Damaged hair can feel dry, rough, brittle and difficult to manage. Heat styling, colouring, chemical treatments, environmental exposure and frequent washing can weaken the hair fibre over time. A consistent hair care routine that combines gentle cleansing, targeted treatment and protection can help improve the look and feel of damaged hair while reducing the risk of further breakage.
How Should I Build A Simple Hair Care Routine?
- Step 1: Start With The Right Shampoo
Cleansing is the first step in caring for damaged hair. Choose a shampoo for damaged hair that cleanses effectively while addressing your hair’s specific needs. Avoid excessively scrubbing the scalp or repeatedly washing the lengths, as this can leave already-dry hair feeling stripped.
A Kérastase shampoo can be selected according to your concern. For chemically damaged or over-processed hair, the Kérastase Première range provides repairing and decalcifying care. If dryness is the main concern, Nutritive offers nourishing cleansing designed for dry hair. Not sure which shampoos are best for repairing damaged hair? Head to the Kérastase Hair Quiz to discover your personalised hair care solution with ease.
Massage shampoo gently into the scalp and allow the lather to cleanse the lengths as you rinse rather than aggressively rubbing the hair.
- Step 2: Condition After Every Wash
After shampooing, follow with a conditioner to improve softness, smoothness and manageability. Conditioner helps coat and smooth the hair surface, making hair easier to detangle and reducing friction during brushing.
Apply conditioner primarily to the mid-lengths and ends, where damage and dryness are often more noticeable. Leave it on according to the product instructions and rinse thoroughly.
For weakened hair prone to breakage, the Kérastase Genesis range offers targeted conditioning care, while Première provides repairing care for damaged and over-processed hair.
- Step 3: Add A Hair Mask
A hair mask provides more concentrated care than a regular conditioner and can be added to your routine when your hair needs additional nourishment or repair. Apply the mask to clean, towel-dried lengths and ends, concentrating on areas that feel particularly dry or damaged.
For damaged hair, Kérastase Première offers repairing masks designed to help reinforce weakened fibres. If dryness is your primary concern, Kérastase Nutritive provides nourishing masks for different hair textures.
Use a mask according to your hair’s needs and the product’s recommended frequency.
- Step 4: Protect Before Heat Styling
Heat styling is an important consideration when caring for damaged hair. Repeated exposure to high temperatures can contribute to dryness, brittleness and breakage. Always apply a heat-protecting product before blow-drying, straightening or curling.
Kérastase Nutritive Blow Dry Primer provides heat protection up to 230°C and is designed for dry hair. Apply it to towel-dried hair before blow-drying to help protect the fibre while improving softness and manageability.
Where possible, use moderate heat settings and avoid repeatedly applying heat to the same section of hair.
- Step 5: Handle Damaged Hair Gently
Your daily habits can influence how your hair looks and feels. Avoid vigorous towel drying, aggressive brushing and tight hairstyles that can create additional friction or mechanical stress. Use a wide-tooth comb or suitable detangling brush and work gently from the ends upwards.
Regular trims can also help maintain healthier-looking lengths by removing existing split ends. Combining gentle handling with a targeted hair care routine helps protect damaged hair from unnecessary stress.
Caring for damaged hair requires more than choosing a single product. Start with a suitable shampoo for damaged hair, condition after cleansing, incorporate a targeted mask and protect your lengths from heat and mechanical stress. Regardless of the products you choose, consistency is key to maintaining softer, smoother and more manageable-looking hair.