Last Updated on December 19, 2022 by Gaga
Are you ready to ban the bad breakups? This article won’t address romantic, work, family, or relationship problems, but it’ll target some quick fixes to prevent bad breakups from happening to your beloved mane. Check out our list of best anti-breakage shampoos to let your light and hair shine. Whether you’re into Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” or more of a classic Sedaka fan, we all can agree that “breaking up is hard to do!”
What Causes Your Hair to Break?
First, let’s chat about what causes your hair to break. Hair breakage is a very frustrating but common problem that many of us face. In sum, hair breakage is usually a symptom of damage and lack of moisture. The optimal moisture level allows your strands to swell and contract without snapping. Dry hair cannot be stretched out and breaks off easily. Don’t let your hair become a Gumby twin!
From Fry to Fly: The most common causes of dry and brittle hair:
1. Lab Rat: Chemical processing: Have you been treating your hair like a mad scientist experiment? Bleaching, repeated coloring, perming, or chemical straightening can break chemical bonds that hold your hair together; in turn, all of this processing can fry your hair and leave weak points in it, making it prone to breakage. Chemical treatments can also loosen the cuticle, thus allowing moisture to evaporate easily. Let’s transform your hair today from “fry to fly!”
2. Hot to Trot: Exposure to high heat: The high heat from blow-dryers, straighteners, and curling irons temporarily break the bonds in your hair to change its shape. Too much heat without appropriate protection will strip moisture from your hair, making it fragile over time. While you want your hair to be “hot to trot” as far as sassy and luxurious, strive not to make it hot as in temperature!
3. Life Strife: Other causes that can make hair brittle include drying shampoos, rough towel drying, over-brushing, tight hairstyles, genetic predisposition, hard water, dry weather, UV exposure, and poor diet. Try to avoid these “life strife” triggers!
In most cases, it’s possible to restore hair strength by using appropriate hair care products. Carefully selected hair shampoo and conditioner can help to improve your hair’s elasticity and give you healthy, luscious locks.
Best Breakage Banners: Shampoo Brands Formulated to Stop Hair Breakage
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1. Bond Guy or Gal: Olaplex no 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
Olaplex No.4 Shampoo is a part of the Olaplex hair care system that targets broken bonds due to exposure to chemicals and high heat. This nourishing and reparative shampoo relinks damaged bonds to strengthen hair that has been damaged by coloring, heat styling, and everyday stresses. Using this shampoo will also protect the hair from future damage. Grab some Hollywood glam and be “a Bond guy or gal!”
A Dab for Fab: Very concentrated formula: This Olaplex No.4 is thicker than normal shampoo and it lathers up well. It has a light scent of grapefruit. The bottle is small, but the product is super concentrated. In turn, you’ll need to use less of the product than you normally do.
Should you use Olaplex No.4 Shampoo?
YES: This shampoo is excellent for anyone with lightened or chemically treated hair. If you’ve been dying your hair for years, then you’re probably struggling with dry, damaged and overly porous hair that looks frizzy and would easily split. This shampoo will make your locks feel and look much better.
NO: If your hair isn’t processed, this shampoo might not be for you. Low porosity hair, especially fine and thinning hair can look flattened, heavy, and limp if regularly washed by Olaplex No.4. You can still gain some benefits such as more elastic, or less staticky hair if using the product once a week or biweekly; or if you rotate it with your regular shampoo.
Benefits:
- Less breakage: If your hair has been seriously damaged from frequent coloring, then this product will relink broken bonds to strengthen the strands from within and save them from breaking. Using this shampoo will boost elasticity, reduce splitting, and help you grow your hair longer. It’s also a godsend product for maintaining blonde dyed hair. Be unbreakable; be bold!
- Tress Tamer: Softer, more manageable hair: After shampooing with Olaplex No.4 (paired with No.5 conditioner), any coarse, unmanageable hair feels smooth and manageable, so it takes less time and effort to straighten it with a flat iron. This duo will leave thick coarse hair feeling silky soft, bouncy, and flowing. Does your hair need its own trainer or lamer? Well, let this perk tame your tresses!
- Written in the Stars: Shinier, healthier-looking hair: This shampoo leaves dry, brittle hair looking much healthier and more resistant to humidity. It rejuvenates your ends, tames flyaway hair, and leaves your locks with a gorgeous shine. It’s like it’s written in the stars, right?
- Stealth Elf: A little goes a long way: You only need to use a small pea-size amount to get a lot of foam and to cover all your hair. The formula is thick, so the bottle can last you for several months. What a “stealth elf” for your hair and wallet, too!
2. Glam on the Go: SexyHair Strong Strengthening Shampoo
This shampoo contains a blend of hydrolyzed vegetable proteins and amino acids that improves hair strength, adds a silky feel, and enhances color retention. It lathers quite well for a sulfate-free shampoo. It’s also mild and can be used as your daily shampoo. The yummy mango scent lingers in your hair. Grab some “glam on the go!”
Should you use this shampoo? This shampoo is for you if your hair is color/chemically treated and suffers from split ends, damage, and breakage.
Benefits: SexyHair Strong Strengthening Shampoo leaves hair stronger, softer, and healthier. It minimizes breaking and splitting, so you can grow hair longer. Channel your inner Rapunzel perhaps? It adds body to fine hair, tames frizz, and adds silkiness and shine.
3. Cure and More: amika The Kure Repair Shampoo
This keratin-rich shampoo is formulated to repair and revitalize dry, damaged hair while cleansing it. Hydrolyzed keratin and hydrolyzed wheat protein restore moisture and boost elasticity and luster. This shampoo is free of harsh sulfates and keratin-stripping salt, so it’s safe for color-treated and keratin-treated hair. It has a pleasant scent and cute packaging.
Should you use it? This shampoo can be a great choice if you regularly color your hair or you like to experiment with colors. It helps to preserve the integrity of hair that’s over-stressed by frequent chemical services.
Benefits: amika The Kure Repair Shampoo restores moisture, revitalizes dry and damaged strands, boosts elasticity, and reduces splitting and breakage. It leaves overly dry color-treated hair feeling soft, shiny, and less prone to frizz and static. Talk about a possible “cure and more?”
amika The Kure Bond Repair Shampoo for Damaged Hair is formulated with bond-restoring ingredients to repair damaged strands and reduce breakage.
4. Casablanca Chic: Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo
This reparative moisturizing shampoo is infused with moisturizing oils, keratin, and amino acids to help restore moisture, elasticity, and shine in damaged hair. The formula is concentrated, so you only need a teeny tiny amount to get a good lather and effective cleansing. It has a clean and fresh scent that can be strong for some people. It’s sulfate- and salt-free and is safe for keratin-straightened hair. Are you ready to be “Casablanca chic this week?”
Benefits: Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo repairs damaged and weakened hair to recover its natural strength and elasticity. It helps maintain healthy moisture levels to tame frizz and leave hair feeling silky, manageable, and glossy.
Budget Boosters: Budget-Friendly Brands
These shampoos are meant to combat hair breakage and are all free of sulfates and other drying chemicals. The list of more affordable brands includes Mango Anti-Breakage Shampoo by Okay, Strength & Anti-Breakage + Agave Nectar Shampoo by Maui Moisture, Strengthening Grow Long Super-Fast Strength Shampoo by Marc Anthony, and Anti-Breakage + Keratin Oil Shampoo by OGX.
Gaga is a blogger and founder of the Softer Hair website. She often says that insomnia is to blame for her first blogging attempts. Being the night owl, she hated the morning alarm. She left her office job and returned to what she loved most - writing.