Use Minoxidil To Treat Hair Thinning
Finally, if you have hair thinning rather than just breakage, you may want to try medication such as minoxidil to speed up regrowth and restore your hair.
Minoxidil is a topical medication that stimulates hair growth. Its used to treat female pattern hair loss, as well as other conditions that can cause thinning hair.
It works by moving your hairs into the active growth phase of the hair growth cycle and by improving blood flow to your scalp.
While minoxidil wont prevent breakage, its a great option for regrowing hair thats thinned due to damage or androgenetic alopecia.
You can find minoxidil solution and minoxidil foam online, with both medications formulated to treat womens hair loss.
Rinse With Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is popular as a hair rinse as it makes the hair soft and less prone to breakage. It contains pH-balancing properties that help maintain hair and scalp health and anti-fungal properties that work by reducing dandruff and flakiness.
How to use:
How Much Hair Breakage Is Normal
It is normal to lose 50-100 strands in a day as a process of your natural hair growth cycle. But, it is not normal when your hair breaks off due to imbalanced Vata energy. Hair breakage is unhealthy for your hair growth and it needs to be addressed immediately by bringing elevated Vata levels to balance.
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Howto Fix Hair Breakage
- Hairis said to be weakest when wet. In this state, it is always prone tobreakage. Whatever you do, avoid brushing it while still wet. Brushyour hair when it is half dry or if you must brush it when wet,choose a comb with a conditioner applied. You can order for qualityconditioners from outstanding shops online. You should also trimyour hair preferably after two to three months. This helps you doaway with any split ends which are hair breakage forms too.
- Usevitamin E for hair breakage. VitaminC is also effective and if you take the two, you effectively curbhair breakage vitamin deficiency. There are hair products rich inthese vitamins which can be bought. It is important however to checkfor a review of the same before you buy any.
- Beforeyou order any harsh chemicals to use on your hair, you need to getinformed about them. Again, it is important you read a review or twoabout these products. Understand how frequently they can be used onyour hair. It is possible to get hair breakage after coloring,simply because of the chemicals present in the hair color.
Chemically Treating Your Hair Too Often
Chemical treatments like relaxations, coloring, or perming your hair among others can cause it to break. Chemically treating your hair too often means exposing it to harmful chemicals and even heat that can damage it considerably. It is advised that if you have chemically treated your hair, avoid doing so at least for 6-7 months.
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Whats Actually Causing Your Thinning Hair
The first thing to know about hair loss is that its actually a bit complex. Your hair grows in three stages, SELF explained previously. These include a growth phase from a root in the hair follicle, a transitional phase when the growing stops, and a resting phase, after which the hair falls out and the follicle takes a break before growing another hair.
Its totally normal to lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology , which you might notice on your pillow in the morning, on your hairbrush, or in the shower. If you go a few days without showering, you might notice more than a single days worth of hair in the shower, which may be a little disconcerting, but is still totally normal.
Youre born with about 100,000 follicles on your scalp, and youll never gain or lose any, the AAD says. However, as you age, some follicles may stop growing hair and you may experience hair loss . When and how this happens is influenced by a bunch of factors, including our genetics and the natural hormonal changes we experience as we age, Shilpi Khetarpal, M.D., dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic, tells SELF.
Once you know what youre up against, there are some easy ways to help manage thinning hair at home or with the help of an expert. Here are the top tips we learned from dermatologists and hair stylists on how to protect your hair and restore some of its fullness and shine.
How To Prevent Severe Hair Breakage
When your follicles have been damaged as a result of dry cuticles and using harsh chemicals, severe hair breakage is likely to follow up. Some of the symptoms that you should watch out include
Hair feels gummy: When healthy hair is wet, it feels smooth and glossy. When damaged hair that is prone to breakage is wet, it can feel gummy or sticky to the touch. Individuals with a sticky-feeling hair should not dye or perm their hair, swim in chlorinated water or use styling products. Sticky, gummy hair will break if much more is done.
Hair dries slowly: Hair prone to breakage may not dry as quickly as hair that is healthy, due to lack of protein and moisture in the hair. Hair will try to retain moisture, making it stay wet longer. Even if, your hair takes longer to dry than usual, avoiding blow drying or using heat to prevent it from becoming more damaged. The healthiest way to maintain damaged hair is to avoid styling products and hair color until hair grows out completely.
Hair gets tangled easily: Hair prone to breakage may feel frayed easily and these coarse strands can get tangled more easily than hair that still contains sebum, the natural oil in hair. Although hair may become tangled, according to Kids Health it suggests that hair should be brushed when it is dry, because hair breaks easily when it is wet.
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Solution: Get To Know Your Hair
Educate yourself on your own hair so you have a better idea of its limits, advises Smart. Get a good grasp of its physical characteristics such as density and diameter . As well as how it behaves, for example, its porosity levels and elasticity. By learning more about your hair, you can learn to avoid doing things that it doesn’t like.
Then, be mindful of how you handle your hair, which means once it’s in that ponytail, loosen it just one last time to ensure it isn’t too tight and avoid doing any intricate styling when you are in a rush,” continues Smart. “Insist that braids, extensions and weaves are installed loosely and if they prove too tight, remove them without hesitation. Resist the urge to constantly ‘slick’ hair tightly into a style and finally, change it up. One of the key issues with traction is the repetitive tension so attempt to avoid this by varying styles.
Infographic: Top Natural Remedies To Stop Hair Breakage
From hormonal changes to using cotton pillowcases, there are several different causes of hair breakage. However, natural remedies can help nip the problem in the bud. Ingredients like coconut oil, green tea, egg, aloe vera, green tea, garlic, onion juice, avocado, and apple cider vinegar can help mitigate this issue. Click on the infographic below to learn more about the natural remedies you can try to stop hair breakage.
Illustration: StyleCraze Design Team
Dry scalp and damaged hair are the most common causes of hair breakage. It can also be caused by lack of moisture, harsh water cleaning, heat styling, and hair dyeing. Adding foods rich in Vitamin C, D3, and biotin to your diet can help you reduce hair breakage. Try the home remedies suggested above to protect your hair from further damage, provide additional nourishment, and promote healing. However, if you consider taking vitamin supplements, consult a doctor to determine any deficiency.
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Tips To Prevent Hair Breakage
Is there anything worse than hair breakage? Ugh! And it seems like everything causes itdry hair, fine hair, swimming, coloring your hair, blow-drying, wearing ponytails, wearing braids that are too tight, using the wrong brushthe list goes on and on and on. Fortunately, you dont have to throw in the proverbial towel and accept your tresses breaking as part of life. We have eight tips to prevent hair breakage.
Solution: Control The Heat
“I highly recommend everyone uses heated hair tools that have a temperature gauge, so you can lower it,” says Moodie. “This will cause less stress to the hair shaft.” Ghds Helios Hairdryer and Dyson’s Supersonic are two great examples, while avoiding going over the same section of hair with a temperature-controlled pair of straighteners or curling iron can help minimise the damage too. You should also double the protection by using a heat defence spray and towel dry your hair gently but thoroughly before picking up your tools to minimise the time spent using them.
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Hard Water/mineral Build Up
If you live in a place full of hard water, your hair will tend to accumulate minerals and as a result it will respond less to some products or at times you will see no improvement at all. This is because the minerals create something sort of a layer/deposit that covers the hair.
The accumulation is what others refer to as mineral build up. Some of these minerals that are found in hard water include, calcium, Sulphur among other metals. This often leads to breaking off of your hair.
Solution
Use a cleansing shampoo to remove the mineral deposits
Illness Or Health Condition
Up to 80 per cent of permanent hair loss is due to genetic factors, so it is worth speaking to your parents to see whether thinning hair runs in your family, for example in the form of male or female pattern hair loss. In some cases, though, hair loss is the result of a medical condition, such as alopecia areata, which is caused by an autoimmune disorder. Importantly, this is different from the traction alopecia explained above.
Recently, a link between coronavirus and hair loss has also been made. A survey by the UKs Institute of Trichologists a professional body for those who treat hair and scalp disorders found that 79 per cent of its members had seen cases of post-Covid hair loss in their clinics. Consultant trichologist and chair of the IoT, Eva Proudman, tells The Guardian this can be due to the high temperatures and loss of appetite that are symptoms of the virus, causing temporary excessive hair shedding. However, pandemic-induced stress could also have caused many cases of telogen effluvium, as outlined above.
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Hair Loss Reasons: Heres How The Hair Growth Cycle Works
Ok, its science-y but very cool, basically each hair follicle on our scalp undergoes three stages of a life cycle, explains Dr Wong.
AnagenThis is the active growing phase, which can last between 2-7 years during which the hair becomes longer and thicker.
CatagenAfter anagen, the hair follicle moves into the short transitional phase called catagen when the hair fibre stops growing, followed by the resting phase telogen which lasts around 3 months.
TelogenDuring telogen the old hair is gradually pushed up towards the skin surface before it is then shed naturally and replaced with a new emerging anagen hair.
On a typical head of hair each follicle is at a different stage at different times so you probably wont notice it happening. Very cool. This cycle continues repeatedly throughout our lifetime and each hair follicle is cycling independently of neighbouring follicles meaning that human hair growth is asynchronised, says Dr Wong.
Its important to note that hair loss is a very common problem for women much more so that people realise. “Research shows that at least 1 in 3 women will suffer from hair loss or reduced hair volume at some point in their lifetime,” says Anabel Kingsley. So, if you are losing strands, it’s important not to freak out, your mane willrecover. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know…
What Causes Hair Breakage
Breakage and split ends are normal! It’s just regular wear and tear of life. Water, sun, wind, touching your hair, sleeping on your hair, styling your hair. All of these things will eventually cause regular split ends, explained Madison Dufour, cosmetologist and barber with The Exquisite Find.
Some hair breakage is to be expected, and its typically the result of everyday actions like combing, brushing, detangling and showering. That said, there are a few things that are especially tough on our tresses. Excessive breakage can be caused by heat styling, extremely dry or brittle hair as well as chemical treatments such as relaxers or bleaching.
Read: What Is a Trichologist and When Should I See One?
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Apply An Avocado Hair Mask
Avocados are rich in vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids that nourish the hair. When used as a hair mask, avocados can help in deep conditioning your hair and thus preventing hair damage and breakage.
How to use:
- Mix half an avocado with one egg yolk to form a smooth paste, and add 1 tbsp of shea butter to the mix. Apply the paste to damp hair and scalp. Massage the scalp for a few minutes. Rinse your hair after 20 minutes and shampoo as usual. Repeat this remedy twice a month.
- Alternatively, mix one avocado with 1 tbsp of honey and ½ tbsp of coconut oil to form a paste. Apply it to the length of your hair, avoiding the roots. Rinse your hair after 15 minutes.
Limit Your Hairs Exposure To Heat
For the most part, heat and hair dont go well together. While its okay to straighten or curl your hair using a heat-based product such as a straightener or curling iron, its important to take care not to cause damage when you do so.
To protect your hair from damage, always use the lowest heat setting on your straightener, blow dryer or curling iron.
Hold your hair dryer away from your scalp and limit the amount of time that any hot surface touches your hair directly.
Better yet, limit your use of hot styling tools in general. For example, try to straighten or curl your hair once a week, or even less, instead of curling or straightening every other day.
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And Heres What You Can Do To Fix It:
Ok, so now you know what triggering the hair loss, heres how to deal with it
Recognise the problem
Hair loss doesnt happen fast, our strands grow in cycles, which means it can take up to 3 months for hair to fall out after a trigger has caused it. If you notice excessive daily hair shedding for longer than 3 months, see a trichologist or your GP, there could be an underlying factor that needs to be addressed, Anabel advises. Very importantly, try not to panic. Telogen effluvium is almost always self-eliminating and hair will start to grow back as usual once any internal imbalance is put right.
Change up your diet
1) Get More Protein
Hair is made of protein, making adequate daily intake of protein rich foods essential. Include at least a palm sized portion of protein at breakfast and lunch . Anabel recommends.
2) Complex carbohydrates are essential
They provide our hair with the energy it needs to grow. Snack on a healthy carbohydrates if longer than four hours is left between meals as energy available to hair cells drops after this amount of time.
That being said, Anabel explained that if you are losing your hair because of something other than diet, like stress or an illness, changing what you eat will not remedy it.
Take a supplement
Anabel recommends looking out for the following ingredients: Iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3, Copper, Zinc, Selenium, and the essential amino acids, L-Lysine and L-Methionine.
Head message = more than self-care
Do Supplements Help You To Control Hair Breakage
The way food provides our body with the right amount of nutrients. Similarly, it does the same to our hair. But sometimes, it enables us to rich effectively. For that, you need to take some extra care for some special cases.
Generally, people prefer to take Biotin or Vitamin B7 supplements for their hair. These two supplements help grow and make your hair stronger and better. Doctors also recommend taking supplements for some cases if they cannot reach through the food. But, keep in mind to consult a specialist before trying any supplements. It can even negatively impact peoples bodies to react differently to various products. Thus, guidance is necessary for your hair as it is a sensitive section of your body.
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Is Your Hair Breaking And Thinning
Breakage is normal, but if you are experiencing severe breakage, and hair loss, you will need a more serious solution. These tips are a great start. To find out what to do about hair loss and alopecia. check out this guide to preventing hair loss.
At NaturAll, we create and elevate clean haircare and beauty standards, providing freshly-made products that are better for you and your hair. Sourced from small farmers in Jamaica and Ghana. We source ingredients directly from small farmers in Jamaica and Ghana, so we always know how our ingredients are sourced and exactly who is being supported by our business. We are proud to support Black farmers and small businesses around the world. We believe that what goes on your body is as important as what goes in it. Too many hair products are made with synthetic ingredients that are irritating, damaging, or even hazardous, and the problem is worse in hair products marketed to Black women.