In this article we'll be going through 8 different causes for hair breakage. The solutions below will help you improve the quality of your hair, notice a reduction in split ends and hair breaking off.
Important note: Always ensure that you are eating a well-balanced diet rich in antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins. To ensure that you are having the right amount of nutrients, you can supplement your diet with hair vitamins as these can greatly improve the appearance and overall condition of your hair as well as increased hair growth. Here are some of my favourite hair supplements that you may want to consider taking: Viviscal / Biotin / Perfectil.
If you feel there is an underlying health issue that is causing your hair breakage, please always seek a medical doctor first.
8 Common Causes that Lead to Hair Breakage
#1. Hair Breakage Cause: You are not drinking enough water
Drink 2 Litres of water per day will help your body and your scalp absorb nutrients faster. It also helps hydrate your scalp and the overall appearance of your hair.
Solution: Buy yourself a two Litre water bottle as this will make your daily water intake so much easier to track and then start off by committing to a 30-day two litre water challenge. I have created a challenge sheet that you can download and print off for free.
#2. Hair Breakage Cause: Washing your hair too frequently
Hair Shampoos are amazing at getting rid of all the dirt and grease that is sitting on your scalp and hair but at the same time they are also very good at stripping your natural oils which leaves your hair feeling super dry and eventually this leads to hair breakage and split ends.
Allowing your hair to get greasy will help condition your strands naturally which helps avoid dryness and hair breaking off. You can help distribute those natural oils more evenly from root to tip by using a boar bristle brush.
Solution: It’s simple, you need to wash your hair less! Easier said than done, right? This is especially difficult if you have a job where you’re either serving customers or you’re in an office surrounded by people. However, I do have a couple of tips for you!
> What I've noticed from my own personal experience is that I tend to wash my hair more often when I put my hair up in a messy bun / hairdo. When I decide to let my hair down, I tend to find my hair so unmanageable that the only way to have a good hairstyle again is by washing it. If you can relate to this, then you need to find a better way of styling your hair over a few days until your next hair wash. Find a hairstyle that you can wear every day without creating a messy up do. I tend to wear my hair half up half down or wear it completely down and this has helped me skip many hair washes.
> Once you’ve given the above tip a good go and your hair is now starting to get greasy, just put it up in a ponytail or a plait it. Try and stick to one - two washes per week.
#3. Hair breakage cause: Messy hair do's and hair ties
Over the years I noticed that whenever I needed to concentrate on something, I always reached for that ugly old hair tie and I always seem to tie my hair in the messiest bun ever! What I came to realise is that messy hair do’s can really damage your hair especially if you’re using the wrong hair ties. You could also be securing your hair too tight or you might be even handling your hair or up do’s too vigorously.
Solution: Style your hair with care using the right hair ties:
#4. Hair breakage cause: Hair friction during sleep
Coming up with an appropriate hairstyle for bed is not easy. Rolling in your sleep causes hair friction which leads to hair breakage and hair dryness. No one enjoys waking up with dry and damaged hair especially if your hair looked all wonderful and healthy the day before.
Over the years, I tried many different hairstyles for bed, however I still woke up with messy and unmanageable hair in the morning which led to many unnecessary and frequent hair washing.
Having extremely fine hair myself, that is super prone to damage, I had to come up with a way to protect it during my beauty sleep. I wanted to avoid hair friction but at the same time I longed to wake up with perfectly styled hair in the morning and that’s how the Flower Curl came about.
The Flower Curl is a heatless hair curler that is designed to be worn overnight. It’s comfortable to wear so it will not interrupt your sleep and it will help reduce hair friction and hair dryness whilst gently curling your hair overnight. See heatless hair curling results below.
Heatless curls using the Flower Curl
#5. Hair breakage cause: Over touching your hair
If you love touching your hair, you are most likely drying and thinning it at the same time. Some women like to fiddle with their hair or they like to check the ends, open split ends or check for hair breakage. All this hair fiddling is not doing you any good, not to mention the amount of time you’re wasting touching your hair! If your hands are always buried in your hair, your might want to check out our popular Hand in Hair Syndrome article where we dive in on how to stop touching your hair! Here are some tips for you that you can adapt pretty much straight away.
Solutions:
> Tie your hair back and away from your face.
> Keep your hands nicely occupied during these hair touching sessions by investing in a fidget toy.
> Just stop and think about what you’re adding to your hair for a second. We touch so many things throughout the day without us realising and constant hair touching will not only make your hair feel dirty, but you are also making the roots greasy and the rest of your hair dry and coarse.
#6. Hair breakage cause: Hot styling tools
This one is a no-brainer and you probably heard it a zillion times before, however you choose to continue frying your hair!
Solutions:
> If your hair is severely damaged, it's probably time to go and get yourself a trim or a hair cut. Once you cut off any ends that are severely broken, you hair will feel fuller and healthier. Make sure you apply a hair mask for severely damaged hair to help lock in moisture and repair the strands from within.
> Ask yourself how often do you reach for that straightener or curling iron? Is it every day, every week or once in a while? Understand your hair type and adjust how many times you should be using heated tools to style your hair. For example my hair is so naturally fine, that as soon as I use a heated hair device, I usually notice split ends and coarser hair pretty much straight away, so I choose to use heated hair tools once in a while to ensure that my hair remains in tip top condition.
As mentioned in point number four, if you are looking to make a change to the overall condition of your hair then I would really recommend for you to look into the Flower Curl to see how easy it is to style and curl your hair overnight without worrying about any long term damage.
> Embrace your natural hair. Learn to appreciate the natural texture of your hair. Sometimes all you need to add is a bit of hair oil or hair product for your hair to look all moisturised and healthy!
#7. Hair breakage cause: Brushing your hair with the wrong tools or when wet
Wet hair is more fragile than dry hair this is due to protein bonds in the hair becoming weaker when wet. When you comb wet hair, you are literally stretching your hair and deforming the cuticle. The outcome of brushing wet hair is not so great and you are left with coarse and damaged hair. You also need to make sure that you are using the right hair brush. If the hair brush you’re using is pulling your hair, you are probably using the wrong hair brush and it’s time for a new one.
Solution: We are all spoilt for choice when it comes to hair brushing tools, so which one do you go for? Choose a brush that compliments the texture of your hair. The Tangle Teezer is known to gently brush your hair without pulling it whilst removing tangles with ease. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should definitely give it a go. The Tangle Teezer company have a variety of brushes suitable for different hair types.
#8. Hair breakage cause: Different weather conditions
We all know that too much sun radiation will damage the proteins present in the hair, which will leave your mane feeling dry, coarse, frizzy and damaged. Winter, on the other hand will leave your scalp and hair feeling dry and brittle due to the cold temperature and intense indoor heating.
Here are some tips for you to keep in mind and how you can prevent hair breakage during different weather conditions:
> Treat your hair to a weekly moisturising hair mask to prevent hair breakage, help seal in moisture and protect your hair from UV damage.
> Apply hair oil on a daily basis to help create a protective layer thus preventing hair damage.
> Avoid hair products with too many chemicals and alcohol, such as hair spray as these can cause severe hair breakage when combined with harsh weather conditions.
> Wear hats during the summer months to protect your hair from harmful UV rays.
> Stick to a maximum of two hair washes per week and always apply conditioner to the mid and lower sections of your hair.