The hair strand test If the hair stretches and then returns to its original length, it's healthy! (Nice). If it stretches but doesn't return it's dry. If your hair doesn't stretch, or it stretches a bit and then breaks, your hair is damaged.
Healthy hair will have its cuticles lying flat while the strands slide against each other. Conversely, unhealthy locks may have raised cuticles. If so, then your locks may be more susceptible to frizzes and tangles and eventually breakage. The opposite of hair with strong elasticity may be fragile locks.
Healthy hair exudes a beautiful glow and carries a naturally smooth texture. In contrast, damaged hair looks dull, feels brittle, and can become very frizzy. Damaged hair is notoriously difficult to style, increasing the time required for grooming and maintenance. Numerous activities can damage your delicate hair.
Unhealthy hair usually has a rough texture, lack of shininess and luster, have split ends, lack of moisture and elasticity even after treatment and easily broken. Damaged hair will also get tangled up and result in knots due to hair dryness.
Healthy hair should naturally have lots of shine, without being drenched in oil. Shiny hair indicates that your hair cuticles are lying flat, as they should, and allowing the light to bounce off of them!
A common sign of damaged hair is hair that looks plain, boring, and dull. Healthy hair should have a natural shine to it—one that appears reflective in light and shows the natural coloring of your hair. The reason for this is that your hair cuticles better reflect light than those that are damaged.
Hair that is 'normal' porosity will float and then begin to sink slowly. Hair that is high porosity will sink immediately."
When cuticles (the outer surface of the hair shaft) are damaged, they open up and hair looks dull and frizzy, feels brittle and rough, and tangles easily.
You may feel like your hair is rougher or looks matte instead of shiny. Damaged hair is when your hair feels matted or spongey when wet.
Changes in your hair could indicate nutrition and health issues. A dry scalp or hair could mean you aren't getting enough healthy fats in your diet. Likewise, thinning hair could mean your diet lacks protein.
Is soft hair good or bad? If your hair feels soft it's usually an indicator that it's in good condition, which is great! However, just because your hair feels soft doesn't actually mean that it is healthy. In addition to being soft, your hair should be strong and shiny as well to signify that it's in good condition.
Hair will generally be at its best in the early 20s, says Burg, because “hair shafts are thick and cuticles are tight.” Women may see changes if they are stressed, extreme dieting or using contraception.
Trichotillomania. This condition is an impulse control disorder caused by anxiety or stress. Often called “hair-pulling disorder,” people with trichotillomania have the irresistible urge to pull out their own hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. The area of hair loss is usually asymmetric and follows an irregular pattern.
Wet hair is far weaker than dry hair, being more susceptible to breakage and damage from just about anything – heat and pulling on the hair strands are more likely to damage wet hair than dry. Hair is made up largely of a number of proteins called keratins.
If your wet hair hair feels strong, stretches easily and returns to normal without breaking, then your hair is BALANCED. If your wet hair feels rough, hard, overly tangled and breaks before it stretches then your hair needs more MOISTURE.
All hair needs both protein and moisture to stay healthy and strong. In fact, protein and moisture can't work well without the other. You need a strong protein structure in order for water molecules to bind with your strands and to keep the water locked inside.
When to wash. Rossi generally tells his patients they should wash their hair once or twice per week. But if you've had chemical treatments that can make your hair drier — such as bleach, perms or relaxers — you might want to wash it less than once weekly to avoid breaking or brittle hair or split ends, he said.
Does damaged hair grow back healthy? The only way to get healthy hair is to allow your hair to grow without further damage. If you'd damaged your hair by over-styling, too much heat or over coloring with harsh chemicals, the good news is - your hair will grow back healthy.
Frizz occurs when hair is lacking moisture and becomes, resulting in the hair being dry as a result, whereas damage occurs due to an overuse of hair processes that disrupt the hair cuticle (the hair's protective layer).