Your once invincible thick and strong strands can no longer bounce back from outside damage. As you enter your 40s and 50s, the hair breaks down more quickly and the outer cuticle is repaired at a slower rate. This leaves the inner cuticle more vulnerable to the outside attacks they were once protected from. On the bright side, hair breakage can be restored by practicing a gentle haircare routine. Continue reading to embrace a gentle haircare routine to build a stronger mane.
What is Hair Breakage?
To properly treat hair breakage, you should consider what is happening when your hair breaks. A hair that breaks is separated along the shaft, rather than at the root. Breakage occurs when your hair shaft cuticle is unable to protect the inner cortex of the hair. Often times, breakage leaves your hair looking thin and frizzy.
What Causes Hair Breakage?
Disulfide bonds within each hair fiber plays an important role in securing the keratin protein in your hair’s cortex. There are several age-related factors that can weaken and break these bonds. Your natural hair biology changes and your sebaceous glands underproduce sebum oil to protect your strands. Despite this, there are plenty of solutions to strengthen aging hair.
How to Treat and Stop Hair Breakage
1. Use Gentle Accessories
To promote growth and minimize breakage, choose gentle hair accessories. Instead of using plastic elastics, opt for fabric-wrapped hair ties. Additionally, a soft-bristle brush, made from natural materials, stimulates hair strength and growth. A boar-bristle brush triggers natural oil production in the scalp and reduces frizz.
Also, avoid abrasive hair towels made of cotton or terrycloth. Firstly, towel-drying roughens the hair cuticle, which causes it to lift up rather than lie flat. Cotton towels can draw moisture out of your hair quickly and lead to damaged strands. Instead, use a microfiber towel to softly absorb excess moisture and minimize breakage. You can gently blot and squeeze the water from your hair and air dry from there.
2. Say No to Harsh Products
Simply put, harsh ingredients like sulfates and alcohol are a no. Sulfates being inexpensive detergents will strip your hair of natural oils. Sulfates can cause skin irritations, scalp dryness and dandruff, hair loss and quickly fade color treated hair. Similarly, products with alcohol will dry up natural oils and moisture from the hair. These chemicals will leave your hair dry and brittle.
Conversely, gentle sulfate-free shampoo, like the one from Better Not Younger, will provide nourishment to the hair follicles and the scalp to strengthen your hair. For the best results, look for natural ingredients like argan oil, avocado oil, bark extract, or shea butter.
3. Style with Care
When your hair is wet, it is especially prone to breakage. It can be helpful to gently brush or comb your hair before the shower to prevent detangling wet hair. A natural brush or wide-tooth comb will be most beneficial in gently working through your knots. To minimize breakage, start brushing your ends and concentrate on the tangles there, and then tackle the mid-shaft. Finish by brushing from your roots to yours tips in a single stroke. Lastly, make sure you’re not overbrushing your hair. The consistent friction of brushing will cause split ends and breakage.
Most importantly, to treat and stop breakage, lay off the heat. Heat from blow-dryers, straighteners, and curling wands can result in moisture loss and compromise your ends. The heat opens up the cuticle in your hair shaft, which is responsible for locking in moisture. Dehydrated hair will quickly lead to split ends. It’s hard to completely avoid heat, so ensure you use a heat protectant whenever applying heat.
4. Prioritize a Balanced and Nutrient-Rich Diet
Your body doesn’t absorb vitamins and minerals like it did in your 20’s. A nutritional imbalance will often show up first as hair damage and loss. A consistent nutritious diet supplemented with the right vitamins can provide your body with what it needs to produce strong, healthy hair.
- Vitamin A
Vitamin A is associated with improved blood circulation, initiating hair growth, and regeneration. Vitamin A also benefits scalp dryness by regulating the oil production in your sebaceous glands, ensuring your scalp has a proper amount of sebum. Strong sources of vitamin A include carrots, fish, squash, cantaloupe, and bell peppers.
Keep in mind an excessive amount of vitamin A can result in hair loss, so it is important you consult your doctor for the recommended intake.
- Vitamin B
B-vitamins manufacture red blood cells that deliver oxygen and nutrients to your scalp and hair follicles. These vitamins also control the secretion of excess oil from the scalp and the skin. A well-known vitamin B7, biotin, improves hair texture, increases breakage resistance, and hydrates the scalp. Eggs, leafy greens, dairy products, seeds, and seafood provide vitamin B.
- Vitamin C
Vitamin C supports your body’s collagen production and iron absorption. Also, vitamin C helps distribute oxygen throughout your body. Foods that are high in Vitamin C are citrus fruits, leafy greens, peppers, and potatoes.
- Vitamin D
Vitamin D can stimulate old hair follicles and generate new ones. Foods like salmon, orange juice, soy milk, egg yolk, and tuna have high levels of vitamin D.
- Vitamin E
Vitamin E reduces the oxidative stress on your scalp by balancing your skin’s antioxidants. Vitamin E also increases blood circulation and spreads crucial follicle nutrients to your scalp. Vitamin E is found in plant-based oils, nuts, and seeds.
- Iodine
Iodine helps prevent hair breakage and ensures a proper growth process. Foods high in iodine include shrimp, dairy products, and eggs.
- Iron
An iron deficiency causes anemia, which contributes to hair loss for women. Oysters, mussels, clams, spinach and raisins are rich in iron.
- Zinc
Zinc has antioxidant properties that reduce the inflammatory response to dead cells, dirt, oil, and bacteria. Additionally, zinc helps to regulate keratinocyte activation. Keratinocytes are skin cells that generate keratin, a fibrous protein that binds skin cells and hair filaments. Include lentils, yogurt, pork, seeds, and mushrooms into your diet for steady levels of zinc.
5. Don’t Neglect your Scalp
As you age, the key to strong hair is a thriving scalp. Focusing on your scalp health will allow you to treat your hair issues from the inside out. A scalp serum is a beneficial way to repair damage, increase growth and shine, and protect against external damage. Treating your hair with serum oils will help hydrate and strengthen your strands and scalp. If your scalp is prone to dryness, a serum will gently remove excess buildup, while providing more moisture.
Additionally, a deep scalp cleanser clears product residue, exfoliates dead skin cells, balances oil production, and increases blood circulation. Typically, these deep-cleaning agents are used once or twice a week, depending on your scalp conditions. Deep cleansers will unclog your pores, allowing for more efficient hair growth.
6. Moisturize, Moisturize, and Moisturize Again
Hair masks are filled with oils, butters, lipids and other humectants to restore and moisturize your hair. Deep-conditioning masks can help fight dryness, and breakage. A conditioning mask soaks in your hair from anywhere between 5 minutes to all night long. To hydrate your strands with a mask, look for ingredients like avocado oil, olive oil, argan oil, shea butter, honey, and bananas.