Beauty

[x Hedge]

Hi @cmoose. 

Likewise, my hair is coarse and still fairly thick. But it's curly which makes it naturally dry and fragile.

When I used to regularly use a 'Perfector'-type heat styler I noticed an increase in breakage, especially at the crown and the fragile hair framing the face.

The bathroom floor would be littered with broken, shorter pieces of hair after I used tension plus heat to style & straighten.

This got even worst after menopause and illness changed some of my hair's characteristics, and it became downright brittle.

The breakage and fallout was alarming.

Now I've embraced my hair's natural texture and use diffuser, and don't pull at wet or dry hair, trying to straighten it. That's been a game changer.

Another thing it took me years to put two and two together was the heavy breakage that followed using hair spray.

Normally only used hair spray few times a year on special occasions, so bought little travel size bottles of Dove hair spray.

No more! Now only use the WEN finishing spray.

No more breakage from hair spray!

Hair's most fragile and vulnerable when wet, so no towel drying, ease up on the tension, watch for drying ingredients, use a product with a heat protectant, and be aware even the combs/brushes you use have potential to cause breakage.

My hair's gotten much stronger and increased elasticity over time since switching to WEN products. But I've also stopped doing things that caused breakage.

[Mindy D]

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@cmoose wrote:

I'm 57 years old and have always had ok hair. It's  shoulder length, course and somewhat thick. I only wash it every other day or every third day but do use a blow dryer everyday to style. I also was using the perfector on a daily basis for quite some time. I use a number of products to cleanse and style. 

About 2 years ago I started having a lot of breakage in the back of my head around the crown- it would get bad and then seem to grow out a bit. It got even worse about 6 months ago so I started using Wen again hoping it would help. It really didn't- not that I think the Wen is contributing to the issue but it didn't help either. 

I do use Wen oil a couple of times a week, also have started using Tweak'd (Ojon) again. No improvement. 

Now the breakage is also happening on the top of my head as well. I am really at a loss. I have stopped using the perfector thinking that may be the issue. I have to blow dry and either use a round brush or some other styling tool for smoothing or my hair just looks awful. 

My hair dresser really has not idea what's going on. She just trys to work around it when cutting my hair.  

Any thoughts? 

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Just in case this applies to you; avoid all keratin hair products. They cause breakage.

[ID2]

When I used to wear my hair in a bob (I'm in a pixie now) the hair at the top of my head was all breaking off. My hairdresser at the time said it was from using heat on it. And yes, I was always blowing it dry while pulling with my brush and using a curling iron on it. She suggested that I start using a protectant on my hair. Sally's sold a spray that seemed to fix my problem. 

[Mindy D]

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@Alison Wonderland wrote:

Breakage can be caused by so many things: diet, heat damage, processing, too much protein, illness, medication, and more. 

I had a lot of breakage from too much protein. I used a deep conditioning treatment and it made my hair feel so good, I began using it as a daily conditioner. Big mistake! It was packed with protein, so while it made my hair feel fantastic at first, over time it caused my hair to become brittle and break off. After months of use, I gave it up and cut as much protein as I could out of my routine and then added it back in slowly. I'm much more careful with treatments and protein now.

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I had breakage happen while I was using a keratin (protein) shampoo and conditioner and a biotin and collagen shampoo and conditioner. I thought my breakage was going to be permant until I read up on excessive protein/keratin and how it can cause breakage. Since I’ve stopped using these ingredients I’ve had much less breakage. 

[w84WEN]

Curious if you often wear your hair in a ponytail. That can cause breakage if it’s not loose.

[sunchild]

Have you started taking any medication? Medications can have a detrimental impact on our hair.

[PMS 24-7]

protein packs are very drying is used too much.  TRY A SATIN PILLOW CASE

[mintedrose]

First of all, I would suggest for you to go to the doctor to get your blood work done and to rule out any other health issues. That is the first step. Sometimes there are unlying health related issues with us and we dont know so its our bodys way to communicate with us that something is wrong and to pay attention. Anyway, after all that, try some coconut oil, avocado oil or olive oil as a mask and massage it in your scalp and leave it in your hair for an hour then wash.