What mistakes should you avoid with brittle hair?

The first mistake is to expose your hair to multiple damaging factors, often without realising it. If your hair is brittle, it’s best to take a break from all sources of heat stress (hairdryers, straighteners, curling tongs) (1) and mechanical stress (rough detangling or detangling wet hair, tight hairstyles, aggressive brushing). Even though they may seem harmless, these habits eventually create tiny fractures in the cuticle which can then open up all the way to the cortex. Their effects, which are already harmful to the hair fibre, are even more devastating on weakened hair.

The same applies to chemical damage (bleaching, frequent treatments), which attack your hair’s protein and lipid structure, contributing to making it less resilient. 

Second mistake: choosing the wrong shampoos, or choosing the right ones but using them incorrectly. Simply rubbing your hair together to work up a lather with your shampoo can cause physical wear and tear, and therefore damage. If your hair breaks easily, it’s best to space out washes and adopt a gentler approach. When it comes to choosing a formula, some researchers recommend avoiding anionic surfactants, which are considered too harsh (2) for the hair fibre. The best-known examples are ammonium lauryl sulphate and ammonium laureth sulphate.

The third mistake, again linked to your hair care routine: focusing entirely on moisturising in the hope of ‘repairing’ your hair. Science shows that maintaining the hair’s moisture balance is not enough to ensure its strength. Excessive hydration could even have the opposite effect, due to the physical phenomenon of swelling and shrinkage of the wet hair fibre (3), which can lead to potential “moisture fatigue". To remain strong, a hair also needs an effective protective cuticle, good lubrication and well-organised cortical proteins.

The fourth mistake – and by no means the least significant – is overlooking environmental damage. Ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun, for example, make the hair fibre stiffer and therefore more brittle (4). The same applies to chlorine in swimming pool water and sea salt, which mean that summer swimming sets the stage for the breakage and hair loss that often comes as the weather turns cooler. In summer especially, but also throughout the year, unprotected, brittle hair is at risk of even more breakage.

The fifth mistake, which we tend to overlook: failing to take your hair type into account. Textured hair is even more fragile and prone to breakage than other hair types (5). Its helical structure means there are more areas of weakness and potential breakage. It is therefore even less able to withstand mechanical, thermal or chemical damage. If you have wavy, curly, frizzy or kinky hair, it is essential to keep manipulating it to a minimum.   

You may be making these mistakes if:

• You feel as though your hair’s length and thickness have plateaued.

• You frequently find small strands of hair on yourself or around you.

• Your hair tends to tangle more and more often.

• Your hair is becoming dull, limp and split-ended despite your care routine.