How To Fix Hair Breakage At The Crown (And Identify The Cause)

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It’s not great when your hair starts breaking apart, but it’s particularly bad when it does so at your crown.

Cause if it starts breaking near your scalp, it’s only a matter of time before you might go bald!

No one wants THAT, not to mention the toll it can take on your image and self-esteem. You can’t hide it easily, so what can you do about it?

Not to worry – there are definitely ways to counter and reverse the problem. Let’s find out how.

Hair Breakage

Hair breakage at the crown is usually caused by dry scalp or dandruff.

Dry scalp causes hair to become brittle and frizzy. This makes it prone to breaking at the crown.

Dandruff also causes hair to become dry and brittle. Luckily, both conditions can be treated easily.

To remedy the situation, you need a lot of patience, and you need to give your hair some TLC. You can do a couple of things to help both your hair and scalp improve with time.

When you make a few simple changes to your routine, you will no doubt see a noticeable difference.

With that being said, it’s important to point out that the suggestions and tips below are not for anyone who is experiencing hair loss or breakage due to a medical condition.

This is only for individuals who have breakage because of other factors, such as your hair care routine.

Understanding Hair Breakage

Here are some common symptoms of hair breakage at the crown:

  • Dry skin around the hairline
  • Flaking skin
  • Curly hair
  • Brittle hair
  • Thinning hair

There may be other signs too, depending on the type of breakage you get. For instance, if you get thin hair breaks at the crown, then you may notice patches of baldness.

These types of breakages are more severe than others, and they tend to occur more frequently.

You may also be able to tell what’s causing your breakages based on the location. For example, if you get dry skin breaks at the crown, it means your scalp needs hydration.

Other Causes of Hair Breakage

woman in robe blow drying hair

When looking into the reason behind hair breakage, you should also be aware of other potential causes. Some of these include:

  • Using heat styling tools like blow dryers or curling irons
  • Overuse of chemicals
  • Not washing your hair properly
  • Not using moisturizers
  • Dry scalp
  • Stress
  • Chemicals used in shampoos

It’s important to note that hair breakage at the top of your head is often caused by stress. That’s why it’s essential to learn how to manage your stress levels.

Signs to Look Out For if You Are Concerned About Hair Breakage at the Crown

There are three big things that you can keep an eye out for if you’re concerned about hair breakage at the crown. We’ll go through these below.

You Have a Sore Scalp

If your scalp is sore, that’s often a sign that there’s too much tension from being pulled or manipulated.

You might be wearing your hair in tight ponytails or tight buns, and it’s starting to take a toll on your hair and scalp health.

When there’s too much tension put on your hair follicles, they weaken. If this happens, the hair can break or even fall out. Scalp soreness is an early warning sign that there could be a lot of hair breakage in the near future.

Your Hair is Thinning or You’re Balding

woman with thinning hair at crown

This is one of the biggest red flags when it comes to hair breakage at the top of your scalp. When your hair starts to thin, it can indicate that there is a problem with your diet.

Many people skip meals and eat junk food instead of healthy foods. This leads to low blood sugar, which makes your body produce less protein.

As a result, your hair will continue to grow thinner over time. If your hair isn’t growing thick anymore, it’s likely that you’re going to go bald. You should take a closer look around your head where you can, and see if you notice your hair thinning. 

If you do notice that your hair is thinning, or you’re balding, it’s a clear sign that you need to change your routine as soon as possible. If you continue, it’ll only get worse.

You should know what blading and hair loss can also be a sign of other health issues. So, if you notice this happening to you, it is worth making an appointment with your doctor.

It’s better to rule out any medical conditions so that you can focus on your hair health.

You Have Short Hair on the Top of Your Head

Take a look at the top and middle of your head. Take extra care to check out where you part your hair. If you can see that the hairs in that area are shorter than the rest, your hair is breaking at the crown.

You might notice that the hair in this area never really seems to grow out – it’s all because of breakage! 

Helping Your Crown Recover

Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to help your hair grow back on your crown. We’ll be going through them all below, so that we can get a better understanding of them.

Choose Your Hairstyles Carefully

Some hairstyles put a lot of tension on the hair. Hairstyles that pull the hair up, tight, or create friction will leave damage marks on the hair.

If you’ve noticed that certain styles are doing this, try switching to another style. There are plenty to choose from, and many of them will require less maintenance.

Wearing your hair down would be great for your hair health. However, if this isn’t possible, try transitioning to a loose ponytail or something similar. Loose hairstyles allow for a bit more movement and ventilation. They’ll also prevent you from pulling your hair too tightly.

Stay Hydrated

It’s crucial that your body gets enough moisture, and even your hair depends on this. You need to make sure that you are drinking enough water throughout the day.

Water helps keep your scalp moist and healthy. Your scalp is where most of your hair growth occurs, so keeping it well hydrated is key.

Hair follicles are made of keratin. When it comes to moisture content, keratin has a higher content than proteins. Protein content tends to decrease as you age.

As long as your hair doesn’t fall out, you can still rely on protein to provide the strength needed to maintain it.

If you live in a very dry climate, consider trying out a humidifier. This also applies in the winter months, since heaters can make the air incredibly dry. Pair this with drinking enough water, and you will notice a difference in your hair.

Use Moisturizing Products

Make sure you are using a shampoo and conditioner that is moisturizing. Most shampoos contain ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which strips away natural oils. It’s best to use products formulated without SLS.

Conditioning products are just as important as shampoos. Make sure that they don’t contain harsh ingredients like alcohols, ammonia, and silicone.

These can strip away your natural oils and leave your hair feeling dry and damaged. Instead, look for products that contain emollients like shea butter and coconut oil.

Avoid Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is one of the worst products you could ever use. Why? Because it leaves behind residue that clogs pores and causes buildup. If you want to avoid this problem, stick with regular shampoo.

The same goes for blowouts. Although these may seem like a fun way to treat your hair, they have their downsides.

Blowouts can really damage your hair because they force moisture through the cuticle into the cortex. The result is usually frizz and split ends.

Don’t Use Hot Tools

Using hot tools to style your hair is one of the worst things you can do to your hair. Heat styling tools can actually burn the strands of your hair.

The heat from these tools will burn your hair, gradually damaging it over time until it just snaps.

How does this happen? Well, when you use things like flat irons or curling wands, the heat from them penetrates deep into the hair. This opens up the cuticle by stretching it.

Once opened, the cuticle allows humidity to enter deeper into the hair shaft. Humidity then starts to dry out the hair, causing it to become brittle and break easily.

Once the hair reaches this point, it becomes weaker and easier to snap.

So what should you do instead? Avoid using heated tools whenever possible. If you must use them, make sure to protect your hair with a protective spray. There are plenty of alternatives you can try instead of using heat.

For example, if you want curls, you can try getting heatless curls, or plaiting your hair when it is damp. Both give an amazing result, though they are different to the effect you would get from a curling wand.

No matter what kind of tool you use, make sure to apply protection before you begin working. If you don’t, you will notice damage to your hair in no time.

Use Different Settings on Your Devices

You might think that setting your hair straighteners to a lower temperature makes it more likely to be damaged. However, this isn’t true. In fact, leaving your devices set to high temperatures can lead to even more problems than low settings.

Why? Well, the higher the temperature, the faster your hair dries out. As a result, it has less time to recover between washes. By reducing the temperature, you allow your hair to take longer to dry. This gives it more time to rest after each wash, helping it repair itself.

Try not to go overboard, either. When you’re applying too much heat, it will feel tight and uncomfortable.

It’s also worth noting that some people find that heating the plates too often leads to overheating. You need to experiment to see how typically you can safely heat your plates without burning your scalp.

This also applies to things like blow dryers. Blow dryers can cause a lot of damage if they are used on the highest heat setting. It’s best to use cool temperatures wherever possible, and also use a diffuser where you can.

Not only do heat settings relate to tools, but showers, too! Showers that are too hot will only help your hair dry out more quickly. Instead, use a shower that is warm enough to keep your hair moisturized.

Wherever you can, you should also try to rinse your hair with cool or cold water. This will help lock in moisture, and your hair will be grateful for it!

How to Fix Hair Breakage at the Crown and Identify the Cause (2)

Try a Different Hair Parting

The way you part your hair will pull your hair in the direction it goes. This means that pressure is put on the hair to hold it there. The closer together your parts are, the more tension you place on the hair.

If you have been parting your hair in the same spot for years, over time, the hairs that grow closest to the scalp start to shrink. This causes the strands to pull tighter, making your hair look thinner and shorter.

To prevent this, you can try changing the direction you part your hair. Try putting it back-combed, or parted down the middle.

These methods allow your hair to move around as little as possible, so it doesn’t become stressed by pulling against itself. You can also try sectioning your hair off into other parts if you have the hair for it! There are so many hairstyles that you could try out to help your hair and scalp stay healthy.

Wash Your Hair Less Frequently

In addition to trying new products, another way to avoid breaking your hair is to change up your washing routine. While many people wash their hair every day, others prefer to wait until once a week.

When you wash your hair daily, the ends of your hair tend to dry out because they aren’t able to soak up any extra moisture.

As a result, they end up looking frizzy and brittle. If you want to avoid this problem, then try skipping one or two days between washes.

You may also notice that your hair starts to look dull when you wash it too frequently. To combat this, make sure that you apply conditioner to damp hair before rinsing off. This helps your hair retain its natural shine, while still keeping it clean.

Use A Conditioner That Is Right For Your Hair Type

Conditioner is an essential part of maintaining good hair health. However, most people don’t know which type of conditioner works best for their hair type.

For example, if you have fine hair, you might want to choose a product that has added protein. Protein-rich conditioners are great for strengthening damaged hair because they provide extra nutrients to get through to the follicles.

On the flip side, if you have very thick hair, it’s important to select a conditioner that is suitable for thicker strands. Thickness determines how much oil comes from your scalp, which affects the amount of grease that gets into your hair.

To find the right conditioner for your hair, consider what kind of texture you have. If your hair is curly, you’ll need a conditioner that won’t weigh them down. But if you’ve got straight hair, you’ll want something that adds volume and bounce.

Deep Condition Your Hair

Deep conditioning your hair isn’t just about adding nourishment. It’s also about helping your hair feel soft, smooth, and manageable.

While regular shampooing removes all the dirt and debris that accumulates in your hair, deep conditioning helps to keep hair healthy, supple, and shiny.

When you deep condition your hair, you are giving it all the nutrients and moisture it could possibly need in order to stay healthy and hydrated.

You can choose between a moisturizing or protein-based deep conditioning treatment.

A moisturizing treatment will give your hair a lot of moisture, while a protein-based treatment will give it protein. Both types of treatments work well for different purposes.

Both of these treatments will help keep hair strong. Hair products like Olaplex are known to be extremely helpful with strengthening hair and improving health. If you can get your hands on these products, make use of them.

Moisturizing Treatments

One of the biggest benefits of using a moisturizing deep conditioning treatment is that it is incredibly moisturizing and nourishing for your hair. This makes it easier to comb your hair without damaging your ends.

If you’re not used to deep conditioning, start with a low concentration first. You want to use enough conditioner to cover each strand of hair, but not so much that it leaves your hair feeling heavy. You should leave deep conditioning treatments on for no longer than an hour, typically.

Protein-Based Deep Conditions

Protein-based deep conditioning treatments are ideal for those who suffer from extremely dry hair. They help to add protein back into your hair, making it softer and smoother.

It’s recommended that you use a protein-based deep conditioner every month to ensure that your hair stays strong and healthy.

Just be careful not to overdo it! If you do protein-based treatments too often, you can actually damage your hair. Since the protein will form a hard shell on the follicle, the hair will be able to snap very easily when it’s overdone. 

Be Careful How You Brush Your Hair

Natural hair can be incredibly frustrating to detangle. It can take ages, and our impatience typically gets the best of us. It feels like a two-man job, right? But it doesn’t have to be.

The secret to getting rid of knots lies within the comb itself. You need to comb small sections at a time, and always start from the ends to the roots.

Try brushing your hair with shorter strokes. The lengthier the stroke, the more likely you are to create a knot. Shorter strokes mean less tension, so there’s less opportunity for knots to occur.

It helps to plan ahead for this, since it will take a while. Free up an evening and make a night of it! You can get your favorite snacks and put on your favorite movie to get through it. If you’re able to, you can even get some help!

When you start to rush your detangling process, you start to put yourself at risk of pulling and snapping your hair. If this happens, there will be a lot of breakage.

When there’s breakage, your hair is gone, and you can’t just glue it back on. Take care of your hair and be careful. Take a break if and when you need to – and take a deep breath. You will get through it. 

Get a Trim

Why would you get a trim if you’re trying to grow your hair out? It might seem counterintuitive, but it works! When you cut your hair, you are promoting it to heal. By cutting off damaged or split ends, you are giving your hair new life.

You don’t have to go overboard, either. If you think about it, we trim our nails as they grow out. We don’t cut them down. As long as you keep it trimmed, you’ll be fine.

You don’t even have to go for a minor trim if you want, get a whole new do! As soon as you can get your split and dry ends off, your hair will look completely different. 

When you get a haircut, your hair will look healthy and amazing. It might not be exactly what you want at the moment, but if you have hair breakage on your crown, a new do is a great option.

That way, you can give yourself some time for the hair to grow back, and it’ll look like it’s supposed to be that way!

Get a Scalp Massage

A scalp massage not only feels incredible, but it works wonders, too. You can just give yourself a scalp massage whenever you feel like it.

Just make sure you’re gentle! Use your fingertips and gently press in circular motions around your hair. It’s best to do this with short nails, since long ones can easily snap on your hair and even stab your scalp.

You can add some hair oil to the massage for some extra luxury, if you want. Do this for a couple of minutes, and you will increase the blood flow to your head.

When this happens, more hair growth is promoted. Remember, though – always be gentle! There’s no point in giving yourself a massage only to rip your hair out.

How to Fix Hair Breakage at the Crown and Identify the Cause (3)

How You Can Hide Crown Hair Breakage

You probably know how it happened, but now you need to know how to hide it. Breakage in such a visible area will make you feel incredibly self-conscious, and that’s okay!

Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help conceal the breakage. Depending on how bad the breakage is, you might have to deal with these methods for a while.

Use Hair Building Fibers

Hair building fibers are made from plant proteins and oils, which makes them a natural alternative to traditional styling products. They come in many forms, including powders, sprays, gels, and mousses.

The good news is that they work really well! The bad news is that they take a little longer than other products to build up, so you may need to use multiple applications. They also tend to leave residue behind after application, so you should wash your hair thoroughly before and after using them.

A great hair building fiber option is the Toppik Hair Fiber Building Spray. This product contains protein, keratin, and pomegranate extracts, all of which help strengthen weak strands. It comes in various shades and formulas, so you can pick one based on your needs.

Try a Protective Style

Wigs can change our world. If you are too self-conscious to flaunt your broken hair in public, why not opt for a wig? With wigs, there is no risk of showing any signs of hair loss or damage to others.

Wigs are available in all sorts of styles, colors, and lengths. Choose a style that suits your personality, and you’ll never be embarrassed again!

If you’re worried that your hair won’t grow into the wig properly, try applying a protective serum underneath it first. These serums contain special ingredients that enhance growth and prevent frizzing.

If you find that you still have problems growing into the wig, consider using an extension spray, which helps provide additional length.

Braids and Updos

Try out different hairstyles that put less pressure on the hair itself. Avoid tight ponytails and buns, and try to wear loose styles.

There are some great updos to test out, and braids are great at concealing breakage! It’s worth doing some research and finding ones that you will like.

Change Your Hair Parting

As we already mentioned, your hair parting can put unnecessary tension on your hair. Try experimenting with different types of hairstyles to see what works best for you.

For example, instead of a side part, try a center part. This type of cut puts less stress on the hair, which means less chance of breakage.

Why is This Happening?

We’ve already hinted at the probably causes earlier on, but to summarize, the hair on your crown could be breaking because of:

  • Heat from hot tools
  • A lack of nourishment and moisture
  • Hairstyles putting too much tension on the follicles 

You’d be surprised by how easy it is for the hair on your crown to start breaking. That part of our heads takes a lot of tension in both daily life and hairstyles.

However, it’s important to remember that if you make the right decisions, you can get your hair back! These problems can lead to permanent hair loss if you leave it. Everyone would prefer to have a full head of hair at the end of the day.

Final Thoughts

Hair breakage is never fun, especially when it’s so visible to the rest of the world. It might be happening to you, or someone you know, but there are things you can do about it!

You need to make sure that your hair is properly taken care of. It needs nourishment and moisture every week if possible. Avoid overusing hot styling tools, and even hairdryers.

Avoid tight hairstyles, and you will be surprised by how much your damaged hair can begin healthy hair growth again. As soon as you realize the damage these items can cause, you will want to steer clear of them.

Hopefully you understand why your hair is breaking a little more now. It happens to the best of us, but it’s up to you to take care of your hair.

Emma Lee
As long as she can remember, Emma has been obsessed with beautiful hair. Her favorite look is pin-straight, sleek glass hair. She's had multiple styles from short and permed to long and natural throughout her life, and knows full well that how your hair looks can make or break your day.

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