Split ends, dulled shine, lack of elasticity. These are just a few of the many many signs that your hair is damaged and just some that will undoubtedly send you into a spiral of panic when you’ve realized it has happened to you. The truth is, curbing and getting rid of these symptoms once they begin to crop up on your strands and ends can be hard to do. BUT not impossible. Here’s some great advice from women who have started at square one with damaged hair.

Try a good hair treatment.

“I started eating a lot of organ meat (mostly liver) and also more fish. I also use Oleplex step 3 treatment as a leave in on my ends after washing. Talking of washing; I only wash my hair twice a week, where before I would wash it every other day. Finally, I invested in better hair ties. I wear my hair in buns and braids a lot for work so I switched to the crease-free hair ties (they’re like stretchy ribbons) or silk/satin scunchies. I never blow dry, and don’t heat style my hair too often, but when I do, ALWAYS use a heat protector and the lowest heat setting you can get away with.” – NotYourMPDG100099

Sleep on silk.

“Silk pillow cases or a silk hair wrap at night are also great, and if you’re going to go the heartless curl method of styling, a silk hair wrap will keep it from getting roughed up at night. (Also good for “plopping” your hair, if you’re doing the curly girl method).” – NotYourMPDG100099

Splurge on Olaplex 

“I 1000% recommend Olaplex. For years, my hair wouldn’t grow past my shoulders because of breakage and split ends. After doing olaplex treatments 3x/week, I have hair that reaches mid back.” – brockielove

Start with your insides.

“B Vitamins, drink lots of coconut water (really does help!), and Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning mask here and there. I also rub argan oil on the ends after showering sometimes. My hair grows half an inch or more a month. I have color treated hair and hadn’t had a hair cut in 9 months. When I finally started getting split ends, I went in for a cut and a lighter toned bayalage. My hair stylist was amazed in the condition my hair was in and said to keep up whatever I was doing.” – sunny_deee

Eat veggies. 

“I went from eating the standard American diet to much much more veggies and I noticed a tangible difference in hair growth ever since. What really transformed my hair was to only use heat on it 3-5 times per year. This allowed me to go months and months without seeing a split end at all, meaning I could go almost half a year without a trim and my ends would be fine.” – prepamaddy

Cook up a concoction of your own.

“I have a mix of Castor, Grapeseed and Almond Oil in a bottle. I soak my hair in that mixture and sleep with it. Wash hair with clarifying shampoo in the morning, then condition and style as normal. I do this a couple times a month and it’s really helped my hair grow and repair itself. I use hair masks every so often too but nothing beats pure oil. My mum used to use Amla (gooseberry) oil on my hair as a child and my hair was down to my knees at one point, and so healthy! Try using different oils, it’s usually a trial and error situation until you find the mix that suits your hair and scalp.” – dictatemydew

Dust and trim.

“Ironically? Getting it cut. Taking off a few centimetres every few months had my hair MUCH healthier than when I’d put it off for 6-12 months at a time and needed to lose a few inches just to even out the split ends.” –lightningspree

Hair vitamins. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B61PK2DJwi8/

“I took hair vitamins – a simple one purchased from a pharmacy. I also stopped using heat on my ends. This made the biggest difference. When my hair was drying I put argan oil on the ends. This combination was simple and my hair grew like crazy.” – trashtal

Clean your scalp, dust your ends.

‘You really cannot repair damage just grow it out , make it look better and damage hair less in the future. The below tips help achieve that.

  1. stop regular trims and dust only major split ends at home
  2. Brush hair constantly with brush that stimulates scalp ( I like wood bristles )
  3. Make sure scalp is VERY clean when washing, personally I use a clarifying shampoo every time I wash end never put products close to my scalp. I even add salt to my shampoo or do clay treatments on the scalp . The cleaner the scalp the healthier the hair IMO
  4. Do a treatment the night before washing every time you wash. If you want to save money just use coconut oil and some tingly essential oil to stimulate the scalp and then wash out in the morning. This for me really minimizes the damage of wash and styling day
  5. spray a scalp stimulator/scalp astringent when hair is damp ( I like BB tonic but you could make your own with essential oils) . This should be the only product to make contact with the scalp
  6. Do a protein treatment once a week again to save money you could use beer or an egg
  7. Take biotin if your skin can handle it ( mine can’t)
  8. braid or bun hair at night to avoid damage from pillow friction
  9. only use dry shampoo if you absolutely need it . It really clogs follicles on scalp
  10. eat more protein and drink more water also working out helps. If you are really serious you can increase blood flow by hanging your head upside down a couple times a day” –  sarahergo