What to do with....

HEAT DAMAGE:

Excessive use of straightening and curling irons can damage hair – when a hot tool is used on wet hair, the moisture inside the cortex boils, forming bubbles in the keratin. This causes hair to break. Excessive use of chemical treatments literally fries hair, leaving short, frazzled bits. Heat-styling tools should not be too hot or used for too long. Protect your hair by using products such as Vibrance Thermasilk.

To repair damage, try Sheen Biological Hair Repair Gel or Intensive Treatment Conditioner, Dark & Lovely Restore and Hair Repair or Moisturiser Protein Feed Hair Repair, Kair Hair Repair Treatment, L’oreal Elvive Nutri Ceramide, Pantene Pro-V Colour Intensive Care or Black Like Me Perfect Choice Hair & Scalp Nourisher.

FRIZZY HAIR:

Your hair could be naturally predisposed to the frizzies, when there is humidity in the air or it comes into contact with water, but the wild-and-woolly look could also be the result of dryness, over-styling and over-perming. If it is badly damaged, the only solution is to cut it and start again. Or choose a treatment that shields the hair from moisture in the air so it doesn’t go haywire. Try Clicks Hair Rescue Frizz Control Treatment, VO5 Advanced Leave-In Anti-Frizz Crème, Kair Herbal Smoothing Anti-Frizz, Dark & Lovely Rich and Natural Hair Dress (choose from varieties with coconut oil or panthenol and vitamin E or tea-tree oil) or Principal Hairdress.

DULL HAIR:

How shiny your hair appears depends on how smooth and intact the cuticles on the hair shaft are. Ragged cuticles, a build-up of grease or product residue will leave hair lacklustre. Use shine enhancers that make the shaft appear smooth and glossy. Try Pantene Three Minute Hair Treatment, L’Oreal Elvive Multi-Vitamins, Wella Vivality Treatment Colour-Shine, Dark and Lovely Healthy Shine Super Conditioning Oil, Sheen, VO5 Advanced Serum Spray, Black Like Me Perfect Choice High, Sheen Conditioning Headress or Gliss Shine Tonic.

FINE LIMP HAIR:

You may be born with this type of hair, in which case you may simply have to accept it, or it may be caused by illness, stress or hormonal fluctuations. Then, hair can change and become thin, limp and greasy. Hair-grooming aids, like spray, weld to the hair and if you do not wash it every couple of days, you get a build-up of product, grease and dirt, which makes it look limp and unsightly, especially fine hair. Luckily, clarifying shampoos strip away build-up. Try Clicks Hair Rescue Build-up Remover Shampoo, Thermasilk Daily Clarifying Shampoo and Conditioner. Use a light conditioner that won’t weight your hair down. Try Wella Vivality Volume Hair-Fluid for Fine Hair or Thermasilk Light Conditioning Mist.

SPLIT ENDS:

Split ends are caused when hair becomes weathered, splits open and the cortex bursts out, leaving it looking dull and coarse. Alas, they can’t be healed, as the cuticles are dead, so prevention is better than cure. Use conditioner regularly to prevent moisture loss and cut down on static, which causes cuticles to rub together and break. If you leave split ends, they will split further right up the shaft. Split-end repair products can improve only the appearance of these hairs by bonding the split ends together temporarily. Get rid of them with a good cut. Try Kair Split End Repair, Gliss Split Ends Cream, Black Like Me Perfect Choice Cholesterol Treatment, Thermasilk Self-Warming Split End Repair Treatment or Dark & Lovely Cholesterol Plus Strengthening and Conditioning Treatment.

DRY HAIR:

Dryness is caused from lack of moisture in the hair. The cuticle becomes badly weathered and porous due to wear and tear or overuse of chemical treatments, like perms and highlights, so the cortex can’t retain water. Hair looks dull and feels dry and lifeless. It’s difficult to style and lacks elasticity, making it more prone to breaking and splitting. Dry hair responds well to intensive conditioning. These products carry charged molecules that cling to the hairs, smoothing the damaged cuticle scales and filling in cracks. Panthenol (Vitamin B5) penetrates the shaft and provides moisture. Use an intensive conditioner once a week until it is healthier. Try Pantene Conditioner Intensive, Clicks Hair Rescue Moisture Replenishment or Organics Elixir Intensive Masque, Gliss 2-phase liquid for Dry/Damaged Hair.

BRITTLE HAIR:

If your hair is naturally weak, or you’ve been ill or are taking strong medication that affects your hair growth, making it brittle, try strengthening products that will fortify the hair shaft. Try Pantene Leave-in Strengthening Serum Spray, L’Oreal Elvive Ceramide-R, Organics Leave-in Strengthening Serum, Dark & Lovely Ultra Strengthener Herbal or Vitamin Hair Therapy.

ETHNIC HAIR:

Due to the consistency, shape and texture of ethnic hair, oils and moisture do not flow easily along the entire hair shaft, causing the hair to become dry and brittle. In addition to this, moisture loss is worsened by over-processing, due to the use of hot combs and irons, relaxing treatments and perms that tend to strip away the natural oils and moisture of the hair. The result is troublesome conditions, such as itchy scalp, frizziness, dandruff and breakage. To restore moisture, try Dark & Lovely Ultra Nourish Protein and Lanolin Therapy, Perfect Choice Oil Moisturiser or Clicks Hair Rescue Hot Oil Conditioner. For more treatments that deal with specific conditions, see the above.