By Joy Cronje
IS your hair dry and brittle? Frizzy? Unmanageable? Broken?
Maybe that Pinterest pic of rainbow-coloured hair inspired you but all the bleaching has left your hair looking limp and frazzled. Damaged hair is a nightmare no one can escape, because everything we do affects our hair: diet, styling, weather, colouring and our everyday lives.
So what damaged hair treatments are out there and which one is going to save your hair?
Previously it was believed that the only way damaged hair can really be saved is by trimming the damaged ends, but thanks to advancements in science, we now have another option.
1. SPLIT ENDS REMEDIES
Split-end treatments typically, temporarily, glue frayed strands of hair back together. Using some pretty cool science, the hair is re-bonded and the effect lasts for up to three washes.
A split hair has a negative charge and by combining two polymers, the serum creates a positive charge that helps the split ends cling together. Unfortunately this treatment is temporary and doesn’t really repair the damage.
2. HAIR MASKS
Moisture masks focus on deep conditioning, infusing hair with extra nutrients and moisture, and different masks advertise different beneficial ingredients like panthenol, olive oil, argan oil, jojoba oil and the like.
Hair masks penetrate past the cuticle of the hair into the inner layers, meaning they are more effective at supplying the hair with nutrients than regular conditioners. Unfortunately, hair masks cannot repair already damaged hair, no matter how much we wish they could.
Some hair masks may make your hair feel silky for a while but that may be because some masks use silicone which coats your hair with gloss but leaves the inner fibres damaged. Effectively, these masks camouflage the damage but the damage remains beneath the surface.
Silicone and paraben-free masks can be very beneficial to your hair’s health, supplying moisture and nutrients, but they do not repair damaged hair. Protein masks can even help prevent damage but be careful of build-up. The same applies for Henna masks. Henna masks contain lawsone, an ingredient that helps seal cuticles to prevent split ends.
3. KERATIN TREATMENTS
We’ve all heard about functional Keratin by now, a new buzzword in the hair care community, so what’s the fuss about?
To understand what Keratin treatments do, we need to look at the anatomy of hair. Each hair has an outer layer called the cuticle, which is constructed of Keratin protein cells that fit together like overlapping scales. This outer layer protects the inner layers of our hair (the cortex and medulla). Keratin treatments repair this outer layer.
Hair is damaged when these scales separate and split, leaving the inner layers exposed to heat, chemicals and friction. The cortex is also made up of Keratin proteins, so when you use this treatment, you’re effectively replacing the damaged Keratin proteins. Unfortunately this treatment has a weakness other protein treatments share: build-up. The use of formaldehyde in many Keratin treatments makes it a less attractive option.
4. OLAPLEX
And now for the miracle of the hair community. A revolutionary patented treatment that actually rebuilds your damaged hair. Yes, it exists! The one and only OLAPLEX. The only product that can repair your hair from the inside and leave you without build up.
In fact, during testing they found that your hair’s quality just keeps getting better and better. This is the secret celebs use to change hair colour so drastically without any damage.
OLAPLEX rebuilds and repairs disulphide bonds in our hair, it contains no silicones to weigh down strands, and leaves absolutely no build up. A miracle in a bottle that will make everyday a good hair day.
