Although having natural hair makes it convenient for you to switch up your style from curly to straight as often as you’d like, you’ll have to be sure that you keep an eye out for heat damage on your strands. And while it may seem like the only option to getting your curls back after heat damage has occurred will be to undergo “the big chop,” there might be other alternatives to reviving your luscious curls or coils before taking that step. Here are six things you should try before undergoing the big chop due to heat damage.

Cleanse with a good moisturizing shampoo.

If you’re one who prefers to co-wash over-shampooing your hair, switching back over to a good moisturizing shampoo can help with reviving those limp curls. Be sure to be gentle with your curls, but give them a good deep cleaning. Our Power Wash Intense Moisture Clarifying Shampoo is an effective choice to add some intense hydration to your parched tresses.

Give it a protein treatment to help it bounce back.

If you haven’t heard of a protein treatment for your hair, you’ll want to listen up. Though they should be applied sparingly, protein treatments can do wonders for your strands. Since heat application can cause damage to your cuticle, a protein treatment can help repair those tears, cracks or breaks in your hair by reconstructing the proteins that have been lost. Protein treatments encourage your curls to bounce back to their normal state.

Give your hair some deep love.

It’s no secret that intense hydration is a great way to get your hair to bounce back to normalcy when it’s out of whack, so consistent deep conditioning should be on your list of things to try before undergoing the big chop. Restoring your hair with moisture through deep conditioning can absolutely set your strands back on the right track. After washing with the above, be sure to follow up with the Rescued! Thirst Quenching Recovery Conditioner for best results.

Try a hot oil treatment.

If your mane is still not bouncing back to where you want it to be, a hot oil treatment may be the next step in your hair recovery. Hot oil treatments can help restore the shine and moisture, restore the scalp, enhance the smoothness and elasticity, and so much more. Though any of the oils in the Natural Oils Collection will work, the Repair My Hair — Argan oil may be a good place to start. Need more reasons why a hot oil treatments need to be in your hair care regimen? Here’s a good article to read about that.

Switch up your hair routine.

When your hair undergoes changes, you may need to change up the way you treat it. If you previously washed your hair bi-weekly, you may need to decrease to once a week until it gets back on track. Likewise, if your hair is damaged, it most likely is in need of added moisture. So finding products that increase your moisture and its retainment would be beneficial. The Butter Crème — Intensive Moisture Sealant could be a go-to option for you.

Try cutting it little by little.

If these things aren’t working or if you just want to speed up the process, you can decide to do a trim or small cut. Since the ends of your hair are the oldest parts of your tresses, it wouldn’t be unusual for the damage to be concentrated in those parts. Just remember that the more severe the heat damage is to your hair, the more cutting you’ll need to do.