What is broken hair?
Damaged hair can take many forms, such as frizz or split ends, which eventually lead to hair breakage. If you have shorter strands around your hairline or your hair feels thinner at the ends, it could be due to breakage. Hair breakage occurs in dry strands, often due to frequent bleaching, heat styling, or even over-manipulation. If you just comb your hair and leave a handful of it or notice your once-blossoming hair is thinning and dry at the ends, chances are your hair is breaking.
What does broken hair look like?
When hair is healthy, the scales on the cuticles of each strand align with each other, creating softness and shine (basically, what we all strive for). When hair becomes dry or damaged, the scales can spread out in all directions, making hair look frizzy and brittle, and can even lead to split ends. Hair breakage can also appear as accidental split ends and uneven lengths as well as inconsistent texture and coarse strands.
Unfortunately, there are many things that can contribute to and cause hair breakage, and most of them are interconnected. Below we'll look at some of the most common causes in different hair types, including natural hair breakage and curly hair breakage.
1. Styling with too high a temperature
Styling with too much heat can dry out and damage your hair, eventually leading to breakage. If you suspect your hair is about to break, stay away from hot tools as much as possible and choose a heat-free style like overnight beach waves or a protective style.
When you have to dry your hair or use other heat tools, remember to protect your hair with a heat protectant.
2. Over-processing your hair
Just like the rest of your body, your hair needs moisture to stay healthy, and over-treatment like keratin treatments, straighteners, and hair dyes can dry out your hair and lead to breakage. When your hair is too dry, it will feel like straw and especially with long hair, because the ends of the hair are furthest from the scalp and are easily over-processed (when new hair grows we will re-process), very they will probably show the first signs of dryness.
3. Bleach your hair
Whether you bleach your hair for a platinum look or lighten it to add more vibrant color, the result can be the same: hair breakage. Bleaching is a process that not only removes pigment from the hair shaft, but also removes many of the essential oils and moisture your hair needs to stay healthy. If you don't take moisture regain seriously, your hair can become brittle, dull, and break.
4. Washing your hair too much
This isn't just for people with oily scalps; We are all capable of washing our hair too much. The bad news is that it can have serious consequences for your hair, especially if you're trying to grow it long. You can dry out your strands (and scalp) if you over-wash parts of your hair that lose moisture and don't replenish it.
Limit the number of days you wash your hair, and when you wash and condition your hair, switch to a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner like Nubeà Sustenia Maintenance Shampoo and Conditioner - Moisturizing. If your hair feels drier, try smoothing it with a leave-in conditioner to add nutrients to your hair.
5. Tying your hair too tight
One factor that causes hair breakage in natural hair and other hair types is styling that puts excessive pressure on the hair and scalp. You should avoid ponytails, braids - including box braids - and other high-tension hairstyles in almost all cases. If you need to wear one of these styles, remember to only wear the style for a short time, use the correct tools to install it, and be careful when taking it down. If you pull your hair or use metal and other tools that can damage your hair, your hair is at risk of breakage.
6. Stress - Stress
Stress has no effect in most situations and according to the Mayo Clinic, it can lead to hair loss and hair breakage. The good news is that stress and hair loss don't have to be permanent, so once you reduce your stress levels, you may see your hair improve. The bad news is that hair breakage and hair loss are not always the same thing. Temporary hair loss due to the scalp producing less oil (due to stress) can be resolved with lifestyle changes and using the right products, but hair breakage due to autoimmune disorders can be more difficult to recover from. so many.
7. Giving birth
Postpartum hair loss is a very real phenomenon and according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), it is normal for new mothers to lose too much hair. It usually peaks about four months after giving birth, but most women will see normal hair growth in the following months.