If you want to feel extremely seen in regard to how you care for your hair, may I recommend sending some strands off to an analysis lab? I did this with Dyson recently, and hoo boy, I need to put in some TLC when it comes to hair damage.
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I’ll start by showing you my hair. Here’s a close up of my roots:
And my mid-lengths:
The roots are fine, my report said they’re in “very good condition” – so I’m obviously putting in enough dietary work to grow decent hair. The mid-lengths are… OK. The report said they “show more damage”, which can be seen in the way the cuticles are cracked (all that bumpy stuff). But it’s the ends that are a real crisis.
YUCK. Let’s zoom in.
DOUBLE YUCK. That split is around 2.2mm long, and “extensively damaged and split, the cuticle scales are completely absent and the cortex fibres are visible.”
What does this mean? It means I need to take better care of my hair. Years of clamping extra-hot heat tools and blasting sections with superclose hair dryers has led to this, not to mention how rough I am with my strands. I’ve summarised my learnings below – maybe my failure at life’ll help you do better? I hope so.
1. Cool It With The Styling Tool Temps
As Rob Smith, Dyson’s Senior Principal Stylist explained, you do need to break down and weaken the internal bonds to straighten/curl hair.
“To style hair, you need to provide energy to break and weaken the internal bonds within the hair itself. Heat does this very well, and as such many competitors use this as a way of creating a quick style – often using temperatures which are above the thresholds known to cause permanent damage to the hair and above those needed to do the job.
So one thing I needed to re-assess was how much heat I was applying to my hair. I’m notoriously lazy and hate waiting for anything – hair styling included. So I can sheepishly admit that I’ve been upping the temp on my straightener to way-too-high levels in order to flatten my hair super quick. The general advice is to never go above 185C on your straightener.
But it’s not just straighteners – be careful with holding your hairdryer too close to your hair, or holding it in one spot for too long. In short, steam rising from your hair = bad, and “shaking” the dryer to move heat around and dry your hair more evenly is best.
“It’s important to invest in a quality hair dryer and styling tools that minimise exposure to or ideally don’t reach extreme temperatures.”
Genuinely not sponsored comment – I use the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer and it’s helped heaps to prevent damage during the drying bit of hair styling. So I’m now trying to limit my usage of straightening tools/use a lower heat and just accept it might take longer to style.
2. The Weather Can Screw With You
Another thing I’ve learned is that air temperature, UV rays and the transition from hot to cold can wreak havoc on your hair’s health.
Hair is pretty robust but during the winter the movement between the cold outdoors and the heated inside means that hair is constantly trying to get back to equilibrium. Water from the air will be absorbing into and desorbing out of hair as the humidity changes and this can really affect your style and style retention, increasing the likelihood of frizz and fly-aways.
There are things you can do to protect your hair from the elements, though.
“Like a sunscreen provides a protective barrier to the skin from UV, thermal protectors work by forming a film over the hair to reduce damage from hot styling tools and climate such as wind and UV,” explains Simone Lee, Trichologist and Educator/Creative Director for Dyson.
Frizz-protectant sprays and some leave-in products can also help to seal the hair cuticle, thereby protecting it from the constant absorption back-and-forth and keeping flyaways at bay in the process. Also, if you’re going into extremely cold temps, wear a beanie!
3. Watch How You Treat Your Hair When Wet
Another mistake from me – brushing my hair when it’s wet. Again – because I’m lazy – I’d use a paddle brush to detangle hair post-shower, when really the best thing to do is use a wide-toothed comb IN the shower, while conditioner is still in.
“Another big no no is never tie your hair back wet as the band you use will fracture the hair,” says Simone.
If you MUST tie it back while wet, try using a claw clip to secure it or a scrunchie, and tie it loose. But better yet is to dry it off first, or leave it out to air dry before tying it up.
