How To Reduce, Prevent and Treat Hair Breakage
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Below are many things to consider if you’re desperately trying to prevent breakage and grow your hair, or are desperately trying to repair breakage.
How To Repair Damaged/Broken Hair
It’s a process that requires consistency, patience, and trust (and usually a really great stylist that genuinely cares about the health and integrity of your hair).
•Reduce the use of hot tools (your cuticle and hair cortex—the inner part of the strand—will thank you)
•Use a high quality protein mask! Moisture masks are different. Protein masks help repair from the inside-out. Moisture masks typically sit on the surface of the hair strand to help your hair feel better temporarily without necessarily repairing it. If you’re not using a good quality mask either, you’re just setting yourself back further with risking product buildup and residue. My FAVOURITE hair brand is Prose. Fill out their questionnaire (save $10 on your first order) your custom recommendations and be prepared to be wowed. Read about my experience with Prose here.
•Reduce the amount of times you wash your hair in a week (this will avoid scalp imbalances and and overstripping hair which can make it more dry and brittle). Again, high quality products (like Prose) come into play here, as lower quality will leave you will dull, heavy hair from residue and buildup, causing more production of natural scalp oils, causing more frequent washing.
•Consider taking a high quality collagen supplement for minimally three months to see any benefits. This will help strengthen your hair from within. There are so many collagen’s on the market that it’s hard to know which ones to trust. If you do your research, plenty have bad filler ingredients. One of my favourite hair supporters that’s not collagen is from Nanton Nutraceuticals. Use code LOTUSAVE15%OFF to save! Nanton does have a collagen supplement, but it’s made with an ingredient that is known to cause inflammatory issues, which is why I like the Nourishing Waves instead :)
•Get regular trims every 8-12 weeks, depending on your hair growth. It might seem annoying to have your hair grow only to get it cut again, but until those ends are healthy, they’ll just keep splitting/breaking without regular trims. I promise if you get regular trims, you’ll notice more hair growth than if you don’t!
Check/Upgrade Your Hot Tools!
•If your blow dryer, flat iron, curling wand, etc are older than 4-5 years, it’s time to upgrade! (I’m a Sutra lover when it comes to hot tools, but nothing has compared to my Dyson hair dryer. Also, the Magno Turbo is a step down from the IR2 but both are really great quality. If you want the best, the infrared on the IR2 is the safest for your hair.)
•Your hot tools are made with ion technology to reduce cuticle damage that gradually wears and reduces over time
•The more cuticle damage, the more fragile the hair strand, the more breakage/split ends you will experience
•Fine hair shouldn’t use temperatures above 370 degrees with minimum passes per section (smaller sections = less passes)
Be Honest With Your Stylist About Your Hair History Before Chemical Services
•Don’t lie about what’s been done to your hair in the past. There’s no shame about what you have had done or done yourself—you’re already on a new and better path in the hands of a qualified stylist!
•Include everything that’s happened or been done to your hair in the last five years. It matters!
•If you lie or “bend the truth,” your hair will reveal all your secrets as the chemical service ensues (ie. colouring, bleaching, a keratin/bond treatment, etc.) and you risk serious damage/breakage that could have been avoided
Use A High Quality Heat Protector
•Although new tools have ions to reduce cuticle damage, a heat protector is still needed (you can never be too careful!)
•Anything with oil is UNSAFE for heat—no matter what the label says—heat and oil is a recipe for cooking. You should only use an oil as a finishing product when you know you won’t be touching your hair up with heat again
•My favourite heat protector is from Prose Custom Haircare (the Leave-In Conditioner is a heat protector and UV protector).
Switch Up Your Brushing Regime
If you have flyaways, it could be breakage from brushing, putting your hair up too tight, and/or wearing it up in the same spot on your head regularly.
Suggestions:
•Pre-section your hair on your head to prevent you from ripping through your tangles. Using strong clips is a great help.
•Use a style brush with NO ball-capped tips
•Use a wide-toothed comb
•Start from the ends of your hair and slowly work your way up to the scalp (this puts less strain on your hair)
Unpopular Opinion:
Brushing wet hair is better than dry hair!
Why?
The elasticity in your wet hair gives you a little extra stretch when it’s wet vs dry, therefore; breakage is reduced. What’s easier to break? A dry pasta noodle or a wet one?
Have Any Questions?
Please feel free to reach out to me via DM on Instagram or the contact page.
I am more than happy to elaborate on all suggestions made in this post and guide you to better brands and products.
I am so grateful for your time you’ve spent learning from this informational post, and I sincerely hope this has helped you in at least one way!
Much Love,
Auj
