Breakage
If you notice shorter hairs forming a ‘halo’ on your head, it could signal a regrowth phase. But if you also see jagged edges, too, it might be breakage (a stylist can tell the difference). Hair breakage is exactly what it sounds like, copious strands of hair that have become so damaged, they literally snap off. Breakage is caused by a variety of things, including dryness, heat styling, over-processing, and excessive or incorrect combing and brushing. Even a poor diet and stress can cause breakage, as the hair enters a dormant growth stage under duress. The key here is to be as kind to your coif as possible by washing and styling gently, using conditioner, eating well, and managing stress. Steer clear of tight braids, extensions and restrictive hair ties if breakage is a problem.
Texture changes
Maybe your strands were pin straight in childhood, but puberty hit and suddenly you were dealing with a head full of curls. Or you had thick, lush locks until you entered your forties, when your ponytail started to feel thinner than usual. Changes in hair texture boil down to hormones, says Kingsley, and how sensitive you are to their fluctuations. For example, pregnant women often have thick, shiny hair. That’s because their rising oestrogen prompts hair follicles to stay in the anagen (growth) phase for longer than usual. “When oestrogen levels drop and return to normal after giving birth or ending lactation, 50 per cent of women experience postpartum hair fall approximately 12 weeks later,” says Kingsley. The steepest decline in oestrogen happens during menopause, when hair follicles shrink and hair starts to visibly thin.
Goosebumps
Chicken skin, goose pimples, goosebumps, whatever you call them, you know them when you see them. And you feel them primarily when you’re cold. But why exactly does your skin sometimes get pimply and your hair stand on end? It’s basically a primitive reaction that we haven’t evolved out of yet. Way back when our bodies were covered in full coats of hair, it served us well for our muscles to contract and cause our follicles to protrude; this phenomenon helped provide extra insulation against cold temperatures. Nowadays, we don’t need goosebumps at all.
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