Brightening Dull Hair

Do you spend a lot of time, money, and effort on your hair, only to find it still looks dull and drab? It could be all that coloring, straightening, curling, and styling that’s causing the problem. To prevent dull hair, it’s best to take a hands-off approach when it comes to your natural color and texture. Too much coloring and bleaching can cause dull hair. The high heat from blow-dryers and curling irons can leave hair brittle. And constant wearing of braids, ponytails, or hair extensions, all of which pull on hair, can lead to hair breakage.

Too much sun is also a bad thing: Overexposure to ultraviolet light can fade your hair color and make hair dry and brittle, leading to breakage and split ends. And, contrary to what you may think, brushing your hair 100 times a day doesn’t give your hair a healthy shine — it causes split ends.

Eliminating Dull Hair
If your hair could use a little help in the shine department, you’ll find everything you need at your local drugstore or beauty supply store. Try the following tips:

• De-gunk your hair. Use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of shampoo, conditioner, and styling products that may have built up on your hair. Be sure to rinse extra carefully — that helps ensure that all the old products are washed out of your hair.
• Moisturize. Sometimes dry hair is the culprit. If your hair looks and feels like straw, wash it with a moisturizing shampoo and use a conditioner after every time you shampoo. If you’re worried about conditioner weighing down your hair, apply it only from the bottom half of your hair down to the ends. For hair that’s colored or bleached, using a deep conditioner once a week is a good idea.
• Add shine. Hair that looks dull and flat can be perked up with a shine spray, mist, or serum. These products contain silicone, and they can make your hair look shiny and silky. Just go easy on them, so that they don’t contribute to a beauty-product buildup.
• Switch brands of hair-care products periodically. Over time, the products you use to wash and style your hair can make it look dull. Try rotating the brand you use every few months.
• Use the right brush. A brush with tightly packed bristles smoothes hair, leaving a glossy finish.
• Blow-dry your hair on cool or warm. Using the hot setting can damage your hair.
• Protect your hair from the sun. Before a day at the beach or by the pool, put on a hat. You can also spray your locks with a sun block designed for hair.
• Choose warm tones if you color or highlight your hair. Because warm tones reflect light, they can brighten the hair.
• Ask your stylist about a salon gloss treatment. These add shine to your hair for a few weeks without changing its color.

In most cases, the strategic (and proper) use of a few hair-care products is all it takes to turn dull hair to dazzling.