Who does not know it? If the hairstyle doesn’t fit, the mood is in the basement. No matter how much the make-up can make a difference, if the hair doesn’t fit, the rest of it won’t be right either. Why actually? Well, hair has been a kind of expression of one’s personality for centuries. Take Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse, Ariana Grande, or a picture of yourself from 10 years ago as an example.
Trends come and go, but your hair shows who you actually are. When you think of beautiful hair, you don’t primarily mean the hairstyle, but healthy-looking hair that is beautifully shiny and supple. Unfortunately, many struggles with dull and stressed, dry hair. And especially those with thin hair often suffer from hair breakage. So what to do when the hair breaks off? We have the 10 best tips against hair breakage and explain what the perfect hair care for strong, well-groomed hair looks like.
Table of Contents
What is hair breakage?
Structure and structure of the hair
In order to understand hair breakage, one should first look at the structure of the individual hair because it is divided into different layers:
· The medullary canal or medulla, which mainly consists of degradation products and nucleated cells, is located right inside.
· The fibrous layer (also called the cortex) is placed around the medullary canal. The fiber layer consists largely of the hair protein keratin, which is responsible for the strength and elasticity of the hair. Incidentally, all hairdressing processes take place in this layer, such as lightening or dyeing.
· The outermost and thus visible layer of the hair is the cuticle (in technical jargon, cuticle). It consists of cells that are superimposed on each other, somewhat like a pine cone. In healthy hair, the cuticle is closed, and the incident light is reflected on its surface. This is how, for example, the silky shine is created in the hair. If the hair is stressed or broken, the cuticle is open, and the surface is rough. This means that the light is not reflected, and the hair no longer shines.
Why does hair break off?
Knowing about the structure of hair is a good way of explaining how hair breakage occurs. If the hair in the fiber layer or cuticle is damaged and dried out, the hair loses its strength and elasticity and can no longer withstand environmental influences. The result: the hair breaks off. But genetics are also involved when it comes to hair breakage. Blonde hair is often much finer than naturally black hair and therefore threatens to break off more quickly.
These things can cause hair breakage:
· Styling: Especially long hair can be styled wonderfully and with them, you can conjure up beautiful hairstyles. But when tying, twisting, braiding and styling the hair is stressed and sometimes brought into an unnatural shape that makes it kink and break off.
· Heat: The natural enemy of hair is heated. Even if the hair structure can withstand a lot, straightening irons, curling irons, and hot air from a blow dryer mainly attack the surface of the hair. Heat dries out the hair, making it more prone to breakage and split ends.
· Hot water: Not only hot irons but also hot water stresses the hair.
· Friction: Vigorous rubbing dry after washing your hair as well as hats, scarves and jackets literally rub the hair structure and damage the cuticle.
How to recognize hair breakage
The difference between hair breakage and split ends
Hair breakage is often equated or confused with split ends. Sometimes split ends can also result in hair breakage, but a distinction is made between the two. As split ends split, brittle hair ends are called. Hair breakage, on the other hand, can occur all over the head, sometimes even right at the roots.
Hair breakage or baby hair?
Many people rightly ask themselves when hair protrudes near the roots: is it baby hair or broken hair? As the name suggests, baby hair grows very finely. Hair breakage, on the other hand, can easily be recognized by the hard, sharp edge at the end of the hair or by the small white dots that mark the breakpoint. But even if too much hair gets caught in the brush when combing, this can indicate that the hair is increasingly breaking off.
The hair breaks off – what to do?
If you notice your hair is breaking off, there is one thing you should do right now: remove any existing hair damage and contain it as best you can. For this, you should go to the hairdresser every 4-8 weeks (depending on hair length) and have the tips cut. This removes split ends so that they do not move up the hair and attack the “oldest” hair. The most delicate and driest hair is cut off before it can break much further up in a place. In addition, regular tip cutting makes the hair structure look much healthier at the same time. The hairdresser often offers a care program that you should definitely take advantage of if you want to avoid hair breakage. But it is even more important to use a high-quality care routine at home to ensure that.
Hair care against hair breakage from Elvital
If you are wondering where to get salon-quality hair care, you have come to the right address with the premium brand Elvital from L’Oréal Paris. Elvital is not the only number one in the drugstore, but thanks to years of experience and research, it is a real expert in hair care – in every area. With the premium brand, you will find suitable care for every hair need, regardless of whether you have to demand oily, colored, or dry hair. The different series differ in color and design so that you can quickly find out which products best serve your hair needs. Long-hair fans in particular and those who wash their hair very often can look forward to the 400 ml sizes of some shampoos.
10 tips against hair breakage
With the right hair care routine in your luggage and these tips against hair breakage, your limp, brittle hair declares war:
1. Avoid friction: The hair is sensitive and does not like it at all when friction occurs. It suffers a lot, especially in winter under hats, scarves and the like. Therefore: Make sure that the hair lengths and tips are as free as possible and protect them, for example, with a few drops of oil. Even when sleeping, the hair is stressed by the friction on the pillow. A silk pillow is best here. Here the hair lies on a smooth surface and is thus spared.
2. Wash your hair properly: When washing your hair, you should avoid friction as much as possible. The shampoo should mainly be lathered and massaged into the scalp. In the lengths and ends, it is sufficient to carefully press in the foam.
3. Use hair treatment/hair mask: Intensive care that strengthens the hair in its substance is essential for brittle hair. Anyone who suffers from hair breakage should use a hair treatment every time they wash. It provides care substances and strengthens the hair structure so that the hair is not only more robust but also combable.
4. Comb properly: Hair should be combed and brushed very carefully, especially when it is wet because then it is particularly sensitive and can easily break off or tear off. It is best to apply a leave-in product (for example, the Full Resist Brush-Resist-Cream) to towel-dried hair before combing and then comb the hair with a detangling brush or a wide-toothed comb. Always brush the tips first and then slowly work your way up.
5. Avoid the heat: If you use straightening irons, curling irons, and the like, use high-quality styling tools with ceramic coatings, blow-dry your hair on the cold blow dryer setting or, best of all,, let it air-dry. Anyone who uses a styling tool should always use a heat protection product to protect the hair from breakage.
6. Use the right styling products: You should omit alcohol-based products such as mousse for brittle hair because they dry out the hair and make it even more sensitive. Instead, rely on nourishing oils and creams that retain moisture and protect the hair from environmental influences.
7. Use hair ties without metal: If you conjure up a hairstyle, you should definitely make sure that the hair tie does not contain any metal parts. These press the hair off and can break it. Better: Put on soft hair ties that don’t leave any marks. A stylish variant is, for example, scrunchies.
8. Protect hair from UV radiation: The UV light from the sun can also stress the hair and make it prone to breakage. So if you spend a lot of time in the sun, you should protect your hair just like your skin with a sun protection factor. There are nourishing sprays for this, or you can use a trendy silk scarf for protection.
9. Avoid stress: Just like the skin, the hair also reflects the psyche. Stress, worries and lack of sleep also affect the structure of the hair. Therefore, treat yourself to small breaks in everyday life and use the time entirely for yourself. Incidentally, you can perfectly incorporate your hair care routine into your Me-Time (e.g. with the hair treatment from Full Resist) 15 minutes a day for you and your beauty should definitely be there.
10. Eating a balanced diet: A healthy, balanced diet is not only important for the body and general well-being but also for healthy hair growth. If the hair root receives all the necessary nutrients – and a diet rich in vitamins and minerals ensures this – it grows vigorously and can withstand environmental influences without breaking off.
And provitamin B5 is helpful here. Biotin is an essential vitamin for the body and supports hair, skin and nails. Biotin is mainly needed in the hair substance. If too little of it is available to the hair roots, the hair can become dull and brittle. Arginine is an amino acid that not only strengthens hair in weakened areas but also intensifies the absorption of other care substances at the same time. For example from provitamin B5, which has anti-inflammatory properties and smoothes the hair structure so that the hair is wonderfully shiny and supple. All of these ingredients can also be found in the Elvital Full Resist care line, which was specially developed for brittle hair. The range consists of shampoo, treatment, conditioner and leave-in cream and thus provides everything you need for the perfect hair care routine against hair breakage.
Read more: How to fix over toned hair
