How to Restore Severely Damaged Hair

Have you ever wondered if your dry, brittle, or fragmented hair can be restored? Maybe your once-lush strands now feel rough or strangely thin, and you are not sure if your hair can regain its strength; this article is for you. Hair damage can occur gradually from several factors, including heat styling, chemical treatments, colouring, tight hairstyles, excessive manipulation, poor hair care habits, or simply neglecting your hair for too long. 

However, while your severely damaged hair can be frustrating, there are steps you can take to help improve its strength, moisture, appearance, and overall condition. Understanding the underlying causes of your hair damage and implementing the right hair care habit or routine may help restore the strength your hair needs to thrive.  

In this article, explore the causes of severely damaged hair and learn everything you need to know about hair repair treatments. Let's get started.

Understanding Hair Damage

Hair is a fragile asset that requires proper routine care to maintain its shiny and healthy condition. Before you can restore damaged hair, you need to understand and recognise the signs. Severely damaged hair is more than just split ends; it's about rough, thin, dull, frizzy locks that are difficult to manage. If your hair breaks easily when combing or styling, becomes tangled very easily, stretches excessively or snaps easily, has uneven or thinning ends, or struggles to retain length, it is safe to say your hair is damaged. 

Severely damaged hair involves cracks in the outer layer or cuticle, which makes the inner layers even more susceptible to damage. When this happens, it becomes a vicious cycle that can be difficult to repair. To really stop this cycle, you need to maintain good hair habits and incorporate naturally formulated hair products that can repair your hair from within.

Most factors that cause hair damage, leading to dryness, breakage, and a dull appearance, are chemical treatments. When you apply too much coloring or bleaching, and heat styling to your hair, you are slowly damaging your hair. To prevent such occurrences, understanding these causes will help you maintain necessary preventive measures and hair care habits that contribute to healthy natural hair growth. Before answering the question, how do I repair my damaged hair? You should have a basic understanding of the causes of damaged hair. 

5 Common Causes of Severely Damaged Hair

Hair damage can result from several factors, some of which are noticeable, while some are underlying. You cause damage to your hair when you, as an aggressor or a stressor like heat styling, break down the hair’s keratin, or natural protein structure, leading to weak, brittle, and dull hair. Here are some common causes of severely damaged hair

1. Chemical Treatment 

Hair coloring, perming, and relaxing are chemical process that significantly affect and changes the texture and structure of the hair. When you dye or bleach your hair, especially when not done professionally, you are slowly depleting your hair’s hydration, turning smooth, healthy hair into coarse, dry, damaged hair. Hair bleaching in particular dismantles the melanin, or pigment, in the hair, leaving it dry, porous, and fragile to handle. Engaging in too much chemical treatment can permanently change and weaken your hair's overall structure.

2. Harsh Environmental Factors

Regular exposure to polluted air and harmful UV rays contributes to hair damage. They make hair dry, brittle, and dull, making it prone to breakage. Swimming in chlorinated water can also strip your hair’s natural oil away, leaving it coarse and crunchy.

3. Excess Heat Styling

Using excessive heat tools such as hair dryers, curling irons, and straighteners puts aggressive pressure on the scalp and strips its original moisture. This may lead to weak, brittle hair, breaking easily and becoming more susceptible to damage.

4. Harsh Hair Products 

Using harsh hair products like shampoos, conditioners, and hairstyle treatment chemicals that contain sulphate strips the hair of its natural oils and causes irritation and dryness of the scalp.

5. Over Washing and Poor Diet

Washing your hair too often, when not necessary, means you are washing away its natural oils, which can cause scalp dryness and damage. If you lack essential vitamins and minerals in your diet, it affects your hair health, hence causing hair loss, thinning, and breakage.

The causes are not exhaustive, common few are just cited to help you familiarize yourself and take precautions. Now let's get into how to restore your severely damaged hair. 

6 Ways to Restore Severely Damaged Hair

Achieving a full, vibrant hair transformation after being severely damaged isn’t always an easy path.  Nevertheless, with proper hair care habits and the right hair care products, you can begin to restore your hair from the outside in and get on your way to recovering your healthy, happy mane. Here are ways to restore your severely damaged hair;

1. Trim Severely Split and Damaged Ends

Trimming hair can help to repair dead hair. Let's be honest, most people don't want to hear this since they are trying to grow their hair. However, there’s no fix for dead ends; severely split ends cannot be permanently glued back together with a hair product. Conditioners and treatments can temporarily smooth the appearance of damaged ends, but once the hair shaft has split significantly, trimming may be the best way to prevent the damage from travelling farther up the strand, causing breakage. Ask a trusted hairstylist to remove the most damaged, split, or see-through ends while keeping as much healthy length as possible. Sometimes, getting rid of the worst damage gives your hair a much better starting point.

2. Deep Condition Regularly

If you have a dry, itchy scalp or hair that feels dry, rough, tangled, and difficult to manage, regular deep conditioning should be your priority.  Opt for a good deep conditioner that can help improve the feel and manageability of your damaged hair while reducing friction during detangling. If you're not sure of the product to go for, Anoint Deep Conditioner is ideal for you. It is formulated for natural hair and deeply penetrates the hair follicles and scalp, strengthening and restoring damaged hair. Cantu and Lush Deep Conditioners are great options too. 

These conditioners are a medley of plant infusions that help repair, detangle, soften, and stimulate the hair while restoring moisture. Apply your deep conditioner after washing, paying particular attention to the lengths and ends of your hair. Depending on your hair's condition and the product you're using, you may leave it on for the recommended amount of time before rinsing thoroughly. Consistency matters more than using a treatment once and forgetting about it.

3. Consider a Protein-Based Hair Mask 

Hair is primarily made of a protein called keratin, and severely processed hair can benefit from conditioning hair treatments used in the form of a hair mask. This protein hair mask can reinforce and strengthen your hair's fibre. Protein treatments are beneficial for hair that has been chemically processed, bleached, or repeatedly exposed to heat. They replenish the protein structure of the hair, which is destroyed by chemical processes

Use a hair-nourishing hair mask product that harnesses smart conditioning agents to identify and treat the areas of hair that need it most.  When you find your ends splitting, or your hair is more vulnerable to damaging effects, soaking your scalp with the right mask will give you intense nourishment, leaving your hair easier to detangle. However, always ensure a balance of strengthening treatments with regular moisture and conditioning.

4. Start again: Cut your hair

If the damage is severe, you may want to consider cutting your hair and start again. Anoint understands that it might be overwhelming to cut your hair cause of the work put into its growth, and you may find it difficult to start again. But take this as a breath of fresh air on your scalp. This is you giving your scalp a fresh start and opportunity to grow thick, healthy hair, giving you the confidence you deserve. 

Opt for a professional hairstylist you can trust to give you a fresh, major cut. Then you basically get to start from a clean slate! Be sure to establish a healthy, nourishing routine afterwards. This will approach fix extremely damaged hair. 

5. Consider Less Frequent Hair Treatment

Relaxers, perms, bleach, and hair dyes can dramatically change the structure of your hair. When hair is already severely damaged, repeatedly processing it may increase breakage, so you should slow down. If your hair is fragile, consider taking a break from chemical services or spacing them out appropriately. 

This will give your scalp a break to recover its lost nutrients.  

While considering less frequent hair treatment, avoid overlapping chemicals into previously processed hair sections unless a qualified professional recommends otherwise. These processes achieve the best results when left to professionals, who know which products to use to minimize damage and maximize effect. 

6. Reduce Heat Styling

Constant heat exposure can make already damaged hair even more fragile. To restore your severely damaged hair, you should reduce the usage of hot tools such as hair dryers, curling irons, and straighteners and always apply a heat protectant spray whenever you do use them. Only use heat styling tools when necessary, as severely damaged hair may benefit from taking a break from high heat temperatures. Use styling tools at lower temperatures when heat styling your hair so you avoid scorching or cooking your strands. 

7. Use Leave-in Moisturizer

If you’re trying to restore severely damaged hair, a rinse-out conditioner can not do the job alone. You also need a leave-in conditioner like Anoint Leave-in Conditioner to rehydrate parched strands and lock in moisture into your scalp. This is because when your hair is put through stress, gaps and tears form along the hair shaft, creating holes that leave you with highly porous hair, meaning it’s coarse, able to absorb moisture but unable to hold onto it.

A hydrating leave-in conditioner stays on strands for longer, so your hair can soak up more of its nourishing properties, allowing it to defy frizz, dryness and tangles. If you want effective formulations that focus on hydration and protection, opt for plant-based hair leave-in conditioning products like Anoint, Cantu or MegaGrowth.

Signs and Symptoms of Severely Damaged Hair

If you notice some or all of these signs, your hair might be severely damaged. 

• Dry, Brittle Hair: Rough-textured, straw-like, and breaks easily.

• Split Ends: Hair tip weakens and begins to thin out. 

• Loss of Shine: Hair looks dull even after styling, losing its natural luster and shine.

• Increased Frizz: Hair cuticles get raised, causing more hassle to comb through

• Hair Breakage: Hair breaks easily when styling, combing, or weaving. 

• Color Fading: Natural hair color fades, and hair looks thinner.  Natural color starts to fade out, and hair looks thinner. 

• Scalp Irritation: Constant scalp itching and irritation, resulting in dryness, flakes, or hair pulling out. 

• Loss of Elasticity: Hair turns less flexible and more susceptible to breakage.

Identifying these symptoms and addressing them with the right form of treatment and hair care routine can significantly help restore your damaged hair. 

Final Thoughts

Restoring severely damaged hair isn't about finding one miracle product. It's about stopping the damage, improving moisture and conditioning, reducing unnecessary manipulation, protecting your strands, and giving your hair time to grow. And remember: you don't have to throw away your entire hair routine tomorrow. 

Start with the basics. Be gentler when you detangle. Reduce heat. Give your hair a break from harsh chemicals. Deep condition regularly. Protect your hair at night. Trim the ends that are beyond saving and, most importantly, be patient with your hair.

FAQs

How can I remove split ends from my damaged hair?

The only way to remove dead or split ends from your hair is by trimming them. To prevent split ends, use strengthening and moisturizing treatments like Anoint Leave-in Conditioner and Anoint Deep Conditioner.

Does hair coloring cause breakage?

Coloring hair doesn’t directly cause breakage, although it can weaken the hair shaft if done repeatedly without protection. So it can be considered a contributing factor. 

What's the best way to protect my hair from breakage while sleeping?

Sleeping on a silky or satin pillowcase, or wrapping your hair in a silk scarf, helps prevent breakage. This process reduces friction while keeping strands from snapping.

How often should I deep condition my hair to prevent damage?

Deep conditioning your hair once a week is a good starting point for severely damaged hair. You can adjust the frequency depending on how brittle or dry your hair is.

Should I cut my hair if it's severely damaged?

You don't always have to cut your hair from the root to restore your severely damaged hair. However, if the damage is irreparable or you don't want to wait a long time for healthy hair restoration, you can safely cut it to start afresh. 

How long does it take to restore severely damaged hair?

There is no fixed timeline for severely damaged hair to be restored. You may only notice improvement in softness and manageability within a few weeks, while significant improvements in length retention and overall hair health can take several months of consistent care.