Why is the left side of my hair more dry, brittle, thinner, and shorter than the right side?
For the last few months, I’ve noticed the right side of my hair is full, healthy, shinier, and thicker than the left side. The left side is significantly shorter, drier, thinner, and more course. I had shoulder length hair and recently cut it just below my ears to even the hair out. This hasn’t helped the condition of my hair – just made the unevenness less noticeable. I have typical African-American hair. Can anyone offer some suggestions? This is the first time this has happened with my hair.
Answer
I have read many complaints from African American women about breakage, dry hair and more. What amazes me is that African American women slather all kinds of stuff on their hair and end up with the same results. The problems are abuse, over compensation of using products, not cutting hair regularly and going excessively long between shampoos in order to add weight to the hair. Hair becomes dry and brittle because everyone is trying to solve his or her dilemma with ordinary water-soluble products, which the entire hair industry sells and hypes.
I have been a hair designer and product manufacture for 35 years.
The biggest reason for breakage is friction. When the hair is packed up with all types of oils, conditioners and more, eventually they all breakdown. This leaves a residue on the hair making it more susceptible to drag. When sleeping at night, between the hair and pillow case, the hair rubs against one another causing breakage. Those pieces are never cut so the cycle continues until there is constant split ends, tears up the hair shaft and more breakage. In addition, when you go so long between shampoos or do co-washes, the hair never really falls out from the head, the average hair loss of 100 to 200 hairs per day. These hairs cause tangles and drag. They are going to come out from your scalp regardless, so rather than hold them in longer causing abrasiveness, the head needs to be cleaned to rid itself of unwanted hair. In addition, if you pull your hair tight from the scalp, eventually you will get unwanted hair loss. If you have ever noticed some AA women having high foreheads, Stevie Wonder is a good example.
You need to create a boundary for the hair that will lock in the essential moisture and create a slip to the hair so when sleeping, the hair glides, rather than clogs.
Go to www.gotfrizz.com, watch the videos, and read the posts. Learn the realities of what hair and hair products can and cannot do. There is only one product that creates glide to the hair from shampoo to shampoo. .