4 Warning Signs of Damaged Hair (and How to Fix It Fast!)

Your hair follicles go through four different phases: anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen. It's normal for you to lose 50-100 hairs a day during the final phase called exogen, also known as the shedding phase.

Are you seeing signs of damaged hair? Are you looking for ways to treat your hair and maintain healthy hair?

Check out this article to learn about four warning signs of damaged hair and what you can do to prevent further hair damage.

1. Your Hair Looks Dry and Dull

Do you notice your hair lacking shine? Dull or dry hair may be a sign of damaged hair. Healthy hair usually has a natural oil that keeps it moisturized and looking healthy and shiny.

Damaged hair may be stripped of the natural oil in your scalp. This may also happen if you shampoo too often.

If you shampoo too much, you could be removing too much of the natural oil in your scalp which could leave your hair looking dry.

You can try to shampoo less often, such as every other day. The amount of shampooing your hair needs a week depends on a variety of factors including your hair type, texture, and how oily or dry your scalp is.

2. Your Hair Tangles or Breaks Easily

Another sign is if your hair tangles easily. If you can't get your comb or hairbrush through your hair without it becoming tangled or your hair breaking off, then this could mean your hair is damaged. Dry hair can tangle easily.

It's better to not brush hair when it's wet. This is because wet hair is fragile and is more likely to break. You can also try brushing or combing starting from the ends of your hair.

You can brush out the tangles from the bottom and work your way up to detangle your hair.

If you do brush wet hair, you can use a wide-toothed comb to carefully comb out the tangles.

3. You Have Split Ends

Split ends are another sign of damaged hair. Split ends occur when the ends of your hair become damaged and dry. This can occur from heat damage such as from styling tools or from chemical damage from hair dye.

How to Check for Split Ends

Wondering if you have split ends? You can look at the ends of your hair. A split end looks like the end of your hair shaft is split into two.

If you do have split ends, you can try a temporary treatment to add moisture back to your hair through a deep mask conditioning treatment. However, you cannot fix split ends permanently.

If you have split ends, you can get a haircut or a trim regularly to ensure your hair stays healthy and free from split ends.

4. Too Much Hair Loss

Do you feel like you're losing more than the normal amount of hair every day? Do you feel like your hair is thinning?

If you feel like you are experiencing hair loss that is more than normal, you should consult with your doctor to see if there is an underlying cause.

What You Can Do to Treat Your Hair

There are things you can do to prevent more hair damage in the future. Here are some healthy hair tips for taking care of your hair.

Get a Haircut Regularly

To maintain the health of your hair, you should get a hair cut regularly. Wondering how often you should get a haircut? The answer depends on a variety of factors such as your hair length, texture, or how often you use heat-styling tools.

Generally, you should get your hair trimmed about once every couple of months.

Limit Styling Tools and Hair Dyes

To limit damage to your hair, you can try cutting back on heated styling tools and hair dyes. Instead of blow-drying your hair every day, you can cut back to every other day or let your hair air dry.

When you do use styling tools, make sure to apply a heat protection product on your hair. You can also try lowering the setting of the heating product to its lowest setting.

If you regularly dye your hair, you can try extending the time between hair dye sessions.

Take Your Vitamins

There are links between certain nutritional deficiencies and loss of hair.

For example, there are studies that link hair loss and a deficiency of the vitamin biotin. What's more, iron deficiency can result in anemia. Anemia can also be a cause of losing hair.

In addition, there are other vitamin deficiencies that have been linked to hair loss including vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E.

The best way to get your vitamins is through the foods you eat. However, you can discuss with your doctor to see if using hair vitamins is right for you.

Be Gentle When Drying Your Hair

Another action you can take to prevent hair damage is to be gentle when drying your hair.

You should let your hair air dry. However, if you don't always have the time for that, you can use a lightweight microfiber cloth to dry your hair instead of a heavy towel.

Also, don't rub on your hair with a towel which can cause further damage to already fragile, wet hair. You can gently squeeze your hair instead of rubbing it.

Don't Skip the Conditioner

Our final tip is something simple, don't skip the conditioner when washing your hair. It can be tempting to shorten your shower by skipping the conditioning treatment. However, this can lead to dry hair.

Final Thoughts on Signs of Damaged Hair

We do a lot to our hair, whether it's constantly using styling tools or blow-drying it every day. If you notice the above signs of damaged hair, there are things you can do to prevent further damage. The above tips can help keep your hair looking shiny and healthy.

Want to learn more tips for styling and maintaining the health of your hair? Check out more articles in our Beauty section.