Damaged hair can be difficult to care for and work on due to persistent dryness, tangles and hair generally feels weak. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to care for and manage it, you can definitely care for it without breaking much sweat.

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Natural hair especially 4C hair can be prone to dryness due to tightly held coils that don’t make it easy to apply and coat each strand length with product. This type of hair is also prone to knots and tangles, and needs a lot of tender, love and care to flourish and retain length or rather your growth.

Hair damage is inevitable just like breakage and taking preventive is necessary. Creating a consistent and healthy routine, using the right products for your hair, moisturizing as needed, being gentle with your hair and adopting healthy hair care practices will minimize breakage and other hair damage types.

Related post: 10 Easy Ways to Strengthen 4C Hair and Prevent Breakage

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Everything Caring for Damaged Hair.

Major causes of hair damage.

• Heat is a major culprit when it comes to hair damage. Excessive use of heat and not using heat Protectants like CHI 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray, Arvazallia Heat Protectant Spray with Argan Oil , Mielle Mongongo Oil Thermal & Heat Protectant Spray, to protects hair from heat damage, Intense Heat may damage your strands costing you the length you’ve been retaining.
• Overmanipulation: overmanipulation is basically styling your hair every now and then, always brushing and combing. Wearing protective styles once in a while will give your hair a break from this.
• Chemical damage from relaxers, colors and products with harsh chemicals.
• Dryness- dry hair is prone to breakage, split ends, knots and tangles. Keep your hair moisturized by using these moisturizing products and following these methods to properly moisturize.

Read more on causes of hair damage on these posts

Why do you tell that your hair is damaged.

Your hair will definitely scream damaged, you may notice damage signs early before much damage is done like texture change, your hair don’t acting the same as it used to before. Here are more ways or signs that scream damaged hair.

• Your hair feels and looks so dry. It doesn’t get as moisturized as it used to and moisturizing becomes a pain.
• You will notice split, weak and damaged ends.
• Your hair lacks it’s natural shine, looks dull.
• Hair keeps tangling and forming knots. Gives you a hard time detangling.
• Excessive breakage and hair loss. You’ll notice lots of strands on your brush, combs and floors
• Your hair loses its curl pattern,

How to care for damaged hair .

Protein treatments.

Incorporate protein treatments to your hair care routine. Protein treatments like Aphogee Two-step Treatment Protein, Arvazallia Fortifying Protein Hair Mask and Vitamins Keratin Hair Mask Deep Conditioner – Biotin Protein will strengthen your hair, reconstruct the broken protein bonds and help repair the damage. Apply protein treatments after cleansing your hair, follow up with moisturizing deep conditioners like Design Essentials Rosemary & Mint Stimulating Super Moisturizing Conditioner, SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Moisturizing Hair Masque to restore moisture and soften your hair.

You can choose to use a balanced deep conditioner (has both protein and moisturizing properties) like Mielle Organics Babassu & Mint Deep Conditioner with Protein , SheaMoisture Hair Mask – Manuka Honey & Yogurt, Hydrate + Repair Protein Power Treatment, SheaMoisture Intensive Hydration Hair Masque.

Related post: Everything you should know about protein treatments.

Gentle Detangling

Whether your hair is damaged or not, you ought to detangle gently and use products with a good slip to melt away the tangles. To gentle detangle, start by sectioning your hair into small manageable part, apply a detangling product then use a wide tooth comb to detangle from the ends and work towards the root. If your hair is matted, start by separating the strands with your fingers before running a wide tooth comb or detangler brush through it.

Best detangling products to use:

• African Pride Moisture Miracle Aloe & Coconut Water Pre-Shampoo
• The Honest Company Conditioning Hair Detangler
• Aunt Jackie’s Curls and Coils Knot On My Watch Instant Hair Detangling Therapy

Use Moisturizing Deep Conditioner

Unlike protein treatments that strengthen the hair and repair damage, moisturizing deep conditioner restores moisture and deeply moisturizes your hair leaving it soft and manageable. Use moisturizing deep conditioners after cleansing your hair and rinsing off the protein treatments. The act of applying protein and,or moisturizing deep conditioners is known as deep conditioning.

Best moisturizing deep conditioners

• Design Essentials Natural Almond & Avocado Wash Day Deep Moisture Masque
• Camille Rose Algae Renew Deep Conditioning Hair Mask.
• Mielle Organics Mongongo Oil Protein-Free Hydrating Conditioner
• OGX Extra Strength Hydrate Repair + Argan Oil of Morocco Hair Mask Deep Moisturizing

Protective styling

Protective styles will help prevent further damage, promote growth and length retention. Damaged hair can be tricky to care for and may not look the best for wearing out. Protective styles will not only give you the chic, elegant look but will also help with preventing further damage. There are variety styles you can choose from like two strand twists, box braids, passion twists, braids, Bantu knots, flat twists, cornrows etc.

Related posts

• How to prep your hair for protective style.
• Benefits of protective styles
• Why protective styles are breaking and damaging your hair.
• Protective Styles Tips for Hair Growth and Length Retention

Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize!

Work on properly moisturizing and retaining moisture. Damaged hair feels and looks dry which may lead to tangles and breakage. To prevent further damage and revert damage, moisturize your hair. Always start with damp sectioned hair, apply a leave-in conditioner then lock in the moisture with an oil or butter. When applying moisturizing products, focus more on your ends and coat every strand.

Best moisturizing leave-in conditioners

• Tgin butter cream daily moisturizer
• Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Leave In Conditioner
• Design Essentials Natural Almond & Avocado, Moisturizing & Detangling Leave-In Conditioner
• African Pride Moisture Miracle Coconut Oil & Baobab Oil Leave-In Hair Cream
• Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Hair Mask & Leave-In Conditioner

Hair Moisturizing based related posts:

• The It moisturizing guide for moisture retention
• 4C Natural Hair Moisturizing Mistakes to Avoid.
• Everything you need to know about moisture sealants
• 5 Benefits of Moisturizing Natural Hair.
• The best time to moisturize hair for soft and manageable hair

Also, minimize heat usage and if possible, stay away from heat, colors and chemicals. Do regular trims to get rid of the damaged ends as you grow out your hair.

With proper care, damaged hair can be healed and restored to health. By following the tips in this blog post, you can help keep your natural hair healthy and beautiful.