My hair is breaking off when I brush it - help and advice needed!

[misscph1973]

I turned 40 this year and my hair is getting thinner, and I think it happens when I brush it. It has never been thick, but it is getting worse. The individual hair strands are thin and my hair gets tangled very easily, I often wake up in the morning (I don't sleep with a pillows, don't like them) with matted hair that is hard to detangle. For some reason it's really bad in winter, it's like the matting is caused by coat necks and scarves. Tying it up or plaiting it doesn't seem to help.

I have should length hair and I get a cut every 3 months or so. I wash every 2 days and I always use conditioner. I never blow-dry. I use a tangle teaser hair brush. Most days I tie my hair up in a pony tail.

I eat a good diet (recently went paleo), I make sure I get good sleep and I exercise.

I have never been very good at hair! I can't make a French plait to save my life and I never know what to do for special occasions. I never use hair spray or similar. Just so you know my level of "education" ;)

What can I do to stop my hair from breaking and thinning?

Try sleeping with your head on a silk sheet, that should help prevent matted hair.

Maybe look at some kind of supplement? My mum takes a 'hair, nails and skin' tablet every day, she probably gets them from Holland and Barrett or somewhere.

Worth a trip to the GP for a check over/blood test to make sure you're not deficient in anything (Vitamin D being the one that springs to mind).

And finally, a trip to the hairdresser for some kind of deep conditioning/hair repair treatment may help.

Thanks, DrGoogle. I had thougha bout the silk sheet, but they are very expensive ;)

I have taken a vitamin B complex before, but I stopped when I ran out ;) I am pretty sure I am not vitamin D deficient as I take Vitamin D (5000 UI) in the winter months and I try to avoid sun screen in the summer (within reason, I also try to avoid burning).

What would a deep conditioning/hair treatment at the hair dressers cost? Generally I am a bit anti product, I swear by the oil cleansing method for my face and I keep products to a minimum, although I have not been able to find decent alternatives for shampoo, conditioner soap and deodorant ;)

Argan oil is amazing. I started using it about 2 weeks ago - prior to this it took at least 10 minutes to detangle my hair after drying, but now it takes about 30 seconds. I use the one on the right in this picture. I shampoo but don't condition, then add two squirts of the oil onto wet hair and rub in. I really can't stress enough how amazing it is without sounding like I am on commission!

Thanks for the recommendation, Mum, I was actually looking into home hot oil treatments today and I was thinking of mixing in Argan oil.

I have some pure Argan oil too, but the label says to wash it off after use. The beauty of this one is that you don't faff around with conditioner and just leave it in. I really can't believe the difference it makes, as my hair would be one huge knot after drying before.

Amazing, thanks again. I just ordered some pure Argan oil to mix in with a hot oil treatment I am planning to try out tomorrow (if it arrives in time), will let you know how it went. I want to use up my current conditioner before I get a new one, which will be a leave-in conditioner with Argan oil. The one you use looks a bit expensive ;) although it sounds like it is worth it.

Mine was £13 at one of the Sally salon outlets, but you only use maybe 0.1 or 0.2ml per wash, so it will outlast may bottles of conditioner and will probably work out about the same as conditioner.

Good luck - hope it works. There are quite a few threads about it on here - I think some people use a drop of the pure stuff on dry hair.

That's not so bad, if it lasts. Never heard of Sally Salons outlets, just googled it, seems there are none near me. I go to a hair dresser who works from home and she doesn't carry any products. I tend to get my hair care products in the supermarket or in extreme cases online. Will check threads on Argan oil there, thanks.