Why Is My Hair Breaking: What Causes Hair Breakage
There are several elements that can cause thinning of hair, weakening of roots or follicles and these eventually lead to hair breakage and loss.
It is considered to be quite common to women irrespective of their age. Iron deficiency is considered a major cause of hair weakening, breakage, and loss and almost 1 in 5 women in the USA suffer from iron deficiency or anemia.
Some of the causes for hair breakage are quite common while others are relatively lesser known.
For example: Stress can do a lot of damage to your hair. It can cause hair breakage, early aging or graying, and even hair loss.
Toxic chemical exposure, deficiency of nutrients in food, allergic reactions, and hormone imbalance are some of the factors that lead to hair breakage.
Hair thinning is a hair condition that eventually leads to hair breakage. The two primary causes of hair thinning are:
- Heredity: It’s in the family!
- Build-up of dyhydrotestosterone : It is a natural compound but higher than usual build-up can lead to clogging of hair follicles
Tip #: Treat Your Hair To A Little Tlc
Adding a deep conditioner to your hair care routine can make a huge difference. Try the LOréal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Rapid Reviver Deep Conditioner, a deep conditioner formulated with almond and protein to repair and prevent breakage. After shampooing, apply the deep conditioner and leave it on for just one minute, then rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. Super-hot water can strip strands of essential oils, which can leave hair feeling drierso always rinse off in lukewarm water. While it might not feel quite as enjoyable to wash your hair in lukewarm water, your hair will definitely thank you! Use this deep conditioner daily, in place of your usual conditioner, when your strands are in need of some extra love.
How To Prevent Hair Loss Due To Stress
This article was medically reviewed by Sarah Gehrke, RN, MS. Sarah Gehrke is a Registered Nurse and Licensed Massage Therapist in Texas. Sarah has over 10 years of experience teaching and practicing phlebotomy and intravenous therapy using physical, psychological, and emotional support. She received her Massage Therapist License from the Amarillo Massage Therapy Institute in 2008 and a M.S. in Nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2013.There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 13 testimonials and 86% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 858,704 times.
Sometimes emotional or physical stress can lead to hair loss, which is a serious concern for most people and something they wish to reverse. However, due to the length of the hair growth cycle, people often only begin losing their hair weeks or months after the stressful event has occurred, and the hair loss can continue for several months afterwards. Luckily, hair will usually grow back on its own once the source of stress has been removed, but there are several things you can do to help the process along. By easing your stress and taking good care of your hair, you can reduce the effects of hair loss.
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What Should You Do When Your Hairs Balance Is Thrown Off By Excess Moisture
Dont be surprised! Theres such a thing as over conditioning your hair, and Brittany learned this the hard way.
Hair thats thrown off balance by having too much moisture will usually end up becoming super-elastic, stretching more because it lacks a substantial protein structure.
Most people describe over-moisturized or over-conditioned hair as mush-like or having an overly-soft feel to it when wet.
Over moisturized hair has a spongy, limp, weak feel. Hair that is protein-deficient will tend to stretch and pull with a comb before breaking.
Itll always stretch before breaking because it has low structural protein levels and unnecessarily excessive amounts of moisture.
If this describes the condition of your hair, read carefully.
To resolve this issue, youll need to add more protein to your regimen to give your hair structure.
Moisture-induced breakage is generally corrected in a single protein deep-conditioning session, with milder cases only requiring you to moisturize your hair twice a day with protein-and-water-based moisturizers to fix the problem.
For mild moisture-induced hair breakage, Aphogee 2-minute Keratin Reconstructor usually works well.
For moderate to heavy moisture-induced hair breakage, use a moderate protein conditioner such as Organic Root Stimulator Mayo on your hair for 20-to-30 minutes before rinsing.
In the event your hair stretches without breakage, you should still consider using light protein products to correct the problem.
How To Maintain Healthy Hair
Consider the following must-do hair care recommendations to find out how to stop hair breakage naturally:
- Daily, but gently, shampoo and condition your hair.
- After going to the pool, use a swimmers shampoo and conditioner set.
- Its necessary to let your hair air dry.
- To avoid pulling on the scalp, make sure all weaves and extensions are light.
- Consider a new hairstyle that needs less time and effort to maintain.
- To ensure that your hair receives all of the nutrients it need, eat a well-balanced diet.
- Tight hats should only be used for sun protection, not for fashion.
How to Use Towel to Stop Hair Breakage?
When you get out of the shower, its normal to rub your skin and hair with a towel. However, massaging your hair while its at its most sensitive causes damage . Rather than wiping the water out of your hair, wrap an absorbent towel over it. You may also use a towel to absorb excess water in your hair as a temporary solution.
Hair breakage may be irritating. The good news is that most underlying reasons may be treated by improving ones lifestyle.
In order to find out how to stop hair breakage naturally after making dietary and hair regimen adjustments, its important to contact a doctor to rule out any underlying medical concerns.
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Simple Ways To Reduce Breakage
BREAKAGE. What a painful word and a painful sound. Whether you see it, feel it, or hear it, breakage is all around us. It happens when you put your hair up, when you take your hair down, when you wash, condition, and detangle, it happens in the car, on the bus, in the office, at the table, on the couch. We all know the feeling of getting up from a chair and hearing your hairs snap.
Like everyone, we at NaturAll Club dream of a world without breakage. But in the meantime, we have this guide with some simple tips for avoiding it. Some are intuitive, but others might be surprising!
Theres A Supplement That May Also Help
Wechsler will occasionally recommend that her patients take five to ten milligrams of biotin daily. The B vitamin is essential for converting certain nutrients into energy, and if youre not getting enough through your diet, you may experience hair loss or a skin rash. Two small studies show that subjects with thinning hair noticed significant regrowth after taking a biotin supplement for ninety days.
But Wechsler isnt convinced that pricier supplement cocktails geared toward hair loss are the answer. Theyre expensive, and theyre just not proven to work, she says.
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Stress Can Cause Temporary Hair Shedding
Even if you never developed a fever or COVID-19, you may still see hair shedding. Emotional stress can also force more hairs than normal into the shedding phase. And who isnt feeling more stressed and anxious during the pandemic?
Again, the hair shedding begins about two to three months after the stress starts.
While seeing your hair fall out in clumps can add to your stress, its important to try to de-stress. Only when the stress ends will the excessive hair shedding stop.
How To Stop Damaging Your Hair
The good news is that simple changes can prevent further hair damage. On this page, youll find 10 common hair-care practices that can damage hair and dermatologists tips that can help you to stop damaging your hair.
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Ditching The Heated Tools Is A Great Way To Stop Hair Breakage
Probably the best tip on how to stop hair breakage naturally is by not using heated styling tools like blow dryers, flat irons, and curling irons. The heat from these tools break down the protein in your hair and strip it of its natural oils, which leave it vulnerable to breakage.
Fortunately, itâs always trendy to embrace your natural hair type. Spend some time getting to know your hair and how to maintain its natural beauty. Your hair is unique to you, so make sure you find a routine that suits your individual needs.
So What Can I Do About Stress
Of course, one of the best ways to address stress-induced hair loss is to deal with your stress. That means finding the stress management techniques that work for youand making them part of your regular self-care routine. I typically recommend deep abdominal breathing, yoga, Pilates, meditation and even ASMR, says Rieder. All can be very helpful.
So take a deep breath, relax, and chill outyour hair will thank you.
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Stop Hair Breakage By Cutting Hair Regularly
Even if many do not want to hear it: Having the ends of your hair trimmed a few centimeters on a regular basis is the most reliable solution to stop hair breakage.
The tips should be cut every six to eight weeks. This way your hair can grow back healthier and hair breakage has no chance.
And a few centimeters do not hurt either – promise! 🙂
Hair Breakage At The Crown
Hair breakage at the crown can occur due to the following reasons:
Texture and curl pattern differentials: It is not uncommon to have a slightly different texture or curl pattern in the crown area of the head. This area naturally has a different moisture and handling requirements to ensure that it thrives. If your crown area is finer, oilier, or kinkier than the surrounding strands, you should customize your hair care at this area by giving it extra moisturizing and conditioning time.
When the crown area is itchy, you should avoid scratching the area recklessly as it can break the hair and lead to a tender scalp. Therefore one should massage the area with the pads of your fingers and get some moisture to the area.
Improper/insufficient conditioning: Lack of proper conditioning is another cause of crown area failure because the crown area is the most exposed area of the head to the environment and other elements.
Physical trauma: Physical trauma culprits for crown area hair breakage include styling stressors like:
- Sew ins, braids and other weaves done too tightly picking out and softening the hair with hair tools e.g. combs
- Overlapping during 4-quadrant chemical services
- High pressure shower water.
Opt for straight and free-form styles that are known to be good for maintaining hair. They include
- Braid-outs,
- Two strand twists
- Roller sets with minimal tangles
Puffs can also work, but they may stress the edges and hairline if not drawn properly.
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What Causes Hair To Break In The First Place
There are a lot of factors that go into hair breakage.
The problem could be that you are vitamin or mineral deficient. Or you have stripped your hair of the protein keratin by chemically treating it .
Hair is mostly made of protein and relies on water to maintain elasticity. When it breaks, it’s often a result of having an imbalance of protein and water, which can compromise the hair’s strength.
If your hair is lacking protein, then your hair is lacking in structure. With low protein levels in the hair, it’s like having a weak foundation in a house. Protein is crucially important.
Also, if your hair is overly dry, it can increase the likelihood your hair will break. Coloring, bleaching, perming, or relaxing hair can break protein bonds, weaken the hair, and increase breakage.
Use Heat Styling Tools Carefully
You dont have to quit your blow dryer cold turkey, but you may want to think about changing your hair routine. When using heat tools, always spritz on a heat protectant spray first. You can also use some leave-in conditioning sprays for this purpose.
Try turning down the heat setting on your hair dryer and pulling your arm away to make some space, too. It may take you a few more minutes to dry your hair, but its a more gentle way to style it that could lead to less breakage.18
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Eight Vitamins For Healthier Hair
If you’re still reading this, you might be dealing with hair breakage or loss of some sort.
While this might result from heat styling or dying your hair, you might also have vitamin deficiencies that make hair breakage more of a risk.
When you combine hair damage and vitamin deficiencies, you might have a severe problem with hair breakage.
These following vitamins might help encourage hair growth and may help strengthen and restore balance to your hair.
Let’s go through some vitamins that can help restore and restrengthen your hair.
Home Remedies For Broken Tresses
Black tea to repair damaged hair: Tea is at the top list of home remedies for damaged hair. Tea can be used both internally and externally to restore shine, stop hair loss and stimulate healthy hair growth by eliminating dandruff, regulating the production of oil and preventing split ends.
Black tea is rich in antioxidants that repair chemically treated hair and protect the hair from sun damage. Other teas you can use as home remedies for damaged hair are: chamomile tea, peppermint tea, sage and rosemary.
Avocado treatment for dry hair due to straightening: Avocado is a great treat for home treatment for damaged hair. It is rich in vitamins, proteins, natural oils and essential fatty acids that dry damaged hair. It hydrates, softens and restores the natural elasticity of hair. Avocado and olive oil hair mask can also help fix damaged hair with split ends.
Olive oil remedy: Olive oil can also be used in damaged hair. It is easy to use and can be used in different recipes used in treatment for dry damaged hair. It is rich in vitamin E, antioxidants and fatty acids that seal in moisture and help to heal damaged hair and prevent further damage. Olive oil can also be used with egg, cucumber or yogurt to make a deep conditioning hair mask for dry damaged hair.
Aloe vera can be used every time to you wash your hair or at least once a week for healthy hair. You can also use pure aloe vera gel by applying it directly onto hair for a deep hydrating feel.
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How To Control Hair Fall Due To Stress
There are several ways you can address hair fall caused due to stress.
Over-the-counter, FDA-approved topical solutions and drugs like Minoxidil and Finasteride can help in promoting hair growth and act as treatments for hair loss due to stress. Minoxidil or Rogaine enhances the blood flow and oxygen supply to the scalp, thereby nourishing the hair follicles. Finasteride, on the other hand, is a prescription medication that reduces the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone , the hormone that is primarily responsible for hair loss in men. Finasteride stimulates hair growth by bringing down the DHT levels.
Massaging the scalp with certain essential oils is also said to be an effective remedy for hair loss. Some examples include lavender oil, castor oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, tea tree oil, lemongrass oil, and thyme oil.
Besides addressing hair loss, your stress level needs to be managed too. Relaxation techniques like yoga, exercise, meditation, breathing exercises, and positive thinking can effectively deal with stress. While yoga and meditation calm the mind, exercise releases chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which impact your mood and help you manage your stress.
Reevaluate Your Hair Routine
If you’re seeing a lot of shedding especially in the shower, take a look at the beauty products around you. Use a sodium laureth sulfate-free shampoo, suggests Dorin, wash with lukewarm water, and use a high-quality reparative conditioner with each washing. When it comes to styling, don’t leave hair in styles with constant tension for long, like braids or in a tight pony.
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Rose With Mustard Oil:
Rose oil is full of vitamins, antioxidants, and other necessary ingredients. You can use it with mustard oil to get an early result.
- Add some leaves of a rose into a cup of mustard oil and burn it in a gentle fire.
- Filter the paste with a cotton cloth after 24 hours and store it in a bottle
- Now it is ready to apply to your hair.
- Apply for trice in a week regularly.
How To Strengthen Your Hair Against Breakages
The causes above all come with their own ways to reduce or eliminate their impact on your hair. Decide which causes are affecting you most and choose the most suitable ways to correct, repair and prevent any damage. Your hairdresser or barber will also be able to offer you further advice and product recommendations to prevent hair breakage and help you enjoy healthier, stronger tresses for a long time to come. Remember that the health and appearance of your hair is a reflection on how you are feeling as a whole, so take note if you experience hair breakage and take steps to correct the problem.
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