Healthy hair is strong, manageable, and less prone to damage. Plus, it is so soft that you cannot stop touching it. Everyone desires this type of hair. However, achieving this requires a lot of work since your tresses have to bear the brunt of environmental stressors and styling, which get in the way of sporting healthy hair. Hair damage can be challenging, but with some tried and tested ways, you can always reverse the situation and strengthen your tresses.
Before we deep dive into tips on how to strengthen hair, let’s get familiar with hair breakage.
What causes hair breakage?
Damaged hair is rough, dry, has a frizzy texture, tangles easily, and has split ends. And do you know what follows hair damage? Breakage. Several factors cause weak hair that is highly susceptible to damage. These are:
• Heat-styling: Hair dryers, curling wands, rollers, and flat-irons give you beautiful and manageable hair. However, even thick hair cannot withstand prolonged exposure to heat as it weakens the strands. The moisture in your hair literally ‘cooks’ under the heat from the styling tools. This causes your hair to open and allow the steam to escape, making your hair dry and parched.
• Colouring and other chemical hair treatments: Bleaching your hair or frequently colouring can change your hair’s structure. Chemical straightening and perming your hair can also alter the structure of your hair and reshape it, making it weaker.
These are the primary causes of weak hair. But your diet, hair products, and your hair care habits too have an impact on your hair health.
How to strengthen your hair?
Even if you have hair that is thin and prone to breakage, you can still turn this around. You can transform weak hair into strong, thick hair in no time with the treasure trove of hair tips mentioned below.
• Dial down the heat
Give your curling iron, flat-iron, blow dryers, and hot curlers a rest. The heat emanating from these styling appliances can weaken your hair strands. If you need to use your styling tools, dial down the heat. Limit your blow-drying and other heat-styling sessions to two to three times a week. Also, consider using a heat protectant product before you start styling your tresses.
• Do not brush wet hair
It might tempt you to remove those knots as soon as you step out of the shower, but do not brush your hair if it’s still wet. When your hair is wet, it swells, and becomes weak and prone to breakage under the stroke of a brush. The bristles on the brush can pull, stretch, or strain your hair and cause breakage.
• Do not towel dry
This might come as a shocker but towel-drying your hair can weaken your hair strands and make them fragile. When your hair’s wet, it’s more breakable and when you rub the towel, it can cause your hair strands to break easily. You can use microfiber towels or an old cotton t-shirt to remove extra water from your hair and let it air dry naturally.
• Eat your way to healthy hair
One of the most obvious answers to your query of how to strengthen hair is to consume a nutrient-rich diet. This will help in strengthening your hair from the inside. Consider adding foods rich in vitamin A, B (especially biotin), C, D, and E, iron, and zinc as these nutrients have proven to possess hair-strengthening properties.
• Change your hair washing routine
You will have to upgrade your hair-washing routine to keep the damage at bay and strengthen your tresses. Try a conditioning shampoo like Pantene Ultimate 10 Repair & Protect Shampoo that is formulated with active Pro-V nutrients that strengthen your hair from the inside out. With 0% silicones, paraffin, mineral oils, and colourants, this Pro-V shampoo restores your hair’s strength and protects it against any styling damage. It leaves your hair looking healthier and stronger than ever.
Pair this shampoo with the rich, repairing Pantene Ultimate 10 Repair & Protect Conditioner with Pro-V nutrients that lock in moisture for healthy, shiny hair.
For thicker, stronger hair, you can also opt for Pantene Long & Strong Shampoo that is gentle and packed with Pro-V Nutrients to strengthen fragile hair that’s prone to breakage. This nourishing shampoo protects your hair from damage and fuels it with nutrients from the inside out. Follow it up with Pantene Long & Strong Conditioner to protect and strengthen your locks from root to tip.
• Invest in conditioning treatments
A great way to strengthen your hair is to opt for intense conditioning treatments that help reverse the damage inflicted on your tresses. Conditioning treatments are known to reduce the friction in your hair by lubricating the cuticle and protect the inner core of your hair from damage. Pantene 3 Minute Miracle range is what you need to protect your hair and strengthen it to prevent any damage. These Pro-V conditioners moisturise your hair and ensure that you experience a great hair week!
• Get regular trims
We know that a haircut is the last thing that comes to your mind when you wish to grow your hair longer. However, trimming will remove the driest parts of your hair i.e., the ends. These are the parts of your hair that are often the most damaged. It’s ideal to trim your hair every 6 to 8 weeks as this will help your hair grow stronger and longer.
Strong, thick hair is not achieved in a single day. It needs efforts, some patience, and lots of TLC. So, show your hair some love and stick to a hair care schedule that will keep damage at bay and strengthen your hair.