish should contain a coin-sized dab of conditioner.
Equal quantities of Epsom salt should be added. You can warm up this mixture to aid in a complete mixing.
Use your fingertips to massage this mixture into the scalp and roots of your hair after shampooing.
Before rinsing it off, let it sit for roughly 20 minutes.

5. Rinse Your Hair With Tea

Try rinsing your hair with tea if your blow dryers and heating appliances are causing you to lose large clumps of hair. The caffeine in tea exerts stimulatory effects on the hair follicles, according to trichology literature .

For thick, lustrous, and healthy hair, use the tea hair rinse described below:

Tea leaves should be boiled in water and steeped for around 30 minutes.
Shampoo your hair to clean it.
While your hair is still moist, liberally spritz it with the rinse.
For 15 to 20 minutes, wrap it in a nice towel and leave it on.
Use cold water to rinse your hair.

6. Use A Cool-Mist Humidifier

Few of us would consider the inexpensive humidifier as a remedy for our damaged hair problems. A decent cold mist humidifier, however, can assist in repairing your heat-damaged hair.

Especially during the harsh winter months, a humidifier can maintain more moisture in the air and keep your hair from overly drying out.

Home treatments can be used to repair dry, damaged hair, but shielding your hair from heat damage in the first place can keep it looking its best. Here are some suggestions for preventing severe heat damage to your hair.

Preventing Heat Damage: What You Should Do

Shield Your Hair With Heat Protectant

While styling your hair with heated equipment, use a heat protectant to safeguard your locks. Similar to sunscreen, heat protectants lessen the harm that blow-drying, straightening, and curling can do to your hair.

Use Warm And Cold Water

When washing your hair, alternate using warm and cold water. Cold water will keep the moisture and nutrients from the conditioner from evaporating while warm water will help the conditioner to penetrate. On the other hand, hot water can be harmful and dehydrate your hair completely.

Minimize Heat Treatment

Get rid of your hair dryer! Simply let your hair air dry. You might want to think about using a microfiber towel to dry your hair. Just be careful not to rub your hair with it too hard. Use the cool blast if your hair is impossible to handle without blow-drying.

Get A Maintenance Trim

To repair your hair, have regular cuts, ideally every three to four months. Cutting off the split ends will stop them from rising and inflicting further harm.

Never forget to condition your ends after shampooing your scalp.

Pay Attention To Shampooing And Conditioning

Shampoo is a detergent made primarily to wash away product buildup, oil, and debris from the scalp. Hence, you don’t need to shampoo your entire head.
In contrast, your ends require conditioner while your scalp does not.

Protect Your Hair From The Elements

When you go outside, wear a hat or an umbrella. If you let your hair fly, the sun’s rays and the brisk winds will dry it out. Moreover, extra dirt will settle on your head, further drying out and harming your hair.

Avoid combing your wet hair

To lessen the risk of damaging damp hair, avoid brushing it. Your hair becomes considerably more prone to breakage when you wet comb. To avoid breaking and pulling when your hair is dry, try detangling it with your fingers while you’re in the shower.

Make A Leave-In Conditioner Purchase

Employ a top-notch leave-in conditioner to prevent frizz and dryness. Another useful for hydrating and mending flat iron-damaged hair is hair serum.

How To Identify Heat-Damaged Hair

Heat-damaged hair seems lifeless and drab. Frequent use of heat-emitting hair styling appliances damages hair. They disrupt the protein structure of hair and cause the hair to become dry. This results in weak hair strands that are more likely to break. To learn the symptoms of heat-damaged hair.

Excessive use of heat styling tools increases the risk of hair damage. This hair might look dull, rough, and lifeless. Here are the signs of heat-damaged hair.

Hair breakage
Dryness
Split ends
Flyaways
Rough texture
Frizziness
Tangles
Hair loss

Heat-damaged hair is hard to manage and has a lifeless appearance. Split ends, hair breakage, shedding, dry hair knots, and fading hair colour are all signs of heat damage to the hair. Experimenting with oil soaking, switching to natural shampoo, using a hair mask, massaging Epsom salt, and washing with tea are all ways to restore heat-damaged hair. A cool-mist humidifier can be used to prevent damage. Moreover, preventing heat damage by using preventative measures including clipping hair, using a heat protectant, and limiting heat styling will assist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I leave multani mitti on my hair the night before?

It’s advisable to avoid keeping multani mitti on your hair overnight if you want to keep your hair looking and feeling its finest. Try a quicker cure as an alternative to boost the animal’s health and energy.

Is it acceptable to heat style your hair once a week?

Although you can use heat on your hair once a week, it is best to be careful and limit your exposure to heat to protect your magnificent locks.

How long do the effects of heat last?

Depending on the extent of the damage, heat damage to hair can have varying long-term implications. In the worst scenarios, it could be necessary to cut the damaged hair to stop irreparable damage. Yet, it is feasible to completely heal heat damage within a year with regular hair care and the correct treatments.

Key Takeaways

Signs of heat-damaged hair include split ends, breaking, shedding, dryness, knots, and fading hair colour.
Your heat-damaged hair can be repaired using an oil bath, natural shampoo, homemade hair masks, and Epsom salt massage.
For four to six months, refrain from colouring or using a hair dryer on your hair to restore its health.