Managing Hair Breakage

Here’s a general guide I had previously written on protecting hair for a friend; for reference I have type 1A hair and since I do mermaiding I do have some extra things I do to take care of it so it looks nice in and out of the water. Something which has become much easier since I decided to stop dyeing my hair and embrace the natural color.

One thing that helped me a lot was also finding the right shampoo and conditioner for me. I now swear by the L’Oreal total repair 5 line as it’s in my budget and does everything I need it to.

On to the guide!

Managing Breakage

• Hair oil at the very tips of your hair can help with breakage if you have a dry hair type (or are mean to your hair like me) . If you do this daily use a light hand as it can easily build up if you have a hair washing schedule of washing your hair every few days or so. Lightly in this case means getting the tips of your fingers saturated with the oil and then gently running it through your hair at the ends. It should just get sucked into your hair, if you can see it you have put too much on. I recommend this method more for hair that is already damaged that you don’t want to cut off.
• A better way of preventing damage and you have to be less careful with it is using a daily leave in conditioner. To use one you need to very lightly dampen your hair and then use whatever you would normally use for regular conditioner and run it through the ends. Do not put it on your scalp. It will get stuck there and you will have scalp acne. Which is not fun. (Don’t ask me how I know this 😅)
• Loose braids are a great protective style to prevent tangles if you are going to be active during a day. Braids are one of the most gentle hairstyles for hair. More tangles = more knots = more breakage.  I’ll link some videos in the styling section of this. You already seem to naturally not wear your hair too tightly when you put it up but tight ponytails and buns can prevent tangles at the ends of your hair but will cause breakage closer to the scalp. 
• At some point your ends may be a lost cause and you’ll need a trim. If you can afford it going to the salon is your best bet, but as someone who trims their own hair here are some tips for it! Do not cut your hair with normal scissors, purchasing even a cheap pair of hair scissors will make a huge difference. Those scissors are specifically designed to not damage hair. Cut a small piece of your hair in the front to use as a guide, cut with you scissors vertically not horizontally so you won’t get weird shelf looking cuts. Then use a comb holding the piece you just cut and the next section of your hair you want to trim and use the comb to make sure it’s even, do this all the way around your hair. This is easier with long hair, also know it will not be 100% even, most people will not notice. 
• If you are going to be having to subject your hair to chlorine, salt water etc. this is a time you can go crazy with the hair oil to make a protective barrier between your hair and the water, the damaging effect will attack the oil not your hair. Just be sure to wash your hair as soon as you can after the fact. 
• Everyone’s hair type is different so you may need to adjust as you go, if something seems to make it worse or cause problems readjust and try something different