Understanding Hair Breakage and Hair Loss
There are many factors that lead to hair breakage, loss and thinning. Some factors are external such as the weather, hair service, and how you care for your hair at home. Other factors are internal and include: stress, medication, poor dieting; hormone in balance from birth control pills; iron deficiency; pregnancy; menopause; hormone treatments; thyroid problems; and poor blood circulation. It is very beneficial to understand these factors in order to know the role they play in determining the health of your hair.In order to further understand the underlying causes of damaged hair, you must learn about our hair’s structure.
Hair is a living organism. The hair extracts its nourishment from the blood stream. This is why a healthy diet plays an important role in the maintenance of healthy hair. Each hair strand is made up of three principal components. The first is the cuticle also known as the outer-most layer. It acts as a protective shield to the hair shaft and is coated with a natural lubricant called sebum, which gives hair its natural shine. When your hair seems dull and dry it means sebum was stripped from the hair shaft. This happens as a result of over processing, excessive heat or improper product usage. The second layer of the hair strand is the cortex. Your hairs color, strength, elasticity, and texture are determined by the cortex. It accounts for 75-90 percent of the hairs bulk. When the cortex is damaged, your hair will be weak and fragile and will break off easy when touched. Re-constructors and regular hair care treatments are essential to maintaining and strengthening the cortex. The third and final innermost layer of the hair is the medulla. The medulla is frequently broken or absent from the hair shaft. Poor health and the use of certain drugs are suspected to have direct bearing on its absence or damaged condition.
Now you that understand structure of hair, you can understand hair shaft deformities. Understanding problematic hair is crucial so we can know how to properly repair it. There is a distinct difference between hair loss, and hair breakage.
Hair Breakage is when the hair fractures on the ends or at any point throughout the length of the hair strand. Hair breakage is usually self inflicted and is a result of improper hair care either by you or an improperly trained hairstylist. Some of the reasons for hair breakage are:
Spilt Ends: are the most common cause of hair breakage and will result when the tip of the hair shaft is broken at the cortex. When the tip of the hair shaft is broken, the cortex is exposed, as a result, it becomes dry and the ends of your hair begin to fray or split. The hair looks dull, ragged and thirsty in appearance. Excessive use of no-lye relaxers and permanent color also robs the hair of its moisture and further promotes split ends. To avoid split ends, trim your hair every 6-8 weeks or in conjunction with your relaxer.
Traction or Friction: is another form of hair breakage, and occurs when strands of hair are pulled or rubbed together to tight. When you wear tight ponytails,tight braids and weaves, barrettes, or constantly brushing or combing your hair you will experience traction or friction. Avoid pulling your hair to tight. Do not use rubber bands and avoid sleeping with rollers, or accessories with metal clips.
Hair Loss results when the hair comes out completely from the root of the hair follicle. You are experiencing hair loss when you see a white bulb at the end of a hair strand, this is the hairs root. You may also experience hair loss when you don’t see a white bulb, but a strand of hair that is the average length of hair remaining on your head. It is normal to lose about 50-100 hairs a day, this is part of the hair renewal process. There are many reasons for hair loss including stress, medication, poor dieting; hormone in balance from birth control pills; iron deficiency; pregnancy; menopause; hormone treatments; thyroid problems; and poor blood circulation. Let’s explore some of the reasons for hair loss
Hormonal: Since hormones both stimulate hair growth and cause hair loss, hormonal in balance by far has the biggest impact on hair loss. An example of this is childbirth; after pregnancy many women experience a loss of hair, this is caused because the hair has simultaneously entered the resting phase of the hair growth cycle. Within two or three months after giving birth, some women will notice large amounts of hair coming out in their brushes and combs. This can last one to six months, but resolves completely in most cases. This condition is caused by the hormonal changes that take place after a woman’s body recovers from her pregnancy.
