Unfortunately, hair breakage is a part of everyday life. We blow dry, we dye, we straighten and, as a result, we also do damage to our tresses. If allowed to continue unchecked, snapped strands and split ends can really become a styling nightmare: we all loathe that backlit ‘halo’ of short, broken hairs that shows up under certain conditions. Luckily, however, it is possible to give your locks a fair amount of protection and this will help to keep them in good shape. To help you with this, I’ve put together a list of 7 tips to minimise hair breakage. Read on!
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1. Protein Kick
If you are experiencing serious breakage, the first thing you will need to do is consider your shampoo. Breaking hair is weak hair, and in order to remedy this, you will need to opt for a product, that will help to strengthen your locks. Go for protein rich variations; these will help to repair your fragile tresses.
2. Moisturise
Chemical treatment, heat styling and basic features of contemporary life can leave hair dehydrated. This in turn weakens the strands and predisposes them to breakage. Replenishing your hair’s lost moisture will help to restore it’s elasticity, rendering it less brittle and easily broken. Get yourself a great quality nourishing conditioner directed specifically at re-hydrating dried out locks.
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3. Nourish
Fragile, brittle hair can also be a result of a vitamin deficiency. Get yourself a good hair supplement from your local pharmacy, or, alternatively, start yourself on a course of vitamins E and B: this should help you get your hair back in tip top condition.
4. Reconsider Your Style
Very tight elasticised hair bands can contribute significantly to hair breakage. If you wear your locks in a pony tail most of the time, consider changing this. You might be unknowingly causing strands to snap.
5. Go Natural
If you work on your locks every day using a blow dryer and a ceramic straightening iron, you might want to take a break from this kind of intensive styling. Together with a nourishing shampoo and a conditioner, and a vitamin supplement, resting your locks and allowing them to fall naturally will help to minimise further hair breakage.
6. Wash with Care
Broken hair can also result from over washing and this is rendered more serious, if you are cleansing your locks with the wrong product. Experts recommend that we wash only every other day – more frequently - and we risk stripping our locks of the natural oils that nourish them and keep them in good shape.
7. Brush Right
The correct brush and brushing technique can also make a big difference to the condition of our hair. As a general rule, it is a good idea to avoid plastic. Instead, opt for natural boar bristle: this is softer and more flexible and won’t snap hairs in the way that more rigid synthetic variations will. Remember always to start your brushing at the ends of your tresses using short strokes: this will help to minimise any breakage that does occur.
Over-processing, rigorous heat styling and the general stresses of daily life cause our hair to become weak, fragile and brittle. It is possible to protect and repair your damaged locks, however, and this list of 7 tips to minimise breakage should help to get you well on the way to healthy, strong tresses. Do you have any of your own solutions to add to it?
Comments
Denise: Melissa... Go to a Redken salon that has the chemistry treatment system .... This conditioning treatment system can do miracles for your hair ... Also purchase there products to use at home
A: Just shared this post (via Twitter)
yogamom: i used to have a ton of breakage and as a result my hair thinned considerably.one thing i did that stopped it was to make a hair mask with avacado and olive oil.i used a food processer to get it a smooth as possible and kept it on under a heat cap hor about 30 minutes once a week then washed with a shampoo for dry hair.i have hardly any breakage now.i use one large avacado and about a fourth of a cup of olive oil and about once a month i rinse my hair with a fourth a cup of apple cider vinegar mixed with two cups of water.this helps restore the ph balance.i don't rinse this solution out and i let the hair air dry before styling it.hope this helps some one out.
Keesha: Great article but minimize is spelled incorrectly.
Lauren: The boar bristle brushes are wonderful, but they aren't meant to detangle hair. Carefully brush your hair with a normal brush and then go over it with a boar brush. This bush distributes natural oils to nourish and condition and also cleans dirt from your hair. It also give you a great scalp message. :)
Ambystoma: Just a couple of tips - combing hair is essential prior to brushing, make sure you use a seamless comb with a wide end and a fine end. Gently detangle from the tips upwards with the wide tooth side, then progress to the fine side, and then brush if your hairtype likes brushing (a lot of wavies and curlies don't do well with brushing!). A detangling spray or oil might help the comb to glide through more easily, minimising wear and tear. Another important tip, be careful not to overdo protein treatments as this can lead to brittle, snapping hairs. An easy way to tell if your hair needs protein or moisture is to take a wet (shed) strand and pull it tight - if it stretches like crazy or feels gummy you need protein but if it snaps easily and seems brittle then you need moisture. I like to alternate both types of treatments, then you know you are feeding your hair a good balance :)
Melissa: my hair dresser just destroyed my hair. So over processed it and my hair is to the point of it snapping off with even the lightest touch. So right now my hair is in SEVERE recovery. Any more tips to fix over processed hair would be EXTREMELY APPRECIATED!!!!
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