Hair breakage in the crown area is very common. The hair strands in this area undergo a lot of stress and tension. It is the part of our hair that is most exposed to environmental factors, such as the sun and can lead to dry and brittle hair if not cared for properly.

Hair in the crown areas of our heads are usually more coarse and delicate, especially if you have a tighter curl pattern like me. You have to treat the hair strands in this area delicately and with care. This is something I didn’t do prior to my natural hair journey. Not only did I have an unhealthy scalp, but my hair was breaking off in the crown area, which all led to my hair loss.

What Causes Hair Breakage in the Crown Area?

Excessive Sun Exposure

The sun gives our bodies a very important and essential nutrient, Vitamin D. It’s actually so important, that a lack of it can lead to hair loss and alopecia, but too much of anything can cause damage. If you are going to be in the sun for a prolong period of time you need to ensure you are protecting your hair and crown area.

The obvious way to protect your hair from over exposure to the sun is to cover it. You can cover it with a nice hat or a beautiful scarf, but you can also use a serum, like I Create Shine to protect your hair from UV rays.

Lack of Moisture

A lack of moisture in the hair and scalp can lead to hair loss, so you want to ensure you are properly hydrating your hair and scalp, especially in your crown area. You can do this by ensuring you are deep conditioning routinely, preferably once a week. You also may want to apply a leave-in conditioner if you are in need of additional moisture.

Using hot water on the hair can also lead to a lack of moisture and hair loss. On wash day, be sure to use warm water. You want to avoid standing directly under the shower head letting the hot water directly hit the crown area. This can be overly drying and cause unnecessary friction.

Avoid cotton towels and pillowcases. Cotton can be drying and can strip the hair of its natural oils. Try using a microfiber towel or satin pillowcase/bonnet to avoid this.

Lastly, ensure you are drinking plenty of water. Our hair and scalp health is not just dependent on what we put on it but also what we put into our bodies. Water is essential to keeping our hair and scalp healthy and hydrated.

Using Heat

Avoiding excessive heat styling is essential to those experiencing breakage in their crown areas. The high heat will cause your hair to become brittle, dry and will cause it to break off.

If your hair is healthy and you want to incorporate heat into your hair styling routine, try to implement things into your routine that aren’t so harsh on your hair. Try using a lower heat setting on your flat iron or blow dryer (try cool air) or use a heat protectant. Best of all avoid heat all together (but you already knew I was going to say that lol).

Sectioning Your Hair

Do you always part your hair down the middle? I did this too especially when detangling, but sectioning your hair this way each time can cause breakage in the crown area. Think about it, you are pulling and tugging on your hair repeatedly, which can place too much tension on the hair follicles and can lead to hair loss.

Tension

We all love a cute slick back bun or ponytail, but these tight styles can lead to breakage in the crown area. The excessive brushing we have to do to our crown areas to slick the hair down can put a lot of stress on the hair. The tension that these styles put on our hair can also cause damage, so be gentle when styling your hair and be mindful of how often you are wearing these styles. You may also want to try to give your hair a break from styles that can place tension on your hair, but wearing a low manipulation hair style.

Detangling can also put too much tension on the hair. I know this is our least favorite part of wash day and we usually try to rush through this part, but it is important that we do not unnecessarily tug and pull on our hair and cause breakage. Be gentle, especially with your delicate crown area.

Lastly, be aware of the hair accessories you are using and the unnecessary tension it may be putting on your hair and scalp. Clips and bobby pins can help us create beautiful hairstyles, but they often can tug and pull on the hair and dig into our scalp causing damage, so be mindful of this. Even constantly using a hair pick to create volume in the crown area can put tension on the scalp and cause breakage.

Trims

When we are experiencing breakage, the last thing we need is split ends, so be sure to get regular trims to ensure you are removing unhealthy ends to encourage healthy hair growth.

Scalp Massages

Scalp massages in general are great for the scalp, but especially for those experiencing hair loss in the crown area. Massages will increase blood flow and circulation to this area and promote healthy hair growth. Using a good scalp treatment or oil when massaging the crown area, will ensure that this area is properly coated and moisturized.

In conclusion…

Overall hair loss and breakage can be hard to experience, especially in the crown area given its visibility, but the good news is that there may be some simple things that we can do. Sometimes it just requires us to be gentler with our hair or giving it a break with a low manipulation/tension protective style.

Please let me know below if you have experience breakage and hair loss in your crown area and things you have implemented to combat this.

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