Is hair breakage making you feel down? Rough, brittle hair holding back your dream hairstyle? We understand you. Hair breakage is a very common phenomenon, and it can have many causes, including specific hair products, diet, stress, or harsh temperature changes and environmental factors, but you can eliminate the culprit one-on-one and keep split ends free and become a worry of the past. In this article, we look at several common causes of hair breakage and ways to treat and prevent future breakage and hair damage.
What Exactly Is Hair Breakage?
When the shaft of the hair breaks, resulting in split ends and shorter tresses, this is called hair breakage. Hair breakage is usually caused by some type of damage. If you’ve been neglecting your hair, or you haven’t treated your hair properly, this often leads to breakage.
Take a closer look at the hair you’re shedding. Normal shedding tends to be as long as your hair and has a tiny white follicle at the end. You’ll lose about 50 to 100 hairs a day—that’s normal. But if you notice that your shedding hair is shorter than usual and strands feel drier and more brittle, you may be dealing with breakage.
You can distinguish damaged hair from healthy hair because damaged hair tends to be shorter and have frayed ends. You may also notice that your hair is drier and more frizzy than usual. Healthy hair, on the other hand, has a complete, shiny cuticle that is well moisturized. It is shiny, smooth, and elastic.
What Causes Hair Breakage?
Your hair can break due to:
♦ Unreasonable diet
♦ Pressure
♦ Lack of moisture
♦ Wash your hair with hard water
♦ Heat Styling and drying hair
♦ Hair dye
♦ Improper way of brushing hair
♦ Infrequent regular haircuts
♦ Improper towel drying
How To Prevent Hair Breakage?
1. Moisturize your hair regularly
Dry hair is more brittle and less elastic because dryness is the worst enemy of all-natural hair types. Moisture is an essential element for natural hair. Make sure to moisturize your hair every day by applying a daily moisturizer to your hair.
A moisturizer will help you seal in and retain moisture throughout the day or until your next shampoo. Your natural hair is more prone to dryness, resulting in a lack of hair growth and leading to breakage. Try using moisturizer as part of your natural hair care routine, stick with it, and you’ll notice a dramatic difference.
2. Try to be gentle
Contrary to popular belief, brushing your hair 100 times a day isn’t the answer to shiny threads—it’s quite the opposite. Brushing 100 times a day can cause split ends to form, which can lead to breakage, so put the comb down.
High-intensity operations such as combing, excessive contact, pressing, stretching, and even weather can cause hair to break and fall out. Try to be gentle on your hair and use low protection and handling styles to keep your hair away from situations and styles that can lead to breakage.
Give your hair some time to grow naturally and don’t just keep trying every new hairstyle, product, or method. Use a wide-toothed comb or soft-bristle brush to lightly comb your hair, or use your fingers to avoid breakage.
3. Keep a healthy diet
Diet also plays an effective role in the health of hair and scalp. Unhealthy eating habits or eating improperly can cause hair to break and fall out. What we consume or add to our bodies can cause changes in the growth rate of our natural hair.
Also, make sure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients, including foods rich in protein, omega-3, iron, biotin, and zinc. to keep hair healthy and promote hair growth. One of the main causes of hair loss is malnutrition. If you are unable to eat a proper and healthy diet, you may also consider taking some hair supplements.
4. Reduce thermal styling
Over time, too much heat and heat styling can make your hair more prone to breakage and cause massive damage. Using a heated device, such as a straightener or blow dryer, exposes your hair directly to the heat source, which draws moisture out of your hair, causing split ends and breakage.
If you start noticing hair breakage or shedding if you want to heat your hair while drying or styling, try to reduce the frequency of heat. When you use the heat tool, choose the lowest heat setting and only go through each section of your hair once. It can also be effective to use a heat protectant, which will act as a covering and protect your hair from direct heat.
5. Choose a protective hairstyle
Incorporate some protective styling into your hair care routine whenever possible. Doing this will help you reduce knots and tangles in your hair and protect your tresses from breakage and split ends. It also stops hair fall and breakage by reducing the time it takes to process the hair. Protective hair styling will also promote overall hair growth retention.
If hair care products or styling methods (such as harsh chemicals or heat treatments) damage your hair, changing your hair care routine can help. Try air-drying your hair and using gentle products with fewer harsh chemicals.
Adding a moisturizing hair mask to your hair care routine can make a huge difference when you’re trying to avoid breakage. After shampooing, apply a hair mask and leave on for three to five minutes, then rinse off with lukewarm water.
6. Avoid overwashing your hair
Washing your hair daily with regular shampoo strips your scalp of important nutrients and oils. If you have oily hair, then it is best to wash it once a day, but if you have dry hair, avoid washing it once a day.
Wash your hair with medicated shampoo once or twice a week. Make sure to wash your hair and scalp lightly and apply conditioner thoroughly from roots to ends. This will help you keep your hair clean, healthy, moisturized, and retain the oils and nutrients your hair needs.
FAQs About Hair Breakage
1. When should I cut off my breakage?
In some cases, your hair is so damaged that you may just want to cut the weak parts of your hair completely without having to deal with tiny hairs all over the place. Depending on the degree of breakage, you can gradually cut off the damaged ends but talk to your stylist before picking up the scissors.
Once the ends start to split, there is no way to repair them, and if the damage has been done, it should be cut off as soon as possible. This will help prevent the break from propagating upwards and destroying new growth.
2. Will my broken hair grow back?
The good news is that your damaged hair can grow back. After all, hair grows from the root, so don’t get rid of it by putting pressure on the root. Now that you have all the tools you need to identify and stop breakage, all that’s left is to be kind to your hair as mentioned above.
Conclusion
Here it is! What are the different factors for hair breakage and what are the best ways to stop it? The above tips will ensure your hair is naturally reaching its full potential. Try incorporating these tips into your hair care routine to avoid hair damage. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below the article!
