Dry, damaged hair feels rough, looks dull and tends to tangle, frizz and snap. The cause is almost always a raised or broken cuticle, the protective outer layer of the hair, which lets moisture escape. The way back is to restore hydration, strengthen the fibre and protect it from further damage. Here is how.
What causes dry, damaged hair?
- Heat styling without protection.
- Chemical processing such as bleach, colour, perms and relaxers.
- Over-washing or harsh, stripping shampoos.
- Environmental stress from sun, wind, hard water and chlorine.
Most damaged hair is a mix of these, so a good routine tackles both moisture and strength.
Step 1: Wash gently
Switch to a gentle, sulphate-free shampoo and wash with lukewarm rather than hot water. Avoid scrubbing the lengths and let the lather rinse through them instead.
Step 2: Deep condition weekly
A weekly hair mask replaces lost moisture and softens rough cuticles. Apply to damp, towel-dried hair, concentrate on the mid-lengths and ends, and leave it on for the full recommended time.
Step 3: Strengthen the fibre
If hair is snapping or feels weak, hydration alone is not enough; it needs strengthening care too. Insight's Rebuild range combines plant-based phytokeratin, which mimics the hair's natural keratin, with brown and red algae and organic avocado and pracaxi oils to reinforce weakened areas, improve elasticity and help prevent breakage.
Rebuild has been put to the test. In a cyclic fatigue test on bleached hair, strands treated with the Replenishing Shampoo, Replenishing Conditioner and Replenishing Thermal Care Serum withstood more breakage cycles than untreated hair. In a thermal test after repeated straightening at 230°C, treated hair also showed a higher protein denaturation temperature than untreated hair, a sign of a stronger internal structure. For very damaged hair, ask your salon about the professional Rebuild reconstruction treatment, developed with instrumental testing in cooperation with the University of Bologna.
Step 4: Protect from here on
Always use a heat protectant before styling, turn the temperature down, and trim split ends regularly. Once a strand splits it cannot be repaired, only removed.
Shop Insight's vegan dry and damaged haircare, hydrating, cruelty-free and sustainably made. See the damaged spray working its magic here.
About the author
Charlotte Read has spent six years in the hair industry with Insight Professional and holds a First Class BSc in Business Management and Marketing. She writes with reference to real salons across social media and the wider Insight community, and draws on the Insight office team, who between them bring over 100 years of combined experience on salon floors.
Where technical expertise is needed, Charlotte consults Lorraine Matic, Head of Insight UK Education, who brings over 38 years of global experience in colour, technique and hair science.