How to tell if you have damaged hair

It's pretty easy to tell whether you have damaged hair.

Damaged hair will almost always be brittle, straw like and break easily.

Vibrancy often fades, making way to a more dull and dry appearance, and split ends are obvious.

If you have damaged hair, you'll probably also experience a level of hair loss or thinning, while fly-aways and frizz tend to become more prominent.

If you're still not sure, you can also do a strand test, where you take a strand of hair between two fingers and gently pull either end apart.

Healthy hair should have a level of stretch or bounce.

If the hair snaps... well, there's some damage.

Technically speaking, damaged hair cannot be undone. However, with the use of well-formulated treatments, shampoo and conditioners, you can certainly improve the texture.

Let's take a look at some of the different ways you can improve your damaged hair:

A salon quality hair repair treatment for chemically serviced hair (i.e coloured hair). Laced with bioactive peptides, K18 will repair your hair that has been somewhat battered with heat stress, chemicals and colour.

This magic elixir will instantly seal spilt ends AND prevent them from coming back. The formula with Cell Perfector Technology brings back natural hair movement, strength and elasticity. Your hair will be visibly transformed and repaired without overburdening.

Infused with Gold Quinoa Bran extract and Wheat Protein; designed to help with resurfacing of very damaged hair. Strands are instantly transformed with a lightweight touch and shiny finish.

Ends Repair is a unique multi-action leave-in treatment to prevent, repair, moisturise, and seel split ends and prevents hair breakage.

If you're experiencing damage, or you want to avoid it completely, there are a few things you can do to avoid further ruin.

Or turn the temperature down on your heat styling products. Heat is hair's number one enemy. If you want waves, give the heatless wave headband a try... Or focus on styling your hair with heat only on special occasions.

The temperature on most heat styling products these days can be controlled, much like the Mermade Pro waver.

Thermal shield sprays will protect your hair by coating the follicle with a security blanket. This really is an absolute must for all hair when applying heat in any way.

A few fabulous heat protectant products we sell:

When your hair is wet, handle with care. Wet hair is more vulnerable. Avoid brushing your hair when it's wet, and also avoid scrubbing and rubbing it with your average bath towel. Grab yourself a microfibre towel.

Also if you feel you need to brush your hair while it's wet, get yourself a wet comb or brush like Tangle Teezer's Wet Detangler.

A haircut every 6-8 weeks keeps the damage at bay and gets rid of the split ends.

Chlorine and salt water are not friends with your hair. If you're a swimmer, we recommend wetting your hair with fresh water and putting a leave-in conditioner, like EverEscents Organic Grapefruit and Ylang Ylang Leave-In Moisture, or coconut oil through your hair before putting your head under. This will act as a protective barrier between the perils of pools and ocean. Also make sure you wash your hair immediately after swimming to rinse out whatever DID get past the security fence.