Relaxing your hair gives it a straight and shiny look that is easy for people to fall in love with the first time they see it. However, many unexpectedly experience relaxed hair breakage as a result of the chemical treatment.
As a result, you may wonder whether it is possible to prevent breakage or restore hair to its healthy state after breakage. Continue reading and you will get all the answers to these questions.
What causes relaxed hair breakage?
Various factors can lead to relaxed hair breakage. But first, you need to understand the scientific makeup of your hair. Your hair is made up of a variety of protein cells.
Three different bonds bind these cells together to form what you see as your hair. The glue-like effect of these knots and their shape determine whether your hair becomes curly, coily or straight.
The process of relaxing your hair has a permanent effect on these bonds. This is because chemical relaxation weakens the glue-like effect of the bonds.
It also changes the shape of the knots to make your hair smooth. The weakening and rearrangement of these bonds increases the susceptibility of your hair to breakage.
Below are the notorious factors in damaging your relaxed hair.
1. Dehydration
Whoever said that heaven is life must have had it relaxed hair in mind. Drinking enough water throughout the day replenishes the moisture of your hair. It does a lot in keeping him healthy and resistant to damage.
Dehydration starves the natural moisture in your hair and leads to weakening of the bonds responsible for preventing breakage.
2. Warm up
Warmly style your relaxed hair Once in a while it is good to maintain aesthetics. It would be best if you try to limit heat styling to once a week.
Anything beyond that will pull moisture away from your hair. Calm hair without moisture Tends to be brittle over time. Then it will start to break excessively.
3. Ignoring protective styling
The ends of your hair are brittle and old. Everything you do with your hair affects this part by weakening it. It is advisable to choose protective hairstyles when you relax your hair. In protective hairstyles, your stylist tucks the ends of your hair.
It prevents your hair from drying out. It also prevents the hair from rubbing against your clothes and other elements. Protective hairstyles encourage consistent hair growth.
4. Constant contact
You should go for a touch-up when you notice new growth after relaxing your hair. Frequent touch-ups encourage overlap on your hair. This means relaxing hair that you have already relaxed.
Remember that relaxing your hair changes its structures permanently. Therefore, going for frequent touchups accelerates the damage process, which is a byproduct of relaxation.
5. Using many hair treatments at the same time
The relaxation process is very hard on your hair. But, for most people, hair is strong and can withstand it as long as you do the process well.
Combining or trying a variety of hair treatments at the same time kills the resilience of the strongest hairs. Take the case of applying for permanent residence Color for your relaxed hair.
The color will wreak further havoc on your hair which is already dealing with the debilitating effects of the relaxing process. Your hair will not withstand this kind of pressure for long. You will notice that it breaks faster than usual.
6. Inappropriate use of protein treatments
It makes perfect sense to think that applying a protein treatment to your hair does it justice. After all, you are only increasing the composition of your hair. The trick lies in how often you use protein treatments.
Currently, most hair products include protein as one of their ingredients. Not reading the ingredients list can put you in a difficult position.
You will accidentally load your hair with protein treatments. The result will be dry and brittle hair that breaks often.
How to avoid breakage in relaxed hair
The good news is that casual hair breakage can be prevented or limited. All you need to do is follow these tips to the letter.
control the heat
natural hair It is excellent at withstanding too much heat. You shouldn’t expect the same from relaxed hair because it’s weaker, and relaxing prevents your hair from getting moisture.
Limit your tumble dryer settings to “cold” whenever you need to use it. Alternatively, stick to air drying whenever you can.
Before using heat styling tools, apply a heat protectant to your hair first. And even then, use the styling tool at low temperatures only.
Do not over process
Avoid using hair conditioners on broken hair. You should also minimize the frequency of using any chemicals on your hair. Touch-ups in space at least eight weeks apart.
This allows you to apply relaxants to new hair growth instead of washing. Protect the ends of your hair by applying heavy conditioners or oil before relaxing.
Be gentle when styling
Relaxed hair breakage is rampant during the styling process. This is because most people do not take care of their hair carefully during styling. And they’re trying to do a lot of things with their hair at this point.
As a rule of thumb, detangle your hair with a wide comb. Detach the hair only when it is dry. Relaxed hair breakage increases when you wet your hair before detangling.
hydrate
Dry air is a common cause of hair breakage. Moisture helps hair strands maintain or even improve their elasticity. This, in turn, increases their resistance to various types of damage, including breakage.
Besides water, aloe vera and glycerin products are good at increasing the moisture content of hair strands. Take advantage of them.
Strengthening your hair with protein treatment
Protein treatments work magic on the hair when you use them correctly. Before getting a relaxer, strengthen your hair with the right protein treatment.
Do this at least a week before receiving the sedative. Use a moisturizer alongside the protein treatment to give your hair a perfect balance between moisture and keratin.
How to fix relaxed hair breakage
Stay calm if you notice that your hair is breaking. Then start by understanding what causes your hair to break. Is it that you are being too aggressive when brushing it, or are you using too much heat/chemicals on your hair?
Once you have an answer to that question, then you have a solution. If it’s too hot, moderate the temperature to healthy levels. If it’s over-processed, reduce it. Moisturize your hair and get safer protective hairstyles. Also, cut the damaged part. If the problem persists, seek professional help.
To avoid relaxed hair breakage, first, make sure you understand the common causes of relaxed hair breakage, such as excessive treatments, too much heat, not moisturizing and over-processing, among other causes.
Then start implementing good practices that prevent hair breakage. Some of them include a gentle design, moisture, adequate spacing between touch-ups and a protective design.
Frequently asked questions about relaxed hair breakage
Look at the hair that falls from your head and compare it with the length of your hair strands. Seeing hair shorter than your ends leaving your head often indicates relaxed hair breakage.
Stretching is beneficial for relaxed hair as it helps it thicken and strengthen. However, improper stretching promotes hair loss, dryness and breakage.
On average, it takes six months to a year to heal from relaxed hair breakage if you go the natural route. However, treatment products can speed up the process for you.
Some home treatment solutions for relaxed hair breakage include:
– Moisturize your hair with coconut oil
– Drinking green tea because it disables the hormones responsible for hair loss
– Using aloe vera to adjust the pH of the scalp and protect the hair from radiation damage
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