4 Fixes for Damaged Hair: Home Remedies and Treatments to Repair Dry Hair

Dry, damaged hair is one of life's little horrors: it won't ruin you, but it won't do you any good. Maybe your hair was caught in a freak, hot roller accident; perhaps chemical straighteners or perms have tortured it into a permanent, frizzy fright wig. You may seek treatment from a local salon, but the stylist might recommend a crew cut. So, what can you do to repair extremely damaged hair that doesn't require a period of enforced baldness? Or what if you're darned close to bald already from chlorine, hair color, blow drying and other hair related emergencies?People most likely to have damaged hair include those with fine hair and African Americans who use straighteners or keep their hair in cornrows (this tightness can damage the hair follicles and cause hair loss) . African American's hair is very delicate –usually drier than Caucasian hair, and can be easily ruined by chemicals and heat.

Cutting off damaged hair into a medium-short style will improve your hairstyles overall health.

Remedy 1:
Cut Off Some or All Damaged Hair at a GOOD Salon

If your hair has been truly wrecked, sometimes the best thing to do is have professional advice and then cut off as muchdamaged hair and split ends as possible so you can start fresh. You know when to cut off your hair: it's when you'd rather be bald than look the way you do now! A super-short haircut can be appealing if you go to someone who will shape the cut to your face. Understanding face shape is the difference between a ten dollar, ten minute hair cut and an admittedly more expensive, hopefully much nicer one.

If you decide to treat your damaged hair instead, you will need to limit blow drying, flat ironing and other heat styling tools.

Remedy 2:
Keep the Damaged Hair, but Take Special Care to Protect Healthy Hair

Home remedies for "hair gone wrong" include restoration of moisture to hair not too severely damaged and making way for regrowth. In the case of hair ruined by hot rollers or straightening, you may have a few inches of relatively undamaged hair on the scalp. Get a medium-severe haircut to get rid of the frizzled hair tips, or leave the damage right where it is and concentrate on protecting the good hair. Leave off the chemicals, avoid the blow dryer and other heated hair appliances, and use gentle shampoo as infrequently as you dare. Shampoo strips oils from your hair, making it more brittle, so if you don't really need to shampoo, cut it down to once a week or so. And forget vitamins in shampoo: they don't work. You can try taking vitamins internally to keep your hair strong as a side effect of your increased health, but there aren't any vitamins that help when applied externally.

Argan oil and other natural oil deep conditioning masks and treatments can help treat and prevent dry, damaged hair.

Remedy 3:
Use an Over the Counter Deep Conditioning Treatment

Buy deep conditioner hot oil products at the drugstore, or go the homemade route for less money. Hot oil treatments (actually, the oil is warm, not hot), work by starting with dampened hair, softening the cuticle and locking in the water by sealing the outside of the hair with a coating of oil. You can make your hair drier by using hot oil if you then go and wash it all out with a harsh shampoo.

There are also various deep conditioning hair masks and leave in conditioners that can be used about once a week to repair and prevent damage to hair. Some of these products are left on about 10 minutes and others are overnight treatments depending on the brand. Ingredients like argon oil, macadamia oil, coconut oil and other natural oils are in many of these products. These oils can do wonder for hair as a repair treatment as well as a hair damage prevention treatment. A good beauty store (Ulta, Sephora, etc) or local hair salon should have a variety of hair repair conditioning treatments available.

If you don't have time to run to the beauty store, try a homemade peanut oil hair treatment.

Remedy 4:
Homemade Moisturizing Treatment for Damaged Hair

Deep conditioning home remedies and recipes for fried hair include mayonnaise, avocado and egg, but some of us prefer to eat our salads, not wear them. You can get the job done using any cooking oil (but peanut oil will make you smell peanutty!) Coconut suntan oil is a favorite, and it smells terrific, too. Rinse your hair with warm water, apply the oil from the palm of your hand, working it into your hair. Now comes the warm part: wrap your head in a towel or a plastic hair bag that comes with hair color kits, or in some cling wrap, and sit around in it as long as you can. Cover your pillow with a safety-pinned towel and sleep on it overnight. Next day, use a moisturizing or gentle baby shampoo to wash out the greasiness.