‘My hair is breaking really badly. I have relaxed hair that is 4b I think but every time I wash it, I see lots of little hairs. What should I do to stop the breakage??’
I get clones of this question from naturals and relaxed ladies so often in my inbox and even though I have addressed it many many, many times, it seems I need to provide a refresher course. So here we go:
1. Moisture – Newbies to the haircare world would be best placed to start off moisturizing more often. By moisture I am talking about H20 water and not any fancy conditioners or moisturizing creams.
Get your hair wet more often is the best advice I can give to a newbie then we can tweak your regimen from there. Washing your hair weekly will keep your hair’s moisture levels optimal. Use a moisturizing conditioner* and also remember to seal the moisture in after the wash with a good coating oil.
2. Protein – Protein is what our strands are made of and any manipulation however gentle leads to the loss of protein. People don’t usually associate combing, washing , styling with or without heat or your hair rubbing on your clothes as activities that lead to protein loss but they definitely are.
We lose billions of skin cells daily so it stands to reason that we are also constantly losing cells from our hair too. But unlike skin, hair cells are not continually replaced so we are left with the responsibility of replenishing that protein ourselves. Make sure you keep up with your hard protein treatments every 6-8 weeks.
3. Don’t touch it! – Manipulation is the single biggest killer of hair strands. Think dreadlocks. They tend to grow very long because they are the ultimate low manipulation hairstyle.
While you don’t have to grow dreadlocks to have long hair, keeping your length is much easier than growing it out for many people, so an option is to keep your hair in weaves, braids, twists or wigs* majority of the time then use a great regimen to maintain the length.
Some people choose to reduce breakage by transitioning to natural, a technique that has worked a charm for me. Alternatively you may choose to continue relaxing but pay attention to how long you process your hair or deliberately under-process your hair (texlax or texturize) to keep some of your natural hair strength.
It’s important to point out, even though it may not be what a lot of you want to hear, with over processed relaxed hair or severely heat damaged hair, stopping breakage is not entirely possible. You have to concentrate on getting your hair care practices on point to prevent future breakage on the newer hair growing in.
What type of brush is good on natural hair
how often should I moisturize my hair when I am wearing my own hair in single braids/cornrows? my second question is, can I use coconut oil that was bought in the cooking aisle for my hair, is there any difference with the cooking one and the extra virgin/cold pressed one?
I have relaxed hair and I too have breakage issue with my hair what are steps I can take after start moisturizing my hair, I see someone mention that moisturizing your hair is very important. What kind of Shampoo, conditioner and hair moisturizer can I use in my hair. My daughter is 3 1/2 she will be 4 years-old in March 2014 and she has real dry nappy hair and I wanted to know what product can I use in her hair to make is soft enough to comb her hair and I want to use shampoo, conditioner that would make her hair grow I’m not sure if I am using the right product. she has natural hair. please some advise please on what to do. I also want to start taking care of my hair at home because it is very expense to keep having to go to the salon.
Thank you very much
I have been natural all my life but has been trying to do right to hair about two years now but it seems as if i am experiencing more breakage now. I have so much short hair all over my head. I am wondering what i am doing wrong. help me please.