Hair damage shows itself in varying intensities. At times, it takes a toll on the surface of your hair, causing dryness and dullness. Eventually, it makes its way within the hair fiber and causes molecular damage, leading to breakage and brittleness.
Learning how to repair damaged hair is all about seeing the difference between these two, and we're here to break it down for you.
Surface Hair Damage vs. Molecular Hair Damage: What’s the Difference?
Surface Damage and Dryness
Surface damage affects the outermost layer of the hair, i.e. the cuticle. This cuticle is responsible for maintaining hair smoothness and hydration, and protecting the inner structure of your lengths. Hair damage develops when the cuticle gets compromised, paving the way for dull, rough, and frizzy hair.
What Causes Surface-level Damage?
The first step to learning how to repair damaged hair is to understand its root cause. Here are some common causes of damaged hair:
- Heat: Excessive use of hair dryers, curling wands, and straighteners can weaken the cuticles, causing dryness. Limiting heat and using protective sprays is a promising hair damage solution.
- Environmental aggressors: UV rays, pollution, and harsh weather conditions can strip moisture from your lengths, leaving you with surface damaged hair.
- Mechanical stress: Overbrushing, tight hairstyles, and rough towel drying can make your cuticles wear out too. This is why masks and hair care serums are vital for surface damage.
What Does Surface Damage Look Like?
- Dull, lifeless appearance
- Frizz and flyaways
- Rough texture
- Increased tangling and breakage
If your lengths resemble any of these, it’s time to look for hair treatment for damaged hair.
What Happens If You Leave Surface Damage Untreated?
If neglected, surface damaged hair can escalate to deeper molecular concerns, making your hair more prone to breakage and split ends. Over time, weakened cuticles struggle to retain moisture, leading to frizz and dullness.
How to Repair Damaged Hair? Absolut Repair Series for Surface Damage And Dryness
Surface-level damage affects the outer layer of the hair, making it feel dry, rough, and dull. This type of damaged hair is often caused by heat styling, color treatments, and environmental exposure. Try the Absolut Repair range that instantly resurfaces and repairs your hair, delivering deep nourishment and giving you 13x resistance to hair damage*.
*Instrumental test: Absolut Repair Shampoo + Mask on damaged hair.
With powerful ingredients like Wheat Protein, this is an effective hair damage solution to restructure sensitised hair, nourish it, and add shine while leaving it with a light touch.
Try the Absolut Repair Shampoo + Mask + 10-in-1 multipurpose oil routine and learn how to fix damaged hair and dryness.
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Absolut Repair Shampoo – Helps you achieve gentle cleansing and damage repair simultaneously, reducing hair surface damage by 77%*.
*Shampoo+ Instant Resurfacing Mask after 5 applications
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Absolute Repair Mask – With a butter-like formula, the hair damage solution leaves your hair fiber 7x shinier* and smooth, for an overall controlled look.
*Shampoo + Resurfacing Golden Mask vs classical Shampoo
- Absolut Repair 10-in-1 perfecting multipurpose oil – The leave-in oil helps detangle hair, control frizz, reduce split ends, and add softness; making hair manageable, and offering a layer of protection against heat damage and pollution.
Molecular Damage
Molecular hair damage goes deeper than the surface, it takes a toll on the innermost structure of your hair. The hair fiber is made of amino acids and peptide bonds. When these break down due to damage, you’re left with fragile, weak hair with reduced elasticity. Since this type of damage compromises hair from within, it can leave you with brittleness and breakage.
What Causes Molecular Damage?
Molecular damage can be more complicated to care for. This is why understanding its causes is important for understanding how to treat damaged hair from within.
- Over-processing: Repeated chemical treatments break down the hair’s natural bonds, compromising its structural integrity and causing molecular damage.
- Extreme heat: Excessive use of heat-styling products can degrade keratin bonds, making your hair weak and limp.
- Prolonged damage: When your hair has surface damage that’s not taken care of, it can aggravate into molecular damage.
- Lifestyle Factors: Environmental factors, overbrushing, and handling damp hair harshly can all lead to molecular damage.
Symptoms of Molecular Damage
- Weak, brittle hair
- Breakage and split ends
- Loss of natural elasticity (hair doesn’t bounce back when stretched)
- Loss of movement
- Frizz and dullness
What Happens If You Leave Molecular Damage Untreated?
If left untreated, molecular damage can lead to severe thinning and loss of density. Hair may struggle to grow past a certain length, and in extreme cases, require cutting off extensively damaged sections.
How to Repair Damaged Hair? Absolut Repair Molecular Series for Very Damaged Hair
If you’re wondering how to revive damaged hair that feels tough to repair, look no further than the Absolut Repair Molecular series. This is an ideal range for molecular damaged hair as it tackles damage at a deeper structural level to repair up to 2 years of damage*, in one use**.
*Instrumental test on the fiber macromolecular structure after application of Absolut Repair Molecular shampoo, rinse-off serum & leave-in mask.
**Damaged hair: damage caused by daily brushing, use of straightening iron & one bleaching process.
With powerful ingredients like 2% Peptides Bonder + 5 Amino Acids, the series deeply repairs your hair at the molecular level to restore its movement and elasticity.
Try the Absolut Repair Molecular Shampoo + Rinse Off Serum + Hair Mask + Leave-In Mask routine to revive damaged to very damaged hair.
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Absolut Repair Molecular shampoo – With a rich foam, the professional shampoo cleanses and detangles your hair while delivering high care to your hair fiber. With a sulfate-free formula, this hair treatment for damaged hair restores strength, elasticity, and movement, and adds +86% smoothness*.
*Instrumental test
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Absolut Repair Molecular Rinse Off Serum – The repairing hair damage solution penetrates deep into your hair fiber and rebuilds hair molecular structure* and restores elasticity and movement**. Ideal for fine hair, the rinse-off serum repairs even highly damaged, color-treated, or lightened hair.
*Instrumental test after 15 applications of Absolut Repair Molecular rinse-off serum.
**Consumer test after 2 weeks usage of shampoo, rinse-off serum, and leave-in mask.
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Absolut Repair Molecular Mask – Perfect for medium to thick hair, the professional hair mask re-plumps hair’s molecular layers* effortlessly while adding strength, smoothness, and suppleness.
*With Hydration at macro-molecular level, instrumental test
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Absolut Repair Molecular Leave-In Mask – Created to repair the molecular structure of your hair fiber, the leave-in mask, when applied religiously, helps restore elasticity and movement*. It also prevents further damage by delivering optimal heat protection for up to 230 degrees**.
*Consumer test after 2 weeks usage of Shampoo, Rinse-off serum, and Leave-in mask.
**Instrumental test.
Now that you know how to repair damaged hair, it’s time to create your own routine. Understand your type of hair damage and trust the expert-led damaged hair care products by L’Oréal Professionnel and find tailored solutions to your hair. Choosing the right products for your hair has never been easier! Take the L’Oréal Professionnel Hair Quiz online.