Hi, it’s Josephine!
I’d like to start this off by saying, if you’re dealing with excessive hair shedding and hair loss, you are not alone. We’re all either going through it or have gone through it at different parts of our hair journey — and to varying degrees. So this is definitely a safe space where you can learn about how to combat hair loss and excessive hair shedding if you’re experiencing it all over your head, not just only at your hairline , edges or nape.
What is the difference between hair breakage and hair shedding?
Before we talk about how to deal with a problem, we have to make sure we have a clear and precise definition of it. Here are a few terms it’ll be helpful to know:
Hair Shedding
Hair shedding occurs when strands of hair fall off with the bulbous root still attached. So if you notice hair in your brush that still has the white, bulb-like root attached, then it is shed hair.
Hair Breakage
This looks like little pieces of hair of varying lengths, without its root. This happens when the hair breaks off from a weak point along the shaft of the hair, during the course of its growth.
What is EXCESSIVE Hair Shedding?
Human hair sheds every day and this is completely normal. Your hair is supposed to shed anaverage of 50-100 strands A DAY. I know. To put this in perspective, if you detangle your hair with a comb or brush once a week, you should expect about 350-750 strands of shed hair. This may sound and look like a lot, trust me I know, but it would not be considered excessive.
However, if your hair appears to shed a lot more than this and you may be experiencing excessive hair shedding, medically referred to as telogen effluvium.
It is also important to know that everyone’s rate of hair shedding is different. So pay close attention to how much hair you usually lose on a wash day, so you will notice when it becomes excessive.
What Causes Excess Hair Shedding?
The most common causes of excessive shedding in natural hair include:
- Stress. Stress is dangerous to the human body!
- Pregnancy and giving birth (postpartum shedding)
- Drastic and rapid weight loss
- Experiencing fever
- Undergoing surgery
- Illness and recovering from illness
- Starting or stopping certain medications like birth control
What Causes Hair Breakage and How to Fix It
There are many, many causes for hair breakage, and often your hair could say, it’s not me, it’s you. Of course, there are some causes for hair breakage which are out of our control, i.e. genetics and medical conditions. But, too often we are breaking our hair (and hearts) under the guise of #livingourbestlives. From hot styling to too many bad (yummy) food, the list of reasons your hair might be breaking is very long.
To make things a little easier for you, I’ve done the research. Check out these common causes for hair breakage and how to fix it.
Causes for Hair Breakage
1. Too Hot To Handle
Literally put the straightener down and back away. Heat styling is one of the leading causes for hair breakage, especially if you’re not using your heat protection spray!
Although a heat protection spray is not entirely preventative. In fact, the only way to avoid heat damage is to avoid heat styling, altogether. But you may want to consider cutting back your heat styling to maybe once a week? If cutting back sounds too hard, then stick to tools with temperature gauges. Temperature gauges let you, well gauge the temperature and keep it low. This means you can cut down on heat without actually ditching your curler. Especially as, heat styling, according to professional stylist Melanie Pellegrini, is one of the main reasons your hair is breaking.
So, why is heat styling so bad for your hair?
One of the significant reasons heat styling causes hair breakage is, heat weakens and dries out the cuticles of your hair. This causes your strands to become brittle and break. Another reason heat causes hair breakage is, hot tools break down your hair’s Keratin proteins and hydrogen bonds. As their name suggests, hydrogen bonds, “bond” your hair. Literally, they hold your hair fibers together. Keratin, which you may know from your stylist trying to sell it to you after every appointment, is a protective protein which makes up about 90% of your hair’s composition. So basically, these are two pretty important things when it comes to your hair’s health. And heat kills them both. Again, you don’t need to cut out heat styling all together just try to cut back. Skip the daily blow-dry and maybe take your hairdresser up on the Keratin treatment after all.
2. H2O
And by that, I mean yes H2O because your hair needs hydration. Dehydration is another major cause for hair breakage. Our bodies are 78% water, yet, because humans are poorly built machines, we still need to consume additional water to keep everything functioning properly. This is especially important for healthy cell growth, which in turn is especially vital for healthy hair growth. Now mild dehydration will only cause your strands to look and feel slightly less luscious, so forgetting to drink your water now and again is fine. But constant or severe dehydration? Now, this is a problem. When your hair is continuously deprived of moisture, it dries out, becoming weak and brittle.
And can you guess what that causes?
BREAKAGE!
This is also because of your hair’s composition. A hair shaft is made up of 1/3 water, which needs to be replenished regularly to grow new hair cells. So when you don’t drink enough, your cells don’t regenerate, which means your strands become weaker and weaker the longer they’re deprived of water.
You might be thinking, “But I drink enough water, so I’m fine.” Right?
Wrong.
Sorry to flood you with bad news but, even if you are drinking your two liters or more of water a day, you’re still at risk of dehydration. Chemical hair products, the sun and even air conditioners and heaters contribute to fluid loss.
Coffee, alcohol, fruit juices, carbonated drinks and other high sugar liquids can also cause dehydration. So if you’re a caffeine fiend, or blast the heater all day you may want to up your water intake to compensate.
But, again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, you can drink too much water. You should aim for three, but no more than five liters of water per day. You should also hydrate your hair externally using hair masks, treatments and specialized shampoos and conditioners. You can get these amazing ones that help to infuse moisture into your hair.
- Jo Naturalis Aloe-Shea shampoo https://jonaturalis.com/product/aloe-shea-shampoo-500ml/
- Jo Naturalis Aloe-Shea rinse out conditioner https://jonaturalis.com/product/aloe-shea-conditioner-500ml/
- Jo Naturalis Ultra Moisturizing deep conditioner https://jonaturalis.com/product/moisturizing-deep-conditioner/
- Jo Naturalis Volumizing deep conditioner https://jonaturalis.com/product/volumizing-deep-conditioner/
- Jo Naturalis Luxe 3-in-1 leave in conditioner https://jonaturalis.com/product/leave-in-conditioner/
These products help greatly in alleviating dryness putting breakage at bay.
3. No Worries
Stress is known to cause hair breakage. But do you know why?
Have you heard of a condition called telogen effluvium? Well, telogen effluvium is a condition which causes temporary hair loss due to stress. Ok, a few different things can cause this condition, but physical and emotional stress is definitely the most common. And trauma, which is in essence extreme stress. Sudden, severe or prolonged stress can cause your system to go all kinds of crazy. Stress affects everything from our weight to our skin and ALL of our cycles. Menstrual, sleep and, and yes, our hair growth cycle. Stress can cause your hair growth cycle to prematurely enter its resting phase, and stay there for longer than it should. Because your hair cycle is stuck resting, it does not grow new healthy hair cells. This causes your strands to weaken and break. It also means the breakage is not being regrown. As I mentioned before, hair breakage due to stress is more often than not temporary.
4. Medical cause
Some other medical causes for hair breakage are;
- Lupus
- Alopecia
- Eating Disorders
- Burning Scalp Syndrome
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
- Trichotillomania
5. Feed Your Hair
You are what you eat strongly applies to your hair. In fact, diet is one of the single most significant causes for hair breakage – along with genetics. If you are not feeding your hair what it needs to thrive, it will not grow up to be big and strong. Or in hair’s case, thick and long. In fact, if your diet is not hair-friendly, your hair will become weak, brittle, and dull and die. You can as well opt for supplements.
Literally. Just like the rest of our body, our hair needs fuel. But, did you know if you are not eating enough or enough good stuff, your body will allocate the nutrients to the most critical areas? So a properly balanced diet is essential for healthy, strong and shiny hair.
So, what foods are good for your hair?
The best foods for healthy hair and hair growth are:
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Eggs (although can cause other issues, e.g. hormone imbalance, etc.)
- Berries
- Spinach
- Fatty fish, Oysters and Shrimp (eat in moderation as seafood contains high levels of mercury).
- Sweet Potato
- Avocado
- Nuts and Seeds
- Peppers
- Legumes
- Soybeans (eat in moderation)
- Lean meat or high protein vegan alternatives such as Tofu or Tempeh
6. Towel drying hair
One of the more surprising causes for hair breakage is the humble towel. Now I know nothing feels better than getting out of the steamy shower with freshly washed hair and giving it a good old rub down with a trusty towel.
They play way too rough with our fragile strands, and it’s time for towels to G-O. Towel drying hair leads to excessive hair breakage. This is because the rough surface of the towel pulls the hair downwards, causing it to break. It also creates friction on the cuticles, weakening them and causes them to open. Hair is also more elastic when it’s wet, and therefore more prone to breakage, so this is just a recipe for disaster. And by that I mean let them air dry. This is the safest way to dry your hair, but if you’re short on time, you can still use your blow dryer.
Just leave it until last, let your hair dry about 70-80% so that it is less elastic when you’re blow-drying. If you’re in no rush, but don’t want to drip everywhere, wrap your hair in an old cotton t-shirt or microfiber cloth. These materials are much gentler on your strands and won’t cause breakage, or frizz, bonus!
7. Let Your Hair Down
Seriously, that hair elastic is wrecking your hair. If you’re anything like me, you spend 80% of your life with your hair in a weird bun. Correct? I assume so. But did you know hair ties are a common cause for hair breakage? Unfortunately, it is true. A lot of hair ties place extra pressure on your scalp and hair cuticles. You probably notice that some strands fall out whenever you take your hair out of a ponytail, this is because the hair tie is literally, pulling on your strands.