How to Fix Damaged Hair—6 Easy Tips to Try at Home

Use a hair mask weekly.

There are plenty of great drugstore shampoos and conditioners to address dry, damaged hair. While the shampoo and conditioner you regularly use are very important, there's also a third player that should be part of your standard haircare routine. Ford suggests making a hair mask a weekly thing. She recommends looking for moisturizing formulas with ingredients such as shea butter, coconut oil, and avocado oil. For those with curly or coil hair interested in trying a rice water-based hair product, Pattern Mask Treatment is a great option.

While these won't repair any damage (more on that in a minute), they will add plenty of moisture. In turn, this makes hair look and feel softer and smoother—always a good thing. Plus, well-hydrated hair is less likely to break and snap when brushing or styling.

Top tip: Letting a hair mask sit on your hair for even a few minutes is helpful, but to really up the ante, apply on damp hair, then pop on a shower cap and leave on overnight. The shower cap locks in heat, helping ingredients better penetrate the hair (and keeping your pillowcase from getting gunky). Rinse out in the morning, and you're good to go.

RELATED: 6 Hair Masks to Revive Dry, Damaged Hair

Look for bond builders.

It's difficult to undo hair damage once done, but a growing category of products promises to do just that. Bond building treatments work by actually repairing the protein bonds that break when hair is damaged. They rely on various proprietary ingredients, so it's hard to point out exactly what ingredients to look for, notes Ford. Start with a good shampoo for damaged hair, like Olaplex No. 4, which also helps prevent split ends.

Your best bet is to seek products that specifically call out bond repair, like Olaplex No.3 Hair Repair Perfector ($30, sephora.com). One of the OGs in the category, this can be used weekly or as often as three times per week and works in just 10 minutes. Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance, our overall favorite conditioner, is a great choice for all hair types. We're also fans of Amika The Kure Multi-Task Repair Treatment ($29, revolve.com), which has been clinically tested and shown to repair hair by 74 percent after just three uses, thanks to its bond-cure technology.

Shield strands from heat.

Daily blow-drying (or time with the curling iron or straightener) can be a primary source of damage, but the fix is super easy. All you have to do is mist damp hair with a heat protectant before reaching for any tools; this is the best way to protect it from the damage caused by the high temperature of the direct heat, says Ford. One to try: TRESemmé Heat Tamer Spray ($8, ulta.com). Another great leave-in conditioner for heat protection is Thermique Régénérant Blow Dry Primer. Or, you can also splurge on a curling wand that's less damaging to tresses like the Dyson Airwrap. It's easier said than done, but the less often you rely on hot tools, the better.

Schedule regular haircuts.

Another simple fix but one many people fail to do. "Make a habit of pre-booking your haircut appointment for every six weeks. This will keep you on track to maintain healthy ends and prevent breakage and split ends," says Ford.

Split ends may seem innocuous, but they can make your hair look damaged and frizzy; if they travel further up the hair shaft, they can also cause more serious damage. Set a reminder on your phone, pre-book when you're at the salon, do what you must, but make regular trims a non-negotiable habit.

Protect hair from the sun.

Breaking news: Sun protection is not just for skin. UV rays can both dry out hair and cause color fading. Ford says the best defense is to wear a hat whenever you're in the sun; you can also try a sun-protective leave-in spray. She likes Aveda Sun Care Protective Hair Veil (spritz it on dry hair) ($39, aveda.com). It will help shield hair from the sun, plus act as a protective coating to help prevent drying and potentially damaging saltwater or chlorine-laden pool water from seeping into your strands.

Brush carefully.

Overzealous, improper hair brushing is a very sneaky source of mechanical damage and something we may be doing daily without realizing. Follow a few important brushing rules to minimize damage. One, start by brushing hair from the bottom up. If you start at the roots and brush downward, you end up pushing knots to the ends and can wind up with one huge snarl at the very part of the hair that's already the most fragile and prone to breakage. Starting at the ends and working your way up eliminates this risk.

Two, brush hair before showering since shampooing can potentially cause more tangles. And finally, post-washing, make sure to spray on a hair detangler or leave-in conditioner before brushing; this will give the hair some slip and minimize how much you need to pull and yank to eliminate knots. We can't get enough of the multi-tasking Odele Leave-In Detangling Tonic ($11, target.com)—a clean, affordable formula that detangles, hydrates, and protects hair from heat and pollution.