My hair is overworked, what do you suggest to get it back in condition? I use my blow dryer and flat iron everyday and my hair is long, dry, and color-treated, you name it. Thanks!  -Mindy via email

Answer: Hey, that sounds like my hair from time to time – LOL! First I would suggest giving your hair a rest from the flat iron and blow dryer. A small break from all of the heat styling will give your hair a chance to recover. Air drying from time to time would be great but I know that’s not always a great look for some of us! AND of course, I’m sure you know never to go near a heat appliance without a thermal protectant. I say this all day long because they work. A heat protectant like this one (left) from ghd will save your hair, it’s specially formulated for weak/damaged locks like yours. You should also check out this article: Flat Iron Styling – Healthy Heat Protection, it will help find the protection that’s right for you.

My next suggestion is find a good treatment product that will repair the damage, eliminate the dryness and help strengthen your hair from the inside out. Thankfully for us styling junkies there are plenty to choose from to keep our strands happy and healthy. Feel free to check out our Hair Treatment section to find everything you need to get your hair in better condition.

For your particular concerns, I’d suggest trying some of these products below to improve your hair health and texture:

Three times a week – try one of these: Leave on hair for a few minutes, then rinse out:
Redken Extreme CAT Protein Reconstructing Treatment (left)
Davines Nounou Nourishing Repairing Mask

Once a week: Leave-in treatment, do not rinse:
Joico K-PAK Deep Penetrating Reconstructor

Daily, until you see improvement – especially on your ends:
Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Leave-in Treatment for Distressed Hair – I swear by this one!

And of course, my absolute hands down, must have, cannot live without, product of all products:

Kerastase Nutritive Oleo Relax Leave in Serum – not so much a treatment product as much as a maintenence product for when your hair is under control – this will keep it that way. 

With restructuring products like these, your over-processed, over-styled, over-worked hair can be a thing of the past. Let me know how they work!

-CurlyBelle