So Many Broken Hairs! Need advice.

[PinkScarf]

This is my first ever thread here, but I've been lurking for a while. :)

My problem is that I seem to have a lot of broken hairs. My hair is very fine and so I'm really careful with it - I use heat less than once a month (I NEVER blowfry it anymore), I wear it up every day, I only wash it twice a week, sometimes less often than that. I never brush it, and I only comb it when it's completely dry.

But I still seem to have a lot of hairs that are much shorter than the rest of my hair. It's most obvious when I wear my hair in a high sock bun - the hair underneath is so frizzy and ratty looking because there are all these wispy hairs that are too short to fit up into the bun. :(

Does anyone know if there's a way to prevent my hair from breaking? I did used to dye my hair every 6-8 weeks with otc boxed dye (which is one of the worst things you can do to your hair, I've since learned! :doh:), could it be damage from that that's causing it to break?

If anyone can offer ANY advice, I'd be so grateful!!

[spidermom]

You can learn a lot here about how to keep hair in good condition and prevent breakage, but you're always going to have a lot of shorter hairs. Every single day you shed out hairs that have reached the end of their natural growth cycles. And every single day you grow in a few new hairs.

[PinkScarf]

Is there a way to tell if they're new hairs or broken ones?

[Nadine <3]

Echoing what spidermom said, it might not be breakage. Try and check the ends of the hair. If they just taper off, they're just shorter hairs. If they end in splits and white dots, then it's breakage. I know when I put a bun on top of my head I get crazy baby hairs floating all over the place too.

[Stray_mind]

Broken hairs have white dots on their ends or their ends are split i think.. New growth don't have them.

[woolyleprechaun]

I have this. And funnily enough, the worst parts of my hair are the bits that have never known dye, heat....anything damaging. I came to the conclusion that it is just regrowth from normal shedding, and not anything sinister.
Oh, have you had any big sheds in the past? Sometimes, ages later, you find all these mad new hairs. I know I was very upset with my 8-9 inch long hairs everywhere, but when I worked it out, it appears its regrowth from my postpartum shed (DD is 3! My shed went on for some time, and it takes a while for regrowth to make itself known).

[MeowScat]

Just my humble opinion...If you have breakage, it's probably from the dye and the heat since it sounds like you're gentle with it in other ways.

You said you don't blow dry it anymore, so do you use a flat iron? It could also be damage from past blow drying.

You can damage your hair fast using heat and it adds up over time and it doesn't always show right away.

I suggest stopping the heat and check your ends for splits and white dots. If you see them, snip them off with sharp hair scissors. Maybe treat your hair to a deep conditioning treatment once a week, like an SMT for example.

Satin pillowcases have helped me a lot, plus wearing it in a bun on top of my head while sleeping has helped. The bun rests on the pillow so there's no pulling. :)

[kitcatsmeow]

Like Moewscat said....could be from past damage. I did the same with my hair. Blowouts, flat iron...bleach. Ugh. Then I stopped all that and started babying it and doing deep conditioning treatments and masks and everything else you can think of but it was still awful and breaking. I ended up having to cut six inches to get rid of the damage but it was well worth it.

It could also just be dry and brittle causing it to break. Try a good deep conditioning treatment and some good oiling.

Lastly, look at your diet. Are you getting plenty of fats, proteins, minerals, etc. My anemia and low protein definitely effected my hair.

[lapushka]

Using a hot tool (*real* heat, not a mere blow dryer) is damaging, no matter how little you use it. You "only" use it once a month, well that may be enough and might be all your hair can take. You can tell damage apart from new growth by the ends (are there any white dots, split ends on the hairs?) and if not, you're fine.

My hair is all virgin, hip+, and still I have fine hairs all around my head, peaking out of updos. I have shorter and longer bits, outside of my layers. It's all natural, as spidermom already explained, just part of the growth cycle.

If I were you, though, I'd do my best in cutting out *real* heat. Using a blow dryer on cool to warm is to be preferred *any* *day* over a hot tool.

[PinkScarf]

Thanks so much for the advice, everyone! I don't use heat tools on my hair very often (I'll use a curling iron maybe once a month, if that, and I haven't used a flat iron in probably six months) but I used to use them on almost a daily basis. Maybe past damage from that... I'm not sure. I'll try completely eliminating heat styling and see what happens.

[Wildcat Diva]

Any hair that is affected by heat use in past does not heal, it's there, cumulatively collecting damage until you cut it off. So depending on your length, last year's damage is likely still there.