Dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C., discussed the most common sources of hair damage and tips to reverse damage and maintain healthy, lustrous hair.

“One of the most common misconceptions about hair is that it is alive, when in fact hair is nonliving and does not heal itself once it is injured,” Dr. Draelos said.

“For this reason, once the hair is damaged it cannot heal itself except through new hair growth at the scalp.

“Women need to understand that the very things that they do to hair to make it appear beautiful, such as using hair dyes, perms and products that straighten the hair, will eventually end up damaging the hair’s structure and ultimately affect its appearance,” she stated.

To keep healthy hair looking its best, Dr. Draelos provided the following tips:

1. The less you do to your hair, the better. Avoid over-styling or processing hair.

2. Be sure to wash the scalp, which is where the oil is, and then let shampoo run through the hair. Shampoo is meant to clean the scalp primarily and can damage the hair if overused.

3. Let how oily your scalp is, determine how often you wash your hair. If your scalp is oily, wash hair more frequently than if the scalp was drier.

4. Conditioner should be used on the ends of the hair, not on the scalp, for best results.

5. Pick a shampoo and conditioner based on your hair shape, such as curly or straight, and your hair condition, such as damaged, fine, or frizzy. These products don’t need to be expensive to work well for your hair.

6. Wear a hat to protect hair from ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Source: ANI