What does unhealthy/damaged hair look like?

**millyaulait** · December 19th, 2011, 01:54 PM

I'm asking this because I've always coated my hair in product & deemed "smooth" hair as being healthy. But now that I'm going all natural I'm wondering just what damaged hair looks like. I'm not sure if the hair I'm trying to care for is normal, damaged, dry, etc..

Is there a sign? Is damaged/unhealthy hair frizzy? Does it lack shine, or bounce? Is it piece-y, kinked, etc? ...Is there a test?

Sorry if this sounds silly but I'd love to know so I can take better care of what I have!

**Amber_Maiden** · December 19th, 2011, 01:56 PM

Well, I can tell you what MY hair looks like/feels like when it was damaged- It felt dry. I had split ends. I had weird kinked ends. Velcro ends. It did not feel healthy when I touched it.

**jojo** · December 19th, 2011, 02:12 PM

Damaged hair in my opinion lacks shine and bounce. Feels rough and looks splitty!

**katsrevenge** · December 19th, 2011, 05:06 PM

http://www.beautyhairstylegallery.co...-dry-hair.html

The first photo here looks dry to me. The second looks damaged. The others just look curly to me.

http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/...ource=activity

Damage from braids.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/...0470f65940.jpg

This girl has damage.. probably from chemicals.

The last ones are more severe I think.

Ehen my hair is damaged it just puffs up at me and feels like a crackle sounds.

**jacqueline101** · December 19th, 2011, 05:09 PM

Its loaded with splits lacks shine and frizzy and breaks easy. Looks lifeless.

**Orangerthanred** · December 19th, 2011, 05:15 PM

Y'know... poofy, lots of shedding, split ends, frizz..

**JessiBird89** · December 19th, 2011, 06:38 PM

When my hair was damaged (and some of my ends are still like this

)

my hair wasn't flexible, it snapped easily, felt dry, had lots of splits and breakage and frizzed easily.

**princessp** · December 19th, 2011, 07:02 PM

Frizz is not always an indication of damage/poor health. Brushing curly hair or certain hair-types can lead to frizzy looking hair. It is just the way some hair is. Splits, lack of sheen, and brittleness are all good indications of poor hair health though.

**Hollyfire3** · December 19th, 2011, 07:02 PM

Does some hair just frizz naturally? I don't think my hair is damaged but it is wavy and thick, so it frizzes in humidity, is that normal?

**princessp** · December 19th, 2011, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by Hollyfire3

Does some hair just frizz naturally? I don't think my hair is damaged but it is wavy and thick, so it frizzes in humidity, is that normal?

Yes, this is common with curly hair especially tightly curled hair. Brushing and humidity definitely bring it out. That's exactly what I was talking about with being frizzy but not damaged. Mine is like that in humidity or if I brush it out (unless I put lots of leave in or oil in it), but I have good natural sheen and no splits so it's definitely healthy.