hair breakage problem

[manateelynn]

I seem to be having a real problem now with hair breakage and I'm not sure why. I wash my hair once a week so that it'll have the oils it needs to stay healthy, and I wait until it is dry to comb it out, but I still end up with a lot of hair in my lap when I am done. If you look at it in the mirror, you can see short hairs around my face and on top because of the breakage and if I put my hand on the top of head, it feels fuzzy up there from the broken off hair.
Any ideas on what I should do? I use Herbal Essence shampoo and condistioner. I used to blow dry, but not since my bunny ate the cord 2 months ago.

[Darkhorse1]

Hi there--I'm in the same boat as you. I have breakage from using hair elastics/being a bit harsh on my hair.

It's normal to shed hair daily. I read somewhere you shed 100 hairs daily, and those old ones are replaced with new hair. It's quite possible your hair is just in the shedding phase.

I love Herbal Essense products, so I don't think it's them. They are fairly gentle on my hair. And I wash my hair about three times a week due to my lifestyle.

Do you use many hard metal clips? My hair dresser said that clips and pulling out hair elastics can break/damage the hair. This is why I'm looking for alternate options to barrettes, or using ones that are gentler on my hair. good luck! :)

[JessTheMess]

I had the same problem...
It's been about two weeks and I've since a drastic change in my hair.
First of all, my blowdryer is R.I.P..
Every night before I go to bed, I put olive oil in my hair from my ends to my ears then I use a wide tooth come to evenly distribute the oil throughout. Then I put my hair in a low braid and put coconut oil on the ends and up the braid... I sleep on a silk pillowcase, because I move around alot and it's easier on my hair. When I wake up, I let the braid down and finger comb it. If it's not feeling too greasy I'll run some protein gel through my waves and wear it down if I want, or I will just throw it back into a braid if it's hot out. When I wash I condition, shampoo(waterd down), then condition again, but I leave it sit in for a few minutes.

[spidermom]

Look at the hairs next time. If there's a little bulb on one end, they are naturally shed hairs and nothing to worry about. If it's breakage, continue treating your hair gently. It takes time for the result of past bad habits to grow out and be trimmed off.

[DrkAngel]

Just a suggestion, could it be the sun drying out the top part of your hair? I've noticed that lately and am now doing extra conditioning on the roots and top part every time I shower.

And manateelynn, might I add your bunny was very smart there! haha

[peachy.pudding]

Hair oil completely stopped breakage for me, try some EVOO after every wash and then daily you will see the difference

[jojo]

I get this too, but have found a huge improvement since doing herbal rinses. Im also getting less splits too.

[frizzinator]

Do you brush?


Do you always start your fingercombing, combing and brushing at the hemline and work up to the scalp, detangling along the way, before the long strokes from top to bottom?

[manateelynn]

Okay, let me go through the question list....
#1: I quit using barrettes over a year ago and only use a Ficcare or those hair clamps with the long teeth. I use the elastics (not rubber bands) for my ponytails.
#2: I've never used oil on my hair and wouldn't know where to get them or even how. I've only used regular shampoo and condistioner.
#3: Sun drying....could be that....I was in Fla on vacation and got a nasty sunburn on my face that turned into sun poisening. My scalp even peeled. After the burn, I started wearing a hat the rest of them time.
#4: What is EVOO?????
#5: Where would I find herbal rinses and what are they called?
#6: I have been using a satin pillowcase for about 5 months and love it.
#7: I always comb out my hair from the bottom down, thanks to my years grooming horses and doing that whenever I had to brush out their tails. I'm always very gentle when I comb it out and I don't use a brush until after all the knots are out. In the evenings, I sometimes brush it with a boarshair brush (when I remember to).

I hope that helps explain what I do. What I really need is a hair guru in my home, teaching me everything I can do and showing me what to use at the stores. LOL! This website is a wonder to me. Half the time I have no idea what you guys are talking about. LOL!

[Pierre]

EVOO is extra virgin olive oil.

I oil my hair daily with jojoba. I also sleep with my hair in a Buff, which has cut down tremendously the damage at my nape.

[frizzinator]

The hair clamps with long teeth do not sound hair friendly. Can you show us a photo of this type of clamp? Ponytail elastics can break hair, especially if you use them frequently. Many of us cut up a stocking leg in wide strips, and use those circles instead of ponytail elastics because it's more gentle.


If you're in the sun a lot, you should probably be covering your hair. You did not mention if you contain your hair in the wind, especially when in a car with the windows down. Many of us wear our hair up everyday because the wind, backs of chairs, automobile seat belts, and the hinges on sunglasses will break hair.



Maybe try to stop brushing everyday. For me, even brushing carefully creates more hair loss than not brushing, and it's not obvious from counting how many hairs are caught in the brush. I did not believe this when others here on LHC said it, but I tried it myself and noticed a dramatic reduction in hair loss, from an average of 60 hairs a day down to 10 hairs a day. I've learned to only brush when I need to remove something from my hair or scalp, otherwise I don't brush. I move sebum with my fingertips instead of a boar bristle brush.


I'm not sure but I think maybe folks here make their own herbal rinses. You should do a search on herbs.

[Kirin]

Here's what I think is going on. Your hair is probably not suffering breakage but normal shed. If you only wash once a week, and are very gentle in the handling........... those average 50-100 hairs a day have to come out sometime. Likely when you comb, they are all coming out then, hairs that would naturally fall out at the end of their growing cycle.

The short hairs you see everywhere are hairs in their new growth phase, which are shorter than the rest.

The hair growth cycle causes this, a hair falls out, pauses growth and starts a new growing phase..... which can last years, but each hair has its own growing rate in its phase (which is why we dont go bald with all hair falling out at once).