The Secret To Shiny, Healthy, PERFECT Hair

My hair has led a rather audacious existence in her 30-plus years. She’s dabbled in the murky waters of at-home kits, entertained a long and loving affair with foil highlighting, and even felt the tingling sensation of bleach applied directly to the scalp. She’s considered a permanent wave — more than once and during different decades — and she’s gone from bombshell blonde to oxblood red to coffee-bean brown and back again happily. In other words, she’s been around the block. This isn’t her first deep-conditioning treatment, ya dig?

I’m rather proud of my non-virgin hair. She’s sassy and seasoned and adventurous. And, by no means is she yearning to turn back the hands of time and revisit the days of (natural) dishwater brown. Sometimes, though, everyone wants their strands to feel a bit more…shiny and new. And, thanks to modern methods, getting that V-card back — or at least coming close — is within the realm of possibility.

“There is no true way to ‘re-virginize’ your hair,” admits Kate Hanley, a senior stylist at Takamichi Hair in NYC. “That said, there are some simple ways to make hair stronger and healthier.”

Read on for tips from even more top stylists about how to reverse the damage of a (hair) life well lived — or, in the very least, create a semblance of a purer, simpler time.