Hair breakage :-(

alias*alibi

Hi; any tips would be great!

Over the past 3 months my hair has been breaking off. I haven't changed my shampoo/conditioner; same routine with using heat protection when drying/straightening etc. Bought new GHD's thinking my old ones were contributing but nope; still breaking off and I'm starting to look like the mad professor with bits sticking up. It does coincide with coming off the pill so wonder if that's the reason?

Any ideas what it could be and what I can use to help limit the breakage?

Thanks!

glowgirl_2

Ditch the straighteners all together, easier said then done I know but your hair will be absolutely wrecked if your carry on, heat protection can only do so much and the moisture is being dragged from your hair, if you use any silicone based products with heat this is making things a whole lot worse as the silicone hardens around each strand and you can never remove if unless you have it cut. DD had the same problem from using straighteners, once she stopped with heat altogether except for odd occasion drying off with a hairdryer there was a huge improvement very quickly but she did need a good cut to help her along.

Premium brand shampoo and conditioner are well worth the extra expense imo, its hard to recommend one when I don't know your hair type but Redken is my favourite and seems to agree with a lot of people.

System

I had to ditch my straighteners altogether as they were ruining my hair. I had to resort to handcream to rescue the ends but my daughter uses hers daily and gets away with minimal damage.

sadiejones_2

you need to give your hair a rest ,once you have damaged a strand of hair there is very little you can do to fix it you can only disguise the problem with products and treatments ,so try to leave it alone for as long as possible then get a good cut .

bacardi66

Ive had the same problem and my hairdresser said it was the heat of straighteners that was damaging my hair and causing it to break off. Im going to try to stop straightening and hope that it recovers!

mazza111

I too would advise to ditch the straighteners if at all possible. Go and get a good haircut too, it will stop the ends splitting further. A good rich conditioner may help too.


As and in between and not quite so damaging, could you let your hair dry naturally and straighten it for a special occasion, or dry it straight rather than doing both? Only getting half the heat damage that way

alias*alibi

Thanks all.

Ditching the straighteners; eeek! My hair is fine but lots of it; very curly at the back but lack lustre at the sides and front so a nightmare! I tend to not straighten it at the weekends. I alternate shampoo and conditioners from loreal absolute repair to tigi bedhead. Never use shop unless Aussie every so often.

Could it be the hormone change? Can't understand why years of doing the same routine/cut every 12 weeks/same colour used its started to break off.

Kazipoo

Do you bleach or colour your hair?

mazza111

The hormone change could affect the thickness of your hair. But even if it's got finer with the hormone change, the straighteners are most likely to be causing the damage. I'm lucky in the respect that I have very thick, curly hair. I try to either do one or the other (drying or straightening) so it doesn't do as much damage as doing both would. Your hair could also be over processed as the above poster says, dying or perming etc.

Now, not knowing what length your hair is, is there any possibility you could do something simple with it during the week, like tying it up in a loose scrunchie and save the straightening for the weekend? Short term measure until hair repairs and hormones settle down?

doodoot

I have used straighteners for years and years, and never have I have had any hair breakage - and my hair has alternated from bum length to jaw length and has always been coloured.

The secret to using them is to invest in a top quality iron oil spray that protects the hair from heat damage - either GHD or Tresemme.

I would be inclined to agree with your original idea about it being hormonal and linked to coming off the pill.

Fix your hair from the inside by eating lots of protein, and giving it a weekly oil treatment - either olive oil or coconut oil.

You will just have to sit it out and wait until the old hair grows out.