Saving your tresses is a daily battle. Hair breakage happens to all of us, but degrees of damage vary. Either way, fighting breakage in the early stages can help prevent more damage down the road, no matter your hair is short or long, you may meet this problem.
How bad is your breakage? Here’s the test. Brush your hair. Look down at the floor. Chances are there are that little pieces of hair (aka breakage) are lying around. The more hair, the more damage. Diagnosis given.
Breakage is different than its cousin: split ends. While split ends involve the end of hair lightly tearing, breakage involves the mid-shaft of the hair ripping off completely.
Recently, I was victim to a major case of breakage. One side on my (very long) hair was three inches shorter than the other. To solve the issue, I had to get an unwanted haircut (8 inches to be exact). In order to not repeat history, my stylist and I had a hair intervention. I outlined her expert tips below.
Note that once breakage reaches a certain point, you have to cut it off to see any growth. Yes, hair grows from the top of your head, but it will not get longer if it continues to rip off!
Ensure Brush Safety
Here’s a fun fact. Apparently the brush you use matters? I know, I was confused too. My stylist explained that the crap brush I am using from the drugstore is so harsh on my knots that it’s contributing to my breakage. She suggested I use The Wet Brush. Let’s just say life is a little different. It brushes through my hair effortlessly, and pulls at tangles lightly. AKA no hair on the bathroom floor.
Use Heat Protectant
My stylist was pretty adamant about this one. I have coarse hair, which led me to believe I could survive without protection. Clearly, I was naive. Heat protectant coats the outside of hair. This is important because without it you are essentially sticking your hair in an oven every day, hoping it doesn’t catch on fire. My newly adopted heat protectant is AG Hair Deflect Fast-Dry Heat Protectant. It speeds up my drying time and protects my tresses from death. Win, win.
Get Regular Trims
For some reason this is a hard pill for us to swallow (even for me). My breakage was the result of my desire for long, flowy hair. I felt that if I cut it, I was further away from mermaid life. Was I right? No. Getting regular trims, especially when growing you hair out, will ensure that you minimize breakage since more breakage means having to cut more hair off. The average trim should cut half an inch maximum. It’s suggested that you get a trim every 6-8 weeks. Trust me when I say, just do it. You don’t want to have to start all over again.
Prevention
Less shocking than the brush safety, my stylist encouraged me to invest in a restorative styling oil. In English, this is a light treatment that coats each strand of hair and gives it strength. Happy, healthy hair is less prone to breakage. I suggest using K-PAK Color Therapy Restorative Styling Oil, which repairs while it protects.
Now go out, and protect those tresses!
