BREAKAGE- the word all women who are on a healthy hair journey dread. When having curly, kinky hair breakage is the one thing that EVERYTHING you do with your hair revolves around. Should we as natural haired women give "breakage" as much thought as we do? Is it really that serious? Is there really a way to avoid breakage? Some of you might even be wondering...what is breakage?

Breakage is a term used to describe when a hair strand breaks in 2 pieces or snaps in half. Leaving you with a shorter strand of hair and often times a little curl on your bathroom sink that looks like this: 

How does breakage occur?
Breakage occurs when the hair strand is stretched beyond that strand's elasticity causing it to snap. sometimes you can even hear the snap and often times you can't.

What causes breakage?
The appropriate question should be, who causes breakage? You do. Hair is actually not weak but, very strong. Read here for more info Yes, kinky hair may be weaker (this is because where there is a kink there is weak spot) but, its not weak in general.

What can I do to prevent breakage?
There is really no way to prevent breakage. You can minimize breakage but, you can't keep your hair from breaking. From what I have come to understand, here is why hair damage is inevitable.

First, hair is dead. Meaning, it can't get healthier after it has grown out of your scalp, it can only get worse or lose some of it's health. Even if you treat your hair like lace, it will still receive some damage from washing, conditioning, combing and styling. The degrees of damage vary of course but, damage is done none the less. So, as your hair gets older and longer the more fragile it becomes, this is why it is said that the ends of your hair are the weakest (so why some naturals rake the comb through their ends over and over...I don't know) thus, the ends are more prone to breakage.

Some naturals will say "I never get breakage!" oh yes you do. Just because you don't see the little curls on the sink doesn't mean your hair isn't breaking. If you look closely at the hair in your detangling tool you will notice a few small curls or short strands. This is normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

Here are some ways you can minimize breakage:

• Find out the best way to detangle your hair. Don't just do what people say you should, find out if detangling on wet, dry or conditioned hair is right for you. Is your detangling tool the best for your hair? Detangling is probably the number 1 way we can cause breakage. Read this post on detangling for tips. 
• Over manipulation is also a cause for breakage. Since everyone's hair is different, eveyones hair can handle different degrees of manipulation. Some people can blow dry, flat iron, comb and brush their hair daily and still have nice long hair but, some others may get breakage from just running their hands along a braid. Find out how much manipulation your hair can handle and handle your hair accordingly. 
• As always make sure your hair has the proper moisture/ protein balance. Over conditioning your hair can lead to mushy hair that can snap with the slightest pulling and so can hair that has too much protein. 

My hair June 2011

 Now with that said, I have experienced breakage during my whole entire hair journey but, every year I always see growth. In 2009 I was SL (shoulder length), 2010 I was APL (armpit length) and now in 2011, I am BSL (bra strap length), so as you can see breakage hasn't slowed my growth down enough to inhibit my progress. So don't sweat it. Unless your hair is breaking in half and you are seeing 2-3 inch long strands of hair, then don't worry about it.

For Your Body & Hair Butters Visit: DIY Hair Care Products

Like most women I care a lot about my body (well I should say most humans, right?). I try to keep myself as healthy as possible by constantly learning about and cleansing out toxins. Well, back in 2006-2007 ish (my brain is a little fuzzy, alright...) I started changing my diet; I stopped eating out completely, stopped eating food that I deemed unhealthy for me such as pork, certain sea foods, and other junk. During that time my body went through many changes (with the help of cleanses); my skin became clearer, I lost a lot of weight in certain areas, and my hair changed. Before we get into that part let's get some background info....

My mother started relaxing my hair when I was about 5 or so. I remember my grandmother saying, "I don't know why she put that in your hair!". At the time I didn't really know what was going on but, I do remember thinking I had long hair. My hair was about 2-3 inches past my shoulders and it stayed that length until I was about 9-10 (5th grade). In 5th grade I started to notice my hair had gotten A LOT shorter. It was barely to my shoulders and in the middle it was very thin.

Well, I'm not going to go into all of my hair struggles I went through after that because it includes a "S Curl" (Yes.  horrible, right?), braids and then back to relaxed. We would be here all day if I went through all of that. I hated my hair. I hated it natural (when I had braids my mom didn't relax it) and I hated it with the "S Curl". I wanted my hair back to how it was when I was younger; thick and somewhat long.

My hair always had a little "curl" to it, even after a relaxer. And when I got older (high school) the middle of my hair stopped relaxing. It would never take to the relaxer. Well, I started experiencing the same thing in 2007 after I started changing my diet around; my whole head wouldn't relax. I tried Revlon, African Pride, Supreme, and none of them could relax my curls. I was looking a hot mess because my hair was breaking off and shedding. It wouldn't even straighten with the hot comb! A mess!

So, in December 2007 I decided to go natural. I decided I was going to grow out my hair and stop relaxing. I threw out the conditioners I was using and read up about haircare online. I purchased Nature's Gate Tea Tree Calming Conditioner and Shampoo.

I got them from my local health food store. I loved them but, a friend of mine told me about Giovanni and I have been using them since. I love them! I have tried the Tea Tree Triple Treat, 50/50, Smooth as Silk and the Direct Leave In.

I have seen Giovanni almost everywhere; Publix, health food stores, Wal-Mart and Target.

Currently, I use Giovanni Smooth as Silk conditioner. It says deep moisture on the back (each hair product shows how moisturizing it is on the back) but, it is also high in protein. So, if you're protein sensitive this product may not be for you or you may need to use it rarely and alternate with a more moisturizing conditioner.

For shampoo I have used the Giovanni brand and I do like it but, for now I am using the Nubian Heritage Black soap.

I know you might be thinking; soap? Yes. Soap. This soap is all natural and contains no harsh ingredients. It is  very moisturizing and doesn't leave my hair feeling stripped. When I scrub my scalp really well with this soap, my scalp can go without itching for a little over a week and a half. I also use this soap for my body.

To be continued...

• Leave Ins
• Moisturizers
• Co-washing
• Twists
• Deep Conditioning
• Protein vs. Moisture
• Water, Water, Water
• Wet Buns
• Wigs
• and more....