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Hair

How to Fix Breakage at the Nape Area

 

If you've used hair dye, bleach, chemical treatments, or hot tools, chances are you've encountered hair breakage. Even the most gentle of styling can result in the appearance of frayed, split ends or shorter strands—especially in delicate areas of the scalp, like the nape of the neck. Right behind our head where it's difficult to see, the nape is extra prone to breakage for a multitude of reasons, including ponytails pulled too tight and aggressive styling.

While some breakage is inevitable, there are certainly ways to curtail it. The key? Preventing it from happening in the first place. Below, we outline the common culprits of nape hair breakage and thinning, as well as tips on treating and warding off damage from top dermatologist Kseniya Kobets, MD, and hairstylist Rogerio Cavalcante and Shelly Aguirre.

From using silk scrunchies to repairing dryness, keep scrolling for their insight on nape hair breakage.

Meet the Expert

Kseniya Kobets, MD, is the Director of Cosmetic Dermatologist at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care in New York.
Rogerio Cavalcante is a New York-based hairstylist and the owner of The Second Floor Salon.
Shelly Aguirre is a stylist at the Maxine Salon in Chicago.

 

What Is Hair Breakage?

Hair breakage occurs when the hair shaft breaks, which in turn leads to split ends and shorter strands of hair. Typically, you can tell if you have hair breakage by looking at the mid-length area or ends of your strands. If it looks fused or worn (like a fraying rope), is dry, or brittle, you most likely have hair breakage.

Causes of Breakage in Nape Hair

"There are several reasons why hair is more prone to breakage, which include drying out the cuticle with chemicals and heat processing or physical pressure from hair ties, tight braids, or pulling from hair extensions," Kobets says. However, when hair breakage occurs at the nape of the neck, the most common causes are:

• Tight hairstyles: Love throwing your hair back into ponytails and buns? True, they're the ideal easy hairstyles for getting your hair out of your face, but with convenience may come a big downside: breakage. How tight you tie your potentially damaging hairstyle may not be the only problem, however. "It can be as simple as using hair ties that can rip or break the hair strands when removing the tie," Aguirre.
• Poor chemical application: It can be tough dealing with hair that seems to resist relaxing, but on the quest to grow back hair on the nape area, it's best to adopt gentler relaxing techniques. Avoid using a relaxer strength higher than you need to accomplish your aim of getting super-straight hair (a medium strength is suitable for most textures). Also, if you're applying a relaxer, make sure to apply at the nape area last to avoid having the chemicals sit longer than needed.
• Repeated bleaching: Repeated hair bleaching can permanently raise the cuticle scales, allowing for loss of moisture. In turn, this can leave hair brittle and prone to breakage.
• Excess keratin treatments: "Sometimes over-treatment with keratin makes the hair strands less flexible and more likely to break," Kobets says. To treat this particular cause, she recommends "Using less keratin-containing products in shampoo and conditioners by giving hair breaks or alternating with other products."
• Dryness: Hair dryness often stems from many root causes, from overdoing it on the heat styling to just plain dry weather. 
• Heat damage: Due to the shape of our heads curving in at the nape, Aguirre says, "It can be hard to style that area (with hot tools), so clients tend to overheat or overbrush that area, which can lead to the hair breaking off."
• Constant manipulation and friction: We know how much effort (and inevitable tugging and smoothing) must have gone into creating that fabulous sleek updo, but relying on heavy gels and constant brushing to smooth down edges causes unnecessary tension along the hairline, which is likely to lead to thinning and breakage.

Other, more severe, causes of hair breakage are thyroid disorders and eating disorders. "Hair breakage or hair brittleness could also be an early sign of a scarring alopecia called central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA)," Kobets says. If you are having continuous problems with hair breakage but you excess styling and restrictive hairstyles, it may be time to see a trusted dermatologist. A professional will be able to get to the bottom of your hair breakage problem and offer treatment options.

How to Prevent and Treat Nape Hair Breakage

Preventing hair breakage—especially strands at the nape—can be a bit of a challenge. Below, uncover ways to prevent breakage and encourage faster growth, bearing in mind that, as with any hair growth, it takes time to see results.

Scalp massage

An overall scalp massage poses many benefits, but focusing on the nape especially might result in healthier hair and less breakage. Use an oil meant to seal in moisture and strengthen the hair follicles.

Avoid aggressive hair brushing

Instead, use your fingers or a wide tooth comb to detangle the area when necessary, as overstimulating nape hair with constant brushing can lead to more damage. When you do brush your nape hair, proceed with gentle strokes, starting at the ends and working your way up to the root area.

Rethink your hair accessories

Elastic hair ties are known for causing breakage. Opt for silk hair ties or a claw clip (Aguirre's favorite is RPZL's The Kira).

Loosen your updo

"Nape of the neck breakage is [often] related to too-tight ponytails that are high on the head: The tension can cause breakage at the root," Cavalcante says, "Switch to looser ponytail styles and use silk or wider hair ties when doing so. Don’t wrap the ponytail too tight. If you wrap the band around three times typically, try two times instead for a looser look and feel with less tugging and pressure on the nape of the neck." If you're really aiming to get the super slicked-back look sans damage, he recommends using Authentic Beauty Concept's Hydrating Jelly Mask, which contains scalp-moisturizing ingredients like spirulina and aloe vera.

Use heat protectant

If you're planning on using a hot tool, heat protectant is non-negotiable. Heat protectants help minimize the hair damage that excess heat can cause by creating a barrier between your strands and the hot tool. Cavalcante recommends Hask's Keratin Protein 5-in-1 Leave in Spray, as it not only provides thermal protection, but also smoothing, hydrating, and detangling benefits.

Restore moisture

Anything you can do to seal in moisture—be it a deep conditioning mask or a leave-in conditioner—may help the hair grow back. Cavalcante recommends using a deep conditioning mask "at least once a week." His product pick is Kérastase's Resistance Strengthening Hair Mask, as it "repairs weakened hair with peptides and wheat proteins."

Try a new hot tool

When buying a new curling iron or straightener, Aguirre says to "Look for hot tools that reduce damage, like Trademark Beauty's Sunny Styler, which has air vents to cool the style and reduce damage along with ceramic tourmaline plates for gentleness and even heat distribution."

Cover the nape at night

A simple silk scarf or bonnet goes a long way. Wear one nightly to protect your hair from moisture-eating cotton pillowcases.

Use a silk pillowcase

If you prefer sleeping scarf-free or bonnet-free, try a silk pillowcase, "which will allow the hair to glide as opposed to the friction from a standard cotton pillowcase," according to Aguirre.

The Takeaway

The nape area is prone to excess hair breakage (aka when the hair shaft breaks, leading to split ends, shorter strands of hair, and fraying) due to multiple reasons, including location, heat damage, tight hairstyles, chemical treatments, dryness, and hair coloring. To prevent breakage at the nape of the neck, try changing your styling tools and habits. If you're experiencing persistent nape hair breakage despite ruling out the typical causes, consult a board-certified dermatologist. A professional can diagnose the root cause of your hair breakage and provide more targeted treatment options.