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How you care for your hair can make all the difference when it comes to managing hair loss. While it can be frustrating to struggle with thinning locks and breakage from the roots, there are steps you can take in your beauty routine to minimize the damage and allow your strands to grow back in. The joys of a good hair day are undeniable, so this is the biggest styling mistake you could be falling into that’s actually making your hair worse.
Heat styling can be great for achieving salon level looks from home, but overdoing the heat can actually weaken your strands, causing breakage and fallout. “Things like blow-drying, flat ironing, or curling too often will damage and weaken your hair. Now no one is telling you to give it up, but weakened hair is more likely to break off than healthy hair,” explains Hairstylist & founder of SH Fifth Avenue Salon, Sabit Hantal. “If you can try to space out the heat, then do so. Make sure you always use a heat protectant and good at home care to nourish and maintain your hair.”
Using heat on your hair daily can fry your strands, making them much weaker and more prone to fall out than air dried hair. If you already suffer from thinning locks, it may be best to table the hot tools for the time being to focus on applying treatments to your strands to help build up its strength. If you love the look of curly or wavy hair, shower at night and sleep in braids for some natural texture without the heat damage.
If you do insist on heat styling (and who can really blame you), it’s important to always use a heat protectant before working on your hair. This will create a barrier between the hot tool and your delicate strands, protecting them from potential damage and thinning. Hair stylist Neil Moodie also suggests to Harper’s Bazaar, “I highly recommend everyone uses heated hair tools that have a temperature gauge, so you can lower it. This will cause less stress to the hair shaft.”
Overdoing it on the styling tools is a common mistake that may appear harmless, but can actually be the root cause of your hair loss and thinning strands. If you’ve been struggling with breakage, try to limit your heat styling to once or twice a week to allow your strands a break from the tension, and always remember to coat your hair with heat protectant before styling to limit fallout.
