What should you know about grey hair breakage?

Broken strands are often shorter, uneven, or split, while a shed hair may have a small bulb at one end. Hair that has lost pigment can feel coarser or drier, and colouring, straightening, frequent heat styling, tight hairstyles, rough brushing, and rubbing against fabric can weaken it further.

Look at the scalp as well as the lengths. Itching, scale, crusting, tenderness, or areas where hair is coming out from the root suggest that the issue may involve the scalp rather than simple shaft damage.

Use a gentle shampoo, apply conditioner through the lengths, and detangle slowly with a wide-tooth comb. Reduce high heat, avoid overlapping chemical services, and loosen styles that pull at the roots. Pat hair dry instead of rubbing it, and trim severely split ends rather than repeatedly combing through them.

Keep a brief record of new products, colouring, hairstyles, and when the change began. This can reveal a trigger and helps a clinician decide whether hair-shaft care is enough.

Arrange a dermatology review if breakage is sudden, widespread, painful, or accompanied by scalp scale, itching, sores, or thinning patches. Scalp ringworm can cause scaling and broken hairs, while repeated pulling can contribute to traction alopecia. Seek prompt care for pus, marked swelling, or fever.

Does this look like shaft breakage or hair loss from the root? Could a scalp condition, hair practice, medicine, or nutritional problem be contributing? Which products and styling habits should I pause, and when should improvement be reassessed?