What causes hair breakage? Your broken hairs may be a result of a combination of the following issues: Rough, aggressive brushing – especially when your hair's fragile and wet. Using products which aren't suitable for your hair type – especially if you have thick hair which needs extra hydration.
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
It plays a key role in the synthesis of keratin, a protein that makes up the structure of hair. Biotin deficiency can lead to hair thinning, hair loss, and brittle hair.
Using too much shampoo, brushing or combing your hair when it's wet, rubbing hair dry with a towel, or brushing too hard or too often can all strain your strands and make them break. Two big causes of breakage include braids that are too tight and weaves that weigh down the hair.
Vitamin D affects the health of many parts of the body, including the skin and hair. Vitamin D plays a role in the creation of new hair follicles. Hair follicles are the tiny pores from which new hairs grow. New follicles may help hair maintain thickness and prevent existing hair from falling out prematurely.
Brittle hair is hair that is dry, breakable, and dull. It's usually a sign your strands need some TLC.
Androgenic alopecia is generally used to describe female pattern hair loss, it is the most common cause of hair loss in women. It usually occurs after menopause because of an excess of androgens (“male hormones”) such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) caused by rapidly decreasing estrogen.
Bald spots, thinning, and breakage can be symptoms of a serious underlying health condition such as alopecia, lupus, thyroid issues, and other common types of disease that cause hair loss. If you have noticed a dramatic increase in shedding or other change in the appearance of your hair, Drs.
Curly and thick hair are most prone to split ends.
Coarse, curly hair has a lot of kinks in it, which can cause the ends to fray and become weak over time. It also tends to be drier than other types of hair due to its high porosity. Curly hair loses water just as easily as it absorbs it!
Hair breakage is usually caused by a lack of moisture and depleted nutrients in hair strands. If your hair is too dry and not well-nourished with the proteins and vitamins it needs, it's unable to deal with environmental and styling stressors, and will start to break.
Poor diet: If your diet's lacking proteins, vitamins, and minerals, this can affect your hair's health. Genetics and ageing: Some people may have naturally weaker hair that is more prone to splitting due to their genetic makeup - and as hair ages, it can become more porous and prone to damage.
Generally, he says, the range is somewhere between once a day and once a week. “If you have very fine or thin hair, you may need to wash more often, while those with thick or curly hair may need to wash less often,” says Dr Elizabeth Bahar Houshmand, a double board certified dermatologist and hair health expert.
It's important to remember that fixing hair breakage is a process – you can't mend individually-broken strands. The best thing you can do to stop your hair breaking is go for a trim to get rid of as much damaged hair as you're comfortable with, then follow our advice below.
“Look for products with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, or aloe vera, which hydrate without leaving a greasy residue,” says Garshick. “Use a lightweight conditioner and avoid heavy oils or creams. A leave-in conditioner spray or a volumizing conditioner can also help add moisture without making hair flat.”
Causes of Damaged Hair
Here are some of the most common: Overwashing: Washing your hair too often can strip it of its natural oils, leading to dryness and damage. Over-processing: Using a lot of heat styling or chemical treatments, such as bleaching, can also damage your hair.
Low iron levels can lead to hair loss. Iron deficiency can trigger a condition called telogen effluvium, which increases hair shedding and limits hair growth. Iron deficiency hair loss can be reversed if you get your iron levels back to normal. Oral iron supplements can help replenish your body's iron stores.
In the telogen phase, the roots recover before the cycle begins again.” We lose around 100 to 200 hairs a day through this cycle, but in the fall, we tend to lose even more. “In evolutionary terms, our hair is part of our coat. Accordingly, there is also a shedding cycle,” says Merkel.
Hair thinning can be caused by a number of factors, including stress, diet, hormones, and age. What are some signs your hair is thinning? You might notice an excessive amount of hair in the shower after you shampoo, trails of hair left on your pillow, or lots of hair in your brush or comb after styling.