Inside: 4 Solutions For Breakage with curly hair. Collaborative post.
For curly girls, how can we tell the difference between normal shedding and breakage? How can we tell the difference between normal shedding and excessive thinning? If you have hair that “poofs” up more than someone with straight hair, hair thinning might be harder to notice — but if you’re seeing a lot of fall out, you might begin to worry.
For those of us with curly hair, especially those who follow the curly girl method, it might feel like we are shedding more than normal. But, it could just be that we wash our hair less than those with different hair types. If we go 3 to 4 days without washing, there’s going to be 3 to 4 days worth of healthy, normal shedding in the brush or at the bottom of the shower.
So, how can you tell the difference between a disrupted hair growth cycle (excessive shedding) and a healthy fallout? Let’s get into the details.
What’s normal shedding?
Every day we shed around 100 to 150 hairs. This is perfectly normal and a part of the hair growth cycle. At any given moment, each hair on your head is in some part of the hair growth cycle: anagen, catagen, telogen, and exogen. The last phase, exogen, is the shedding phase. Quickly followed by the anagen phase, the growing phase.
So, losing some hair every day is a normal part of your hair growth cycle.
But, there are times when shedding can become too frequent and is considered excessive shedding.
Excessive shedding
Losing more than 100 to 150 hairs per day is considered excessive shedding. This is not technically “hair loss” as new hairs will usually quickly replace the hairs you shed.
However, excessive shedding can be scary. If you’ve ever come out of the shower and see a clump of hair lying at the drain — you know what I mean.
So, why does this happen?
Excessive shedding can be caused by significantly stressful events like childbirth, weight loss, or illness. Significant emotional stress may cause this to happen as well.
Stress can push the hair follicles into the telogen phase, wherein the hair goes into a resting period. A few weeks later, those “resting” hairs are shed, sometimes at all once. Excessive shedding is caused when too many hair follicles go into the resting phase at once. This is also known as telogen effluvium.
Thinning caused by breakage in curly hair
Overall hair thinning is different than excessive shedding. Thinning can occur over time as a result of hair loss at the root or breakage along the hair shaft.
For curly girls, breakage is very common.
Many of us with curly locks deal with breakage because our hair is naturally dry so it can easily become brittle and break. This can cause frizzy fly-away hairs, split ends, and those fuzzy “baby hairs” that have taken the place of your edges.
Over time, if breakage continues, it can significantly thin your hair.
What does it mean if your curly hair is breaking
If your hair is breaking, it means it is not nourished or moisturized enough to maintain strength. Curly hair requires far more moisture and protective oils than straight hair so using the right products is a big deal.
When does breakage happen?
Breakage can occur during detangling, styling, sleeping, or even while your hair is tied up in a bun. This is because brittle hair can’t withstand much pressure or tugging without snapping. Your hair is especially weaker when it’s wet so often breakage happens during shampooing or wet detangling.
How do you know it’s breakage?
You know your hair has breakage if you have parts of your hair that are mysteriously shorter than the length of your hair. You might also see small pieces of hair in the sink after heat styling. Or, you could actually hear snapping noises when you’re detangling.
Breakage is the worst. So how do we avoid it?
4 hair breakage solutions for thinning curly hair
If you’re dealing with excessive shedding because of stress or trauma, your hair will most likely resume normal growth once the stress has been eliminated.
For the mamas amongst you, if you’ve lost hair after giving birth, you’re not alone. Experts say, your hair should return to normal within a year of giving birth. If hair growth doesn’t resume, you could consider topical products to help stimulate the hair follicles back into high gear.
If you find you’re experiencing thinning because of breakage, you might find these tips helpful to avoid future breakage.
1. Apply leave-in conditioners to soaking wet hair
After co-washing your hair, flip your head upside down and scrunch in conditioners to drenched hair and allow the water to squeeze out. This is also lovingly known as “Squish to Condish.” This method forces water and conditioner to work as a team to mega hydrate your curls.
2. Finger detangling vs. brush detangling
If you get super tangles then this can be a bit of a pain — but if you get super tangles, forcing your way through wet, fragile hair with a comb or brush can definitely cause breakage. Before showering spend some time dry finger detangling to get a head start. After your shower, finger detangle again before bringing in a brush. This way can avoid a lot of breakages.
3. Of course, use sulfate-free shampoos
Curly hair is already very dry, we don’t need to dry it out even further with harsh sulfates. Sometimes, we all need a clarifying shampoo, but most of the time a gentle co-wash can get the job done. (Co-washes are conditioners that are designed to cleanse and condition — perfect if you follow the curly girl method.) Also, make sure your conditioners are silicone-free if you are going sulfate-free as you could experience build-up.
4. Just stop using terry cloth towels on your hair
I know you’ve heard this before, but terry cloth towels are wrecking your curls for a few reasons. When it comes to breakage, that traditional bath towel is sopping precious moisture which can rob your strands and cause frizz and breakage. Opt for microfibre or, my favourite, a cotton t-shirt.