Help! Rescuing damaged, stressed-out frizzed-out hair

Hair brittle, frizzy, coarse and generally unhappy? Read on my friends, read on.

I remember well the day I discovered hair straighteners aged about 15. Yes believe it or not blog readers, I actually REMEMBER the world before hair straighteners were even invented. GHDs were just a sparkle in some marketeers eye. I also recall living without the internet (we got it in my house when I was about 12 I think),remember a time before the advent of iPods OR iPhones OR iPads, and shopped in Woolworths as a child.

All things that I am positive will one day cause my children to cringe and view me as an ancient old dinosaur.

Anyhoo, the point is, since I was about 15 and discovered the miracle that were high straighteners (and my friends, they truly are a miracle!),  I’ve been using them daily on parts or all of hair. My hair is naturally curly but also slightly frizzy so GHDs were definitely my hair saviour! Without them my fringe would be sticking up at weird angles rather than laying nice and flat.But as you probably know, GHDs get up to about 210 degrees, and just aren’t that good for your hair 🙁 I also like using my babyliss wand to give my hair defined curls. Annnnnnnnnnnnnd I also blow dry my hair after most showers in what is no doubt the worst way possible, by just blasting it until its dry enough for me to go on with my business.

Another thing that probably hasn’t done my hair any favours is the fact that I dye it, oh quite a lot. At least once a month. Sadly I have an army of white/grey hairs that need to be contained. At. All. Costs. I mainly just dye the roots but it does have a definite effect on the condition of my hair.

So, I’m not willing to give up the GHDs or the curling wand, and there’s no way in hell I’m going grey. What’s a girl to do?

Here’s my plan!

• Cut right back on blow drying. I’m trying to leave my hair to dry naturally as much as possible. Obviously this is only possible in certain sitations, but I’m sure it will help
• Start using a heat protector when I do blow dry/straighten/curl. Until now I’d thought these were just a rip off/waste of time. Now I’m starting to think they may be worth using!
• Experiment with different products to improve the condition of my hair – I’ve had argan oil recommended to me – thoughts?

Since I’m just at the beginning of trying to pamper my hair back into a good condition – please give me your advice! What products work wonders on your hair? Do you think heat protection sprays and products are worth using? Do you dye your hair or do you find it too damaging?