Do you color your hair, or use other chemical treatments on it? If you do, your hair is fragile. You need to treat it differently than hair that hasn’t had processing.

Chemical treatments swell the cuticle during the process and drys it, plus leaves rough and nicked. This makes it prone to breakage and makes hair dry. Your chemically treated hair has lost a lot of cuticle, and that means it doesn’t absorb conditioners as efficiently.

You always, always want to use shampoo for color treated hair. This shampoo keeps your color from fading and is more gentle, decreasing damage. You need a heavy duty conditioner, as well. Deep condition your hair after any treatment, plus use it on your hair once a week thereafter.

Your chemically treated hair may have lost its shine, as well. If you use shine sprays or finishing sprays, your hair will look healthier, even if its not.

Use a heat protective leave in conditioner, even if you use other conditioners in the shower. They give you even more shine and keep your hair from heat damage both from the styling you do and the sun.

Try to let your hair dry naturally as much as possible. If you just can’t do it, try drying your roots only and leaving the ends damp. Don’t rub a towel on your hair – this can break your hair. Just wrap it in a towel, or blot gently, or both.

Get your hair trimmed regularly. The hair at the ends is usually split worse than at the top, and getting rid of those can make it look much better. Your hair will have swing and bounce once again.

Do you have any tips for chemically treated hair? Let me know on twitter, Facebook, or leave me a message here on the blog.