Dull Hair? 4 Low-Lift Tips To Restore Vibrancy & Natural Color

Please tell me I’m not the only one dealing with dull, lifeless hair right now. Dry air and freezing winds did a number on my scalp and strands this winter, despite my commitment to weekly hydrating masks and treatments. Sometimes frigid temperatures trump even the most diligent hair care efforts—such is life!  

Colorists often use hair glosses for slight tweaks to hair color—to correct unwanted color, add depth to your shade, or color-correct an undertone, for example. These formulas do deposit some pigment, but you can also find sheer glazes that subtly enhance the hair’s natural hue. Both versions also help smooth frizz and add a healthy dose of shine.  

Environmental aggressors wreak havoc on hair color over time by creating oxidative stress; antioxidants, however, help counteract those environmental stressors. Vitamin E, vitamin C, niacinamide, fatty acid-rich oils—these all help protect your hair’s precious melanin pigments, thereby maintaining the hair's natural hue. 

So if you don’t yet have an antioxidant-rich scalp serum or leave-in conditioner in your hair care rotation, consider this your sign to add one to your arsenal. The former helps enhance shine at the root and protect new growth from losing color, while the latter creates a protective buffer around the hair fibers. 

Sure, a blowout every now and then may help your ‘do look nice and shiny, but over time, all that heat will have the opposite effect. 

You see, heat restructures your hair pattern by breaking down the hydrogen bonds in your hair; while that process gives us the curls or straight strands we want, do it daily and it can be pretty damaging. And as consultant trichologist Elizabeth Cunnane Phillips at Philip Kingsley tells mbg about heat-damaged hair: "Damaged hair will look dull." All the more reason to take a break from daily heat styling. 

When buildup accumulates on the scalp—be it from styling products, dead skin, or oil—your hair can easily look dull. After all, it’s difficult for your strands to shine through all that residue! Flat, lifeless strands can signal its time for a good, purifying scrub.