How to fix damaged curly hair |13 remedies for chemical and heat damage!

As beautifully as your locs twist and turn, curly hair has a high risk of drying and damaging, especially if your hair is high porosity. Excess chemical and heat processing are two common aids of damaged curly hair.

If you're struggling with dryness, dullness, no growth, frizz, brittle texture, weak, and rough hair, keep reading to know the answers on how to fix damaged curly hair!

How to fix damaged curly hair and restore your curls

The first major step to fixing damaged curly hair and restoring your curls is changing or improving your daily hair habits. Take a step back from your hair and…

1. Evaluate your hair status and figure out the source of your damage

We tend to mistaken dry hair with damaged hair because they have similar symptoms, but while damaged hair requires more protein, dried hair needs more moisture. Curing dry hair with protein treatments may cause protein overload and product build-up. This will clog your hair pores and inhibit the growth.

Likewise, If you cure damaged hair with excess moisture, it will only weaken your hair strand because of hygral fatigue. A situation where your hair becomes super soft and mushy.

2. Get a trim

This step is especially important for damaged hair. Leaving your hair dry can cause the ends of your strands to split or taper. Split ends are not repairable and will continue to split up your strands if it is not trimmed off properly. That is why a trim is necessary to start your healthy hair journey.

3. Take a break from the source of your hair damage

The two most common sources of hair damage is excessive heat and chemical processing. When we heat style or bleach our curly hair, it breaks the bonds holding our hair structure together and creates gaps and holes in our hair cuticles. In extreme cases, it affects the deeper layers of our hair strands. Take a break from processing your hair to prevent further degradation of your already damaged curly hair.

Take a break from bleach and hair dye. Hair dyes fade over time to look dull. It's only normal for you to top it up with more hair dye. PLEASE DON'T. Bleach and hair dye work by compromising your protein layer, to deposit the dye deep within your strands. Instead of dyeing your hair all over again, use hair makeup to top up your color. Curlfit hair makeup is expertly designed to color all hair shades by coating the outer layer of your hair strand. If you dyed your hair blue and are thinking of going green, that won't be a problem Curlfit temporary hair makeup can't handle!

Take a break from heat styling. If you ever need to use heat, make sure to apply a quality heat protectant and set your styling tool at a low degree.

Take a break from relaxing your roots. The distinction between your new growth and relaxed hair can be confusing and unpleasing, but it's better than having no hair at all. Plus, it's only for 6 - 7 months. Instead of relaxing your hair, you can do protective hairstyles like twists, braids, Bantu knots, etc. 

Related: The 26 best protective styles for relaxed hair

4. Replace your cleansing shampoo with a co-wash

 Clarifying & lathering shampoos contain ingredients like parabens and sulfate, that strip your hair off its natural oils and moisture. This is a big no for damaged curly hair and might be the reason your hair feels dry even after washing it. Replace your basic shampoo with a moisturizing shampoo or a co-wash. You can also use your basic conditioner as a co-wash.  

Like the quote says, too much of everything can make you sick - too much of co-washing can cause product buildup and clog your scalp pores. Every two weeks, use a clarifying shampoo to get all the junk off your scalp. To prevent losing too much of your natural hair oils, pre-poo your hair 30 minutes before washing.

5. Replace your cotton towels with microfibre towels

Cotton fabric causes friction with anything it rubs against. Friction with hair, equals frizz and wear and tear. Apart from that, when you wrap your wet hair in a cotton towel, it sucks up moisture but dries slowly, therefore exposing your damaged curly hair to excess moisture trapped within the cotton towel; also known as hygral fatigue.

Replace your cotton towels with microfibre ones and blot the excess moisture from your hair, rather than rubbing it off. Your hair is most vulnerable when wet because the disulfide bonds holding your curl pattern together are temporarily dissolved, so be gentle.

6. Replace blow-drying/diffusing with air drying

Air drying is a gentler option for your damaged curly hair and it produces a better result. Blowdrying your hair dries your hair faster but causes friction, tangles, and frizz. Air drying also ensures that the products applied are absorbed into your hair strands properly.

      7. Have a curly hair-friendly sleep

It's only natural to turn and move around in our sleep. When we do this, our hair and skin rub against our sheets and pillows. This may seem completely harmless but in the long run, it causes frizz and friction between our strands. This is why bonnets and pineapple styles are highly advised for curly persons. Most types of fabric tend to absorb moisture from our skin and hair. Cotton is the most popular fabric that does this and is highly used in the production of bedsheets. Throw those cotton sheets out and invest in silk sheets. Silk fabric maintains your hair's moisture and is the perfect material for your curly hair to glide across with no damage.

8. Reassess your hair routine according to your hair status and porosity

We mentioned earlier, the importance of evaluating your current hair condition and identifying its source. Knowing your hair type, your hair porosity, how your hair feels, if it is dry or damaged, etc. will serve as a guide to building your new personalized damage restoration hair routine. 

Sticking to your usual routine will not be as effective as it was before your curly hair experienced damage. You have to go the extra mile to beat damage to the finish line. That means extra moisturizing and conscious hair habits.

Related: Low vs High porosity hair and the porosity test

9. Moisturize your curls with deep conditioning creams and oils

Just like we mentioned above, moisturizing your hair with deep conditioning creams and oils is the way forward for damaged curly hair. When your hair is damaged, your protective layer is compromised and so moisture leaves your hair extra fast. You would have to introduce and seal moisture in by yourself. Deep conditioning is a great way to do this. The conditioner sinks deep within your strands. Hair oils like almond and argan oil are also perfect for your hair. Its molecules are smaller than most oils and so they work at a cellular level, i.e every crook and crannies of your hair will receive its benefits. They will also be able to penetrate deep within your strands. Coconut oil is a good option as well. Its molecules are both big and small, so they moisturize and seal at the same time.

10. Use protein treatments

The compromised outer layer of damaged curly hair is made up of protein. Giving your hair protein/keratin supplements from treatments, hair masks, and leave-in-conditioners will reinforce your protective layer, smooth down flyaways and restore your curl pattern. 

11. Avoid styling products that have drying ingredients

Most styling formulas are focused on providing your style with a stronghold. That's what makes a gel good quality. But usually, most formulas do this at the expense of your hair's health. They contain ingredients like denatured alcohol and propylene glycol, that hold your style strongly by stripping your hair of its moisture. A good number of temporary hair colors contain these ingredients to let the color set. That is why our team of experts created a temporary hair makeup formula that contains no harmful ingredients. Curlfit hair makeup contains nourishing ingredients like argan oil, almond oil, and silk protein, to hydrate and accentuate your curl pattern whilst giving it a burst of color.  

Related: Gooddyeyoung Poser Paste vs. Curlfit hair makeup

12. Use curly hair-friendly accessories

Rubber Bands are curly hair enemies! And believe it or not most hair accessories in the market are not curly hair friendly. They tangle up with your strands and break them in the process of removing the bands from your hair. When hair strands are broken in that manner, they usually end up splitting. If you style your hair more than twice a week, using rubber bands will end up giving the majority of your strands split ends. Invest in curly hair accessories like,

• Claw clip
• Silk scrunchies
• Invisibobbles
• Silk headbands, etc.

13. Protect your hair from manipulation and the sun with protective hairstyles

Protective hairstyles are a lifesaver and the only major way to combat environmental factors (like the sun and strong winds), causing hair damage. Natural protective hairstyles put your strands together to give them a higher chance against manipulation, while protective hairstyles with extensions tuck your natural hair within the extensions to protect it. 

Natural protective hairstyles are particularly good for damaged curly hair because some styles with extensions tend to be too heavy for your brittle and fine hair. Instead of leaving your hair out often, do protective hairstyles. They will also prevent your hair from needing detangling.

Related: The 22 best protective hairstyles for curly hair

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We hope this 13 steps helped you a ton in figuring out how to fix your damaged curly hair!

Have any extra tips? Tell us in the comments below!