Hair can break for a number of different reasons. If you have been wondering “why is my hair breaking” there could be a very good reason for it.
Some of the reasons for hair breakage are obvious and some are a little more complicated. It’s definitely not something that is uncommon, in fact, a lot of people struggle with hair breakage.
The way that we treat our hair can either help or harm us.
Today we are going to look at 10 reasons why your hair could be breaking. Some of these you may not even be aware of.
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What is Hair Breakage?
Hair breakage is when the strands of your hair break away from the hair growing out of your head.
A broken piece of hair will be a short strand of hair compared to the length of all the other hairs on your head. If you find a strand of hair that is long and has a bobble on the end of it, that is likely a shed hair.
If you want to know the difference between a shed hair and a broken hair you can read about that here.
Remember you lose on average 150 hairs a day so don’t get confused with the two.
What Causes Hair Breakage? (10 Reasons)
Hair can break for a number of different reasons. Let’s explore some of the reasons why your hair could be breaking.
1. Lack of Protein
Protein gives your hair strength. Your hair is made up of 70-80% ketatin protein. It is essential for your hair to have an amino acid supply so it can grow and remain healthy hair.
Hair that lacks protein will be weak and brittle. It will break easily as it has lost its strength.
You can find a really good protein treatment here.
2. Overmanipulation
Overmanipulating your hair is really bad. It causes stress and strain on your strands that can cause them to snap and break.
When you are constantly doing your hair, changing your hairstyle and other things all the time your hair becomes tired and eventually weak. When your hair is weak it is prone to breakage.
If you have been doing hairstyles such as tight hair buns, extensions, manipulative wash and go’s, all these things will eventually make your hair break. It’s a good idea to keep these things to a minimum.
3. Heat
Applying heat to your hair without the proper protection is one of life’s deadly sins! Never do it. If you are going to be using heat in your hair then you need to be strategic about it.
You should only do it sometimes and you definitely need to use a heat protectant when doing so. Flat irons, blow-drying and curling irons all cause breakage if not used correctly.
You need to remember that damage from heat may not show immediately, it’s something that can happen slowly and at that point, it’s too late to do anything about it.
Heat is definitely a culprit when it comes to hair breakage. If you do want to give up heat then there are a few other ways that you can straighten your hair without heat.
4. Misuse of Tools
The number of times that I have seen people misuse the tools for their hair is unbelievable.
You have to remember that natural hair is very fragile and using combs and harsh brushes will only cause breakage to your hair.
If you want to use a hairbrush, you can use it to detangle your hair in the shower gently. Personally, I’m a fan of finger combing but I know that’s not for everyone. If you want to use a comb for your hair then do so with care.
Your tools by themselves don’t damage your hair but the way that use them definitely can.
5. Diet
We all know that your diet plays a pretty big role when it comes to how your body functions. Did you know that includes your hair too?
Yes, your hair is one of those things that relies on what you eat. It needs good nutrients in order to be healthy. I’m pretty sure that this is not a huge surprise to you.
If your diet lacks the minerals and vitamins that your hair needs then your hair will become dry, brittle and eventually break! Some people like to take hair vitamins like these to make up for where they may be lacking.
Let’s not forget about your water intake too. Water is so important to the health of your hair. Without it, expect breakage.
6. Not Trimming
Trimming your hair is so underrated. It’s the one thing that people always try to avoid and that is a huge mistake!
By trimming your hair you are actually saving your strands by keeping them healthy. Trying to hold on to dead broken strands of hair only causes more damage in the long term and it is not a good hair care strategy.
When you trim your hair you create a nice healthy basis for your hair to grow and get rid of split ends at the same time.
Keeping up with regular trims is just as important as getting enough water and good nutrients.
7. Improper Moisturising
Moisture is one of those things you should never underestimate for your hair. Your hair needs it plain and simple, there are no 2 ways about it.
I always like to say, think of your hair like a plant, without water it will simply dehydrate and die. Well, the same is pretty much true with your hair too. Without water, it will dehydrate a break.
I recommend using a water spray bottle like this to help with daily moisture.
If you do nothing else to your hair for your whole entire life, you MUST moisturise it. Everything else you can sidestep but moisture you just can’t. The growth and the health of your hair depend on it.
8. Stress
Stress is a powerful thing.
You can be stressed and not even realise that it is affecting you negatively. When you have huge amounts of stress it causes imbalances in your body and that can affect your hair and overall health.
Stress causes the hormonal balance in your body to be disrupted, this includes hormones like cortisol which help regulate sebum production. Sebum is a natural oil that protects your hair from damage.
So guess what happens when your sebum production is affected? It can no longer protect your hair meaning that breakage will occur.
9. Overmoisturising
You may not know this but overmoisturing your hair is not a good thing at all. Yes, we talk about moisture in relation to our hair all the time but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Overmoisturisng is one of those things.
When your hair has too much moisture you will begin to see the signs, frizziness is one of those signs.
Frizziness happens because your hair begins to swell and puff up due to the excess moisture it has been given.
You may also notice reduced elasticity in your hair too as this is another sign of moisture overload (hydral fatigue)
10. Friction
Friction is so bad for hair and it’s one of the things that will definitely cause your hair to break.
When your hair rubs against a towel or a cotton pillowcase friction is initiated. Friction is caused by the strands of hair rubbing against each other.
This causes the hair to become weak and break easily.
To counteract this damage make sure you use a microfibre towel like this one instead of a regular towel and also try using a satin bonnet like this one to minimise friction.
How Can I Stop My Hair From Breaking?
There are a few things you can do to stop your hair from breaking. Some you may have already picked up if you have been following along. One of the best things you can do for your hair is to keep it moisturised. That can be through using a leave-in conditioner and regularly keeping on top of your moisturising.
Once you effectively begin to moisturise your hair half your hair breakage problems will be gone.
Another very important thing to remember is that you need to treat your hair with care and attention. Pay attention to what your hair is telling you. The more you can learn to do that the better off your hair will be.
Will My Hair Ever Go Back To Normal?
If you have been having excess breakage it’s not the end of the world. Once you work out the root cause of why your hair is breaking you can know how to fix it.
Your hair will recover and eventually begin to flourish again.
Final Thoughts On Why Is My Hair Breaking
Your hair can break for a number of different reasons. For the most part, your hair will break and become damaged because of something that you are doing or not doing. Once you find out what that something is you can prevent hair breakage from becoming worse and even stop it all together.
The above 10 reasons for why your hair is breaking are actually very common among many people and they are little things that we perhaps sometimes overlook.
Hopefully these 10 reasons will give you great insight into getting to know your hair better and which treatments you need to be mastering to finally get the hair growth that you deserve.
Related posts:
5 Signs of healthy natural hair
9 Tips to help stop hair breakage
