First things first, what is hair breakage?
Hair breakage occurs only when the elasticity and strength of your hair is not at its optimum level. This happens primarily due to chemical processing like the use of highlighting, perms, bleaching, keratin straightening treatment, and a generous use of various heated styling aids. -credit for source: tuneyourhair.com
This means the ends of your hair are breaking off faster or at the same rate your hair is growing out. This causes the illusion that your hair isn’t growing when in fact it is, but it is breaking off.
Split ends are inevitable and are impossible to avoid. We all have them!
What we can do is improve our hair care routine that actually treats these dead ends that are notorious for splitting and breaking off.
How do we stop breakage?
Hair breakage occurs naturally with all hair types. Remember that the ends of our hair are dead which in turn makes them more fragile and likely to snap off.
If you want the ends of your hair to stop breaking off you will need to stop or lessen the use of bleaching treatments, styling treatments, keratin straightening treatments, and consistent use of heat styling tools.
My personal experience:
For the past 2 years I had noticed that my hair was in fact growing, but it was not actually gaining any length. I’ve been trying to grow my hair out since I was 16 and have gotten to waist length. The issue has been getting past waist length.
More often than not I would have to cut off more than I would’ve liked to because of the thinning of the ends of my hair.
I realized the issue was that it was breaking off at the same rate that it was growing, making it incredibly difficult to actually grow my hair.
This was on top of making sure to use oil masks and treatments, no heat styling, air drying my hair, wearing protective styles, using a microfiber towel instead of a regular one, detangling with a wide tooth comb, using wooden brushes, using a satin pillowcase, etc.
I was doing everything in the book to help my hair grow!
However, my two most recent finds have changed my routine and my hair has actually been growing! (Healthy ends and all).
You know how quite a few people preach about “blow drying your hair is damaging” and “it can actually ruin your hair over time” etc., well I learned that was one of the missing pieces for me.
I have medium-thick fine hair and I have always allowed it to air dry. This would take 2-4 hours for my hair to fully dry and in my discovery, I realized that actually what I had been told about blow drying my hair my whole life was wrong.
In fact, your hair will be healthier if you blow dry it vs. if you don’t because when it remains wet for long periods of time it can actually cause damage because the water is sitting on top of your head.
If you didn’t know, every time you wash your scalp, it considered to be “damaging” because your hair strands are like scales. When they’re dry, they lay flat, when they’re wet, they stretch, expand, and open up. If they’re open for long periods of time this increases the probability of hair breakage occurring.
This can also cause mildew and other nasties to build in your hair if the hair is thick and takes more than an hour to dry.
Now in comparison, it takes me 30 minutes to blow dry my hair vs. the 2-4 hours it takes to fully air dry. I would also like to add I don’t care much for styling my hair, just getting the drying process over with.
This changed my routine and I learned how important it is the seal in the moisture.
I was doing everything correctly, spraying in my detangler and leave in conditioner but I was not sealing the moisture in with a hair serum or oil.
I would after my hair was dry, but apparently that is not how you properly use a hair serum or oil.
How you’re supposed to apply it is actually after your leave in conditioner or if you’re short on time, mix it with your leave in products and apply it to damp hair.
I never knew this because when I first heard about it, I shook off this idea thinking it would make my hair look greasy and weighed down.
Actually, the exact opposite has happened. My hair feels moisturized, has a lustrous sheen to it, and remains detangled.
The science behind why the oil/hair serum does not make the hair greasy is this: less is more.
You only need a dime size amount and when the serum is rubbed against wet hair it emulsifies making it able to glide along your strands. This in turn locks in the leave in conditioner making it the perfect recipe for having healthy hair!
Pro Tip: the hair serum is strictly for the ends of your hair and or the ears down. The dead ends of your hair need that extra TLC not your roots!
I call this method DLO/DLS:
D-etangle
L-eave-in conditioner
O-il / S-erum
It’s that simple! I would also like to add you do not need to invest in luxury brands in order to see results. Remember that many luxury brands are just that, brands. There are plenty of drug store options that offer the exact same results.
Hair serums I use and recommend:
Hask Argan Repairing Hair Oil 2 Pack 2oz: this has been my go-to for the past few years. There’s a reason it has remained in my routine, and I highly recommend you give it a try! It is $12 for 2. (It’s light weight but packs a punch and has a slight orange scent).
Hask Keratin Protein Smoothing Hair Oil x2: Another favorite of mine from the brand Hask. This is what I use when my hair is absolutely unmanageable and very frizzy. It immediately softens and keeps it detangled for days as well not to mention I also really enjoyed the scent as well. This costs $7 for two and is also sold for $2 at HEB.com & walmart.com.
Verb Ghost Oil: I was gifted this from a friend, and I have to say, I can understand why so many people love this oil! It contains argan, moringa, camellia oil, and many other beneficial oils to deeply nourish the hair. Currently priced at $18-20, also available at sephora.com.
Cantu Hydrating Hair Elixir: this serum will always remain in my routine, and I would in fact say I favor it out of all of the hair serums that I’ve used. It’s very light weight in texture but works true miracles on softening the hair and adding shine. This costs $6-7 which is such a good deal! Also available at HEB.com & walmart.com.
OGX Nourshing + Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum: OGX is a well-known drug-store brand that has been around for a very long time. Their most popular serum is their penetrating argan oil hair serum. I have tried almost of OGX’s hair serums and personally love this one and the next one I’ll be recommending. Currently it is $7-8 and sold at HEB.com and Target.com.
OGX Renewing + Argan Oil of Morocco Weightless Healing Dry Oil: This has a lighter texture than the coconut milk one and I would recommend it for thinner to fine hair types. Its lightweight and easier to use and I would recommend it for first time users who have not tried a hair serum before! This is $7-8 and also found at ogxbeauty.com and Target.com.