“I am losing my hair" Is it Shedding or Breakage and Why?
If you are losing your hair in chunks, or not, you need to know if it’s shedding or breakage or both. Knowing the difference between these two will help you find the solution to your problem faster.
Breakage occurs when your hair breaks from the middle or the ends of the hair. It is when your cuticles(protective layer) have broken off and the cortex(fragile part) is being exposed to environmental harm, thereby breaking as a result.
Hair breakage is an indication of a problem. It is always a problem. It prevents you from seeing length, volume, etc. It is the enemy.
How to Identify Breakage?
The strands are usually short because it breaks midway or at the ends. The whole strand does not break.
It is something you can control and stop. To stop breakage you must first identify the cause of the breakage.
Possible Causes of Breakage
Are you deep conditioning?
Do all your products have protein Or are protein free?
Are you overlapping your relaxers?
Do you neutralize after relaxing?
Are you moisturizing properly?
Are you manipulating your hair regularly?
Are you combing dry hair?
And so on.
There are a lot of causes of breakage and we can comb through the possible causes of yours and find the solution.
All you have to do is send a message through the link below.
Shedding occurs when your hair enters the telogen stage(resting phase). This is the last cycle of growth. The root detaches from the hair papilla. It then shifts upward and gradually pulls out of the skin. In simple terms, the full length of your hair comes out of your scalp.
It is a natural occurrence. We lose up to 100 strands daily. That’s why you’ll always see hair on your comb. Shedding is normal. It’s not a problem. It’s only an issue when it becomes excessive.
How to Identify Shedding?
The strands always has a white bulb at the root. It is called club hair. The strands are usually longer because the whole strand comes off.
Possible Causes of Shedding
Excessive shedding can be caused by
- Stress
- Ill Health e.g anemia
- Nutrient Deficiencies
- Post-Partum shedding
- Protein overload
- Tight Hairstyles
For stress-induced shedding, get a lot of rest. The source of stress has to go away for the shedding to stop.
For nutrient deficiency induced shedding, make sure you fix your diet. E.g if protein is lacking from your diet and you fail to include it after finding out, your shedding will continue.
For postpartum shedding, you cannot really do anything about it. Just keep up with your routine. Be serious with your scalp massages. If possible, include growth oils. If you are confused on what this is, please read all about it here
Stop doing tight and painful hairstyles. They induce your hair to shed before hand. Check that hairstyle you made. The white stuffs that formed at the roots are your hair shedding.
If you are experiencing protein overload, switch over to using only moisturizing products until it corrects. This will be addressed in detail much later.
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