Hair breakage may occur as a result of some internal and external factors alike. Understanding these root causes of hair breakage will help you to take the required precautions to avoid this issue.

Chemical treatments, lack of moisture, nutritional deficiencies, poor hair care products, overheating, along with mechanical damage are all reasons for hair breakage. 

Moreover, age, genetics, and underlying health concerns may also contribute to this concern. If you seem to experience excessive hair breakage it is suggested you consult a specialist to recommend hair care products and supplements to deal with this problem. 

Hair breakage vs hair loss

Hair loss and hair breakage affect the health and appearance of your hair significantly. Though these are two different concerns, many deem them as similar. Identifying the distinctions between these two may help you understand the problem and therefore find the right solution. 

Hair breakage is the breaking of your hair shaft snapping it into smaller pieces. This happens because of external factors. Common symptoms that you may experience are uneven hair, split ends, bald patches, localized damage, and rough texture. 

Hair loss on the other hand refers to the thinning of hair from your scalp caused by various factors like hormonal imbalance, genetics, medical issues, or some medications. A few characteristics include bald patching, thinning, itchiness, excessive hair fall, and painful scalp. 

If you don’t seem to be sure of what you are undergoing- hair loss or hair breakage, you must consult your dermatologist. They may check your hair and scalp to get to the root cause of the issue and then recommend a suitable treatment based on the diagnosis. 

How to prevent hair breakage?

1. Be gentle when you shampoo

Despite using the best products for hair breakage, recurrent actions are how you make or break your hair. Often not giving much consideration, the first step you must take is treating your hair gently. When you shampoo your hair avoid excessive rubbing and scrubbing. 

It is natural to want to focus the product all through your roots and strands, but if you rub your hair too firmly, it will damage your cuticles. You must know that your hair is most susceptible to breaking when wet, so the next time you get in the shower bear our advice in mind. 

2. Protect from heat

No matter how much you enjoy the sleek and shine that you achieve with hair styling devices like rods for lock or straightening, the truth is, the heat from these is damaging to strands. Your hair tends to get over-processed and thus break in the process. 

If you cannot go out without styling your hair, then it is suggested you apply a heat protectant before use to stop hair loss. It repairs your hair and shields it from the heat. 

3. Squeeze out the excess water before conditioning

The use of a good conditioner is essential for any hair regime. It is rather simple to treat your damaged strands; however, you need to make sure your hair is not dripping wet as you apply a layer of moisturizer on it. So, squeeze the excess water before you smear it on your conditioner and tie it up for better penetration. Rinse off at the end. 

4. Do not towel dry 

It is common practice to dry your hair with a towel post-shower. you should instead wrap your hair in a turban to let it dry slowly. This is among the often-overlooked tricks to stop hair fall. It will allow for quick drying while maintaining moisture in your hair. You can opt for a microfiber hair towel that effectively soaks up the excess water from your hair after you shower making it easy to protect. 

5. Protein treatment for hair revival

Over-processed hair is deprived of elasticity. For this, you can visit the salon to get the best protein treatment for your hair. This encourages the restoration of protein and collagen in your shaft to rebuild hair, allowing it to be thicker than ever. 

6. Fresh haircut

Tried everything but to no avail. How to stop damaging your hair? Though not the best option, a haircut is always a good idea for hair that’s damaged by chemical processing. It helps you get rid of all the split ends that may travel and wreak havoc up your strands. So, a great snip may help you restart your hair journey by cutting off the damaged lot. 

7. Get back the moisture

If your hair is breaking excessively it’s a clear indication that it is overly dry. This requires your hair to get back the moisture. You may want to condition your hair regularly and if you are already doing that you need to replace the conditioner with a hair mask. A conditioning hair mask will restore all the moisture in your hair roots to the strands. You will notice a difference upon a single use. All you have to do is apply the mask and leave it for 20 minutes before you rinse it off thoroughly. 

8. Keratin treatment

If this does not do you any good, you may want to opt for a keratin treatment from the salon. Nowadays this is the best way to prevent hair breakage. This is because it targets all the weak spots in your shaft and reinforces your hair structure as it repairs the damage. It also helps in controlling frizz and cutting down the drying time which reduces the need for heat styling. 

9. Oiling to prevent damage

To stop hair breakage naturally, you can try applying coconut oil or camellia oil to induce moisture to your dry strands and protect it from damage. These oils are great for making your hair healthy so they do not break and are a common ingredient in most hair products. 

10. Wide-tooth comb

Your hair is very fragile and susceptible to breakage when it is wet. It is common to often tug and pull on your hair as you comb it which often causes it to break. You may have noticed how using a wide tooth comb helps you untangle your hair so quickly. This is why we recommend you use this especially when combing wet hair. 

Final verdict

Hair breakage is a common concern among most women and when it starts affecting your looks you sure need to address it. Above we have provided all the Tips to Prevent Hair Breakage along with ingredients that you may need to incorporate in your hair care routine for a healthy mane. If you are dealing with constant hair breakage, try these and let us know about your experience in the comments section below.