What Are the Main Causes of Damaged Hair?



Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2009

by Sam Noble

Damaged hair is a nightmare! Fact! From split ends, to frizzy-ness, unmanageable knots and matted areas combined with the dull lacklustre colour that your hair takes no one wants to look like they just walked through a hedge backwards.

There are five main causes of damaged hair and the treatment of damaged hair must be based on the cause, for example if you have dandruff and a dry scalp, a shampoo for hair subjected to intense heat styling won't have the same results as a specific shampoo. Wella System Professional, or Wella SP have a full range of products within their range to target and correct all sorts of ailments that cause damaged hair, and also products that will prevent damage occurring in the first place. Below is a list of the various causes of damaged hair, alongside an explanation of how these occur, followed by the specific Wella SP product to solve your hair care concerns.

1. Scalp Conditions A sensitive scalp, dandruff and oily scalp are all conditions that if mistreated can lead to damage of your hair. Many shampoos, conditioners and treatments designed for scalp concerns only focus on the scalp therefore neglecting to care for the hair that grows from the scalp which creates a vicious circle of fixing one problem and not the other. Scalp conditions tend to be the problems that people are most embarrassed of, women in particular find greasy or overly dry scalps and hair unattractive and therefore use overly harsh products in-order to provide a quick fix. Often the correct treatment isn't to use a product to create the opposite environment to the problem, e.g. for dry scalps to encourage the sebaceous glands to over produce oil, but rather the correct treatment is to create a balanced environment to encourage and promote healthy hair growth.

The products recommended from the Wella SP collection would be in the Scalp Treatment collection. You will find a scalp specific shampoo, but also conditioning treatments that protect your hair as well as your scalp.

2. Environmental Factors Overly hot and overly cold conditions, including subjecting your hair to daily exposure to central heating or air conditioning all cause hair to become acutely brittle, dry and prone to splitting and breakage. This is caused by a reduction in protein within the hair. UV rays break down protein whilst, cold, windy conditions reduce moisture in the air and therefore dry out your hair from within roughening the cuticle of the hair, aiding the frizzy, straw-like brittle appearance that is associated with this season. Environmental factors are also exaggerated on coloured and chemically processed hair, therefore extra steps must be taken in order to maintain the health of your hair if you have it regularly, relaxed, coloured or permed.

The products recommended from the Wella SP collection would be the Repair shampoo and conditioner that has been scientifically proven to restore your hair's natural health through infusing the hair with proteins to restore the damaged cuticle later, Glycine nourishes the hair internally whilst Wheat germ oil envelopes the hair with a light protective film, meaning that outwardly aggressors are repelled.

3. Heated styling tools Curling, straightening, crimping and blow-drying, all actions that you do hoping that you will improve the appearance of your hair, but with regular use, and an inappropriate hair care routine will leave your hair dry, damaged and brittle.

Your hair is damaged when using heat styling implements by the increasingly high temperatures used cracking the cuticle of your hair and allowing vital moisture to escape.

The immediate solution is to use re-hydrating shampoo and conditioning treatments to restore your hair's cuticle to health, and to maintain this health to ensure that you use a heat protecting spray or balm before subjecting your hair to heat styling implements. The Wella SP Hydro has been designed with both these concerns in mind, the nourishing and revitalising shampoo and treatment conditioners and masks allow you to tailor your hair care routine depending on the level of damage to your hair. Follow with Wella SP Straightaway Smoothing cream for protection against heat damage both from the Sun and styling tools.

4. Friction Repetitive brushing, moving around in your sleep and wearing your hair in a ponytail held in place with elastic all cause friction that work away at the surface of the hair, weakening it and increasing the risk of snapping and loss of hair.

The Wella SP range of products for these concerns would be Wella SP Specialist items, more specifically Wella SP Keratin Oil Kit which works to actively improve the quality of dramatically damaged hair zones. Wella SP Keratin Oil is an exclusive 2-phase formula that consists of Keratin Liquid components and natural conditioning oils that work to replenish and restructure the hair from within.

5. Chemicals Bleaching, colouring, relaxing, perming and straightening treatments all greatly damage your hair. In order for all of the above chemical treatments to work, they must first swell the hair's cuticle, which in turn roughens it making it prone to chipping and breakage. During the swelling process the protein bonds within your hair wear down, limiting the strength of your hair and dulling it.

The Wella SP range of products for these concerns would be Wella SP Colour Saver, a range that have been tailor-made to the needs of different hair structures, colour shifting is prevented by up to 43% as well as fade protection. Your hair holds its colour better and maintains a great condition.

Maz Lopez is a Product Marketing Executive at Gorgeous Shop, an approved online retailer offering a great range of salon professional products including Wella Hair Care.

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