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Hair is an important part of us. They enhance our looks and personality. Just like we take care of our skin, it is important to take care of our hair too, to keep them healthy and shiny. An unhealthy lifestyle and poor balance diet harm our hair, and they start breaking.
Hair breakage means breakage of hair shafts and hair cuticles. The various symptoms that show you are suffering from hair breakage are split ends, hair damage, broken strands, rough texture, and reduction of hair length.
Hair breakage is not a disease but the result of our careless actions. We can treat them and also prevent them by taking corrective measures. But, for taking the measures, we need to understand the causes of hair breakage first.
Causes For Hair Breakage
1.1. Hair breakage from lack of moisture
If your hair lacks moisture then they are more prone to breakage. Lack of moisture makes them rough and frizzy, and they may easily break. Frequent hair washing with highly chemical-based shampoos, and using hair sprays causes moisture loss and weakens the hair.
1.2. Hair breakage from poor diet or lack of water consumption
When we consume unhealthy junk food, which lacks nutrition, our hair doesn’t get the required nutrients and becomes weak. Similarly, staying hydrated is important because when we are dehydrated our hair doesn’t get all the nutrients and the required moisture which leads to hair falls and hair breakage.

1.3. Too Tight Ponytails and Buns
In our busy lifestyle, we tend to tie our hair in tight ponytails or buns. However, when we tie our hair in such tight hairstyles, it puts pressure on our hair follicles and makes them weak, which leads to hair fall. Also, the hairclips and elastic hair ties through which we hold our hair break our hair shaft.

1.4. Styling Tools That Produce Heat
All of us use heating tools like curling iron or flat iron to style our hair, but what we ignore is the damage that the heat does to our hair. Using heating tools too frequently with high temperature burn our hair. And it becomes more severe when we don’t use heat protectant spray on our hair before styling them with heating tools.

1.5. Hair breakage from vigorous brushing
As much as brushing is important for our hair to detangle and for proper blood circulation, it is important to do it in the right way. Vigorous brushing instead of doing benefits leads to hair fall and hair breakage.
1.6. Towel drying
We all prefer to tie our wet hair in the towel so that the excess water can be absorbed easily by the towel. However, what happens is that the towel soaks the excess water and becomes heavy, which puts pressure on our hair, and our hair follicles, which are already weak due to being wet, easily get broken. The way we tie them roughly in the towel leads to the splitting of hair.
1.7. Brushing Wet Hair
When our hair is wet, they are very soft and fragile, the roots become weak, and when we comb them in that state, there is a high probability that the hair can break. So it is preferred to not comb wet hair.
1.8. Sleeping On Rough Fabrics
When we sleep on rough fabrics, our hair comes in contact with that rough surface which produces friction, and that friction is responsible for hair damage. Not only it causes hair fall, but it also damages the cuticles of our hair leading to split ends and hair breakage.
1.9. Hair Breakage From Hair Coloring and Different Chemical-Based Treatments
Over-coloring the hair and taking too many chemical-based treatments like perming or hair straightening can make the hair brittle. The chemicals of the products we use on our hair take all the moisture away from the lengths and make them dry and frizzy, which causes hair damage.
1.10. Underlying Health Issue
Our body gives us signs of underlying health conditions in different ways. One of which is through hair. If you are shedding more than usual hair strands, or your hair is breaking, and they are not stopping even after taking corrective measures, then it can be a sign of some underlying health condition such as thyroid disorders, PCOS, etc.
2. Prevention For Hair Breakage
After understanding the reasons for hair breakage, it is also important to know how to stop the hair from breaking off to reduce breakage further and keep your hair healthy and shiny.
2.1. Use a Microfibre Towel
Microfibre towels are dense, light, and soft compared to those heavy bath towels. This is a synthetic fiber that measures approximately one-fifth the width of human hair. These towels dry our hair faster compared to those normal towels.
These towels save our hair from friction, which is usually done by ordinary towels, and keep our hair frizz-free. The light weight of these towels allowed us to wrap them around our heads without going through that heavy bath towel turban procedure.

2.2. Maintain a Healthy and Balanced Diet
Keep a check on what you are eating. Most of us start worrying about our hair health, but what we don’t notice is the reason behind it is our food. All of us know how much important a healthy and balanced diet is for our bodies, and this is also applicable to our hair.
Hairs are made up of proteins i.e., keratin and it needs biotin for healthy hair growth. So it is important to provide proper nutrition for healthy hair growth, which can be done by just making some dietary changes and improving our eating habits.
2.3. Stop Making Tight hairstyles
To have healthy hair and avoid future breakage, it is important to stop making those tight ponytails or hair buns. Try to make loose hairstyles or keep them open if possible. Not only it will prevent hair breakage, but it will also stop the headache that you must be feeling because of that tight hairstyle.
If you are making ponytails, then it is advised to use scrunchies instead of using those elastic hair ties. Scrunchies are softer as compared to them, and they also don’t put pressure on our hair like normal rubber bands.

2.4. Use a conditioner
After washing our hair with shampoo, our hair becomes rough and dry, so it becomes important to use a conditioner to keep them frizz-free. One can use washable conditioners or leave-in conditioners for their hair.
The conditioner provides the required moisture to the hair, resulting in softer and smoother hair, which is less prone to breakage and tangles.
2.5. Reduce stress
Stress not only causes hair fall but also causes hair breakage. When we undergo stress, the stem cell regeneration of hair follicles stops, and they go into the resting phase. During this, any strand which is in the middle of the hair growth cycle can break easily.
Keep your stress away and do meditate daily to have peace of mind.
2.6. Follow A Good Hair Care Routine
Our hair needs care to shine well and for proper growth. Ignoring our hair and not giving them enough care will create brittle and damaged hair. A good hair care routine can change the game and give you fine hair. Some tips for a good hair care routine are-
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Daily massaging of the scalp helps in improving blood circulation which promotes new hair growth. It also spreads the natural oils produced by our scalp in our hair length. This can be done simply by using the fingertips or using the scalp massager available on the market.
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It is advised to tie your hair in loose plaits before going to sleep. It prevents the tangling of hair that happens when we sleep without tying our hair.
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Try to wash your hair at least twice a week. Not washing our hair for a long time cause a buildup of sebum on our scalp which leads to hair fall and various scalp infections.
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Regular haircuts help in getting rid of those split ends and prevent breakage of the whole hair strand.
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Apply hair oil at least once a week to provide the required nourishment to your hair. Oiling the hairs makes the strands strong and makes them soft and shiny. It also promotes a healthy scalp and reduces dandruff from the scalp. You can use coconut oil, almond oil, mustard oil, or anyone else which suits you.
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Comb your hair daily in a gentle manner. Not only it detangles our hair but also promotes blood circulation.
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Avoid using harsh chemicals for hair styling.
- Use soft pillowcases which cause minimum friction and prevent the hair from damaging.

2.7. Deep-Condition Your Hair
There are various causes for hair breakage, but deep conditioning helps in providing the required moisture to our locks. Deep conditioning helps in softening and hydrating the hair by providing the required nutrients. It helps in reducing hair breakage and also prevents future breakage. You can use the hair masks available in the markets or you can prepare your hair mask by yourself at home for deep conditioning.
Choose the mask according to your dry hair type and leave it for at least half an hour. You can also wrap a hot towel ( soak the towel in hot water for a few minutes then take it out and squeeze the water) on your head. It helps in deep penetration of the ingredients of the mask in hair and helps in improving your hair health.
Even if you have healthy hair, it is good to do deep conditioning from time to time to keep your hair healthy and shiny. Deep conditioning helps in moisturizing the inner cuticle of hair strands. A few hair masks that you can use for deep conditioning are
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Mask of honey and olive oil. Mix them in equal portions, and you can use the mask for soft and shiny hairs.
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Mask of honey, yogurt, and coconut oil. Take 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, half a cup of yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix them well, and your hair mask is ready.
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Mask from banana. Take 1 banana, 2 tablespoons of honey, and 2 tablespoons of almond oil or coconut oil. Mix them well with the help of a mixer and apply the mask to your hair.
2.8. Air Dry and Embrace Your Natural Strands
In our busy lifestyle, we all use blow dryers to dry our hair, which not only dries the water from our hair but it also reduces the moisture from our hair, which leads to rough and frizzy hair. And later on, the roughness makes our hair more prone to breakage.
To avoid this, it is advised to let your hair dry naturally instead of using blow dryers or hair dryers and embrace your natural strands.
2.9. Thermal protectants
All of us like to use thermal styling tools to give our hair a new look. But it is important to take some measures to ensure the safety of our hair from that heat. So, whenever apply heat to your hair through these styling tools, always make sure that you are using thermal protectants.
Always apply the hair protectant spray before styling your hair using hot tools. They protect hair from heat which can damage your hair very badly, and prevent breakage. Also, prevent using extreme temperatures in heat styling.
2.10. Consult the Doctor
If you are not able to reduce your hair loss and breakage even after making all possible changes, then it’s time to consult a doctor. There is a high chance that you might be suffering from some health condition. Problems like hormonal imbalance, alopecia, PCOD, etc., cause major hair damage.
It is very important to get them treated, otherwise, you won’t be able to improve your hair health no matter what product you use. Without treating the internal issue you can’t improve hair health.
Conclusion
Hair breakage is a serious issue that most of us face because of our bad lifestyle. There are various causes for hair breakage, but the good thing is that it can be treated and prevented by making some changes and adding some rituals to our hair care routine.
Also, Read What Does PRN Mean in Medical Terms? Learn in 13 Short Points
Last Updated on by ritukhare