Damaged Hair

Damaged hair products that rebuild strength after heat and colour

Damaged hair needs two things at once: a formula that rebuilds the strand from the inside and a hair treatment to smooth the outside. Get that pairing right, and weak, brittle hair feels noticeably stronger within weeks.

To help you get started, Hairhouse stocks bond builders, masks, oils and heat protection from Olaplex, K18, Redken, Kérastase and Matrix across over 100 stores nationwide.

Is your hair damaged or just dry?

Dry hair improves after one use of conditioner and stays soft, while damaged hair feels lovely wet, then turns rough the moment it dries.

To find out which one you have, wash, condition, then let your hair dry with no extra product. If you have dry hair, it will still feel soft two days later. Damaged hair will not, because the strand has lost its structure.

Another easy test is to slide your fingers up a hair strand from tip to root. If it feels smooth, the cuticle is flat. Any roughness means the cuticle has lifted, which leaves hair porous and losing moisture fast.

Look for these, too:

• Broken pieces at the crown: Short wiry strands at your part line are breakage, not regrowth.
• Splits above the tips: Split ends travelling up the strand mean damage has spread.
• Tangles hours after brushing: Constant tangles mean a raised cuticle catching on other strands.

In simple terms, bleached, highlighted and heat-styled hair is usually damaged. Frizzy hair that has never been coloured is usually just dry.

Does your hair need protein or moisture?

Match your treatment to what your hair has lost. Protein rebuilds structure, moisture restores flexibility, and the wrong one leaves hair stiff or limp. Here’s how to tell what your hair is missing:

• Stretchy and gummy when wet: You need protein. Look for keratin, amino acids or peptides. Try Davroe Rebuilder Protein Treatment or evo Mane Attention Protein Treatment, fortnightly at most, as fine hair overloads sooner than thick hair.
• Brittle and straw-like when dry: You need moisture. Hyaluronic acid, glycerin and plant oils are what you want. Davroe Moisture Senses and KEVIN.MURPHY Hydrate-Me.Masque soften without weight. Finish every wash with a conditioner through the ends.
• Both, at different lengths: Apply protein through the mid-lengths and moisture on the ends. Alternate week to week rather than layering, or use collagen blends to bridge the gap.

What bond builders do that hair masks can't

A bond builder repairs the chemical links inside your hair, while a hair mask simply conditions the surface. Because of this difference, your hair needs both.

Bleaching and colouring break the internal bonds that give hair its strength. Regular conditioning cannot rebuild these broken links, which is why hair can feel soft after a mask yet still break easily.

Products like Olaplex No.0, Epres Bond Repair Treatment and Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate target that internal repair, fixing deep damage that surface masks cannot reach.

How you use these products depends on where you apply them:

• In salon: Our stylists apply professional-strength treatments during your colour service, protecting your hair from breakage as it’s being dyed.
• Pre-shampoo at home: Apply this to damp hair for a few minutes and rinse it out before washing. These treatments need wet hair to sink in and rebuild the inner strands.
• Leave-in at home: Comb this through towel-dried hair and leave it in to protect your strands all day. Using a wash-out formula as a leave-in will just make hair heavy and greasy.

To build a complete routine, use a damaged hair treatment like a bond builder weekly to restore strength, then follow it with a hair mask for surface softness. Between wash days, a leave-in treatment with ceramides will smooth the outer layer and block out frizz.

Repairing hair damaged by heat and colour

Before buying new products, start by turning your tools down. Most hair styles well at 180°C, and keeping the temperature there helps your repair treatments last much longer.

This is especially true with hair straighteners and curling irons, which press hot plates directly onto the strand so hair damage builds up where you clamp. A blow dryer is gentler because the heat keeps moving. Just hold it a hand's width away and finish on cool to keep the cuticle flat.

Your underneath layers take the worst hit, because most people forget to protect them and leave those sections prone to dryness. Try working muk Hot muk Thermal Protector or Kérastase Résistance Ciment Thermique through damp hair before drying, then add a little more before heat styling.

Bleached hair needs a little extra care again here. Spacing your chemical sessions six weeks apart and keeping a bond builder in your routine permanently will protect your colour and help prevent hair breakage.

How hard water works against your repair routine

Minerals in your water build up on your hair and block treatments from getting in. When a favourite mask suddenly feels less effective, mineral buildup is usually the reason.

It mostly comes down to hard tap water, which is common in cities like Adelaide and Perth. Pool water plays a part too, though chlorine doesn’t create that familiar green tint all on its own. Chlorine opens up the cuticle first, which lets copper in the water attach to the strand and cast that green tone.

To keep your hair clear and prepped, try Kérastase Première Concentre Decalcifiant or L'Oréal Professionnel Metal Detox Shampoo. Use one every two weeks, then follow with your bond treatment while the strand is clear and can absorb it properly.

Summer sun adds to the load as well, so using haircare products with antioxidants, vitamin C or vitamin E will help maintain your results right through the warmer months. That one swap keeps your colour truer and your ends softer all season.

How to build a damaged hair routine

Build your week around treatments rather than washes. A haircare routine with a clear rhythm always beats picking whatever is closest in the shower, giving your hair the steady care it needs to recover. Here’s how you can structure your week for the best results:

• Bond day, once a week: Your bond treatment goes on clean hair first to repair internal strength, getting the full time on the pack.
• Protein or moisture day, once a fortnight: Alternate between protein to strengthen weak strands and moisture to soften dry hair.
• Wash days, two or three a week: Any more strips away the natural oils that keep damaged hair soft.
• Everything else, daily: Use a leave-in conditioner on damp hair, and apply thermal protection before using any tool to prevent heat damage.

Always detangle while your hair is still wet and slippery with conditioner in the shower. Starting from the ends and gently working your way up with a wide-tooth comb or Tangle Teezer Wet Detangler saves your strands, since snapping through dry knots only leads to avoidable breakage.

Once you dry your hair, lock in moisture by pressing a little hair oil just onto the very ends. Moroccanoil Original Treatment suits most textures, while heavier olive oil blends work best for coarse hair. When you want to sneak in an extra day between washes, a quick spray of dry shampoo will soak up excess oil and keep your style looking fresh.

It helps to be realistic about what products can do. A bond builder repairs broken bonds inside the strand, but it cannot magic a split end back together. Popping into a Hairhouse salon for a quick trim every eight to twelve weeks is the only real way to stop split ends from travelling up the hair shaft.

Everyone’s hair is a bit different, so finding the right mix often takes a little trial and error. If you want a personalised routine tailored to your hair, chat with our team in-store to pick up the right products or shop our damaged hair product range online today.