Oh No! I've Damaged my Hair Again! What am I To do? 10 Tips to Restore Hair to Baby Innocence

Years of not caring about my hair up until the point I bleach it to death has taught me two things. Firstly, don't bleach without being prepared to mourn the loss of (quite a bit of) hair. Secondly, just because you know lesson one, does not stop you from bleaching.

But of course, not everyone is a victim of the bleach obsession, a lot of you will have damaged hair (I'm sorry I don't want to hurt anyone) just by heat styling and blow drying everyday. The good news is, most of us heat style and / or blow dry all the time so you're not alone. It's winter and it's cold, you're allowed. The other good news is, you can fix it!

The 'Oh No What Have I done?' face.

So here's the basics...

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1 ) Every week take a few HOURS and get a hair mask on

Ignore the advertised time (unless you're allergic to something or sensitive... in which case... just use the most simple products available) if you've got a lazy day ahead of you, keep that mask on. If not, wear it whilst you sleep though it's probably best you put a towel down first. A damp head all night is not what you want in flu season.

My favourites are the 3 minute miracle mask by Aussie and the TRESemmé masks. Another great one is the Bleach London Reincarnation mask. Choose one depending on your hair type. Mine's pretty frizzy and as a former employer once told me "the kind of hair that goes in every direction" so I stick to sleek masks because I know no matter what, it will never actually stay sleek.

2) Experiment to find your regular shampoo and conditioner

Take your time to test out which works best for you. No matter how many "best of" posts I could do, there is no one size fits all in either hair care or skin care or even makeup. It's taken me a long time to find the shampoo and conditioner duo that leave my hair brushable, glossy and light. A shampoo that leaves your hair feeling heavy might be showing signs of not being the one. Anyway, after a long time, I've found the OGX shampoos are the best for me, the Kukui oil hydrating shampoo and conditioner are unique.

3) Towel dry but don't leave that towel on!

Towels have one positive and one negative role in the hair care regime. The positive is that it lessens the need for blow drying. The negative is that the weight of the towel on top of your head weakens your hair like hell. Imagine having to do a push up when you're at your weakest, that's what a towel on top of your head with wet hair is like. Your hair becomes weaker than ever when it's wet, its easier to break and fall. The weight of itself and the towel do it no favours.

4) Brush when DRY

Following on from the earlier point, don't brush your hair when it's wet. This is a tricky one, if I don't brush my hair as soon as I've towel dried, my hair becomes a mess and impossible to brush after wards. However, brushing your hair at its weakest clearly does it no good. The options here are either to simply not brush it (particularly good if you have thinner, straighter hair) or if you're like me, use a wide tooth comb. The widest.

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Essentials-Wide-Tooth-Comb-B9_1018634/

£1.79 well spent

5) If you can wear a t-shirt you can hang around with damp hair

Blow drying is such a waste. At least, to dry your hair. Blow styling can still be done on the cold icicle setting but if you don't absolutely have to, avoid the needles heat styling, especially if you know you're going to straighten or curl your hair.

6) You don't need a million products, one will do

So you think your heat styling is fine because you have argan oil, heat protection, a frizz protector and a curl unwinder so you're all set? Any of those things will do and suffice. To get your hair back to baby innocence we want to get as close as natural as possible, overdosing on hair products won't protect it any more. Having just one layer on top of your hair is enough to protect it from heat styling so you don't need to splash out on a lot of different products.

7) If you absolutely have to straighten, get heat adjustable straighteners

I rarely straighten my hair now I've gotten over my emo phase (lost but not forgotten) but if I do I know I'm well equipped. My straighteners allow you to choose just how hot you want them and I will always use them on the lowest possible setting. Again, no two people's hair is the same, but it does do the job on my crazy hair.

8) Cut, Cut, Cut

I know it hurts and it seems like a cop out but a regular chop will keep your hair soft. And remember, if you bleach your hair, prepare to have to cut at least an inch off (if you're lucky).

9) Give yourself some honey sweetness

Honey is great. It's quite possibly the Elixir of life. It's food to your hair and your follicles will eat it up. Full of antioxidants and all the rest of the good stuff (plus naturally antibacterial) it is cleansing and restorative. The combination of how you want to build up your mask depends on you and your hair type but an example for someone like me with dry hair, a honey and coconut oil mask works wonders. You don't have to do it too often, I'm lucky if I have time or money to do this in a month but still, when you get the time, you'll feel great.

10) Be Kind

Styling, braiding, colouring, curling, give yourself a break and time to restore. Take a few days off, even from washing (the hair, by all means please continue washing yourself) let the natural oils take their reign again. Put your hair in a messy bun and go. Braids are great but try and keep them loose and avoid elastic bands that are going to pull and snag. And if you lose the filter at the back of your hair dryer, don't use it. Seriously, I've got a lot of knots from my (ex) dryer sucking up clumps of my hair.

#beauty