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Breakage is a natural part of having curls, but knowing how to tell how bad your breakage is can help. Breakage occurs for a variety of reasons and it can be really frustrating for curlies who are trying to grow out their strands. Here’s how to tell how bad your breakage is, and what you can do about it. You can also learn more about How To Help Your Curls Grow! Remember, this doesn’t include natural curl fall, which can be up to 100 strands per day!
How To Tell How Bad Your Breakage Is
Level One Breakage:
- You see 15 strands or fewer when you wash your curls, and less on between days
- Your curls feel healthy and have good elasticity
- Your curls respond well to being styled
- Level one breakage usually occurs because you’ve over handled or over styled your curls. Try to baby them for a few months by cutting back on tight protective styles, and increasing your deep conditioning and protein treatments as necessary. Avoid using excessive heat and chemical treatments while your curls are healing.
Level Two Breakage:
- You notice tons of broken off strands on your bathroom floor, in your shower drain, or on your bathroom sink after washing and styling
- You don’t loose more than 10-15 hairs per wash day, and continue to see less being lost on in between days while refreshing your strands
- You’re noticing medium-large chunks of curls coming away in your hands while styling your hair
- This amount of breakage occurs when your curls are missing something crucial for their well being, like moisture or protein. Your curls need the right balance of both to maintain their health
Level Three Breakage:
- You notice your curls are becoming thinner, finer, and there are less of them.
- You notice your curls are falling out in clumps and you might have patches of hair loss on your scalp
- On wash days or between days, you’re losing far more than the acceptable 10-15 hairs
- In order to manage this level of breakage, you might need your stylist to give you a good trim or cut to remove the dead hair. Curls that are this broken are often too far gone to salvage. If you allow your curls to remain this broken, it will minimize the ability of your hair to regrow healthy strands. This amount of breakage can be caused by overly chemically treating or heat treating your curls.