Hair breakage?

[bubbles04]

Hey guys.

I wanted to ask about hair breakage. I have quite a bit of hair breakage whenever I oil and shower which is daily.

Are there any remedies which can stop the breakage ?

[shelomit]

Gentler handling and/or less handling is generally the best protection against breakage. If you are finding that you break a lot of hairs during washing, then perhaps try manipulating it less while washing--e.g., not sectioning, waiting to detangle until it's dry, avoiding washing upside-down or otherwise in a position that your hair doesn't ordinarily lie. If we knew what your current oiling/washing techniques are, it would be easier to suggest specific changes.

It's also worth checking, if you haven't already, whether you're getting breakage per se or if you simply find that your shed hairs slip out while washing (which is a very typical phenomenon). If they are sheds, they should mostly be full-length as well as having a "bulb" attached to the scalp end. Broken hairs may be shorter on average, lack a bulb, and sometimes have a crimp or spiral at the end where they broke off.

[Arcticfoxes]

I have read that some peoples hair or scalp doesn't like oiling and it can cause more breakage/shedding in some people.

I do oil treatments on my scalp sparingly because I feel it causes some breakage/shedding in my hair, maybe once a month or so.

I find it OK to put some oil on the ends after a wash (once I've dried my hair) though, that doesn't cause shedding/breakage on me.

[WednesdayAddams]

Have you considered trying to stretch out the time between washes?

[lapushka]

Hey guys.

I wanted to ask about hair breakage. I have quite a bit of hair breakage whenever I oil and shower which is daily.

Are there any remedies which can stop the breakage ?

Do you still have damage of some kind (heat damage, perm damage, color damage, bleach damage) in your hair?

[bubbles04]

Do you still have damage of some kind (heat damage, perm damage, color damage, bleach damage) in your hair?


I dont think I have any mechanical damage because I haven't used colour, bleach or heat for almost 12 years now

[bubbles04]

Gentler handling and/or less handling is generally the best protection against breakage. If you are finding that you break a lot of hairs during washing, then perhaps try manipulating it less while washing--e.g., not sectioning, waiting to detangle until it's dry, avoiding washing upside-down or otherwise in a position that your hair doesn't ordinarily lie. If we knew what your current oiling/washing techniques are, it would be easier to suggest specific changes.

It's also worth checking, if you haven't already, whether you're getting breakage per se or if you simply find that your shed hairs slip out while washing (which is a very typical phenomenon). If they are sheds, they should mostly be full-length as well as having a "bulb" attached to the scalp end. Broken hairs may be shorter on average, lack a bulb, and sometimes have a crimp or spiral at the end where they broke off.

Thanks.

This is my current oiling routine
4x days oiling
Using coconut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil. I used to use olive oil a lot as well but it kept clogging my shower sink so I use it sparingly now. Instead I use sunflower oil.

In the shower, I use tressame shampoo and conditioner.

I haven't been able to do rice water masks in months but looking to try it.

Most of my hairs seem to shed from the ends. I can't say I have hairball as I rarely have hair falling from my scalp but it definitely sheds from the middle to end portion. And yes, some strands do have a white bulb.

[bubbles04]

Have you considered trying to stretch out the time between washes?

I wish I could but I shower everyday and oil it 4 days a week so it becomes impossible to not wash it. I wash it with water on oil free days and with shampoo and conditioner on oiled days.

My scalp and skin are very oily so not washing it frequently just makes my hair look greasy from the top and i kinda feel uncomfortable not washing it either.

[SandyBottom]

Are you oiling the scalp or mostly the length, and how much oil (a few drops/tsp/Tbsp)? When I used to use a LOT more oil I lost a freakish amount of hair. I thought it was due to breakage from all the manipulation during oiling. Some probably was, but I learned from here that it was mostly due to the oil increasing shedding. Since you stated that you have an oily scalp, maybe try oiling less often.

[bubbles04]

Are you oiling the scalp or mostly the length, and how much oil (a few drops/tsp/Tbsp)? When I used to use a LOT more oil I lost a freakish amount of hair. I thought it was due to breakage from all the manipulation during oiling. Some probably was, but I learned from here that it was mostly due to the oil increasing shedding. Since you stated that you have an oily scalp, maybe try oiling less often.

I oil both scalp and ends and yes I do use a lot of oil since my hair is quite thick in density and little amount of oil will never coat all of it.

I dont know whats causing it

[MusicalSpoons]

Question, neutral to gather information (no judgement): why do you oil your scalp if it's already oily?

What benefits do you (hope to) gain from oiling? The reason I ask is in case there's another way of gaining those benefits without using oil, or without needing to wash your hair so often. If you're in London UK (not London, Ontario - although their water might also be hard) our water is very hard and chloraminated so I don't think washing every day can be doing it much good.

[lapushka]

Oil on the scalp? For some it really takes out hair. Just sayin'. You are oiling your hair... a lot. I would stop putting oil on the scalp, mid lengths to ends = fine, just don't go near your roots, they are usually oily enough (no extra benefit). Try it; get back to us. :flower:

[spidermom]

As someone else mentioned, since your scalp is oily, there is no need to add more oil. In fact, you may be clogging pores and causing increased shedding.

Try oiling only the ends and maybe wash every other day rather than every day.

[Aunt Rapunzel]

Oil on the scalp? For some it really takes out hair. Just sayin'. You are oiling your hair... a lot. I would stop putting oil on the scalp, mid lengths to ends = fine, just don't go near your roots, they are usually oily enough (no extra benefit). Try it; get back to us. :flower:


As someone else mentioned, since your scalp is oily, there is no need to add more oil. In fact, you may be clogging pores and causing increased shedding.


Try oiling only the ends and maybe wash every other day rather than every day.



I agree.

This would be my advice - try taking a break from excessive oiling, and stop oiling the scalp altogether. Personally, I would only put oil on the ends, like Spidermom suggested. Give it some time, and see if you experience less breakage. Sometimes less is better.

[gghh]

The night before shampoo day, I oil the length of my hair - as it also helps me detangle without doing it in the shower - and I’ll take a bit of oil and massage it inti my scalp. Personally, my hair has benefited a lot from doing this - i can definitely see that it is much healthier and softer. I don’t oil my scalp through the rest of the week, it’s just the night before my shampoo day. When my scalp gets oily on its own around day 3 or 4, i just use my fingers and a bbb to spread it away from my scalp. So my scalp doesn’t get excessively oily anyway.

[SeppV]

I heavy oil my lenghts once a week, a LOT of oil, drenched. But my scalp? No. I tried, but I experienced a lot of shedding. Even from only once a week. I have never lost so much hair in my life. And I lost just as much as usual in the shower too, so it wasn't just "what had to go" anyway. It was more than usual. Just a thought. But I know some people can oil their scalp without any issues. I even have a dry scalp, takes a long time for my hair to get greasy, so I thought oiling surely would work for me. I was wrong. But I totally agree that oiling the lenghts before wash is great! Personally, I like to "wash" away the oil with conditioner only! Once a month I will wash my lenghts too (with shampoo) and no oiling (keep in mind, I wash my lenghts only once a week, so every fourth wash I will clean my hair completely with shampoo but the other times I will just wash my scalp with shampoo and lenghts with conditioner), just to get rid of the build up, but for regular CWC days, the conditioner works really well to remove the oil and leaves my hair softer than if I'd used shampoo.

[lapushka]

I still would try not doing it at all... and OP, do get back to us. It's tough not knowing how things are going when things are broached here. I guess that's just how it goes... But it's not worth it losing so much hair... I know, trust me.

[Kalamazoo]

I'm convinced tapwater damages my hair, because of all the pollutants + chlorine + fluoride that the EPA considers essential to our good health, here in Houston. I highly recommend using bottled water. I used to use spring water, but have switched to Glacier or Primo self-bottled water. But tapwater? If I wash my hands in tapwater, I get all kinds of problems with my nails and cuticles; so if it isn't good for my fingernails, it can't possibly be good for my hair.