How To Break Up with Hair Breakage
A common frustration many of us share is that our hair simply is not growing, or in many cases, our hair is still growing but it is breaking just as fast. Breakage is often the culprit of impeded hair growth - meaning you will struggle to retain growth without targeting your breakage first. Hair breakage occurs when hair strands snap, split or become ragged due to impaired cuticle health.
Structurally, the hair cuticle (the outer layer of the hair strand) is made up of overlapping ‘scales’ which seal the underlying layers of the strand. In healthy, undamaged hair, the cuticle layer remains intact, however, breakage occurs when these overlapping scales are damaged or lifted.
Protecting your hair from breakage and minimising physical aggressors that wreak havoc on your strands are integral steps in protecting your length and maximising your hair growth journey. Physical stressors that form part of our everyday lives - including daily wear and tear, rough brushing wet strands or friction-causing fabrics - lead to excess breakage and damage. Ultimately, having breakage-prone and fragile hair can make achieving long and full hair growth nearly impossible. Here are 5 failsale lifestyle changes you can make to minimise breakage by eliminating physical stressors…
1. Avoid too-tight hairstyles
While we all love the convenience and style of a slick-back ponytail or tight braids, these hairstyles are playing a role in damaging your hair. If your hair is pulled back too tightly, it can begin breaking away from its roots, which may result in hair weakness, splitting and follicle damage. Too-tight styles can also cause tensile stress, which occurs when there is a constant and recurring tugging on hair follicles.
Regular tensile stress can ultimately lead to more serious hair loss conditions, namely, traction alopecia. Traction alopecia is a form of hair loss caused by repeatedly pulling on the hair and trauma to the hair follicles, which usually develops from often wearing tight ponytails, buns or braids. If caught early, traction alopecia is reversible and broken hair can regrow.
2. Silk scrunchies over elastic hair ties
An easy step to combat hair breakage is to swap out elastic hair ties for silk scrunchies. Using elastic hair ties can cause tension on the root of the hair, as well as friction around the base of the ponytail - leaving your hair dented, frayed, snagged and broken.
Prevent hair breakage in style with the Style & Protect Scrunchie Trio. This collection of exquisite scrunchies is created with 100% high-grade mulberry silk that is extremely soft on delicate strands, holding your styles in place minus the snags. The natural properties of mulberry silk help prevent tangles in the hair, unlike elastic hair ties that pull and tug on the hair over time.
MONPURE London’s mulberry silk scrunchies are also more naturally hydrating than elastic hair ties, as they tend to absorb 30% less moisture than traditional hair ties. Using mulberry silk scrunchies will keep your hair more hydrated and healthy over time, while also reducing frizz, friction and creases.
3. Be gentle on wet hair
Did you know that your hair is most vulnerable when wet? The actual structure of the hair changes when wet, meaning that treating your post-showered strands with care is essential to preserve the health of your hair. The hair’s cortex (middle layer) is made up of keratin fibres and temporary hydrogen-based bonds that create the hair’s texture. When water touches the hair, these bonds break, causing the hair to unfold from their natural shape and elongate. As a result, wet hair also stretches more easily than dry hair, deforming the cuticle, causing it to lift and crack.
Hair fibres swell when wet, with our hair’s diameter increasing by as much as 10 to 20%, depending on its texture. So while wet hair is malleable and fragile, it is also a welcoming ground for nourishing and strengthening products that can easily absorb into the strands - which lovingly soak up a lot more active ingredients than usual. Introducing fortifying, protective and hair-healthy ingredients into your hair wash routine not only helps cultivate strength in your strands, it also aids in preventing future damage by reinforcing the hair from the root.
Vulnerable wet hair calls for a loading up of a lightweight, nourishing conditioner to replace the lipids and proteins inside the hair shaft, while sealing the outer cuticle. The Strengthening Essence-Conditioner, inspired by K-beauty regimes with its lightweight consistency, nourishes, strengthens and repairs follicles, increases smoothness and boosts elasticity to prevent split ends.
4. Opt for softer fabrics
A simple switch you can make to prevent unwanted breakage, tangles and damage is replacing the rough fabrics on your pillowcases and towels with softer, silkier alternatives.
It’s called bed hair for a reason, but it doesn’t need to be that way. The knotty, frizzy and tangled mess that we often notice after a night’s sleep is mostly a result of your cotton pillowcase. We recommend switching out your cotton pillowcase for a silk pillowcase for a number of reasons.
Firstly, tossing and turning throughout the night causes friction, twisting and tangles in your hair, which leaves your hair prone to breakage and damage. Secondly, cotton pillow cases can tug at the hair, causing breakage, split ends and frizz. Finally, cotton pillowcases absorb a significant amount more natural oils and moisture from your hair than silk pillowcases. These natural oils are essential for scalp and hair health, and robbing your hair of them can leave your hair dull and brittle.
Sleeping with a silk pillowcase will cut down on all the tangles, dehydration and breakage, while also preserving the benefits of powerful products, ingredients and oils you have treated your locks to.
Opting for softer fabrics also extends to our post-shower routine. We recommend using a microfiber towel to gently dry your hair after washing or rinsing. Alongside its fast-drying powers, microfiber is gentler on the strands than regular towels. The coarse texture of regular cotton or terry cloth towels causes the hair shaft to be roughed up during the drying process. Wringing your hair out or rubbing it too hard can worsen this even further, leading to exacerbated split ends, a lifted cuticle and weakened hair. In addition to using gentle microfiber towels to dry your hair, how to go about drying your hair is crucial. Instead of rigorously wringing, dragging or rubbing your hair, it’s best to blot and squeeze gently to absorb the excess moisture.
5. Brush up on your brushing technique
You can protect your hair from breakage and damage with a gentle brushing technique. Brushing your hair is extremely important and beneficial for scalp and hair health. When you brush your hair, you evenly distribute the natural oils from your scalp, produced by the sebaceous glands, from scalp to ends - resulting in healthier hair. A daily brush also boosts blood circulation to the follicles, supplying essential nutrients and oxygen to the scalp and follicles that stimulate healthy hair growth.
When brushing your hair, you should always begin by slowly and gently brushing the ends and working your way up to avoid breakage. Brushing your hair from the root will inevitably cause breakage. When it comes to detangling wet hair, your technique and type of brush are also key to keeping your hair healthy. Using a brush with flexible bristles or a wide-tooth comb are gentler on strands and detangle the hair without pulling. The Heal and Energise Jade Comb detangles wet hair with less friction and more mood-boosting benefits.
MONPURE’s Solutions: Protect, Repair, Strengthen Fragile Hair
MONPURE’s results-driven range features a range of pioneering ingredients and solutions that are scientifically proven to not only shield and protect against breakage and damage, but also repair affected hair follicles and rebuild the structural integrity and condition of the hair.
MONPURE’s vegan keratin is an essential ingredient to reinforce damaged hair’s structural integrity. Keratin is the protein naturally found in hair, forming the building-blocks of its structure. Its repairing abilities smooth down the overlapping layers of the vulnerable cuticle and strengthen the bonds between follicles. This vegan alternative protects, strengthens and repairs fragile strands, as well as boosting shine, smoothness and elasticity. Discover vegan keratin in the Strengthening Silk Protein Shampoo.
MONPURE’s pioneering ingredient, vegan silk peptides, are revolutionary in their ability to protect and repair damaged hair.
As a vegan alternative to silk peptides, vegan silk peptides fortify hair from the root. It delivers a physical and breathable barrier to the hair and scalp, protecting against external aggressors, while repairing thermal damage by 72%. The application of vegan silk peptides yields scientifically-proven results, and fosters a stronger, healthier and more resilient scalp and hair environment, while improving the hair’s smoothness and shine, leaving it silky to the touch. The Strengthening Silk Protein Shampoo and Strengthening Essence-Conditioner are formulated with a high percentage of the groundbreaking ingredient.
The Strengthening Silk Protein Shampoo works to fortify the structure of fragile hair strands, prevent breakage and rebuild damaged follicles. The Strengthening Essence-Conditioner boosts elasticity, repairs weathered follicles and increases smoothness and shine without weighing down fine hair.
