Hair Breakage
No, this isn’t a self-help psychological post. This is far more shallow, but important nonetheless. I’m talking about broken hair. We’ve all had times where our hair hasn’t felt its best. My hair is known to look like a cat has been chewing on it. I have salon clients express concern over the integrity of their hair often. So many things can cause breakage or damage to our hair. Here are a few simple tricks to keep those locks in tact.
1. Ponytail Breakage: aka my hair everyday that I’m not working. It’s so easy to throw my hair up into a messy, dirty bun or ponytail, especially when I’m running around town with the kiddos. Ponytail holders are the single most damaging things I see with my clients. Its daily wear and tear. It leaves a ring of breakage around the back of the hair, exactly where the hair meets the ponytail holder. As ponytails are necessary to life, I’m not going to stop putting my hair up any time soon. However, I’ve found a solution! The InvisiBobble hair tie is a life saver, or hair saver. It resembles a spiral telephone cord from back in the day. It puts no stress on the hair and makes my ponytail look pretty thick. They aren’t cheap, but I think they are worth it. I haven’t lost one yet, and that’s saying something. Another tip is to move your ponytail around daily. Low one day, high the next. Don’t let the hair sit in the same exact place every day.
2. Towel trauma: I’ve seen this one with my own eyes, so often that I’m shocked. I see clients walking away from the shampoo bowl, using their towel to go to town on their wet hair. Vigorously scrubbing at their hair to dry it. It horrifies me every time. It completely roughs up the cuticle of the hair and makes it a nightmare to detangle. It creates so much damage over time. This solution is so simple. Wrap your hair in the towel and wring out the water vs scrubbing with it. I have always used a towel turban. It absorbs more water than the average towel, and they’re kind of adorable. I feel like an old Hollywood starlet when I’m wearing mine, and my kids giggle at me. Ive had several over the years. The classic Turbee Twist, as seen on TV is great and affordable. I recently purchased the Norwex Hair Turban. I don’t sell this but a neighbor had a party and I was intrigued by this one. Both of these products absorb a lot of water out of my hair before I’m ready to blow-dry it.
3. Overdrying: These days, blowdryers are super powered, high wattage, ionic, ceramic, jet fueled, etc… Guess what? You probably don’t need so much power. My blowdryer is amazing, but I have to use it at Medium heat and intensity or it will destroy my fine hair. If you have seriously thick coarse hair, you need a strong dryer for sure.
4. No Nozzle: Blowdryers come with these nifty attachments. Most people have no idea what they’re for so they trash them or never use them. The one I’m referring to is a nozzle or concentrator. It directs the air, giving you the best control and smoothing power for your hair. Without it, your hair blows all over, raising the cuticle and making frizz. The end of your blowdryer has these metal bars that cover the hole. They get hella hot when you’re drying your hair, and if they touch your hair directly, they can singe it and break it off. I see this a lot at the crown, where you have the least amount of reach. The nozzle is your friend, use it.
5. Wet Brushes: Hair is most fragile when its wet. If you tear through it with a regular brush or even a comb, you can rip and damage your hair. The Wet Brush makes detangling a breeze. It’s inexpensive and doesn’t destroy your hair.
Hope these simple tips help to keep the breakage to a minimum.
Until next time,
Amanda