How To Stop Hair Breakage In Women

Here is a summary of the current hair problems and advice on how to stop hair breakage for any woman who wants healthy looking hair again.

Every woman knows that lovely hair is a vital part of her attractiveness. But today many mistreat their hair. They sleep with it set on bulky rollers, style it too often with lotions and sprays, over-tease and overwork it.

HAIRSTYLES are individual and becoming, but more and more women are troubled with hair damage, dull hair, brittle and broken hair, thinning hair. It is time for a good, hard look at what women are doing wrong and what they should be doing right if they want healthy, gleaming hair. Many women ruin their hair by doing too much to it. Others cause temporary or even permanent damage by neglect of persistent, possibly serious, hair and scalp conditions.

Over-Teasing The Hair:

Hairdressers agree that many women are over-teasing their hair, and over-teased hair is always dull, especially when it is allowed to remain in its matted state from day to day. Some women hate to brush the set out; instead, they gently smooth the hair over the teased sections. Fortunately, the remedy for this kind of dull hair is an easy and obvious one: Stop teasing and start combing.

Some hairdressers blame the use of beer as a hair setting lotion for the prevalent dull hair look. Misuse of hair spray can also dull the hair. Always hold the dispenser eight to ten inches away, so that you don’t overdose the hair. Improper use of shampoo can dull hair. Thorough rinsing of the shampoo is important; any residue will cause dullness. To rinse thoroughly, hairdressers use a hose spray. You can use a spray of this kind at home, attaching it to the tap. Hold it with the teeth of the spray close to the head and flood the scalp with water.

Naturally dry hair has a tendency to be lusterless to begin with. Don’t shampoo dry hair too often once a fortnight is quite sufficient if you’re having trouble with your hair. Use a mild, bland soap. If your problem hair is oily, you can shampoo it once every five to seven days, using commercial shampoo. Coarse hair can be shampooed more often than fine, silky hair.

Regular massage will help, too; lightly rotate fingertips over the scalp twice a day for at least five minutes. Many hairdressers will massage a conditioning agent into your hair before setting it. You can do this at home, and between shampoos, to give it sheen.

Overuse and misuse of home permanents and coloring products can dry and dull the hair. All hairdressers urge regular treatments to recondition hair that has lost the “look of life.'” A cream or lotion conditioner also should be used at home.

Whatever treatment is given, be sure that it is one that does not require three or four soapings to remove the conditioning agent, as a hot olive oil treatment would. This only nullifies the treatment.

Vigorous Brushing:

Hairdressers cite many causes of brittle, broken hair. Among them, often in combination, are sleeping on rollers, brushing fine hair too vigorously, over-teasing, over-tinting, and a general over manipulation of the hair.

Over-teasing and carelessness in combing out teased hair can cause more damage to hair than just the familiar split ends. These can be snipped off the next time a woman visits her hairdresser, but teasing and the other practices mentioned above can cause serious damage to the hair shaft. If the shaft is weakened and torn, hair has to grow out completely before the damage can be undone.

The beehive fashion of recent years has led to trouble when it is left too long a time without combing. The beehive hair no longer in style, introduced over-teasing of hair.

Hairdressers claim that it is impossible to achieve the height and width women are now accustomed to without some teasing. But it ran he done carefully. If you insist on occasional teasing gee your hairdresser to show you how to do it with a minimum of breakage.

If a hairdresser advises you not to tease your hair, follow his advice. Ask him to give you a hairstyle that won’t require teasing, or get a small, lightweight hairpiece that can be applied under your own hair to give your style height.

Women punish their hair by altogether too vigorous handling. When you shampoo your hair, don’t scrub it. Treat it as you would your finest cashmere sweater, gently “squeezing” it clean. After rinsing thoroughly, wrap it tightly in a towel. If you use a home drier, use one that can be regulated against overheating. Medium heat is best.

Using Broken Combs:

Broken combs can damage hair. Always use clean comb. If hair snarls or mats, use one with large, smooth rounded teeth. The moment even one tooth breaks off discard the comb; you’ll snap off hairs if you don’t.

Hair brushing habits should be re-examined, too, if you’re having trouble with hair breakage. A natural bristle rush is safer, because the ends of the bristles are rounded and don’t damage the hair. But bristle brushes are expensive, so you can compromise by using a nylon brush, but use it very gently. Too vigorous brushing will cause the hair to break off.

If hair is baby fine or in a poor condition, some hairdressers suggest that women stop brushing. For normal or coarse hair, brush with sheen. If you have been brought up to believe that you have to give one hundred licks every morning and every night you can forget that advice.

The surprising truth is that gentle massage of scalp twice a day for few minutes will do a good job of the work brushing does and stimulates circulation in the scalp.

Improper Use of Hair Rollers:

Hair rollers improperly used are a major cause of hair damage. Winding the hair toe tightly on to rollers, pulling it too hard from the scalp, creates too much tension and weaker hairs snap. Have your hairdresser show you how to wind hair to do the job but not exert undue pull on the hair shaft.

Sleeping on rollers is particularly damaging. Hair breaking friction is created as the taut hair is rubbed between rollers and pillow. Wire-meshed, stiff-brush, or flip-on rollers are particularly brutal to hair.

Hairdressers suggest that women set their hair before retiring; then use a hair dryer and remove the rollers and clips. If you do this, tie a net over the hair and don’t brush out the set till morning. Another solution is to get up a bit earlier in the morning and set your hair.

Home Permanent Waving:

Home permanent waving can cause breakage when women wind their hair too tightly and compactly on the curlers. This causes damage not only because of tension but because the waving lotion and the neutralizer are prevented from circulating freely through each strand of hair.

If you plan to give yourself a home permanent, allow the old permanent to grow out completely or have the ends cut off. Have the hair shaped if it has grown bushy. Before using a home permanent product, read the manufacturer’s instructions completely. If end papers are specified, be sure to use them. Use the type of curlers recommended; never old ones that you have from a kit you bought years ago. Try a test curl, especially if your hair is lightened or color treated. Wind your hair on the curlers securely but not too tightly.

Hair Coloring Products:

Hair coloring products must also be used carefully, following the manufacturer’s step-by-step instructions. When hair is to undergo a drastic change, there is no doubt that a professional colorist should do the job. Often the natural color must be lightened before the new color can be used. This is not a do-it-yourself operation.

Temporary and semi-permanent coloring can be handled at home by women who exercise caution and follow directions carefully. Before using any hair-coloring product a woman should make a preliminary skin patch test, whether at the salon or at home, to be sure that she is not allergic.

Reapplying color too soon to touch up permanently tinted hair is a mistake. This is called “‘overlapping.'” Any lightening agent, improperly used, will weaken the hair shafts, so it is important to avoid overlapping. Apply fresh color only where needed.

A cotton tipped swab makes a good applicator for touch-ups at hairline or part. Shun “home brews” of peroxide and ammonia. If an applicator or brush is recommended for the product you use, follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully. Always use the same hair coloring product that you used originally. When semi-permanent colorings are used, avoid color buildup by waiting until most of the color from previous applications has faded with time or been washed out with a number of shampooing.

A great deal of damage is done to hair with “home brews” of peroxide, household ammonia, and a dash of lemon juice. Repeated use to this concoction will leave hair as dry as baked straw and also will cause scalp irritation. Manufacturers of hair lighteners make sure their products contain conditioning agents such as lanolin.

Hairdressers report that some women attempt to straighten their hair at home, using a kit designed to permanent wave the hair. The waving lotion is applied, but then, in a reversal of the waving process, the hair is combed down harshly in an attempt to straighten it. This is abusive treatment even for the strongest hair. Since there are no instructions for straightening hair in the home wave kit, the result is broken, brittle hair. Leave hair straightening to the professional hairdresser.

Other Reasons:

The incidence of thinning hair and even of baldness does seem to be increasing. Dermatologists as well as hairdressers are giving more and more attention to causes, effects, and treatments. Some hair loss is natural for a woman. New hair comes to replace it and there is no cause for alarm. But many women are losing their hair through abusive treatment. Some of the things that cause hair breakage also cause it to fall out; pulling a comb through over-teased hair, sleeping on hair “tensed” in rollers.

When very serious hair loss occurs, hairdressers suggest that you rest your hair from color treatments, permanents, and even regular hair sets. Shampoo it no oftener than is absolutely necessary, using a good commercial shampoo or a prescription shampoo from your doctor. Stop using rollers altogether. Set your hair in standup pin curls instead. If necessary, have your hair cut in a style that is suitable for this kind of simple setting.

Ponytail:

Every hairdresser has seen the results of pulling the hair back tight in a ponytail or bun receding hairline, a balding spot under the place where the ponytail is secured, damage to hair follicles that may be permanent. Securing the ponytail with a rubber band breaks the hair.

Dandruff:

Dermatologists have differing opinions about dandruff, especially in its relation to hair loss. The condition called seborrheic dermatitis, in which crusty dandruff is accompanied by redness and inflammation of the scalp, may do permanent damage to the hair follicles. If a woman has this condition she should consult a dermatologist without delay.

A slight case of dandruff should not be allowed to grow worse. In this connection it is reassuring to know that much harmless scalp flaking is mistaken for dandruff. The skin on the scalp of every healthy person flakes or sheds daily. And when shampoo is not thoroughly rinsed out of the hair, but is left on the scalp, it will dry the scalp and induce dandruff-like flakes.

For the normal, everyday scaling of the scalp, no medication is needed. For slight cases of dandruff, in which flaking is accompanied by a degree of itching, use a shampoo made to control the condition. Be careful not to scratch at your scalp with fingernails or a comb to dislodge the scales. Brush them lightly from your hair before shampooing.

Try not to worry your hair habitually with your fingertips or comb, or brush it excessively whenever it gets ruffled. Don’t let facial cream or lotions invade it with their added emollients. If severe hair loss occurs, see a doctor at once.

Hairdressers have noted sadly that too many women go on secretly worrying about their hair while continuing to torment it. They seem to take the attitude that if they ignore a hair problem, it will go away. It won’t. But the hair itself may.

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