Hair breakage [sad face] & What You Can do About It!
At some time or another I believe everyone experiences hair breakage. In some instances its severe, and in others it can be pretty minor, but whether you are at either end of the spectrum one fact remains the same: it sucks big time. After the damage has been done many wonder: what, if anything, can I do about it? Well for starters let me say that unfortuantely there is no magical cure, hair serum, or oils that can grow the hair back or repair the damaged ends! Its one of those losses that you have to take and a lesson you learn about hair care.
Recently I had to learn this lesson first hand. In my journey to get back to a healthier and strong state of nappydom, I have had to exam the things that I have and haven't been doing to my hair in order to change and improve upon my hair care regimen. Well about six months ago, on a whim, I decided to add color to my hair. It was a semi-permanent, not as bad right? (Ha, Ha) The copper auburn D&L color took nearly wiped out my front edges. Now I'm not saying that you can't color treat your hair without have these kinds of results, because people do this all the time (many without incident). For me, as a busy single mom, I had not been taking proper care of my hair, to prepare it for such a harsh chemical process. Before that, there had been several weeks where I resorted to my tried and true ponytail puff, brushing and smoothing my edges into wavy and slick submission on a daily basis. I conditioned as often as I could, but with out protecting my ends, and reinforcing the strength and elasticity, I hadn't given my hair a fighting chance.
So after mourning over my hair woes, I decided to be proactive and do something about it. And ladies once you experience hair breakage/loss, the worst thing you can do about it is STRESS. Stressing will only make it worse. I find that acknowledging what the problem was, learning from it, and then changing so that the same problem doesn't show up in the future makes all the difference. Think about it this way, the time you spend stress about what has happened to your hair, could be spent finding a solution that will get your hair back to a healthier state.
One part of my hair regimen that I had seriously neglected, was Protein Treaments! Back in the day, as a little napptural I remember while getting my hair shampooed, and moms would crack an egg and distribute its slimy yellow contents over my textured tresses. A Protein Treatment with egg is one of the simplest, but most nourishing ways you can help your hair. The hair itself is made up of protein, and doing any chemical processing to it, i.e. perms, relaxers, hair coloring and bleaching, breaks down and strips the hair of that protein that it needs to maintain strength and elasticity. So in order to protect the hair, its important to treat the hair with a conditioning protein solution every so often, say every six weeks or so.
There are some recipies for Protein Treatments that you can make your self, using ingredients that you have just sitting in your kitchen. I just completed my treatment the other night, and I whipped up a concotion of some highly nourishing, conditioning, protein infused ingredients. It included an egg, mayo, plain yogurt, honey, and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). I mixed up a batch of this stuff, slathered it on my hair, (after I washed it of course) and sat with a plastic cap over my hair for about 30-45 minutes. In cases where you don't use egg, you would usually apply heat, (say an overhead dryer for half that time) but in mines I didnt want to end up with egg drop soup hair, and I tend to stay clear of heat anyway.
Once you apply a protein treatment to your hair you have to becareful. It is extremely important to remember not to comb or manipulate the hair as much as you can help to avoid losing any more hair. The extra protein tends to harden the hair while strengthing it, but while its in and your hair is wet, breakage can be severe if you dont handle things properly. After washing out the treatment you will want to follow up with a deep conditioning and also sit with a plastic cap, under a dryer if you wish for about 10-15 minutes.
Let me tell you, immediately after I washed my protein concotion out of my hair, I noticed a difference. It felt as if my hair was coated with another layer of strength, yet it was silkier. The change you feel is instantaneous and pretty amazing! I'm going to committ myself to doing this at least once a month until I feel like I get my hair back to its once glorious state, and then I'll probably do every six weeks after that.
There are a few other things that you should remember, inorder to minimize hair breakage.
1. Leave your hair alone!
The less you handle your hair and keep it in a protective style (braids, cornrows, twist, a bun, etc), the less likely you are to have it break off and be damaged.
2. Take time to Detangle!
Ladies, especially those of us with natural hair, have to remember to take care and detangle the hair properly before styling. I find it easiest to comb out my tangles, starting from the ends up to the roots, while I'm in the shower and there is still some conditioner in my hair.
3. Hold the Heat!
Like I stated earlier, I steer clear of the heat, unless I am doing something like flat ironing my hair which is practically like a once a year thing for me. But for those who do, you have to try and minimize it, and/or use a protective coating such as a thermal activated heat protective serum on your hair before applying heat. Coconut is also very hydrating and conditioning for the hair and scalp, and can make a great pre-poo treatment if you plan on using heat.
4. Clip those Ends!
Now many people seem to have the misconception that clipping your ends often helps your hair grow. In actuality it doesnt. What does happen is that the ragged, brittle split ends that were getting tangled and catching on the other ends of your hair are taken out of the equation. This helps the manageability of your hair, when you have to comb or brush it, stops the further splitting of split ends (ceasing further damage) and allows your hair to show you its growth.
5. Moisturize those Ends!
I can't reiterate this one enough, the ends of your hair are the only part that is not living, and in turn need the most help. I like to use shea butter as a daily moisturizer between washings and deep conditioning. Dry and brittle hair tends to break, but if your hair its moisturized it will thrive!
As I continue to strive for healthier stronger hair and rebuild my regimen, I'd be happy to help others and answer questions so that you can do the same! Happy hair care!
Recently I had to learn this lesson first hand. In my journey to get back to a healthier and strong state of nappydom, I have had to exam the things that I have and haven't been doing to my hair in order to change and improve upon my hair care regimen. Well about six months ago, on a whim, I decided to add color to my hair. It was a semi-permanent, not as bad right? (Ha, Ha) The copper auburn D&L color took nearly wiped out my front edges. Now I'm not saying that you can't color treat your hair without have these kinds of results, because people do this all the time (many without incident). For me, as a busy single mom, I had not been taking proper care of my hair, to prepare it for such a harsh chemical process. Before that, there had been several weeks where I resorted to my tried and true ponytail puff, brushing and smoothing my edges into wavy and slick submission on a daily basis. I conditioned as often as I could, but with out protecting my ends, and reinforcing the strength and elasticity, I hadn't given my hair a fighting chance.
So after mourning over my hair woes, I decided to be proactive and do something about it. And ladies once you experience hair breakage/loss, the worst thing you can do about it is STRESS. Stressing will only make it worse. I find that acknowledging what the problem was, learning from it, and then changing so that the same problem doesn't show up in the future makes all the difference. Think about it this way, the time you spend stress about what has happened to your hair, could be spent finding a solution that will get your hair back to a healthier state.
One part of my hair regimen that I had seriously neglected, was Protein Treaments! Back in the day, as a little napptural I remember while getting my hair shampooed, and moms would crack an egg and distribute its slimy yellow contents over my textured tresses. A Protein Treatment with egg is one of the simplest, but most nourishing ways you can help your hair. The hair itself is made up of protein, and doing any chemical processing to it, i.e. perms, relaxers, hair coloring and bleaching, breaks down and strips the hair of that protein that it needs to maintain strength and elasticity. So in order to protect the hair, its important to treat the hair with a conditioning protein solution every so often, say every six weeks or so.
There are some recipies for Protein Treatments that you can make your self, using ingredients that you have just sitting in your kitchen. I just completed my treatment the other night, and I whipped up a concotion of some highly nourishing, conditioning, protein infused ingredients. It included an egg, mayo, plain yogurt, honey, and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). I mixed up a batch of this stuff, slathered it on my hair, (after I washed it of course) and sat with a plastic cap over my hair for about 30-45 minutes. In cases where you don't use egg, you would usually apply heat, (say an overhead dryer for half that time) but in mines I didnt want to end up with egg drop soup hair, and I tend to stay clear of heat anyway.
Once you apply a protein treatment to your hair you have to becareful. It is extremely important to remember not to comb or manipulate the hair as much as you can help to avoid losing any more hair. The extra protein tends to harden the hair while strengthing it, but while its in and your hair is wet, breakage can be severe if you dont handle things properly. After washing out the treatment you will want to follow up with a deep conditioning and also sit with a plastic cap, under a dryer if you wish for about 10-15 minutes.
Let me tell you, immediately after I washed my protein concotion out of my hair, I noticed a difference. It felt as if my hair was coated with another layer of strength, yet it was silkier. The change you feel is instantaneous and pretty amazing! I'm going to committ myself to doing this at least once a month until I feel like I get my hair back to its once glorious state, and then I'll probably do every six weeks after that.
There are a few other things that you should remember, inorder to minimize hair breakage.
1. Leave your hair alone!
The less you handle your hair and keep it in a protective style (braids, cornrows, twist, a bun, etc), the less likely you are to have it break off and be damaged.
2. Take time to Detangle!
Ladies, especially those of us with natural hair, have to remember to take care and detangle the hair properly before styling. I find it easiest to comb out my tangles, starting from the ends up to the roots, while I'm in the shower and there is still some conditioner in my hair.
3. Hold the Heat!
Like I stated earlier, I steer clear of the heat, unless I am doing something like flat ironing my hair which is practically like a once a year thing for me. But for those who do, you have to try and minimize it, and/or use a protective coating such as a thermal activated heat protective serum on your hair before applying heat. Coconut is also very hydrating and conditioning for the hair and scalp, and can make a great pre-poo treatment if you plan on using heat.
4. Clip those Ends!
Now many people seem to have the misconception that clipping your ends often helps your hair grow. In actuality it doesnt. What does happen is that the ragged, brittle split ends that were getting tangled and catching on the other ends of your hair are taken out of the equation. This helps the manageability of your hair, when you have to comb or brush it, stops the further splitting of split ends (ceasing further damage) and allows your hair to show you its growth.
5. Moisturize those Ends!
I can't reiterate this one enough, the ends of your hair are the only part that is not living, and in turn need the most help. I like to use shea butter as a daily moisturizer between washings and deep conditioning. Dry and brittle hair tends to break, but if your hair its moisturized it will thrive!
As I continue to strive for healthier stronger hair and rebuild my regimen, I'd be happy to help others and answer questions so that you can do the same! Happy hair care!
Hello, love the blog and your hair is looking fantastic as usual Ms Cherie.
ReplyDeleteI really want my hair to stop breaking so it will grow. It's growing back but I want it to grow faster, longer and better. Right now I'm using some cholesterol conditioner stuff, cream of nature shampoo, and shea butter. What can I do? Oh and I have this serious problem with these little knots that show up at the ends of my hair which is not helping. I've tried clipping the ends and keeping them moisterized but they keep coming back. Please help.
Thanks
Great blog. I have sisterlocks. I don't think I will have the same problem Akosua has because my hair is dredded. Right?
ReplyDeleteWell Akousa,
ReplyDeleteFor a while I think we pretty much had the same hair care regimen as far as the products are concerned. I also use the LeKair's cholesterol conditioner stuff (usually to deep condition), I did the creme of nature shampoo (which is no longer organic now btw, they snuck the sulfates back in! Boo!), and shea butter as a moisturizer. I actually have also started used coconut oil, which I believe is helping keep the ends of my hair moisturized. What could help you, which I have noted in this post are protein treatments every month. A little time to restrengthen your hair could go a long way! The single knots at the ends of your hair could be from your method of detangling. Do you work your way up from the ends to your roots when you are taking down your hair, or combing it out. Let me know if that helps...
@ Lynn, Having Sisterlocks does tend to protect the inner structure of the hair more so, than if they were loose. However, you still want to be mindful of the need to be careful not to apply to much pressure or stress on the locs when styling, and that protein treatments are great for them too! Also at times locs can start to dry out, but using an essential oil to revitalize them dan help.