If only your clients were as committed to strengthening their hair as they are to pumping up their biceps. Many of the folks that sit in your chair are willing to put in the gym hours for firm muscles and a snatched physique, but when it comes to their hair it’s all weakness, breakage and damage. The good news is, it’s actually much easier to turn that fragile hair around as it is to wield the kettlebells five nights a week! Here are five simple strategies you can share with your clients to help strengthen and fortify their strands for shinier, thicker, more manageable results.

Embrace The Best Hair Care

Strong, healthy hair starts in the shower with cleansing and conditioning formulas designed to protect and strengthen vulnerable strands. Biolage’s Strength Recovery lineup, for example, contains vegan squalene sourced from olive trees to nourish and reinforce hair. Strength Recovery Shampoo and Conditioning Cream  for Damaged Hair are advanced formulas that will leave hair three times stronger with 73 percent less breakage. Another key factor in hair health is adequate moisture. If your client’s hair appears to be particularly parched, recommend once- or twice-weekly sessions with a treatment like the Strength Recovery Deep Treatment Pack for extra infusions of moisture. 

Cut Down on Friction

The folks that love physics will tell you that friction is defined as the resistance offered by surfaces that are in contact when they move past each other. Friction can be a good thing when you need to light a match, write with a pen and paper or run uphill. But it can be a bad thing when it comes to hair. Actions such as too-vigorous combing, brushing or toweling; rough detangling and even tossing and turning in bed at night creates friction that can lead to hair breakage, especially if strands are already fine and/or fragile. If you suspect your client’s hair is subject to too much friction, recommend solutions such as silk or satin pillowcases to make nighttime smoother. Recommend wide-tooth combs and boar bristle brushes that prevent snagging and steer her toward soft, micro-fiber towels for après shower. Wet hair should be treated with detangling formulas like Biolage Strength Recovery Strength Repairing Spray and gently detangled with a detangling brush or wide-tooth comb, beginning from the ends and working upward.  It’s also important to avoid hair ties or clips that snag or pull the hair.

Treat Colored Hair With Extra Care

Color-treated hair is especially vulnerable to weakening because the chemical action that has to occur for the dye to penetrate the hair strand requires expanding the outer cuticle that protects the hair. An expanded cuticle can lead to moisture loss, premature color fading and brittle textures. That’s why it’s important to arm your color clients with specific care regiments that will prevent dryness and breakage. Formulas specifically made for color-treated hair, such as Biolage Color Last Shampoo and Conditioner, are essential for these clients. Color Last is exceptionally gentle and also designed to promote shine and prevent color fade. For extra fade-fighting muscle, add Color Last Deep Treatment Pack to your client’s care regimen. This low pH formula is infused with orchid extract to help prolong color vibrancy for up to 20 washes.

Always Use Protection

And by protection, we mean heat protection. Exposing hair to the hot temperatures of blow dryers and styling irons can push it over the edge if it’s already vulnerable, so a heat protection product is a must. Many heat protection formulas do double duty. Biolage Hydra Source Blow Dry Shaping Lotion, for example, not only provides heat protection while blow drying, it also offers weightless hydration and style memory. And the All-In-One Multi-Benefit Spray offers more than a dozen benefits, including detangling, porosity reduction, added shine, and heat and color protection.

Healthy Body, Healthier Hair

Finally, keep in mind that your client’s hair can only be as fit as her overall health. Hair always reflects what’s going on inside so following healthy habits is important for a healthy head of hair. Eating a balanced and nutritious diet, sleeping well every night, limiting alcohol consumption, staying away from drugs and tobacco and getting regular exercise all go a long way to keeping hair strong and healthy in the long run.