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Within the family of hair woes, dried out and damaged hair tends to be the problem child. Between the brittle texture, split ends, and strays, it can feel impossible to revive, let alone style… Especially since excessive heat can make things worse. While dried out or damaged hair can feel disheartening, it’s actually an opportunity to better support our body and health.
How? We’ve turned to the experts to find out!
Dermatologist
Amy Wechsler, M.D
Meet Dr. Amy Wechsler, M.D., a physician board-certified in both dermatology and psychiatry. In her practice, based in New York City, she uses the latest technologies and techniques to treat a wide range of dermatologic conditions—starting with understanding her patient’s psychological stressors and skin care concerns!
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HOW TO TREAT YOUR TRESSES
But whereas some hair conditions are rooted in specific health causes, Dr. Wechsler finds that dried out and damaged hair is most often related to how we treat our hair. "With dried out and damaged hair, it’s usually the environment acting on the hair to do damaging things to it. It’s not usually coming from something internal." To revive our tresses, Dr. Wechsler says that education is key. It’s all about knowing what specifically dries out and damages our hair and which hairstyles are the gentlest. So keep scrolling—stronger strands await.
The Science Behind Dry And Damaged Hair
Your Hair Doesn’t
Retain Enough Moisture
Hair
Porosity
Hair porosity refers to how open or closed your hair is to absorb or release moisture. Dry hair likely has high porosity, meaning the hair cuticle (the outermost layer) is more open for water to escape.
Cuticle Damage
Extreme heat from styling can cause the hair cuticle to crack (think: a rope unraveling) leading to dryness, split ends, and breakage.
Hair
Sebum
Sebum is a natural oil produced by the scalp that keeps our strands moisturized. If there isn’t enough sebum, the cuticle is more susceptible to break open and lose moisture.
Prolonged Sun Exposure
When you’re playing in the sun for an extended amount of time, exposure to UVA and UVB rays can break down the hair cuticle, leading to a brittle texture.
Swimming In Chlorine
If you’re regularly hitting up the pool, your hair may be extra dry. That’s because chlorine sucks the natural oils out of hair, leaving it extra porous and dried out.
Pollution
Studies have shown that regular exposure to the gasses and aggressors of pollution can break down our hair fibers over time, making them more susceptible to dryness and breakage.
Hard
Water
Hard water (present in most homes) is known to contain high levels of calcium and magnesium. Studies have shown that hard water can decrease hair strength and increase breakage.
environmental causes
Hair Stylist Sky Kim
Sky Kim is a New York based, Korean American hair Stylist and visual artist. Born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in both Los Angeles, CA and Aurora, CO, Kim has over a decade of professional hairstyling experience. Starting in a boutique salon in SoHo, Sky continued her career at the Serge Normant at John Frieda Salon, training and working alongside prestigious stylists’ Serge Normant, DJ Quintero and Jessica Gillin, before landing her current role at the coveted Jenny Perry Hair Studio.
To understand the #1 styling cause of dried out and damaged hair, we turned to Dyson stylist Sky Kim. Her answer:
While all heat tools can be at fault here, Sky notes that flat ironing is perhaps the most damaging, since it involves two heated plates clamping on your hair follicles.
Some hair tools don't allow for temperature regulation, and high temperature tools can strip your hair of its natural oils and evaporate its moisture, causing its keratin to change (the protein that structures our strands). This leads to weaker, less-elastic strands that are prone to damage. With this in mind, Dyson applied their specialty in engineering to rethink our favorite hair tools, bringing new technology like intelligent heat control, which measures temperature over 40 times a second to prevent heat damage and preserve natural shine, or flexing plates that shape to gather hair allowing you to create the same style with less heat. The Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer, Airwrap™ multi-styler and Corrale™ styler protect against extreme heat damage, with more focus on control and less on heat.
Harsh Styling Cause: Excess Heat
Sky’s Recommended Styles
For Dry And Damaged Hair
Ways To Support Hair Health From The Outside
Ways To Support Hair Health From The inside
BIOTIN
“Some people just need some extra biotin,” says Dr. Amy Wechsler. “Biotin is a B vitamin that can be helpful for hair.” Often found in hair supplements, this nutrient supports the production of keratin (the protein that makes up our hair).
EGGS
Eggs are rich in biotin, the keratin-boosting B-vitamin that helps promote healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Iron Supplements
According to Dr. Wechsler, iron deficiency is often found at the root of many hair issues. To aid in the revival of Dried Out and Damaged hair, consider bringing an iron supplement into your routine.
Iron-RICH FOODS
Another way to get more iron is by eating iron-rich foods like meat, poultry, and seafood. Animal proteins provide “heme” iron, which is generally more readily absorbed by the body.
BACK TO THE HAIR LAB
Dried Out And Damaged
just like the skin, hair is affected by what’s going on with us internally, with our mind, with stress levels, sleep, all of that.
For any hair type, Dr. Wechsler reminds us that
To revive our tresses, Dr. Wechsler says that education is key. It’s all about knowing what specifically dries out and damages our hair and which hairstyles are the gentlest. So keep scrolling—stronger strands await.
Dyson
Supersonic™ hair dryer
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Briogeo
Deep Conditioning Mask
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Milbon
Hair Protective Treatment
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Dyson
Dyson Airwrap™ styler
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Virtue
Restorative Treatment Mask
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Milbon
Heat Protective Shampoo
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Dyson
Dyson Corrale™ styler
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Honestly? extreme heat. Instead of your average blow dryer, flat iron, or curler, look for tools that have heat control!
The Science: Meet Your Hair Health Expert
The Style: Meet Your Hair Styling Expert
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Your Hair Doesn’t
Retain Enough Moisture
BACK TO THE HAIR LAB