Breakage and Shedding

8/13/2019 Breakage and Shedding

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Breakage and Shedding

Understanding the difference between breakage and shedding is an important part of anyhealthy hair regimen. Many people use these terms interchangeably to refer to any hair that falls

from the head. In its true sense, shed hair is hair that has reached the end of its growing cycleand naturally falls from the scalp along with its root attached. The root is a tiny white bulb on thescalp originating end. If a hair does not possess this white bulb, then it is not a naturally shedhairrather, a broken one. Shed hair tends to be longer in length than broken hairs which aregenerally short pieces of arying lengths. If you hae stretched your rela!er for a great numberof weeks, your shed hair will hae the curly new growth present on the area ne!t to the scalp,and you will be able to see where the rela!ed hair begins. Some find that garlic shampoos orproducts with garlic e!tract help curb shedding. But remember, shedding is a natural, internalprocess and may not respond to topical, e!ternal treatments. So don"t be alarmed if nothing

works for you. #hanges in diet, hormone imbalances, birth control pills, and pregnancy can alsoaffect the rate at which hair is shed.

Breakage on the other hand is not natural, and is an indication of an imbalance of importantforces within the hair strand. Broken hairs do not fall naturally from the head, but are typically asign of mishandling or abuse. The proper treatments, will help stop breakage in its tracks.

$rotein and Moisture

Scenario %& 'im(s hair is breaking like cra)y and feels like a brillo pad. *ery time she touchesit, pieces seem to +ust pop right off. Snap, crackle, pop. #ombing is impossible without tons oflittle hairs coering her sink and back. er hair feels hard and rough een when wet. She(sgien it protein treatments because the product says its supposed to stop breakage in its tracksand rebuild the hair, but so far nothing is working and her problem is getting worse.

Scenario -& Trina(s hair is breaking like cra)y as well. er hair feels dry, looks dull, and is eryweak. er hair is too weak to withstand simple combing. It feels e!tra stretchy when wet andalmost follows the comb as she pulls through to detangle. She(s deep conditioned and done hotoil treatments on her hair once a week. Since her breakage began, she(s stepped up the

conditioning but her problem has gotten worse.

Both of these women hae issues with breakage, but the solutions to their indiidual problemsreuire two ery different approaches. Before you go shopping for your hair care productarsenal, you must understand the difference between protein and moisture and what they meanfor your hair. $rotein and moisture are the key cornerstones of great hair care. Maintaining aproper balance between these two entities is critical for the healthiest hair growth possible. The


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two scenarios aboe perfectly illustrate what happens when the balance between protein andmoisture is tipped too far in either direction. This section will teach you to effectiely recogni)ethe difference between protein based and moisture based problems and help you can organi)eyour hair regimen to effectiely combat these issues as the arise.

$rotein

$rotein is what gies the hair its strength and structure. air is about /01 keratin protein bynature. $rotein is found most prealently in products like instant conditioners 2bargain brandslike Suae and 3045, leae in conditioners, protein conditioner treatments, and een somemoisturi)ers.

Moisturi)ers

Moisturi)ers are products that are water6based and nourish your hair deep within the strand.7ater is the ultimate moisturi)er so water based products are best for really getting the bestmoisture benefit. $roducts with moisturi)ing properties tend to be your conditioners and other

water6based products. Moisturi)ers may also be protein6based, but these protein basedmoisturi)ers do not hae the moisturi)ing benefit that moisture6based moisturi)ers hae. 8ood

moisturi)ers will not contain ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, or lanolin. These are cheapproduct fillers. Be wary of products that claim moisturi)ing benefits and contain theseingredients. There is nothing moisturi)ing about them9 $etrolatum and mineral oil are sealantsand hae the potential to suffocate the hair and scalp and seal out the moisture it needs.

Sealing in your Moisturi)ers&

:ur hair naturally contains moisture, but because our hair is also naturally porous, keeping themoisture inside is a difficult task. Sources of outside moisture, or e!ternal moisturesupplementation is a must for black hair. 7ater molecules and moisture from thesesupplemental moisturi)ing products easily passes into the hair shaft, but they pass out +ust aseasily. The moisture you apply needs to held in by something. :il.

; light coating of oil on top will help seal the moisture inside. :ils are made of large molecules.These molecules are too large to absorbed by the hair strand. ;pplying oils to the hair and scalp

will coat them and trap moisture that is inside on the inside and moisture that is outside on theoutside. The key is to lock in the moisture within the strands with your oil. If you use oils withouta moisturi)er or before one, the oil will seal the moisture out of the hair strand and lead toeentual dryness. This techniue of moisturi)ing and sealing has really been helpful to me andis a resonating hallmark of my regimen. Moisturi)ing success is all in the order in which youapply your products.


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7hen the Balance Tips, Aou Must 7et ;ssess

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. air is not e!empt from this old adage. 8rowingout your hair is a constant battle between maintaining an een protein and moisture balance.Breakage is the result of the hair chemistry being thrown off balance. .


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27et or =ry5Stretching, stretching, stretchingDno breakage yetE more protein

27et56 7eak, gummy, mushy, limp hairE more protein

27et or =ry5 3ery littleDno stretching then breakageE more moisture

2=ry5


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I do not adise Cprotein6ingC on a specific schedule, simply because our hair is seasonal. Settingaside a week or two in your regimen for protein conditioning is +ust not effectie at addressingyour hair needs as they arise. It doesn"t know or understand our CschedulesC. It"s needs and

wants change from day to day, week to week. The only product you must adhere to a scheduleis the ;phogee Treatment for =amaged air because it can only be used eery H weeks or sobecause of its strength. The other treatments in between that one should only be done as you

need them. Sometimes that might be weekly, other times it may be eery - or weeks9 :nlyyour hair can dictate that to you. I"m sure you"e seen the threads where I discuss how to tell

when your hair needs more protein6 or when it needs more moisture. There are ery specificways to tell E5 :nce you get to know your hair more and more, it will be like second nature9Scheduling is good for when you are +ust starting out and getting into the grooe, but you"ll soonstart to see that your hair often has its own plan for when you need different things for it9 Then,scheduling kind of becomes useless in the grand scheme of hair care things. It also preentsyou from truly deeloping an understanding of your own hair because instead of looking forcertain cues and signs, you are looking at the calendar. $rotein6ing on a schedule caneentually lead to protein oerload if you aren"t careful9 It is so much harder to bounce backfrom an oerload of protein than it is an oerload of moistureDconditioning.

ow much is too much

I totally agree that rela!ed ladies need more protein. If you are rela!ed or color treated, thoseprocesses hae compromised the protein structure of your hair66so you kinda need thesupplemental protein. >ot eeryone needs protein though, some naturals can lie without it...For the rela!ed ladies though, It"s like we"e all sustained different degrees of CdamageC fromthe rela!ing processes. Some people"s hair is more protein deficient by nature 2from thecoloringDrela!ing5 so they reuire more to keep the balance in tact.


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7hen the Balance is thrown off by too much moisture&

Aes9 There is such a thing as ?oer6conditioning@ the hair and Trina found that out the hard way.air that is shifted too far on the moisture side will be Csuper6elasticC and stretch more becauseit lacks a sound protein structure. Many ladies describe the feel of oer6conditionedDoer6moisturi)ed hair as ?mush6like@ or ?oerly soft@ when wet. It has almost a weak, limp spongy feelto it. $rotein deficient hair will tend to pull and stretch along with the comb and then break. It willalways stretch first then break which is the result of ery low supplemental protein in theregimen. 7hen this is the case, you will need some kind of protein to gie the hair structure

which will make it feel rigid 2stronger5 again. If your hair is stretching without returning, een if itsnot breaking you should use a light protein to correct this. 7hen your hair stretches, the strandCthinsC and becomes weaker across the cross section. It may not break right then at that erypoint in time, but stretched out of and beyond its shape, it is compromised and will eentuallybreak at some other point. Aour hair should be springing back to position. If its stretching andstretching without breaking it may be your hair"s way of telling you, Cey, I need a little structure2protein5 here9 I"m getting waaaay too elastic, but not yet enough to break66 so do somethingnow9C This is where a preentie maintenance protein application would come in. Aou don"thae to wait for breakage to act. Aour hair is telling you now Start light, and work from there.Aou may not need a heay treatment +ust yet.

;nd, you don"t hae to get all of your protein from a CtreatmentC per se or conditioner either. Aoucan always throw in protein based leae in conditioners like 2Infusium-5 or waterbasedmoisturi)ers like 2#antu"s BreakcureDor *lasta K$ mango butter5 to help you maintain thebalance within your regimen. This way you can get a little or a lot without relying on one product.

I"m Balanced6 >ow 7hat

>ow once your hair is balanced and the breakage has minimi)ed you can try to maintain thebalance for as long as you can by interchanging your products. It doesn"t hae to be on aparticular schedule. It is a constant struggle to balance these two. Ladies, I remember when Ifirst started trying to get a growth regimen going6 I planned out all my treatments on thecalendar. >ow, I"e found that this method +ust doesn"t work. Sometimes you need more protein,sometimes none at all. Sometimes its more moisture9 Aou hae to listen to your hair to know

what do when. So you could say, I"ll use protein eery other week...but what do you do when

your hair decides hey9 I want to act brittle and dry and break 2a sign of too much protein5 theweek you are due for more protein Balance is the word9 Aou"ll know how to handle it as yougain e!perience.

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7*79 ;nd that"s only the tip of the iceberg of what I"e been cooking up oer here. I know itslong, but I sincerely hope this helps9 If een one person benefits, it will hae sered its purpose.

66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

:kay66 ere is the product breakdown. This list is by no means e!haustie, but its a good start.It"ll help you see which side you"e been leaning on product wise and which side you need toincorporate products from to achiee your balance. $lease feel free to help me add products ifyou don"t see one you use up here6 and help me put them in their proper placements. I"eincluded strength indicators for most of the protein products6 but those are only based on myhair and what I hae used. If you"e used a protein product, make sure you indicate the strengthso that can be added too9 If see something and you think it(s on the wrong side, let me know9

Types of $rotein $roducts&

Specialty Treatments

>e!!us *mergencee 2moderate5

>e!!us 'eraphi! 2moderate5

;phogee - Min 'eratin


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Motions Moisture Silk $rotein conditioner

Mane > Tail 2shampoo5

;ubrey :rganics 8$B

Mane > tail 2moderateDheay5

8arnier Fructis Long > Strong 2mild5

;t:ne Botanicals


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Types of Moisturi)ing $roducts&

>ote Some of the products listed as moisturi)ing do contain small amounts of proteinbut inmy opinion, their moisturi)ing abilities oerride any protein oeruse concerns.

Moisture6Based #onditioners

#rNme of >ature >ourishing #onditioner

erbal *ssences e!!us umectress

'enra Moisturi)ing #onditioner

=oe Intense Moisture

>eutragena Triple Moisture =aily #onditioner

>eutragena Triple Moisture =eep


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>eutragena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leae in

$rofecti ;nti6Tangle Leae In

Documents

Breakage and Shedding