How to Prevent Hair Breakage

I have really long hair. It’s kind of my thing. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always had really long hair. I have maybe cut it “short” two times in my 27 years. I love short hair too, but with my face shape and body type I just feel like long hair is more flattering. However, because I like to keep my hair really long, I’m very prone to breakage.

Obviously, I want it to be healthy, so I take extra care of my hair. If I want to keep my Barbie length and color, I just have to keep it healthy or it will die out and look gross. So today I want to share my tips for preventing hair breakage.

1-Use a paddle brush vertically. When your hair is wet, you want to use a paddle brush vertically to de-tangle it. If you brush it horizontally, the bristles are staggered and will pull your tangled hair out with the bristles since your hair is so fragile when it’s wet. When they are vertical, the bristles are in a straight line and brush straight through with minimal tension. Also, be sure to start at the bottom and work your way up.

NOW with all that said, when you are brushing your hair and blow drying for smoothness, you want to brush it horizontally. The vertical brush strokes are for de-tangling only. You want the tension when it is dry for a smoothing and straightening effect.

2- Use ponytail holders that are kind to your hair. I received these Ouchless Forever elastics at The Blog Societies conference and my life is forever changed. These elastics hold their shape forever, don’t stretch, and have a 16 strand inner core for a more comfortable fit to prevent breakage. I love them and seriously don’t know how I’ve lived this long without them. I can’t stand when I wear my hair in a ponytail (which I do often) and then pull my hair out when I let it down. These elastics have eliminated that problem entirely.

3- Sleep on a silk pillowcase.  Sleeping on a smooth surface like a silk pillowcase over cotton reduces friction which helps prevent dry, damaged hair and split ends. They are a little on the pricey side, but really worth it to take care of your hair.

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4 – Don’t heat style your hair every day. I do not put heat on my hair every day. Yes, sometimes I look borderline homeless in the office, but I do it for my hair. Letting your hair air-dry and go natural some days is so so good for it. You just have to throw it in a messy bun or a ponytail and let it go.

5 – Invest in your shampoo. I wrote this post about Uberliss last week where I outlined the products I use to get sleek and shiny hair. I think it’s so necessary to invest in your shampoo. It’s the core of hair maintenance–even boys use shampoo. So it’s really important that you are thinking about the products you use from the very first step of getting it clean.

What do you do to prevent hair breakage? What are your favorite products?

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