How do I stop my natural hair from breaking? Hair breakage can be really painful and annoying to deal with.
Breakage is often regarded as all-around sure to experience the condition at some point. Whether you hear it, feel it, it is likely to happen when you pull your hair up, take it down, detangle, condition, and wash.
There are a variety of reasons hair breakage can happen and in most cases, it can be temporary. You can easily repair natural hair breakage with the right products and home remedies.
The biggest issue to deal with when it comes to fussy natural hair is breakage. Hydration is really essential for any natural hair type and lack of it can cause breakage. Keep in mind that natural hair is naturally dry and how you moisturize it is going to play a vital role in its’ health.
Breakage isn’t good but it’s also considered unavoidable. But there are factors that contribute to natural hair breakage. Knowing the cause of natural hair breakage can help you counter and prevent it.
What Is Hair Breakage?
First, you need to understand what breakage in natural hair means so as not to mix it up with hair loss.
Hair breakage is when your hair strands snap and ragged and this often happens when your hair strand is stressed. Hair breakage is often common in people with natural hair as it needs moisture the most.
You can easily distinguish hair breakage from hair shedding and hair loss as the broken hair is shorter than your natural hair and with the right treatment, hair breakage can be stopped in no time.
What Causes Natural Hair Breakage?
Hair breakage is really not fun at all. Hair breakage is unavoidable for many hair types, however, it can be minimized if you understand the causes as this let you address the main issue. Below are the common causes of natural hair breakage.
1. Lack Of Moisture And Frequent Heat
Moisture is crucial for natural hair and lack of it can cause your hair to become dry and dull which eventually causes hair breakage. Frequent use of heat tools can easily damage your hair shaft and lockout moisture which in turn leads to hair breakage as well.
Heat treatment such as curling thongs, straighteners and blow dryers can cause breakage hence it should be avoided as much as possible.
2. Hair Products And Styling
Some hair products contain ingredients that can do more damage than good to your hair shaft. Products that are used for coloring contain chemicals that can weaken your natural hair. The kind of shampoo you is quite important as well.
Avoid the use of chemical products and styling your hair too tight can also create more friction between your hair strands which can cause breakage.
3. Low Elasticity
This is another common underlying cause of natural hair breakage. When your hair isn’t stretchy or elastic, it breaks down from the tension. You can reduce breakage by elasticity which means detangling properly and sealing your ends.
4. Improper Diet
Improper diet actually plays an integral part in hair breakage. You need to make sure you are getting enough nutrients as a deficiency in certain nutrients might cause your hair to become dry and dull. Soke vital nutrients to include in your diet are zinc, iron, protein, and folic acid.
5. Brushing Too Hard
This shouldn’t come as a surprise as it can easily pull out your hair especially if it’s knotted. It is important that you brush your hair gently and do not over brush either. Natural hair often prone to tangles, hence check out How to Detangle Natural Hair (Complete Guide).
How To Prevent Natural Hair Breakage
The first step in addressing hair breakage is to know the causes and after this, there are simple ways you can switch up your routine to prevent natural hair breakage. Below are recommended tips that can help prevent natural hair breakage.
- Be Gentle: You need to be extremely gentle with your hair. Avoid excess touching, combing and go for protective hairstyles that do not pull too tight on your hair.
- Moisturize: Natural hair needs to stay moisturized and hydrated often. Dry hair is elastic and dry which in turn cause breakage hence moisturize your hair once a week to ensure your hair gets the essential nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
- Seal Ends: Your ends are the most vulnerable part of your natural hair so they need to be well-nourished, Seal your ends with an essential oil like castor oil or Jamaican oil.
- Deep Condition Your Hair: This is another very important way to prevent and stop hair breakage. To strengthen and repair damaged hair, practice deep conditioning regularly.
- Follow A Proper Balanced Diet: Try eating foods that strengthen your hair shaft. Follow a proper diet rich in protein, biotin, iron, zinc and omega 3s.
- Avoid tying your hair up too often.
- Allow your hair to dry up naturally .
Final Thoughts
To natural hair from breakage, you need to make sure it is well nourished as dehydrated natural hair can easily become dry, Keep in mind that hair breakage won’t cause balding and its’ not usually much of a concern compared to hair loss.
Natural hair breakage can be stopped with a good hair care routine, eating a proper diet, and not to forget, keeping it hydrated.
Want to take better Care of your Natural Hair?
Get your hands on our new Natural hair guide. It’s everything you need to know about the four major problems we natural hair ladies face on a daily basis:
- Shrinkage.
- Detangling.
- Breakage.
- Split ends.
We call it The Guide to Natural Hair Length Retention.
