What should you know about coarse hair breakage?

Breakage happens when the shaft becomes fragile and fractures, leaving shorter pieces, split ends or uneven lengths. Coarse texture can make damage more noticeable, but texture alone does not explain every change. Frequent bleaching, relaxing, colouring, hot tools, tight styles, rough detangling and low moisture can all weaken the shaft. Scalp inflammation may also affect hair quality. Scalp ringworm can present with broken hairs and scaling, while traction alopecia can follow repeated pulling; neither should be diagnosed from texture alone.

Loosen styles that pull at the hairline, reduce high heat and use a heat protectant when styling. Detangle gently from the ends upward with conditioner or a suitable leave-in product, and avoid brushing aggressively when the hair is wet. Space out chemical services and trim splitting ends rather than pulling them apart. Use a mild shampoo on the scalp and condition the lengths. Photographing the hairline and parting can help a clinician track whether the issue is breakage, shedding or both.

Arrange a dermatology review if breakage is sudden, patchy, accompanied by scalp scale or itch, or associated with tenderness, pus or swollen areas. Seek earlier care when the hairline is receding from tight styles, eyebrows are changing, or smooth patches appear. A clinician may examine the scalp and broken shafts to look for infection, inflammation or traction-related damage.

Ask whether the short hairs are breaking or shedding, whether the scalp shows infection or inflammation, which styling practices should stop first, and whether a scalp test or examination of the hair shaft is needed.