Whenever I walk into a store that sells hair care products I always, without fail, see shampoos and conditioners that claim to repair damaged hair. Before I continue continue to explain why this isn't true, let's look into what damaged hair really is.
This is what a damaged hair strand looks like
Pretty nasty right? When you add any kind of chemicals to your hair whether it's dying or perming or even adding heat like blow drying, the natural protein in the strand is lost and the strand begins to break so the only way you can get rid of damaged hair is to cut it off.
All these products that claim to repair the hair is just adding keratin that eventually washes out. It is possible to mask it with treatments by keeping it hydrated but once the damage is done, there's no going back. These products can't physically fix the strand and put the pieces back together because it's already been lost. It's like getting a really deep cut. The skin repairs it to a certain extent but it's not exactly the same because you can still see the scar where the new skin grow. Unfortunately, unlike skin, the hair strand doesn't create new hair on the same strand to replace the missing pieces.
When I used to rebond my hair I thought using treatments and oil would repair the damage but in reality it doesn't. This is why I was always in the dilemma (and still am) of "do I want long and broken hair or short and healthy hair?" Of course majority of us girls want long hair am I right? I've spent the last year and a half trying to grow out my hair without cutting it because my hair grows super slowly but in the end it wasn't actually looking longer. It was growing but I wouldn't be able to see it through the length because the ends kept breaking off. Because I was using so many products, I wasn't able to see the split ends because they were masking the problem. So I would go months thinking I don't need a haircut when I actually needed to cut off maybe 3 inches of my hair.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't go for treatments because it does help restore moisture and shine to the hair but only for dry hair. It'll maintain the good that you've done to the hair but it won't reverse the damage. Healthy hair starts from the inside. Eat healthy, drink lots of water and take your vitamins!
Ever since I was 13 years old I had extremely unruly dry and frizzy hair because all I would do is wash and condition my hair but at the same time I would straighten my hair every time I washed it. I wasn't applying any treatments or oils and it just wasn't helping. I thought rebonding my hair would solve the problem but it was only making it worse! Rebonding my hair was causing a lot of damage not only to my hair but also to my scalp. If you have an unhealthy scalp then the hair strands will grow out to be brittle and weak.
Over the years I did A LOT of research and by a lot of research I mean watching hours of youtube videos, changing my diet, trying out different products. It was a lot of work but at the end of the day I practically got rid of my frizzy hair. The only problem is that only the regrowth which is about 2 inches is healthy, the rest is still damaged so I still need to continue cutting it and keeping it short till I get rid of all the damaged hair because if I don't it's just going to break off.
Despite what I said about products not being able to repair your hair, they do play a huge part in stripping the strands of it's natural oils and keratin. Using shampoos and conditioners with no sulfate and silicon is the best way to go because you're applying less chemicals to your hair.
So don't go spending hundreds of dollars on products and treatments that claim to repair your hair because it's just a gimmick. I learnt the hard way and I'm still paying for my mistakes. If I'm being really honest, I'm actually really upset about my hair. I know it sounds stupid but I take pride in what I look like and I always want to look my best but for the longest time my hair has been such a problem and I feel like all my efforts just go to waste. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes they could snap their fingers and have long luxurious locks but unfortunately this isn't Harry Potter. These things take a lot of time, effort and patience.
For those of you struggling with hair problems, trust me, you're not alone.
I'm not proud of these pictures and I was very hesitant to put them on my blog but this is my reality.
Even though my hair shines, you can still see the ends sticking out. Half of my hair is completely damaged. This is what I mean by treatments masking the problem.
On a brighter note, my hard work has resulted in healthy regrowth.
Comments
Post a Comment