Suffering from SEVERE BREAKAGE....& DEPRESSED!

[MahoganyJazz]

Hello ladies. About 6 weeks ago I noticed that a small portion of my hair had broke off at the top of my head.... Now the area is starting to spread erplexed I wash, and condition nearly once a week. I use minimal heat, and for the most part I use protective styling.

This section is at the center of my head, and it's a few layers underneath so I doubt friction from my scarf has caused the breakage. I switched to shampoo bars, and I made my own batch of growth oil. I have seen remarkable results in growth for the rest of my hair, but it looks like this part has been snipped right off with a pair of scissors.

I alternate the direction I wrap my hair, I use a paddle brush to detangle when my hair is nearly dry. I dc to moisturize, and even use a great protein treatment every now and then to strengthen.

I'm lost, and it's really affecting me emotionally. Please help.

 

[msa]

You said it's at the center but a few layers underneath...are you sure it gets enough moisturizer/conditioner? Many people tend to skimp on that area by accident.

Also, wrapping just may not be a good idea for you and you may want to try pin curling instead. And detangling while nearly dry could also be a problem.

Oh, and do you rollerset to get your hair straight? Could that area be getting dried out from the heat of the dryer?

 

[charmtreese]

Is this area a different texture from the rest of your hair? If it has a tighter curl pattern it may also tend to be dryer which means it needs more moisture. I have a patch of hair like this and during one on my long stretches it broke off badly because I was not giving it enough moisture. HTH

 

[SvelteVelvet]

I'm assuming you are relaxed..
How far after your last touch-up did you notice this? Have you had any changes to your relaxer application? Meaning brand or lye to no-lye or the person applying it? Have you colored recently? I feel like that type of breakage is chemically related somehow..I could be wrong. Hopefully someone who has experienced the same may chime in.

 

[MahoganyJazz]

I use a lot of moisture, and when I detangle when it's almost dry I get the least amount of breakage. It's never done this before, not even when I was treating my hair much more harshly. And to top it all off, it's just in this one concentrated area. I'm stumped. But I did just end an 18 week stretch, so maybe that is something to consider, but I noticed this about 12 or so weeks into my stretch. I relaxed last week, and I haven't dyed my hair in a few months. This was my first time using chemicals since June.

 

[MrsSmitty77]

Could it possibly be stress? My sister has been very stressed out and her hair has broken off very badly in the top. She alo wraps every night. Perhaps you can look at stress as an possible issues and do something other than wrapping for a while. I'm sorry you are having this issue.

 

[CaliDiamond]

In addition to what other ladies have suggested, try as scalp massage (min of 5 min) concentrating on the damaged area.

 

[beana]

I'm sorry to hear you are going through this!

I used to get bad breakage at my crown/ top of my head as well, i did the following (some of these methods are not popular, but they work for me):

Stopped wearing ponytails.. the crown is my sensitive spot and ANY stress (even with changing the ponytail position) caused additional breakage. That section became so sensitive that even when i clipped my hair up without a ponytail holder it was sore. You may have to reconsider your protective styling methods (no buns, but instead tucking your ends under, braids, etc)

Stopped doing super-long stretches... i try to go as long as i can between relaxers (usually 12 weeks), but when my hair starts breaking, I do a DC then relax the week after. If your hair is breaking down to the new growth, that means the stress at the line of demarcation may be causing breakage.

SO that ^^^ leads me to my next point... you may have to use heat to get an even texture if that area is very coarse. IF you comb you hair in between washes i recommend the heat. You'll have less resistance/breakage when trying to comb. I airdry to 80% apply heat protectant and blow dry on medium heat to keep my hair combable late in my stretch.. otherwise the friction of combing leaves me with 1" pieces of hair.
If you dont want to use the heat, i strongly suggest doing styles that dont require daily manipulation like braids to minimize stress in that area.

Apply extra moisturizer to that section at night and then sleep with a silk scarf.


My hair broke down to the size of my pinky fingernail at my crown one time, and i grew it out doing the above. HTH

 

[MahoganyJazz]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom. I have been super stressed, and now that I think about it, my hair did break down to my new growth. I won't be stretching for more than 10 weeks any more.

Beana, excellent advice. I will be following it to a T.

 

[QB]

I notice you have twins that are 8 months, your hair breakage may be from your pregnancy it takes awhile for your body to recover and a lot of women have hair issues after having kids.

 

[chelleypie810]

When I had breakage at the crown because my stylist DYED my hair (i thought it was a rinse cuz thats what he told me) AND relaxed me on the same day..basically i was literally having breakage at the crown from dec. to july. But when I went to my stylist at home I went to the hairdresser weekly and got a roller set each week and its been fixed since. She also gave me the conditioner she used its silicon mix or ms keys 10 en 1 not sure mixed with some blue plant protein dominican stuff =) so try deep conditioning with a light protein and moisturizing one weekly. that may help!

 

[shamarie]

This has happen to me 3 times in the past...I found that it was because of the ponytail hair do's I would wear. See, I thought i was being smart, using hair pens instead of glue to wrap my the weave around my ponytailed hair(at the crown). The pens where sticking me in the head, then causing sores, which then led to fungus. So I used stuff like MN, WGO and MT to rid myself of the fungus. HTH anyone.

 

[IDareT'sHair]

My Breakage at the Crown was from Salon Poor Neutralization, Double Processing of Relaxing/Color etc.....and it was always sore & itchyerplexed.

Now that I have become a Total DIY'r, I use Henna/Indigo for the Color.

I Keep that Crown Area Super Moisturized & with a Little Protein and I started Relaxing it last and not leaving the relaxer on very long.

I Purposely Underprocess that area in particular.

Now that I've been doing it myself and implementing those practices, it is Flourishing.

 

[carolina_belle]

I had a similar problem a while ago. It definitely helped to slow down during the detangling process. I would get tired and sort of rush through the crown, but it's almost the most tightly coiled area. Slowing down and being very careful in this area helped.

I also started combing through the conditioner to make sure all of the hair strands are coated. In the past, I sort of smoothed it over certain areas, made sure to coat the ends, and parted in huge sections. Now, I condition similar to a relaxer application and comb through with a wide-toothed comb. HTH!

 

[Chevelure618]

Wrapping isn't for everyone. I found out that it just isn't for me....far too much manipulation and my scalp gets sore if I do it. The fact that it's in the middle of your head points to the wrapping. I also think you should not be brushing your hair when its even a little wet. I do the Cathy Howse regimen and a main part of it is NO BRUSHING. I haven't brushed my hair in 2 years.

 

[HairBella08]

I notice you have twins that are 8 months, your hair breakage may be from your pregnancy it takes awhile for your body to recover and a lot of women have hair issues after having kids.

I don't have kids, but my sister experienced the same thing. Her hormones had to get back normal. I think some of the tips mentioned here will work along with giving your body time to adjust back to the proper hormone levels.