Why is my hair breaking??

People always say to me "I'm moisturing with X product, I've stopped doing X , I'm being gentle...why is my hair breaking?!"

1) You haven't learnt how to moisturise your hair properly.



Most people think that their hair is moisturised when it's laden with grease or oil. Uh-uh...water aka H20 is your cheapest and best-est (:-)) moisturiser. When I moisturise my hair I :

• Spray a mixture of  with water and vegetable glycerin on my hair. (roughly 70% water 30% glycerin)
• Apply a leave in/ water based moisturiser, 
• Finally seal with an oil e.g Castor oil, Coconut oil etc.

 Generally, it's important to do all 3 of these steps or your hair won't be properly moisturised. Sometimes, I don't need to seal with an oil if my moisturiser is good enough, and in the summer if my hair is in twists/ braids, I can sometimes just spray on  mix of water, glycerin and conditioner and be good to go.

Also, if you're using products with petroleum, lanolin, mineral oil, or a lot of silicones, your hair will be moisturised at first, but after a few days/ weeks will become dry. Check out my post on products for more info http://thatgirlwiththefro.blogspot.com/2011/03/products.html.


2)You're manipulating your hair too much.

 

Ever noticed that guys hair grows at astronomical rates, and they seem to do NOTHING to it ??. Precisely. Along with a little added help from testosterone (which apparently gives hair growth a boost), guys hair grows longer because they braid it and leave it be. No playing, excessive styling etc.

• Stop playing in your hair all the time.I repeat. Stop.Walk away from the fro.
• Keep your hair in protective styles as much as possible. (twists, braids, extensions, loose buns, updos etc)
• Treat your hair gently..less combing and brushing, gentler detangling. Check out my vid on this ----> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCvcOvItohA

3)You haven't got the correct moisture/protein balance.

 Your hair is made up of water and keratin (a protein). If either one is off balance, your hair will break. Hair that needs more protein is mushy feeling, the strands are very stretchy and elastic and it's lifelesss and flat. Hair that needs more moisture is brittle and hard and the strands aren't very elastic or stretchy.

To get more protein, use products that have : Hydrolysed Wheat Protein, Silk Amino Acids,  and Soy Protein. Plant based proteins aren't as strong as animal based ones, so soy is quite a good light one to start off with. Most conditioners have a light protein in them and you can get deep reconstructors like Aphogee.

If you're unsure what your hair needs, err on the side of more moisture. To get more moosture, follow the mosturising tips I stated in point 1, and avoid products with moisture zapping ingredients, and hrash shampoos. Remember, your hair loves water, but that doesn't ,ean you have to wash it all the time, just that you should try to spray or dampen it with water or use water based products regularly.

That's all folks..if I think of anymore, I'll do a part 2.....Peace, Love and Hair Grease  :-) xx