I was having a conversation with my mom and she was telling me how much breakage she had been experiencing.  She did not know what it was coming from; needless to say, she had become frustrated and fed up.  There are many who experience excessive breakage and shedding, but do not know what to attribute it to.  Sometimes it is not always a product or a condition that is holding us back from achieving optimal results for our hair, but we are sometimes the culprit.  After inquiring about her hair regimen, I found out precisely the cause of my mom’s breakage – she was!

My mom, who is a transitioner, after years of relaxing, has plenty to learn about hair care.  There are little steps that we must take to preserve our hair’s beauty and health.  The number one thing that most naturals know NOT to do – comb the hair while dry!  My mother had been combing through her dry hair, manipulating it, and styling it in its dry state.  Oh how I sympathize with her scalp and hair.  That is a Big No-No Ladies and Gents. Never comb through kinky, coily, curly hair that is completely dry; such behavior spells disaster! Also, when you do decide to comb through your dampened hair, always comb from ends to roots to avoid snatching the hair out.  Small tips like these will do you a world of good if you keep them in mind.

The proper way to Detangle post is coming soon!  Happy healthy hair growing!

Many ladies (and some gents) have difficulties when it comes to recognizing shedding and breakage.  Often, we have no problem actually seeing the hair fall out.  However, sometimes it is difficult to tell whether the hair is constantly breaking, or if it is just going through the shedding phase.  The following aims to provide some help for the issue.

Breakage can be easily recognized.  It is often in the form of shorter pieces of hair (shorter than the length of the hair).  It can be caused by relaxers, chemicals, split ends, excessive dryness, moisture overload, etc.   When you over-manipulate the hair, combing or styling it too much, you may see a heightened occurrence of breakage as well.

Shedding is accompanied by a white bulb on the tip.  This signifies that the hair has come from the root.  Therefore, the strand will be the length of the hair.  Keep in mind that the hair will shed naturally, and this is something that should not alarm you.  On the other hand, excessive shedding comes from something on the inside that has gone wrong.  50-100 strands daily is in the “normal/average” range of shedding.  You may not see this if you do not comb your hair daily (which is common among naturals), in result, you may see more of the shed hair on the day that you actually comb the hair.  The hair goes through a grow, shed, rest phase that we should be conscious of so we do not panic at every hair that we may see.

There are many factors that may lead to excessive shedding.  Stress and anxiety because the stress cuts off the circulation of blood to the scalp.  As stated in the “Does your diet affect your hair?” you need a balanced diet in order to help the hair grow and thrive.  When you switch your diet up dramatically, or when you do not eat correctly, your hair displays it as much as the body does.  Moreover, certain medicines lead to shedding as well.  Frequent travelers may experience more excessive shedding as opposed to those who are in the same climate all the time.  Also, when traveling, make sure that you have a satin pillowcase to prevent dryness and breakage.

Hopefully this has helped you be able to be more mindful of the two different types of hair loss.  Happy Healthy Hair Growing!