How To Repair Colored Hair

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Over the past year or ii, I've been through somewhat of a pilus renaissance. I spent years hating my natural curls, wishing my texture away in favor of a glossier, straighter variety. "You always desire what you can't have," was a phrase that plagued my entire beingness. Growing up, my female parent thought I was crazy, constantly adulating my curls and forbidding me from straightening them. Thank god she did because now they're 1 of my nigh cherished attributes. I went from straightening my pilus to clipping in extensions each mean solar day for almost a decade to blow-drying and curling each strand every morning. Finally, I gave up and accepted my fate as a puffy, frizzy-haired man with curls that are anything only uniform. Truth exist told, I've never felt more like me (or gotten as many compliments).

My one vice, though, that remains throughout all of this is my affinity for vivid, absurd-blonde highlights. I color my hair a lot, and while information technology'southward dandy for my wait, it's pretty terrible for the health and definition of my curls. After my most contempo appointment, I noticed a ton of breakage, split ends, dry patches, and really uneven length. I was distraught—but, what could I do? I reached out to iii hair gurus for advice.

Run across the Expert

• Halli Bivona is a principal hairstylist at the John Barrett Salon in New York Metropolis. Her piece of work has been seen in editorials like Vogue and Marie Claire, on cerise carpets, and on runways.
• Gretchen Friese is a certified trichologist and ambassador for BosleyMD.
• Shab Reslan is a certified trichologist and stylist. She hosts the Hair Like Hers podcast and offers virtual hair and scalp consultations.

Go along reading to observe out how (with their sage advice) I revived my devastatingly over-candy hair.

 Jiaqi Zhou / Byrdie

01 of 10

Exist Gentle While Shampooing

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The first stride everyone should accept when treating over-processed hair is to be gentle to your strands while shampooing, and avert scrubbing as well harshly. "Repeated behaviors are how you tin can brand or break your hair," warns Reslan. "When you lot shampoo your hair, you actually want to focus the product and your scrubbing activeness on your roots. If you scrub your ends or rub your hair together too firmly, yous volition cause damage to your cuticles." Pilus can be most vulnerable when wet, so the adjacent time yous're washing your hair, make sure to keep Reslan's advice in heed.

02 of 10

Protect Your Hair From Heat

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Permit'south face it: As much as nosotros all love the sleek-directly or full-body-volume locks our hair tools can give us, the oestrus from these devices can be likewise much to handle. "Hair tin become over-processed for a few reasons," reveals Friese. "Damage from chemic services and overuse of heat tools are the most common."

Avert or minimize the employ of straightening, curling, or accident-drying your pilus to prevent rut impairment.

"If rut styling is something that you cannot get away from, I recommend using a adept oestrus protecting product like the Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil," says Friese. "It is reparative as well as a good heat protectant."

03 of 10

Remove Excess H2o Before Workout

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The clandestine to treating damaged strands includes uncomplicated steps, similar making certain your pilus is dry enough before coating it with moisture. "Clasp the excess water out of your hair very well before applying any conditioner or mask, and clip it up to penetrate amend," recommends Reslan. "Rinse out at the finish of your shower."

Using a skilful conditioner is a must for any pilus care routine. "My get-to deep conditioning treatment is Essential Daily Conditioner Masque by Rare El'Ements," says Reslan.

04 of 10

Avoid Towel-Drying

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Many of us are guilty of drying our hair with a towel later a shower, but Shab advises confronting this. "Instead, wrap it in a hair turban and allow to dry slowly. That volition maintain more moisture in your pilus and [information technology will] dry softer," she says.

Consider purchasing a microfiber hair towel, like Aquis' Lisse Luxe Hair Turban to soak up your hair's backlog water subsequently a shower, making protecting your hair that much easier.

05 of x

Restore Your Hair

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"The best affair for over-processed hair is to become the elasticity back into it," Bivona begins. "Protein treatments like Milbon Linkage Meu can be done in the salon—it restores proteins and collagen to assist rebuild the hair from the inside out."

Afterward, I got a fix of four Milbon Deesse'due south MEU hair treatments and used an ampoule each week for four weeks to extend the benefits. And boy, were there benefits. When the month was over, I felt my hair coming dorsum to life. It was silkier, smoother, shinier, seemingly stronger, and definitely more moisturized. But it wasn't back to its former cocky just yet.

06 of 10

Become for a Fresh Cutting

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"A good haircut will likewise assistance hair that has had a bit too much chemical processing. The cut will accept off whatsoever split ends that may travel upwards the hair and wreak more havoc," Bivona reveals. And then, I headed over to John Barrett Salon for my beginning cut in nearly two years. Yikes, I know, but my hair grows slowly and haircuts brand me nervous. Like the angel that she is, Bivona dusted my ends, removing barely any length. I left with an awesome cutting and zero split ends.

Guess who else is a haircut advocate: Friese. "Though it is not the most favorable option, a good haircut is always a great manner to help restore a healthy mane," she recommends. "Cutting off the over-candy pilus and starting anew with the healthier hair on the head is an selection to 'restart' a healthy hair journey. Damaged strands can break and proceed to do so along up the shaft making the hair shorter, so ofttimes a expert snip is the solution."

07 of ten

Add Wet Back

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"Getting moisture back is fundamental," Bivona explains. "Replace your daily conditioner with a mask—I love Shu Uemura's Ultimate Remedy Extreme Restoration Treatment. This mode, you're putting in the maximum moisture with every wash. I recommend leaving it in up to twenty minutes and then rinsing thoroughly."

Try using your mask in lieu of conditioner each fourth dimension yous shower. It's a total game-changer in terms of hydrating, softening, and strengthening your hair.

Afterwards finding such success with the Shu Uemura mask and in-salon treatment, I was addicted. I decided to effort a few more beloved offerings in search of even more noticeable results.

08 of 10

Seek a Professional Smoothing Remedy

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If you're looking to treat your hair outside of your habitation, you may consider searching for a salon that offers a professional person smoothing treatment. Friese recommends the Keratin Circuitous Smoothing System, which "can target weak spots, reinforce the hair'due south construction, and help repair the impairment," she explains. "This treatment as well helps control frizz and reduce drying time, which in turn, volition lessen some of the need for heat styling."

09 of 10

Apply Leave-in Conditioner

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When a busy piece of work schedule or a tight budget makes it hard to become to the salon, it'due south vital to detect time to treat your hair at home. "At-home hair care is very important every mean solar day, but particularly when dealing with over-processed strands," Friese emphasizes. "Regular use of a go out-in treatment, such as the Redken'due south Extreme Anti-Snap, is a neat pick for subsequently shampooing (and conditioning) before styling your hair," she recommends.

ten of 10

Use Oil to Prevent More Damage

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"Try using either camellia oil," Bivona suggests, "which is a prominent ingredient in my absolute favorite post-shower serum, or coconut oil daily on wet and dry hair to introduce wet and protect your hair from any more damage."

Afterward using each of the products religiously, I idea it wise to also put off my next color appointment. To go along my hair vivid and my roots at bay, I invested in Shu Uemura's Color Lustre Cool Blonde Shade Reviving Balm.

It works to balance my cool-toned color and keep brassy tones to minimum in-between highlights. The genius is in the formula, which subtly deposits color while canceling out unwanted yellows. Plus, it nourishes hair to leave it fifty-fifty healthier and more than vibrant than before. I apply it in the shower instead of shampoo once a calendar week starting at the mid-lengths and working towards the ends. Then, I keep it in for the remainder of the shower (at to the lowest degree 10 minutes) and rinse before toweling off.

FAQ

• What causes over-processed hair?

  Your pilus is over-processed when information technology's been damaged past oestrus, relaxers, or pilus dye.

• How can yous tell your hair is over-processed?

  The tell-tale sign of over-processing is dry, breakable pilus. Your pilus can also look visibly another texture—for example, curly hair can have straight, damaged ends. You lot might also have a lot of frizz and wayward cowlicks.

• Can you reverse over-candy hair?

  Once your hair has been damaged past heat, dye, or a relaxer, yous really can't undo the damage. Even so, you can make your pilus look and feel better by adding deep-workout masks, go out-in conditioners, and hair restoration products. You can also think about heading to the salon for a cut and a professional treatment as well.

Byrdie takes every opportunity to use high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our manufactures. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more than almost how nosotros keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.

1. Gavazzoni Dias MF. Hair cosmetics: an overview.Int J Trichology. 2022;7(1):ii-15. doi:x.4103/0974-7753.153450

Source: https://www.byrdie.com/how-to-fix-overprocessed-hair-4686913

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