There are various factors that lead to hair damage and breakage. One of the most common is excessive styling. Certain styling habits are known to often exert a lot of traction and trauma on the follicle causing breakage. When hair is stripped of its natural moisture and oils, it becomes weak and damaged.Therefore, care should be taken when styling, but most importantly, we should be keen with what we put in our hair.
Causes of hair breakage
1. Chemically processing hair
Relaxers contain a lot of harmful chemicals. They are mostly used to straighten black natural hair by altering its original curly pattern. If done continually, relaxing can thin your hair, cause a receding hairline and even lead to permanent damage to the scalp.
2. Overheating hair
Excessive and incorrect use of hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons cause breakage and damage due to the high temperatures produced. It is therefore recommended to air dry your hair every other day. On top of that, avoid over combing or brushing of your hair.
3. Lack of trimming
Trimming your hair is very important. It does a good job of keeping split ends at bay. Split ends tend to occur when hair-ends become frayed, dry and brittle. Make sure to trim your hair to avoid breakage. The best way to look at trimming is like exfoliation. At some point you have to get rid of dead cells to allow for new ones.
4. Dryness
Dryness can be caused by a lot of factors. Sometimes it is usually due to the continual use of strong cleansing products and over washing of hair. Shampoos that are not natural are known to cause dryness and flaky scalp.
5. Lack of proper diet
As mentioned in our Ayurvedic article, diet plays a very significant role in hair growth. Without healthy diet and good nutrition, your hair is bound to be prone to damage. Make sure to eat more fresh and green foods. Consume less processed foods in order to encourage healthy hair growth and scalp.
Why use coconut oil to repair damaged hair?
Coconut oil is regarded as one of the best natural health products in the world. Many people use it for various reasons, one of them being to treat damaged hair. Cocos nucifera is predominantly made up of over 90% saturated fatty acids. A good percentage of those fatty acids are medium chain fatty acids (over 60%). One of them is Lauric acid the (principal fatty acid), a component of Medium Chain Triglycerides.
Lauric acid is the valuable component in coconut oil that helps rejuvenate damaged hair. It has a high affinity for hair protein and a low molecular weight. By this I mean, coconut oil has the ability to seamlessly bind to the organic or natural protein structure of your hair. This allows it to be easily absorbed and to penetrate both the hair shaft and cuticle.
By doing so, it helps retain natural moisture content thus reinforcing hair fibers and making them stronger. It also helps reduce or slow down protein loss for both damaged and undamaged hair. The anti-microbial components of Lauric acid also help prevent the build-up of hair damaging microbes. This keeps your scalp free from flakes and prevents hair loss therefore stimulating fresh strong hair growth.
Other benefits of coconut oil
- Good for conditioning hair
- Helps moisturize hair
- Reduces hair loss and stimulates growth
- Prevents lice and dandruff
- Offers good UV protection
- Promotes fuller healthy hair
- Has a cooling effect on scalp