Hair breakage.
Ugh.
The number one enemy for everyone who wants healthy hair, or even tries to grow to new lengths. Literally, the number one reason why hair won’t grow longer and the worst offender when it comes to making our mane look kind of frizzy.
But why does this actually happen? And what can we do to finally stop our hair breaking?
As usual, there are several possible causes and several possible treatments. But don’t worry. They are all very logical, and you’ll find out all about them right here!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Hair breakage versus shedding
First, we need to make an important distinction. Hair breakage and hair fall are not one and the same thing!
A quick definition of breakage might help make this a little clearer: Hair breakage is when hair that already grew out of your scalp, breaks off somewhere along the hair strand. (Logical, huh?)
Hair loss, on the other hand, is when your hair falls out from your scalp, follicle and all.
You can make the distinction by looking at both ends of the loose hair. Did it come out with the hair root? Then this hair fell out. If it doesn’t have the root attached anymore, the hair broke off.
Related: Hair loss dream: How to interpret it!
Hair breakage or new growth
Another thing you want to make sure is that your supposed hair breakage isn’t simply new growth. So how to tell if it’s new hair growth or breakage?
Having a lot of short, wispy hairs flying around your head might give you the impression that your strands break off right there. But again, look at them a little more in detail. Do they have thinning out, natural tips? Or are they really blunt and broken off?
If you find that it’s the first, congrats! New hair growth is always nice and means your body has the nutrition and energy to grow new hair!
For tips on how to deal with baby hairs and flyaways read here!
If it’s indeed the dreaded breakage, keep reading below.
5 common Hair breakage causes
The next step is to determine the reason for your hair being damaged like this. Like I said above, there are quite a few possible causes for hair breakage, so let’s go through them one by one.
1. Hair breakage from bleaching
A very common cause for hair breakage that starts right at the roots is bleaching. We all know that bleaching is EXTREMELY bad for your hair.
It literally destroys it.
So it’s no surprise that after bleaching, you’ll deal with increased hair breakage. Through treatments like bleaching or even perms, your hair structure gets weakened to the point that it simply crumbles.
2. Hair breakage due to bad diet
A bad diet can be another reason for seeing more breakage than other people. But it’s not as immediate as you might think.
What you eat now doesn’t affect your hair health as of now. It affects your hair structure in the future.
Your diet determines how many nutrients and vitamins can be put towards producing new hair. Meaning, if you’ve had a vitamin deficiency in the past, the hair that was “prepared” by your body at that time will be weaker than
3. Hair breakage after keratin treatment
Funnily enough, a keratin treatment could be the cause for your hair breaking off. It sounds counterintuitive because keratin treatments are supposed to strengthen your hair, but once you learn about your hairs moisture-protein balance, you’ll understand why this can happen.
While proteins like keratin are good for your hair in general, there is definitely such a thing as protein overload on hair. If your hair is either protein-sensitive or already gets enough protein through your normal hair care products, a keratin treatment could put it “over the edge”.
And one of the clear warning signs of a protein overload is – you guessed it – a lot of breakage.
4. Hair breakage at ends
If your hair breaks off mainly at the ends, there is another big enemy of hair care behind your problem: mechanical damage!
Mechanical damage is anything that happens to our hair while we’re out and about, minding our own business. It’s your hair sliding over your sweater. Or being stuck under your shoulder strap. It’s washing your hair very often, especially if you use hot water.
In short: mechanical damage is anything that weakens your hair structure, in the short or in the long term.
And while, obviously, all these things are bad for the whole length of your hair, the ends are most exposed. Additionally, they are the “oldest” part of your hair, meaning they have been weakened over time.
5. Hair breakage from stress
Stress and hair breakage are often put together as if there is a causal correlation.
But honestly, the one thing that is probably NOT the cause for your hair breaking off is stress. While stress weakens the whole body and therefore also the new hair that is produced at the time, it will not directly affect your lengths.
If you notice increased breakage during a time of high stress, it is way more likely that due to your stress, you simply can’t make as much effort in your hair care.
Related: 13 super effective stress relief activities (no gadgets)
Related: 10 practical things to put in a Stress Relief Goodie Bag
A similar thing is if your stress is of a medical nature. Thyroid issues, for example, can easily mess with your hair health. But again, this will impact the hair that will grow or might cause hair loss. It cannot change the structure of already “existing” hair.
The best treatments for hair breakage
Now that you have a better
Obviously, the best breakage fix will depend on why your hair is this damaged in the first place. So let’s tackle this in order!
Hair breakage repair products for bleached hair
Bleached hair is structurally damaged. This means that the cuticle layer of the hair is broken and needs repair. While you cannot fully rebuild the cuticle as it was, you can fill “holes” with protein treatments on your hair.
Related: What you need to know about protein on your hair
The easiest way for this is to buy some hydrolyzed protein* and spike your shampoo or conditioner with it. But to really pamper your hair, you can get one of the following products, as they also contain moisturizing ingredients.
Bleached hair needs both!
