Breakage in the back

[Akwamareen]

Hi Everyone,
I’m new here and I’d love to hear your thoughts on why I’m having so much trouble growing out my hair. It’s almost like the hair in the front of my head and the top will grow, but the hair in the back of my head never will. I don’t have extremely long hair goals I just want to grow it an inch or two longer without breakage in the back. I haven’t ever died my hair. Are usually wear it down during the day, but I have been experimenting with sleeping with my hair up. So far it seems to tangle less but thinning in the back is still happening. My hair is not quite bra strap length. Never dyed. Straight, thin/medium thickness and tangles easily.

[ThistleTea]

My initial advice would be to wear it in a protective style 24/7 for a month or two (or have it down at night and sleep with satin pillowcases) and see if that makes a difference.

[neko_kawaii]

It may actually take a few years to see regrowth because it will take time for the hairs to be long enough to be noticeable. Another option for sleeping is a silk sleep cap and/or silk pillowcases.

[ThistleTea]

Yeah, regrowth will definitely take some time! But halting the breakage as a first step is important. What do you think could be causing it? A coat you wear or a necklace clasp or something along those lines?

[Nox_Inber]

If it's only breaking in the back then that sounds like mechanical damage to me. Is your hair rubbing against a chair during the day or on your pillow at night?

Also, it's possible your hair grows faster in the front. I'm actually the opposite, fastest growth in the back and slowest in the front and one side in the front grows slower than the other lol. It gets really noticeable if I haven't trimmed my hair for a long time because the length is uneven. This doesn't explain why the back is breaking but it can exacerbate the issue visually.

It might be time for a S&D to eliminate split ends in the back to help prevent the damage from traveling up.

[lapushka]

Hi Everyone,
I’m new here and I’d love to hear your thoughts on why I’m having so much trouble growing out my hair. It’s almost like the hair in the front of my head and the top will grow, but the hair in the back of my head never will. I don’t have extremely long hair goals I just want to grow it an inch or two longer without breakage in the back. I haven’t ever died my hair. Are usually wear it down during the day, but I have been experimenting with sleeping with my hair up. So far it seems to tangle less but thinning in the back is still happening. My hair is not quite bra strap length. Never dyed. Straight, thin/medium thickness and tangles easily.

Are you heat styling? Like a curling iron or a straightener? Or a blow dryer that's put too hot?

I think you forgot to mention anything of that sort, so I thought I would ask. :flower:

Is it breaking off? Do you actually see smaller pieces coming off? Is there a white dot up the strand?

BTW, welcome! :)

[Spikey]

First off, let's establish what an average growth rate is: half an inch per month. That's only 6 inches a year. Is your hair growing significantly slower than that? Do you have a measurement from a few months ago you can compare your current length to? Also, have you been getting any trims or haircuts whatsoever? The last question may sound obvious, but some people still mistakenly believe that trims make your hair grow faster, or else just don't realize how much they're cutting.

If you're sure it's breakage though, protective styling is exactly what you need. And cut out all heat tools asap. Hope you figure it out, and welcome! :o

[Kalamazoo]

If you're wearing your hair down during the day, it could be rubbing on your shirt collar, which could make strands break off. Solutions: 1) Wear your hair up. OR 2) Wear smooth tops (silk or satin) that won't give a lot of friction and break your hair off. (or maybe it's something else...)

[spidermom]

If you're noticing hairs stuck to whatever you're using to secure your hair when you wear it up or pulled back, don't use that thing. I've seen a lot of women use elastics to make messy buns and have a lot of hair stuck to it when they pull it off. Some of that is shed hair but some of it is broken hairs. You want to minimize that kind of thing.

[Akwamareen]

Yes, I do use a blow dryer and I straighten the ends about 2x/week. It’s hard for me to tell if it’s actually breaking off. I do have some split ends but not a ton. I do get ALOT of tangling in that area though.

[Akwamareen]

Thank you! I’m not exactly sure how fast my hair grows. I used to go about every three months and they would take off 1.5-2” to even it out in the back. My hairdresser left though so I thought it was a good time to try growing it out. I hate wearing my hair up but maybe it’s worth a shot!

[Akwamareen]

Thank you all so much for your help!!

[milosmomma]

I agree with most of the lovely advice you've gotten already. Avoid heat and protective styling. Maybe oiling, not sure if I hear that yet, but it can help protect your ends a bit and seal in some moisture. And a big welcome btw :)

[Jo Ann]

Yes, I do use a blow dryer and I straighten the ends about 2x/week. It’s hard for me to tell if it’s actually breaking off. I do have some split ends but not a ton. I do get ALOT of tangling in that area though.

I used to get a lot of breakage in the back until I started wearing my hair in a sleep braid (I prefer a rope braid, and swap sides each night [right side one night, left side the next]). Maybe a sleep braid, using hair-friendly elastics, can be your friend.

Also, if your hairdresser was cutting 1-1/2 to 2 inches every three months, you can kiss any growth goodbye.

Welcome to the forum!

[MusicalSpoons]

How are you wearing it up at night? If it's in a ponytail and/or secured with a hairtie, that's probably not helping.

The straightening is not helping either, but you can still blow-dry on warm/cool as long as you're gentle and don't rip any brush or comb through at the same time.

I hope you stick around and find some more info and ideas - lots of people hate wearing their hair up initially but they usually get used to it. If you check the length threads for APL-BSL and BSL-Waist you might find some inspiration for nice updos that might help you *want* to wear your hair up :)

Welcome, and happy growing! :flower:

[lapushka]

Yes, I do use a blow dryer and I straighten the ends about 2x/week. It’s hard for me to tell if it’s actually breaking off. I do have some split ends but not a ton. I do get ALOT of tangling in that area though.

The blow dryer you don't need to let go of, but is the straightener really necessary. I'm willing to bet that that is what is causing the breakage. 2 times a week is a lot if you have long hair goals.

[Wendyclaire]

This was happening to me too and I discovered it was the seatbelt and riding in the car. I always wear my hair down (waist lengthish) so I have to make sure it’s in a side pony out of the way.

[lapushka]

This was happening to me too and I discovered it was the seatbelt and riding in the car. I always wear my hair down (waist lengthish) so I have to make sure it’s in a side pony out of the way.

All bets are off though when OP is still using a straightener. It trumps it all.

[Nox_Inber]

Using a straightener is a major offender for damage. If it's too hot for your skin then it's too hot for your hair!

[Ilyem]

My hair seems to be exactly like yours and I have the exact same problem except that the front of my hair breaks off too (probably to a greater extent than the back.) Just like everyone else said, probably the best thing you can do is wear your hair in protective styles. I found that one summer when I wore my hair in braids 24/7 I had significantly less breakage. Nowadays I wear my hair in a bun because it has finally got long enough for it and that seems to also be helping: even my mum told me my hair has been looking thicker recently.

Another thing you can try is putting a silicon serum on the ends of your hair to act as extra protection because you're essentially putting a coat on each strand. I'm not 100% sure it works but I think it makes somewhat of a difference from my experience. Its still worth trying and hasn't caused me any harm personally contrary to popular belief that silicones do harm (I mean, they probably do for some people but just not me.)

TL;DR = put your hair up but not in a ponytail that is super tight, preferably a braid or bun.

[Zesty]

Yep, cutting out heat is the first thing I'd do, and protective styles are a close second. Even at BSL straightening twice a week is a lot and will damage your hair, period. Also it might take a while for you to trim out that damage if you stop, it won't produce immediate results.

If your hair is straight why are you using a straightener, out of curiosity? Maybe there's a less damaging way to get the results you want. :flower:

[Wendyclaire]

You’re at that length when using a curling iron is tempting but it causes so much damage in the long run. I would stop cutting it and leave it alone. Also clothes or jackets with decorations/and or studs can snag and pull your hair out. Seatbelts and backs of chairs can also pull on the back. If you don’t want to wear it up you have to be careful and aware.

[Arciela]

A blow dryer is okay to use on hair as long as you can use it on your skin for like 10 seconds and it doesn't burn.

Cut out the straightener for sure! When I decided I had enough of my hair breaking and splitting..I cut everything cold turkey. My hair looked so awful for a year but I cut off all the damage slowly and followed LHC hair care...the damage all stopped.

[lapushka]

A blow dryer is okay to use on hair as long as you can use it on your skin for like 10 seconds and it doesn't burn.

Cut out the straightener for sure! When I decided I had enough of my hair breaking and splitting..I cut everything cold turkey. My hair looked so awful for a year but I cut off all the damage slowly and followed LHC hair care...the damage all stopped.

Not just 10 seconds, a whole lot longer. If it doesn't burn for a long time (because some dryers heat up the longer they are plugged in), then you are good to go.