How to Strengthen Hair: 12 Expert-Backed Tips

No matter what color, style, length, or type, hair can play a major role in our personal style, self-expression, and even identity. But battling unruly, dull, or easily broken hair can throw all of that off.

Weak hair can be harder to style, more difficult to care for, and can even affect your confidence. But the pursuit of healthier, stronger hair is not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Fortunately, we don’t believe in single solutions to anything. Our holistic approach to wellness means that we’ll share a few different ways to help you learn how to strengthen hair, support scalp health, and feel your best.*

6 Top Signs of Weak Hair

Weak hair isn’t necessarily easy to spot. Hair that is weak can still sometimes look thick, shine in the sun, or feel soft and smooth. It’s surprisingly easy for thinning, fragile hair to sneak up on you.

Look for one of these six major signs of weak hair:

• Split ends
• Breakage
• Dullness
• Frizz
• Tangles
• Excessive shedding (more than 50–100 hairs per day)

Take some time weekly to get up close and personal with your hair. Noticing signs or changes early can make it easier to adapt your routine to support healthy, full hair.

What Can Lead to Weak Hair?

If you’re frustrated with thin, brittle, or dull hair, or excessive shedding, you’re not alone. Hair thickness, quality, and texture can be affected by a number of things, including:

• Stress
• Poor sleep habits
• Poor dietary choices
• Damage from styling
• Aggressive hair-care products
• Over-washing
• Genetics
• Age-related hormonal changes

Some of these factors are easier to figure out on your own. Have you been more stressed lately? Not sleeping well? Trying out new styles or possibly using harsher tools?

However, other factors are more difficult to pinpoint and require the help of your doctor or dermatologist. Talk to a medical professional if you need help determining why your hair may be thin, brittle, or shedding more than normal.

The Role of Keratin in Hair Strength

What is keratin and how does it affect hair strength?

Keratin is a natural protein that can be found in both humans and animals; it’s one of the most important components of hair, skin, and nails. Your body produces keratin to support the replenishment of skin cells, the growth of hair, and the strength of nails, and there are dozens of types of keratin that support all areas of the body.

However, keratin levels naturally decrease with age, which may affect the strength and resilience of hair as well as skin and nails. Some people try to boost levels of keratin and collagen for hair growth through a variety of topical or supplemental methods.*

However, taking a more comprehensive approach to supporting hair health may be more beneficial than focusing on keratin alone.*

Easy Routines to Help Strengthen Hair

Now that you know what to look for, and how the structure of your hair can be affected by a variety of factors, let’s dive into simple, actionable ways that you can help to strengthen your hair, including changes to routine and adding delicious, healthy foods.

1: Upgrade Your Wash Routine

There is no one rule for how often to wash your hair to keep it strong, because it depends greatly on length, texture, type, and whether your skin is naturally more dry or oily than normal. However, general recommendations say to wash 2 or 3 times per week—no more. If you have a hair stylist you see consistently, ask them for recommendations on how often to wash and what products might be best for your unique hair and scalp.

2: Use a Weekly Hair Mask

If you want to know how to strengthen fine hair without weighing it down, using a hair mask weekly may be beneficial. There are hundreds of types of hair masks, ranging from thick creams that function like conditioners and deeply moisturize the hair to thinner oils that penetrate the scalp. Try to find a company that uses transparent labeling practices and only uses researched, third-party-tested ingredients.

3: Handle Wet Hair Gently

Wet hair is much weaker and easier to break than dry hair. The keratin proteins in your hair form weaker bonds when wet than they do when dry—wet hair stretches and deforms, increasing the likelihood of breakage, damage, and that “frizzy” look. After a shower, swim, or run out of the rain, try to treat your hair carefully. Squeeze water from hair gently, use a towel to blot and press moisture out of hair, air dry when possible, and use an appropriate brush for your hair type to lightly sort out tangles.

4: Reduce Heat Styling

When you have the choice between air drying or blow drying your hair, opt for nature’s way for stronger, healthier hair. Air drying gives your hair the chance to dry out slowly. Heat styling from dryers, curling or straightening irons, and other high-heat styling products can increase damage to already-weak hair. Excessively hot showers can also cause breakage to thin or brittle hair.

5: Get Regular Trims

If you’re trying to grow your hair out, or you’re worrying about thinness, you may balk at the idea of getting a trim more often than necessary. However, that could be the missing piece to your hair-growth journey. While a trim can’t increase the health or growth rate of the hair that comes out of your scalp, it serves an important purpose: cutting off breakage before it can spread. Breakage at the end of the strand increases the chances that split ends will split further up the strand, creating a frizzy, dry look.

6: Sleep on a Silk or Satin Pillowcase

Want to really maximize your hair-care routine? Investing in silk or satin pillowcases can help prevent overnight wear-and-tear to your hair far more than a cotton, linen, or polyester pillowcase. You could also consider a silk or satin bonnet or sleep cap that is worn over dry hair—it’s as effective as a satin pillowcase, but a little more travel-friendly.

7: Choose Products You Can Trust

What’s an easy addition to your routine that can help to strengthen hair?* Once-a-day Davinci® Laboratories Hair Effects™ capsules.* This synergistic, practitioner-designed and third-party-tested formula contains scientifically researched ingredients to support hair follicle health and hair growth.* Don’t leave hair health up to chance—leave it to science.

Beneficial Nutrients to Help Strengthen Hair

We’ve covered lifestyle and routine changes that can help you build stronger, healthier hair. But did you know that there are vitamins and accessible nutrients that can help strengthen hair?*

Many people are aware of biotin to make hair stronger, but it’s not the only ingredient you can add to your routine to unlock your healthiest, fullest head of hair.*

Foods That Promote Strong, Healthy Hair

What foods can you eat to help strengthen hair?

A healthy, balanced diet rich in Omega fatty acids, protein, amino acids, and vitamins & minerals can support your body’s natural production of keratin, support immune health, and promote healthy collagen levels.* Optimal keratin levels and a strong immune system are key to growing thick, healthy hair.*

For skin & hair health, add these foods to your grocery list:

• Lean protein
• Eggs
• Fatty fish
• Leafy greens
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole grains

Are you struggling to get enough Omega-3s and vitamins in your regular diet? Omega 3 HP-D is a high-yield Omega fatty acid supplement that offers 900 mg of EPA, 660 mg of DHA, and 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 to support skin, hair, cardiovascular, immune, and joint health.*

Best Ingredients for Stronger Hair

For those who want a more targeted approach, Davinci® Laboratories Hair Effects™ provides a comprehensive blend of key nutrients including MSM, biotin, amino acids, and saw palmetto—all formulated to support hair follicle health, keratin production, and healthy hormone balance.* It’s a great complement to any hair-strengthening routine, especially if diet is a concern.*

Learn more about these beneficial ingredients and how they can support a healthy scalp and thick, glowing hair.*

An additional ingredient that can help to support strong, healthy hair and pairs perfectly with Hair Effects™?* Our Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides Powder: an unflavored, nutrient-dense powdered bovine collagen powder that’s sourced from grass-fed cows. It’s cruelty-free, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free, and contains 20 grams of protein per serving.

Combine Hair Effects™ with one of our doctor-formulated collagen supplements to see just how healthy, thick, and lush your hair can be.*

How Long Until You May See Results?

How long does it take to see results from supplements designed to strengthen and maintain healthy hair?*

By combining diet, lifestyle, and routine changes, you’re likely to notice positive changes to your hair health and texture in as little as 4–6 weeks.* Consistent use of supplements like Hair Effects™ may show differences in about 8–12 weeks.*

Just remember that nurturing healthier, stronger hair isn’t a race—it’s a marathon. And we’re here for you every step of the way.