HOW MUCH BREAKAGE IS NORMAL FOR NATURAL HAIR?

In my short time as a blogger in the natural hair community, I’ve come to realize that there is one word that incites an unparalleled fear and universal panic in naturalistas across the board: breakage. The dreaded (accidental) snap, the tiny wisps of hair on the sink, or the awful realization that more of the longer hairs that you thought were shed are actually broken is enough to have you re-examine every hair decision you’ve made in life.

HOW MUCH BREAKAGE IS NORMAL FOR NATURAL HAIR?

I’m exaggerating a little, but breakage is a scary and frustrating thing. It has the potential to bring your natural hair growth and length retention journey to a grinding halt. But before we get into exactly how much breakage is considered “normal” in the average head of natural hair, let’s cover a few bases:

What is breakage? How is it different from shedding?

Simply put, breakage is any hair that comes from your head that does not have a whitish bulb on the end. That whitish bulb is your visual cue that the hair came directly from the root, and nowhere else. If there is no bulb, there is no shedding, period. A common misunderstanding is that longer hair is automatically shed hair whereas shorter wisps of hair are breakage. Breakage nor shedding knows no length. If you can’t see the bulb, feel for it on the end of the hair strand. If you can’t feel a slight bump, then it’s breakage.

Why do I have breakage?

Shedding is a normal part of the hair growth life cycle, whereas breakage is not. Breakage is caused by us and the things we do to our hair. One of my favorite quotes about natural hair breakage comes from Jc of The Natural Haven, “A very common question is ‘why does my hair break’. My very scientific answer is…..because you broke it.” Breakage is typically caused by a number of things — how we handle our hair (combing, brushing), to abusing the cuticle layer (too much stretching or heat), chemical processes (hair dye), environmental factors, and dryness. Our highly textured natural hair is structurally weaker than straight hair, which means our hair is more inclined toward breakage with less force. This also means that we must be much more delicate with our tresses.

So, how much breakage is normal?

Now we get to the good stuff. In all honesty, there is no solid scientific figure for how many pieces of breakage hair are considered normal. Trust me, I looked. In fact, the immediate answer that most sources disclose is that no amount of breakage is considered normal. However, many of those same sources also share that the expectation of zero breakage is unrealistic. No matter how careful and gentle you are with your hair, a few wisps of hair or an accidental snap are bound to happen. The main objective (haha) of your natural hair regimen should always be to minimize and prevent as much breakage as possible, while not beating yourself up if you lose a few wisps on wash day. Professional stylist and healthy hair advocate Lawrence Ray Parker shared, “If you lose a few strands here or there, it’s not a big deal. But hair that is consistently breaking in large quantities is a problem.” From personal experience, seeing 3-6 pieces of breakage hair on wash day is what I consider normal. Some of you may staunchly disagree, but I have found that to be completely within my regular range of hair loss that does not too adversely impact my length retention efforts. I’m sure I could get down to zero breakage if I really wanted to (by incorporating more protective styling), but I have zero interest in surrendering my wash and go’s. In this article geared specifically toward 4b and 4c natural hair, Jc of The Natural Haven shares that 10 or less little wisps of hair on wash day or during detangling is no cause for concern.

Note: this is not my breakage.

Some naturalistas stand firm on the fact that no breakage whatsoever is acceptable, and if you’re one of them and it works for you, wonderful! You’re the real MVP. This article is really for the ladies who while detangling, see a few broken hairs and wonder if it’s worth the panic. You are not alone, I am here with you. Don’t panic, a little breakage is okay. But if the amount of breakage you see starts to increase regularly…then you might want to take a few steps back.

What You Can Do

According to the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2007), Black women in particular are at risk for hair breakage due to various practices that weaken the hair shaft, and the dry nature of the hair (our sebum has more difficulty traveling down the shaft than straight hair). In addressing breakage, “the combing and brushing habits, washing frequency, drying process used, hair care products used and how they are applied, and any chemical processes performed on the hair must be researched…at least 6 months before the first observed hair breakage.” Again, if you are experiencing minor breakage, like seeing a few hairs on the sink after not detangling for two weeks, this does not necessarily apply. However, if you are experiencing severe hair trauma with what appears to be significant  breakage every single time you touch your hair, then it’s time to take a look 6 or so months back. Did you change something significantly in your regimen? Perhaps you used to be a devout deep conditioner, and started cutting corners to save time. Or maybe you’re ripping combs through your hair instead of taking the time to finger detangle or work in smaller sections. Did you recently color your hair? How’s your moisture-protein balance looking? How do you layer products in your hair? All of those are important factors to take into consideration when examining the source of breakage. Of them all, Lawrence Ray Parker finds that the most common culprit is dehydrated hair. “When you’re not moisturizing your hair enough, or deep conditioning regularly, that’s when it happens the most. Dry hair is much more prone to breakage.”

So what’s a natural to do? Here are some tips and suggestions:

1. Proper Hair Handling Techniques

If you suspect your breakage may be mechanical in nature (i.e. you’re handling it rough or detangling it the wrong way), then you’ve got the easiest fix. Switching from combs to patiently finger detangling in smaller sections can help you significantly minimize breakage. Also, be sure to examine your detangling method altogether. Hair is weakest when wet, but also more elastic and easier to detangle. Dry hair has greater tensile strength, but also can be more difficult to detangle. Dry, wet, or somewhere in the middle? It all depends on what works best for your hair. Try different methods and combinations until you find your groove.

2. Fixing Dehydrated Hair

If your hair seems brittle, and you don’t have a major medical condition or complication, nor have you had any chemical services (color), your hair is likely begging for moisture. Finding a good deep conditioner that is water-based, and contains lots of butters and oils to moisturize and soften the hair is key. Products like TGIN Triple Moisture Replenishing Conditioner, Giovanni Nutrafix, and Shea Moisture’s Superfruit Complex 10-in-1 Hair Masque are perfect for this. Moisturizing deep conditioners will help to greatly improve the elasticity of the hair, lessening the likelihood of breakage.

3. Hair with Cuticle Damage, Protein Loss, or Color

Hair that feels rough, is highly porous, and breaking is often associated with a protein imbalance or cuticle damage. This damage can be cumulative due to certain haircare practices (like frequent blow dryer use or stretching), or from a dye job. This calls for a moisture-protein balance, and relying heavily on deep conditioners that infuse hydration and strengthening while helping to keep cuticles closed and flat. Some of my personal picks include ApHogee’s Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor (it worked miracles after I got my hair dyed in October), ApHogee Curlific Texture Treatment (review), Eva NYC Therapy Session Hair Mask (review), Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Treatment Masque (review), and of course, a good ol’ fashioned apple cider vinegar rinse.

One Last Note…

Although I do believe a good deep conditioning regimen can solve a multitude of hair problems, there are a few other provisions to take into consideration when remedying breakage. If you find that your breakage is primarily on the ends of your hair, keeping them sealed with heavier oils like Jamaican Black Castor Oil can help keep them from snapping so easily. To help ease mid-shaft breaks, in addition to the suggestions above, try incorporating leave-in sprays that contain proteins to help keep hair strong in-between wash days. I like to keep ApHogee Keratin and Green Tea Restructurizer Spray, Infusium 23 Repair and Renew Pro-Vitamin Leave-In (review), and LRC Shake & Go (review) handy for that purpose. If you’re transitioning and experiencing breakage, you must be extra careful with the line of demarcation. Click here to learn more about preventing breakage in transitioning hair.

So ladies, how much breakage do you consider normal? What are some of your tips and tricks for minimizing breakage?

2014 Natural Hair Product Winners and Losers

by The Natural Haven

Love it or hate it, many naturals are product junkies and are generally always looking for new products to usually make detangling easier or to soften, moisturise and style hair better. This is my recap of the products that have been asked about and talked about the most in 2014.

Winners

1. Bentonite Clay – Bentonite clay is winning big! It has cleansing ability and is also a curl clumper. Its reputation has transformed from possible natural alternative but with worries of mess and drain clogging to a must-have product for wash and go aficionados.

2. Qhemet biologics amla and olive heavy cream – Full confession, I have never used this product myself but I have to say that it gets constant raving year in and year out on hair blogs and forums. For those who like heavy creams, this looks like a must try.

3. Aloe Vera Gel – Gels in general appear to be back in thanks to the max hydration obsession and topping the list of affordable and of natural origin is aloe vera gel.

4. Shampoo – For some years now, pretty much every guide to going natural had to include a section on how to eliminate shampoo and co-wash. In 2014, I have seen a dramatic change with more advice on how to select gentler shampoos and even use of occasional clarifying shampoo, so shampoo is back in!

5. Tea rinses – Tea rinsing has been around for a while now but in 2014 it really seemed to take off, possibly because it is a fairly simple additional step of pouring cooled brewed water at the end of the wash. The possible benefits of strength, hair growth stimulation and cuticle smoothing may be possible reasons why tea rinses are winning.

Losers

1. Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner was and to be fair still is one of the most loved products in the natural world. However, things have began to tumble as the company was forced to drop the organic label and the revelation of the full ingredients list showed alcohol as one of the top 5 ingredients. There is hope though because quite a few naturals do feel a tangible difference when using the product compared to other conditioners and therefore vouch for it.

2. Aloe Vera Gel – You may have spotted aloe vera gel in the winners column but yet here it is in the losers section too! It is a product that really does split opinions right down the middle. This is no surprise as most humectants such as honey or glycerin do the same too. For some it may be flaky or may make hair too mushy. Sometimes it is a trick of tweaking the amount or order of product layering but other times, it just does not work.

3. Beautiful Textures Texture Manageability System – There was a serious raucous raised by this product in 2014. Social media icons such as Chary Jay and Chime Edwards as well as natural stylist Felicia Leatherwood were key to the brand establishing knowledge of the product within the natural world. The fascination for the product did begin to wane as naturals questioned whether it was really natural. A scientific analysis of the product ingredients showed that it is a BKT that is formaldehyde free but that would change hair. For some naturals the BKT aspect meant BTTMS needed a wide berth.

Who would you add to the winners and losers list this year?

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4 Scientific Reasons to try Tea Rinses for Natural Hair

by The Natural Haven

Tea rinses are growing in popularity within the natural hair community. Green tea and black tea are generally widely available and therefore are also the most frequently discussed. Could there be some science to tea rinsing? I decided to investigate and discovered some interesting reasons as to why a final rinse with tea after washing hair may possibly be beneficial.

1. Amino acids – Stengthen Hair

Theanine is an amino acid that is unique to tea. A recent study showed that a purified extract of this amino acid could penetrate fully through to the hair cortex of bleach-damaged hair after a 10 minute soak at 30°C (Surface and Interface Analysis, pp 562-565, 2010). The study was designed to complement a previous investigation that related theanine to improving the mechanical strength of bleached hair. Even if your hair is not bleached, it is possible to accumulate damage to the cortex due to styling and combing as well as normal weathering. A tea rinse could be considered as a very mild protein treatment.



2. Polyphenols – Stimulate Growth

Green tea is currently being studied as a possible candidate for treating hair loss. It is preferred over black tea as the roasting of tea to create black tea oxidises the polyphenols. Tests so far have been performed on rats as well as human hair in a petri-dish (not on actual people) with similar results. The polyphenols are seen to stimulate re-growth of hair (J Natl Med Assoc, pp 1164-1169, 2005; Phytomedicine, pp 551-555, 2007). If you therefore have problem spots e.g at the temples, or are experiencing hair loss, then a tea rinse may be worth a trial.

3. Caffeine – Stimulate Growth

Did you know your hair follicles can take up several drugs and caffeine is one of them? Studies done once more on human hair in a petri-dish showed that the hair follicles do rapidly take up caffeine and this stimulates hair regrowth for hair previously showing signs of hair loss. (International Journal of Dermatology, pg 27-35, 2007).



4. pH

The pH of tea actually depends on how it is brewed as well as the water used to brew the tea. In general, figures of between pH 5 and 7 are generally quoted for both green and black tea. For hair, this means that the final tea rinse will be just slightly acidic to neutral. This pH tends not to irritate the skin or disturb the hair cuticle. Naturally, you should not add a squeeze of lemon or orange to fragrance the tea unless you do actually want a more acidic brew.

Have you tried a tea rinse? What were your results?

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Welcome Simon James Thaler!

December 8, 2014

6:47 PM

7 lbs. 10 oz.

20 inches

I am in the process of writing my birth story. It was the hardest, most beautiful and amazing thing that I have ever done! I absolutely adore my son and I love being a mother. The past two weeks with this little guy have been two of the best of my life. I have so much more love and respect for my husband watching how much he loves, cares for and nurtures our son. To walk into the room in the evenings and see him reading the word to Simon and telling him that there is only one God makes my heart swell with joy. I am so thankful that we are able to raise our son in the truth!

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Lazy Practices That Still Help You Retain Length

Cassandre rocking her fro
by Cassandre


I’m not going to lie- I don’t care for my hair every single day and I’m pretty certain that most natural ladies out there don’t care for their hair every day either. It’s not that I don’t want to care for it, it’s just that sometimes it has to take the back seat while other things, like work and mothering, take precedence. But I’m convinced that despite negligence or downright laziness, there are still a few lazy practices that can and do help to retain length.

Washing your hair every 3-5 weeks

Usually when clients ask me about tips on keeping their hair hydrated I always suggest upping the amount of times they saturate their hair with water through the washing process during a month. While I believe this is great advice, especially for the natural who is trying to regain lost moisture from heat processing or trying to see gains in length very quickly, I’ve found that you can do a very decent amount of maintenance and actually gain more length than you lose if you wash your hair less, but intensify your moisture intake on wash days.

So if you’re going to wash your hair less often, on the days that you do wash it you’ll want to be super intentional about getting all the moisture you need and sealing all of that in.

Keeping your braids in a tad longer than you should

It’s that moment most of us dread- the take down of of our 9+ week long protective style. While I don’t condone keeping in synthetic hair for that long, sometimes life just happens and you either can’t take them down now, or well, you’re too lazy to.

To ensure that your laziness works in your favor, I found it best to moisturize my braids twice a week. Mix a little bit of water with more oil on your palms and gently grab your braids and pat your hair down. This technique helps you to minimize potential frizz that comes from adding moisture to your styles, but ensures that when you finally take down you hair it won’t be crazy dry. The less dryness you hair has suffered throughout that “protective period” the more likely it is that you’ll be able to retain length.

Going to bed without taking down your hairstyle

Am I the only one who does this? I’ll wear the same undo for 4 days straight without taking it down once and just wrapping it up at night. While this maybe a strain to some ladies’ edges, this lazy practice doesn’t have to hurt you too much. The key is making sure your hair is well moisturized before you style it into that updo. After that it’s all about maintenance. I really wouldn’t even suggest doing anything more than spraying it with a little oil sheen on the second and fourth day of wear and not wrapping too tightly at night. Make sure you wrap it up with a satin scarf and use a bonnet and you should be fine.



We all make decisions in life based on many factors and sometimes our hair has to come last, but that doesn’t mean it has to ruin our desire for length. Sure, these methods aren’t ideal, but sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.

What are some ways you help your hair to retain length even when you’re being lazy or really just can’t tend to your hair?

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5 Easy Steps To Start Seeing Hair Growth

Ah! The age old question, how to get amazing hair growth?. 

Now it’s common to hear (thankfully) women say “Black women can have long healthy hair!” but, the question is, how? With so many women touting this fact you would think everyone seeking longer hair would have it, right? Wrong. There is such a thing as too much information. As with all things we make things way harder then they need to be, hair growth is no different. This post is going to simply if all for you in 5 easy steps.

By: coilybynature

If you’re not seeing hair growth, remember these 2 hair facts:

1. Your hair grows. If you are relatively healthy, have no under lying damage to your hair follicles (like Alopecia and/or baldness), your hair is growing. In fact, it is growing about 1/4 to 1 inch a month.

2. Growing your hair is not the problem. The problem is retaining what you’ve grown. If your hair has been stalling at the same length for months or years, your hair is breaking off. More specifically, it’s breaking off at the same rate it is growing out. For example: If your hair is 5 inches long and grows and 1 inch a month but, breaks 1 inch a month (probably little 1/4 inch pieces at a time), your hair will stay 5 inches month after month.

Now here is how to start seeing some hair growth; retaining length:

1. Trim off all damaged, scraggly ends. If you are confident in your own skills, you can trim your hair yourself but, going to a professional for this cut would ensure all the damaged weak hair is cut off. Even if you’re 100% natural, if your ends are breaking, your ends are probably weak and a trim will get rid of split and weathered ends. It’s easier to maintain healthy ends, weak ends will look thin and get weaker over time.

2. Establish a solid hair regimen. This can take up to a month or 2 to establish but, it’s worth it. Find out how often you need to shampoo, condition and deep condition your hair. How long does your hair stay moisturized?  By the end of the month you should have a regimen that looks similar to this (fitting your hair needs of course, this is just an example):

Regimen:
Detangle 1x a week on damp hair.
Shampoo 1x a week
Alternate protein and moisturizing conditioner every other week.
Deep Condition 2x a month
Use spray leave-in, cream moisturizer and seal ends 2x a week.

3. Be consistent. Once you find out what works stick to the same regimen week after week. You can switch up products but, research them first and switch products only AFTER you’ve learned your hair. Learn what ingredients your hair likes and then venture out of your box.

4. Low manipulation. I have to say most women who are able to retain almost all of their length are very low manipulation. Most stick to twist outs, braid outs, protective styles, buns, etc. Remember the more you comb and pull your hair, the more damage you’re doing to it. It’s like wearing and washing the same clothes every week, over time they will get raggedy, same with your hair. When you’re trying to grow out your hair, you want it to be as healthy as it can be to avoid unnecessary trims and breakage due to weak over manipulated ends (that’s what breaks off).

How Much Money You Can Save Doing Your Own Hair

By Renae Gylbert

One of the best things natural love about being naturals is the expensive, reoccurring perms they have to put in their hair. That does not include the amount of shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, gel, hair spray and everything else naturals have to use to keep their hair proper.

Luckily, being a natural means you can do so much at home. You can make your own conditioner, leave-in conditioner, hair mist, curl pudding and hair gel all at home, saving you a butt-ton of money in the process!

This is even true with protective hair styles. Senegalese twist, crochet braids and corn rows are all very pretty styles that you can do right at home. The only issue with protective styling is that you have to have a basic idea of how to do hair.



Let’s do some quick math on how much money you will save in a year’s time giving up on perms and trips to the salon.

If you were still rocking perms, and perms should be redone about every 4 weeks, and perms usually costs around $60 at a salon, that comes out to about a perm per month, costing $720/year. This is not including highlighting, shampooing, conditioning, cutting, etc. You can expect that $720 a year to increase tremendously.

Furthermore, if you get your Senegalese braids (or microbraids, kinky twist, certain corn row styles, etc.) done every 2 months, costing in the neighborhood of $200, you would be shelling out $1200 a year!

So, if you get your hair down routinely, you could be saving $1920 a year by doing your own hair. That’s nearly $2k! I don’t know about you but I don’t have money like that!

Additionally, making your own products at home could make the world of difference between saving your money and making your hair healthier! Homemade hair products usually do not contain mineral oil, preservatives or other things that could doing more harm than good for your hair.

One of the easiest things to make is a do-it-all hair cream. Some shea butter for an organic store, almond, coconut and jojoba oil mixed together will not only give your the sealant/moisture/leave-in conditioner/conditioner that you need, so buying 4 different products will no longer be a problem.

In regards to protective styling, most natural hair protective styles required synthetic hair. Traditional Senegalese twist, for example, required synthetic fibers costing less than $4 a pack as opposed to human hair costing anywhere from $35 a pack to several hundreds of dollars. When I visited a hair store recently, I saw that a pack of Kanekalon hair costs $3.99. This hair can be used to do all types of lovely styles. Take advantage of it!

If you want to look gorgeous while saving your money, stop spending so much time in a salon chair and take advantage of this fun journey by doing some of the things I mentioned above. You won’t regret it!

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