Hair Breaks So Easily

[Ilyem]

For years and years my hair has had a very defined length of where it starts breaking: just below ear level. Initially I thought this was due to the fact that I wore high ponytails so I switched to lower ones which were quite loose. The length at which breakage starts did not get any lower after a year so I stopped wearing ponytails completely hoping that it would mean that I'm handling it less. Still this didn't change anything. Then January last year I started properly researching about how to grow my hair and gave a try to protective hairstyles. I very regularly do plaits so that my hair doesn't rub against my clothes or flail around in the wind too much but even this has not affected the breakage.

I just don't know what to do. I don't use heat of any sorts and baby my hair when brushing it. I lead a healthy lifestyle though in the past when I had shorts periods of not eating as healthy -lasting a month- this would result in pretty serious shedding.

Could it be be that my hair is rubbing against my bed when I am asleep? I toss quite a bit and that is what my boyfriend who has almost hip length hair suggests though he doesn't know much about it, he was just blessed with hair thicker than mine.

Thank you to anyone that gives me any advice. This has been bugging me for so long and makes me seriously consider giving up even though I've wanted long hair since I was young. I used to have hair at about BSL when I was 12 but got it cut and have been trying for so long to get it back.

[blackgothicdoll]

Are you sleeping on a satin pillowcase, or covering your head with anything? What type of breakage are you getting? Are they split ends, midshaft splits, partial splits, etc?

[lapushka]

Is it breakage? How can you tell? Do you have short sticky bits that only reach ear, or...? What does it look like?

There might be something internal going on. A blood panel is no luxury. I would maybe try and do that.

[Ilyem]

Are you sleeping on a satin pillowcase, or covering your head with anything? What type of breakage are you getting? Are they split ends, midshaft splits, partial splits, etc?

I don't sleep on a satin pillowcase as I am unable to get one nor do I cover my hair with anything.

About split ends; funnily enough I get very little of them but when I do they are on the back of my head. What I do notice is that my hair snaps off very very easily. Every day even when I'm not touching it I have short hairs all over my shirt which could not possibly be the hair just falling off, its definitly breaking off. I guess this is because it is fine but I still find it unbelievable that it is THAT fine.

[Ilyem]

Is it breakage? How can you tell? Do you have short sticky bits that only reach ear, or...? What does it look like?

There might be something internal going on. A blood panel is no luxury. I would maybe try and do that.

Unfortunately I don't know how to post pictures and LHC won't let me post any on my profile. What it looks like though is that I have hairs sticking out all the way down to the ends from a defined line at below ear which goes all around my head. Above that line I have barely any breakage. The hair seems to be just snapping off but it doesn't leave split ends, instead white dots.

My hair gets ridiculously thin once it is past shoulder and looks pretty horrid to say the least. I really do hope this is fixable.

[Ilyem]

Is it breakage? How can you tell? Do you have short sticky bits that only reach ear, or...? What does it look like?

There might be something internal going on. A blood panel is no luxury. I would maybe try and do that.

Oh I forgot to say about what's internal. A few months ago I went to the doctors asking about this and I got a blood test. The results came back saying that I have no problems and that I am healthy.

[neko_kawaii]

What is your hair routine? What products do you use and how often? Also, do you have hard water or other circumstances that might lead to environmental buildup or damage such as regular swimming?

You mentioned that poor eating lead to shedding in the past, it could be that your hair requires extra nutrients. Others may be able to chime in on if there is any evidence which nutrients affect hair quality.

[BerrySara]

edit: answer to my question was in original post.

[Ilyem]

What is your hair routine? What products do you use and how often? Also, do you have hard water or other circumstances that might lead to environmental buildup or damage such as regular swimming?

You mentioned that poor eating lead to shedding in the past, it could be that your hair requires extra nutrients. Others may be able to chime in on if there is any evidence which nutrients affect hair quality.

My routine is that I wash my hair every 2 days. I use a regular shampoo which is of quality. They do have SLS but due to the oily nature of my hair I feel that it is most effective to just wash it with this, baring in mind I have experimented with different kinds of shampoos and they don't seem to affect my hair badly in any way. I then use a hair mask with no silicones and is made of all good ingredients (being into chemistry I've researched into all of them.) I don't put any silicones on my hair but am considering doing it if it were to strengthen the strands and make them less prone to breaking off. I let my hair air dry and never rub it with a towel like I used to when I was younger which resulted in split ends.

I have soft water in my area though I have noticed that whenever I go to places with hard water such as London it really negatively affects my hair, making it feel waxxy. I don't go swimming though the times that I have I always noticed a greater hairfall due to the chlorine.

[neko_kawaii]

Does the hair mask contain proteins?

[Ilyem]

Does the hair mask contain proteins?

No, it doesn't. It has multiple oils though. The company is kind of obscure so it was difficult for me to find the ingredients but on this link: https://www.ceneo.pl/55196466#tab=reviews_scroll someone has posted a picture of the back of the packet. Personally I really like this mask though (my favourite that I keep going back to) as it leaves my hair reallu soft so I don't think its the problem.

[Ylva]

In case someone has difficulties locating the ingredients on that site, I'll post them here:

Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Pinus Sibirica Seed Oil, Evernia Prunastri (Oakmoss) Extract, Rhaponticum Carthamoides Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Allium Cepa (Onion) Bulb Extract, Alnus Glutinosa Extract , Organic Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Organic Beeswax, Organic Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Parfum, Caramel, Citric Acid.

[Ilyem]

In case someone has difficulties locating the ingredients on that site, I'll post them here:

Aqua, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Pinus Sibirica Seed Oil, Evernia Prunastri (Oakmoss) Extract, Rhaponticum Carthamoides Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Allium Cepa (Onion) Bulb Extract, Alnus Glutinosa Extract , Organic Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Organic Beeswax, Organic Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Parfum, Caramel, Citric Acid.

Thank you very much for writing it out:)

[TreesOfEternity]

Caps or hats that you may wear? Any head covering you wear on your everyday or at work?

[AutobotsAttack]

Is your hair fine? If so you may want to revise how you handle your hair.

[chrissy-b]

I have very fine hair and used to get tons of white dots and breakage. I haven't had them pretty much since I stopped blow drying my hair (but maybe once a month) and started using oils regularly. I use argan oil after I wash (but have had luck with coconut and jojoba too), and do a heavy oiling once a week or so. If you have access to order a satin pillowcase online I would definitely give it a try. I almost never have tangles when I wake up anymore.

[Cate36]

I have very fine hair and used to get tons of white dots and breakage. I haven't had them pretty much since I stopped blow drying my hair (but maybe once a month) and started using oils regularly. I use argan oil after I wash (but have had luck with coconut and jojoba too), and do a heavy oiling once a week or so. If you have access to order a satin pillowcase online I would definitely give it a try. I almost never have tangles when I wake up anymore.

Why don't you try weekly treatments of Olaplex? It really does help strengthen the hair and prevent breakage from life time stuff (sleeping on it, brushing etc) and is more effective IMO than oil...

[chrissy-b]

Why don't you try weekly treatments of Olaplex? It really does help strengthen the hair and prevent breakage from life time stuff (sleeping on it, brushing etc) and is more effective IMO than oil...

Because my routine works great as it is. Or did you not mean to direct your comment to me?

[milosmomma]

It sounds mechanical to me. Shoulder is a length were it begins to rub on more surfaces causing it to weaken. I would try some deep conditioning and oiling. More moisture alone might be enough but sealing with an oil should help retain more moisture in between washes. I would also invest in a satin pillow case(I find mine at the dollar store) or a silky scarf, or even if you have a t-shirt made from a slippery material you can put that over your pillow at night. I would also try cinnamon buns(if you're not already, you did say you started protective styling) with a stick or fork, and maybe even try cones to really coat your hair. I would only use cones if you're really packing in moisture thogh, as they can work against you and seal moisture out(at least for me, when I don't use them correctly)
WIshing you luck and keep us posted :)

[Ilyem]

Caps or hats that you may wear? Any head covering you wear on your everyday or at work?

I never cover my hair with anything nor wear hats. Would that not be a bad thing as hair could snag off the material?

[Ilyem]

Is your hair fine? If so you may want to revise how you handle your hair.

Yes my hair is fine. I don't treat it as though it were coarse though. I baby it quite a lot which makes the condition my hair is in and the fact that it doesn't seem to be improving evermore frustrating.

[Ilyem]

I have very fine hair and used to get tons of white dots and breakage. I haven't had them pretty much since I stopped blow drying my hair (but maybe once a month) and started using oils regularly. I use argan oil after I wash (but have had luck with coconut and jojoba too), and do a heavy oiling once a week or so. If you have access to order a satin pillowcase online I would definitely give it a try. I almost never have tangles when I wake up anymore.

I think once my hair gets a bit longer I'll start lightly oiling or using a serum on the end of my braid. What was stopping me before was that my hair was pretty short and combined with the fact that I have enough of my scalp's natural oils it didn't seem necessary.

I have tried coconut oil in the past though and it makes me lose a lot of hair. I assume it is too heavy. Jojoba works well for me though as well as argan oil.

[Ilyem]

It sounds mechanical to me. Shoulder is a length were it begins to rub on more surfaces causing it to weaken. I would try some deep conditioning and oiling. More moisture alone might be enough but sealing with an oil should help retain more moisture in between washes. I would also invest in a satin pillow case(I find mine at the dollar store) or a silky scarf, or even if you have a t-shirt made from a slippery material you can put that over your pillow at night. I would also try cinnamon buns(if you're not already, you did say you started protective styling) with a stick or fork, and maybe even try cones to really coat your hair. I would only use cones if you're really packing in moisture thogh, as they can work against you and seal moisture out(at least for me, when I don't use them correctly)
WIshing you luck and keep us posted :)

Thank you for the insight. Surprisingly my hair is really soft all the time so I would assume it is moisturised. I'll try locking that in with a serum/oil.

About cinnamon buns, my hair looks really bad in any sort of bun due to how thin it is. The bun ends up being the size of a pingpong ball and it looks a tad ridiculous so I'll leave that hairstyle for when it gets longer and hopefully thicker. Sticks and forks slip out of my hair too but that is probably due to it not being long enough so maybe that's something I can do in the future as well.

[Lady Stardust]

Another vote for a silk or satin scarf over your pillow, I really think you will notice a difference.

I had a look at your profile picture (actually by mistake, fat finger syndrome!) and your hair is very pretty! It’s a gorgeous colour.

[Ilyem]

Another vote for a silk or satin scarf over your pillow, I really think you will notice a difference.

I had a look at your profile picture (actually by mistake, fat finger syndrome!) and your hair is very pretty! It’s a gorgeous colour.

I'll look into having a silk pillowcase of scarf to cover my pillow. And thank you though the picture is old and colour due to camera exposure. It's darker in real life though still blonde

[Ylva]

Because my routine works great as it is. Or did you not mean to direct your comment to me?

I'm guessing it was for the OP.

[milosmomma]

Thank you for the insight. Surprisingly my hair is really soft all the time so I would assume it is moisturised. I'll try locking that in with a serum/oil.

About cinnamon buns, my hair looks really bad in any sort of bun due to how thin it is. The bun ends up being the size of a pingpong ball and it looks a tad ridiculous so I'll leave that hairstyle for when it gets longer and hopefully thicker. Sticks and forks slip out of my hair too but that is probably due to it not being long enough so maybe that's something I can do in the future as well.

How about a peacock twist as a protective style? It leaves the ends out but up so they're not rubbing and should give some more volume.

[Ilyem]

How about a peacock twist as a protective style? It leaves the ends out but up so they're not rubbing and should give some more volume.

That seems like a good hairstyle especially for the summer when you don't want hair on your neck. I'll try to create it. Thanks for the idea. I had heard of a peacock twist before but never looked into it and it seems easy enough to do.