When it comes to damaged hair, stylists have seen it (and done it) all. Of course, stylists also know how to fix hair that has been over-processed, over-styled or otherwise victimised. So who better to turn to than three of Aveda’s top pros for the real truth about what an average head of hair goes through in a week—and how to repair it?

1. Tippi Shorter, Aveda Global Artistic Director, Textured Hair.

“Because my hair is tightly curled, it tends to be dry,” says Tippi, who is a big proponent of co-washing. “Also, my beginning-to-end process takes about an hour, so I don’t have time to cleanse more than once a week. As a result, I throw a lot of product in my hair—gel, dry shampoo, etc.—which leads to buildup,” she says. To remove that buildup without stripping her hair of any moisture, Tippi likes to pre-wash, then co-wash. While her hair is dry, she works Aveda Be Curly™ Co-Wash into her scalp so that it can begin to break down product residue. Then she steps into the shower to rinse and applies the same product to her ends only.

2. David Adams, head colourist and co-owner of FOURTEENJAY

“My mantra is that beautiful hair begins with healthy hair,” says David. So before any colour service at FOURTEENJAY, guests are offered a free consultation, which includes an assessment from a scalp camera that magnifies the scalp by 600%. “Sometimes a person’s hair is too damaged to process, so we do a strand test to see what will happen to it under the influence of colour,” says David. And at the end of a colour service, every guest gets either a protein or moisture mask. While the products used to change the texture and colour of hair have become gentler over the years, “women are layering process upon process now,” which is what causes the most damage to hair, according to David. Top on the list of hair offenders? Chemical perming and relaxing, keratin treatments, bleaching, and hot tools. David says that none of these treatments are terrible alone, but it’s crucial to come up with a strategy with your stylist so that they’re not administered too close together.


3. Ricardo Dinis, Global Artistic Director, Hair Cutting.

“I’m a man-bun guy,” says Ricardo. “I was an original!” Of course, as a man-bun wearer, Ricardo says he’s often guilty of pulling his hair into said bun too tightly and while the hair is still wet, which can cause hair to break. For anyone who wears a ponytail or bun daily, Ricardo recommends putting it up when it is dry; consider air-drying most of the way, then using the hair dryer at the end, to accrue less heat damage. Use a fabric-covered elastic, which won’t tug at hair and vary the placement of your ponytail or bun so there’s never too much tension on one spot of your scalp. Another clever trick: “Make sure there’s room for one finger to poke through between your scalp and your hair elastic,” says Ricardo. This way you can ensure you’re never tugging your tresses to the point of breakage.

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