What Is Hair Breakage?
First things first, you need to be familiar with what hair breakage is. Hair breakage and shedding may seem one and the same, but they are actually different. Shedding is a natural part of your hair cycle. You’re supposed to lose hair daily—anywhere from 50 to 100 hairs a day, to be exact. According to experts, that’s the norm, so if you’re noticing rapid thinning or a consistent loss of any more than 100 hairs a day, there’s cause for concern. Get a visit with your dermatologist set up right away to evaluate. Breakage, on the other hand, happens when the actual strand shreds. Most times, you won’t notice full hairs on the ground but instead little pieces of hair. Think about the hair cuticle and how it’s made up of a bunch of stacked layers like shingles on a roof. When these individual sheets of hair fibers split from the rest of the pile, it breaks. It can break off from the tips when your ends are split and need to be trimmed or it can rip halfway up the strand or even close to the root. Where and how hair breaks usually depend on several different factors.How Do You Fix Hair Breakage?
Asking how to fix hair breakage is a bit of a trick question. There are ways to prevent breakage and even out hair while you treat the source of your damage, but actually fixing a broken strand isn’t doable. You can’t mend your hair like you can a broken zipper. However, what you can do is start by getting a proper trim to help even out any ragged edges. Think of a haircut as one of the ultimate quick fixes for hair breakage. Once all hairs are evened out and you have a clear understanding of what led to your breakage in the first place, then you can start working on a treatment plan. In most cases, this will mean revamping how you moisturize your hair, including the frequency and what you’re using to do it.How to Prevent Hair Breakage
Ready to keep hair breakage at bay? Follow these tips:- Keep your hair moisturized: One of the main reasons your hair is breaking off could be that you aren’t applying enough moisture to your hair. It’s especially important to heed this rule if your hair is curly because it’s prone to becoming brittle and breaking off. Take time to pamper your hair!
- Target split ends early on: Use a daily split-end sealer. Be sure to use a nourishing leave-in conditioner that helps smooth and seal split ends right after you detangle and as a curl refresher in between washes.
- Braid your hair up before shampooing: When wash day comes around, try putting your hair into jumbo braids and then shampooing to cut down on tangles, which can also lead to breakage.
- Go easy on the heat. Blow-drying and flat ironing hair on a regular basis can take its toll on strands. Try to rely on heat-free tools like flexi rods or hair rollers whenever possible. If you absolutely must use heat, be sure to apply a heat protectant and then use tools in a low-heat setting.
- Use a pre-wash moisturizer. Give your hair an extra shot of moisture on wash day by saturating strands with a rich conditioner and letting it sit for about 10 minutes before washing with shampoo.