In this modern era of beauty, it is true that you cannot avoid all of these things yet you can take some precautions and hair care.
So, what are the things that damage hair?
Let’s identify all of them below:
10 Causes of Hair Damage
1. Washing
Both overwashing and underwashing cause hair damage.
As hair type and texture are different for a different person, overwashing will vary.
We all know that shampoo can strip out the natural oils [1], which is one of the reasons for making our hair dry, so, we have to limit our washing with shampoo.
Instead of washing your hair every day, you can rinse your hair with a dry shampoo like Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo to get a refreshing feeling.
While overwashing is the reason for making your hair dry and damaging the hair cuticles, it is true that if you wash your hair rarely, you will face hair breakage problems over time.
In that case, if your hair is already dry and damaged, wash it with shampoo at least once a week. If you have good hair health, you can do it 2-3 times a week.
However, to be on the safe part, always try to use non-toxic products.
If you are facing trouble with cleaning your hair properly, try Hairstory’s New Wash and Reverie’s Shampoo – these two non-toxic products that really work.
2. Chemical Treatments & Hair Coloring
Perhaps chemical treatments are the worst enemy for human hair.
Chemical treatments alternate your hair structure [2].
For that, these treatments use ingredients, that can damage your hair permanently and also lead to dryness and brittle hair.
Besides, in these treatments, you need to bleach your hair sometimes, which makes the cuticles weak and removes the pigment of your hair.
And when you apply heat after bleaching your hair, it does a lot more damage to the mane.
Finally, coloring your hair might seem unharmful yet there is the presence of harmful chemicals in the hair color packs.
These chemicals damage the hair cortex and make your hair dry. So, if you apply hair color to your dry hair, your hair may become permanently damaged.
3. Ponytails & Braid
Many hair experts say that tight ponytails and braids cause hair breakage [3]. When you are doing it every day, then it becomes serious damage to your beloved hair.
Besides, a ponytail on wet also is forbidden by the experts as it does more harm and permanent damage.
However, when you keep your hair in ponytail mode, you need to tie it with a hair tie. If the hair tie is elastic, it pulls on your scalp and hair cuticles.
You even may face hair falling over time by wearing a rubber band for a long time.
4. Over Brushing
Brushing your hair may keep the strands untangled, silky, and shiny.
But if the brushing exceeds its limit, it causes more friction to the strands and knots and you may end up with split ends and breakage over time.
Besides, cheap brushes cause more damage as it get caught in the strands easily.
5. Heat Styling & Wrong Way of Use
Who doesn’t know heat is bad for hair? The worst thing heat does to our hair is it opens up the cuticles and dries up any moisture.
So, whenever you apply any heat styling tool to your hair, it becomes dry, damaged, and brittle.
So, experts always say not to forget to apply heat protectants whenever you use those tools.
However, a different level of heat is suitable for different types of hair.
There are many modern flat irons and other hair tools with a temperature control system, which are useful to control hair damage.
But at some point, your strands become affected by the heat if styling is your regular thing.
So, we recommend not using heat styling tools very often always buy high-quality products, and use a heat protectant before opting for any heat styling.
Heat styling may often cause hair damage if not used properly. Check out here the signs of heat-damaged natural hair so you will be aware of the damage caused by heat-styling tools.
And also, do not apply any kind of heat on your dirty hair or with a dirty hair tool.
And last but not least, if you do not apply heat with your heat styling tool, you will certainly damage your hair.
For example, if you blow-dry your hair on your wet hair, blow-dry for a long time, or do not keep a minimal distance while blow-drying, it can cause breakage and remove moisture.
Sometimes, it can cause scalp burns too.
READ MORE: How Hot Do Hair Straighteners Get?
6. Using Wrong Products
If your hair products contain alcohol, sulfates, parabens, or ingredients that are harmful to the hair, stop using the products today.
If your hair dries easily after using any of your hair products there might be alcohol in it. Besides using harmful chemical ingredients also cause damage to your shaft badly.
7. Skipping Routine Haircuts
If you do not cut the split ends or trim your hair routinely, the hair breakage problem might rise up. It also causes tangles and knots. Hair experts suggest trimming hair at least once a month.
8. Lack of Nutrition
Hair follicles are living organism and like all other organs in our body, it also needs nutrition. Vitamins A, B, C, biotin, Iron, Zinc, etc. are the most essential elements for hair.
One of the best-known vitamins for hair growth is a vitamin [4]. If your body does not receive adequate vitamins then it prioritizes it.
For example, if your body lacks nutrition then it will use the leftover vitamin for important organs which can cause life or death. In this process, vital organs like hair follicles do not get nutrition.
To avoid this, you should maintain a healthy diet and take adequate vitamins, iron, and zinc.
9. Environmental Damage
Yes, your hair can be damaged from the outside environment too.
The condition of the environment you are living in has a significant impact on overall hair health. it is regret that we do not care much about this.
However, to reduce environmental damage, you can wear a silk scarf when there is dirt and sunlight outside.
Try to clean your hair when you have come home after a day tour or if you have gone through cold air or humid weather.
10. Stress
Many pieces of research and evidence show links between stress and hair loss.
Some researchers and experts also said that stress can lead to hair breakage too.
If you are undergoing much stress and anxiety, the growth cycle of your hair may get disrupted and the strands become unhealthy and weak.
As a result, the hair starts falling. Managing your stress and a proper diet can prevent this situation.
Sources
- Gavazzoni Dias, Maria FernandaReis. “Hair Cosmetics: An Overview.”International Journal of Trichology, vol. 7, no. 1, 2015, p. 2, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4387693/, 10.4103/0974-7753.153450.
- “The 5 Best Vitamins for Hair Growth.”Healthline, 17 Aug. 2021, www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-vitamins-hair-growth#:~:text=B%20vitamins. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.
- “Traction Alopecia: Prevention, Treatment and Causes.”Healthline, 3 July 2017, www.healthline.com/health/traction-alopecia#:~:text=Traction%20alopecia%20is%20hair%20loss. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.
- “Ups and Downs of Washing Hair with Only Water.”Byrdie, www.byrdie.com/washing-hair-with-only-water-348137#:~:text=%22Shampoo%20can%20strip%20these%20natural. Accessed 20 Jan. 2022.
