When it comes to repairing hair breakage, there’s no one I trust more than my hairstylist. She literally has all the answers, even if I don’t always listen. I asked her if dry hair can cause hair breakage, here’s what she said.
Dry hair can cause breakage and harm to your hair because when your hair has no moisture, it’s also brittle and weak. The best way to moisturize dry hair is to avoid using hot water when washing your hair, and by making sure, you use hair conditioners after every wash day and hair oils on a weekly basis.
Keep reading to find out other tips and tricks my hairstylist shared with me on how to moisturize your hair and ways to prevent further hair breakage.
Best Ways To Moisturize Hair & Prevent Breakage For Good
When I first found out about how the things I have been doing in my haircare routine can lead to hair breakage it was the biggest wake-up call. I immediately set out to find out what I could do to prevent further damage, this is what I found:
The best way to moisturize your hair and prevent breakage is to get into the habit of conditioning your hair after every shampoo as they not only moisturize and hydrate your hair; they also protect it by neutralizing your hair so that it will be less frizzy and easier to detangle.
Skipping the step of conditioning your hair after washing with shampoo can cause your hair to become dry and bring about hair breakage.
Change Your Haircare Routine.
Changing your hair care routine can help fix your hair breakage if the hair products or styling techniques, for example, strong chemicals or even heat therapies, are harming your hair. Try to blow-dry your hair on a low heat setting or use a no-heat hairdryer. Using products that are gentle and have mostly natural ingredients and no chemicals will also help restore your hair.
If you’re an active woman who loves to swim frequently, I recommend that you invest in a shampoo and conditioner that explicitly restores any harm that chlorine and different pool chemicals can cause to your hair.
Lifestyle Changes
Try to limit the stress that you’re under or find ways to manage it better. When you’re stressed out, your hair suffers greatly from the stress hormones in your body. It’s important to find healthy coping mechanisms, not just for your mental health but for your hair’s health too!
It’s also important to watch what you eat. Try to eat foods that are rich in proteins and vitamins such as Omega-3s, iron, zinc, and biotin. These all aid in hair growth and hair restoration.
8 Other Causes Of Hair Breakage
Another cause of hair breakage is an unhealthy diet. It is important to incorporate nutrients like vitamin A (milk, eggs, yogurt), B-vitamins (whole grains, almonds, fish, dark-leafy greens), vitamin C (citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers), vitamin D (fatty fish, cod liver oil, mushrooms), vitamin E (almonds, avocados, spinach) into your diet.
1. Damage From Heat
We all know that to get the best outcomes from your hairdryer, straightener, or curling iron, you generally need high heat. However, if you use these hair appliances on high heat too often, you risk causing extreme damage to the hair cuticles from the high temperatures. Your hair needs a break every now again from these styling tools. I would not recommend using them more than once a week.
If you genuinely need to style your hair more than once a week then I highly suggest that you use a heat protectant before applying heat to your hair. If possible, try keeping the hair appliances on a low heat setting as well, and don’t repeatedly go over hair strands that you’ve already styled.
2. Hairstyling Techniques
I’m sure you’ve noticed a few hair strands come off with your elastic hair tie when you let your hair down at the end of the day. This is because you’re wearing your hair tie too tight and it is pulling on your hair strands, the same way that too-tight braids and hair extensions do. Try letting your hair down more often and tying your hair in loose ponytails to avoid hair breakage.
3. Irregular Haircuts
I’m not talking bout a big chop, just your split ends. Regularly trimming your split ends actually keeps your hair healthy and promotes hair growth. A hair trim is to your hair what exfoliation is to your skin. You need to remove the old, dead cells to make space for the new ones, the same goes for hair. Leaving your split ends can cause them to travel up to the roots of your hair thus causing hair breakage.
4. Towel Drying
When your hair is wet it’s a natural response to reach for a towel and rub your hair dry. This is a huge no. Never towel rub your hair ladies! Your hair is the most vulnerable to damage when it is wet, when you rub it with a towel you are tangling your hair and weakening the strands. You simply need to wrap a towel or other absorbent material around your hair and it will absorb the water.
Once your hair is no longer dripping wet then you can blow-dry your hair. Do not blow-dry dripping wet hair. Towel dry your hair first then apply a heat protectant before you blow-dry your hair on a low heat setting.
5. Cotton Pillowcases
Sleeping on a cotton pillowcase could be the cause of your hair breakage. As comfortable as they are to sleep on, they are actually not good for your hair at all. Cotton pillowcases create friction between your hair and the pillowcase when you sleep, this friction causes your hair to become brittle and tangled. Thus leading to hair breakage. To avoid this, invest in a silk or satin pillowcase!
6. Excessive Washing
Washing your hair every day is bad for your hair’s health ladies. Hair experts recommend that you should only wash your hair 2 to 3 times a week, depending on your hair type. If you have oily hair, make sure you concentrate your shampoo where the sebum build-up is the greatest, 2 inches from your scalp.
Please don’t forget to deep condition your hair! Conditioning your hair is a crucial step to strengthen your hair against breakage and dryness.
Also, avoid washing your hair with hot water, lukewarm water is perfect as it doesn’t strip your hair of its natural moisture but also gets rid of any dirt and artificial oils.
7. Hypothyroidism
This is a disorder that is characterized by your thyroid gland not producing sufficient amounts of thyroid hormones. Your thyroid has many crucial functions that your body needs to function, one of these crucial functions is hair growth. If you have hypothyroidism, the changes that you will notice with your hair is that it will appear dull, dry, and brittle. As we know, dry and brittle hair leads to hair breakage and hair loss.
If you experience extreme fatigue, unexplained weight gain, breaking nails, and hair loss then I recommend that you seek out your health practitioner to get your thyroid checked.
8. Eating Disorders
Eating disorders that cause or lead to malnourishment such as Bulimia Nervosa or Anorexia can cause hair breakage and hair loss as the disorder advances. Your hair follicles become starved of the nutrients that it needs to grow new hair so it just abandons the entire process completely. Hair that is already in the growth cycle will just break off.
How To Prevent Hair Breakage In The Future
If you’re serious about preventing any future hair damage from occurring then this next list will be something to live by:
The best way to prevent hair breakage in the future is to deep condition your hair after a wash day. Do not rub in the shampoo or conditioner; simply massage it into your hair and scalp using the pads of your fingertips and when towel drying your hair, just wrap your hair up and let the towel absorb the water instead of rubbing.
Keep reading to find out what other tips and hair hacks can help you prevent any breakage or damage to your hair in the future!
- Limit the use of hair styling appliances that require high heat.
- Avoid hair products that have alcohol and other harmful chemicals or ingredients such as paraben and sulfate.
- Wear a swimming cap when swimming and invest in a shampoo and conditioner made specifically to get rid of pool chemicals.
- Avoid coloring or highlighting your hair too often, the chemicals are harmful to your hair.
- Only wear extensions or weaves for 2 to 3 months at a time.
- Invest in proper hair ties and hair accessories that won’t cause tension or pulling on your scalp or hair.
- Trim your split ends!
- Eat a well-balanced diet so that your hair follicles have the nutrients it needs to grow new hair.
Can Hair Breakage Grow Back?
Unfortunately, if your hair shaft has been broken down by bleach or other chemicals, it cannot rebuild itself. But, you can strengthen it with a good conditioner to bond the ends together, just temporarily, to prevent further damage. Avoid using hot oil reconstruction treatments on your hair. Rather, use natural oils like coconut oil and argan oil.
If your hair has a stretchy and gummy texture when it is wet, that’s an indication that it is breaking. You have to cut those bits off. It’s heartbreaking I know, but it’s for the best. It will only take about 4 months to a year to grow out again.
Once your hair is badly damaged there’s not much that can be done to restore it but we can make it look better. I recommend going for deep conditioning and reconstructing hair treatments as soon as you can and as regularly (speak to your hairstylist to work out a schedule).