The problem of having brittle hair is one that many people, both men and women, suffer from either temporarily or permanently. The major problem with having brittle hair is that it tends to end up breaking very easily, which means that you tend to lose large quantities of hair in a short period.

Understanding the reasons behind this will give you clues on how to manage the situation in such a manner that further damage does not occur. If you are planning on becoming a hairdresser in future, having this knowledge will also help you not only identify the reasons for hair breakage, but also educate your clients on how to prevent it as well. Some of the common causes of hair brittleness include:

Excessive washing 

It is common sense that washing your hair is important since it enables you to get rid of dirt and chemicals that might accumulate in it on a daily basis. However, when this is overdone, it could easily lead to more damage to your hair. Washing your hair excessively results in stripping of oil from the hair. This means that with time, the hair shafts become more prone to drying, which inevitably leads to brittleness and breaking. Washing hair should be done on a moderate basis to avoid this.

The use of harsh chemicals 

If you aspire to be a hairdresser, you will meet many people who use different hair care products at home. Unfortunately, there are some that contain harsh chemicals which damage any type of hair. In some cases, people choose hair care products that are not ideal for their hair type, leading to the same problem. The net result is that the chemicals in the hair care product harshly react with the hair shafts, thus weakening them and even breaking them.

As a future hairdresser, you will need to be able to identify when this has happened. You should also be in a position to figure out if a specific product will be gentle on a client’s hair or not, so that you can advise them accordingly. Attending a top-notch Toronto hair school is the only way to gain enough knowledge to be able to do this with ease.

Environmental dryness 

The environment can also have an influence in the brittleness of your hair. If you or a client live in a location where humidity is very low, this could have an influence on the health of hair if not taken care of well. Very dry air will in turn dry the hair too much, which easily leads to brittleness. The use of the correct hair care products as well as trying to be in a humidified environment most of the time will help avoid this.

Malnutrition 

One’s state of health will also affect the state of their hair. If one is not well nourished, this may manifest as thin and brittle hair. This is especially so if proteins severely lack in the diet. When you are a hairdresser, it should be easy for you to identify people whose hair problems stem from their diet, and then guide them accordingly. In some cases, the malnutrition is as a result of anorexia, which may need psychiatric intervention when severe.

Hypothyroidism 

An inactive thyroid gland can manifest as sparse and brittle hair as one of the symptoms. For such individuals, the only way to ensure that the hair becomes luscious again is by restoring the thyroid hormone levels in the blood. This can be done by treating the cause of the hypothyroidism, or by giving one various medication to correct the condition.

These are some of the major causes of hair brittleness. Most hairdressers will encounter situations where their clients have dry hair, and having this knowledge will go a long way in ensuring that they guide them accordingly.