Whether you dye, process, or style your hair with hot tools, you’ve likely experienced hair breakage at some point in your life. What’s more, you can experience breakage without doing anything at all. Simply letting hair grow long without frequent trims can also lead to split ends. Although breakage may be unavoidable over time, there are certainly ways to curtail it, but the key is to prevent it in the first place.

Maintaining strong and healthy hair begins with a solid prevention game. Using the right hair care products for your hair type and lifestyle, eating a healthy diet, and doing things such as brushing your hair correctly can all help prevent breakage. On the flip side, using harsh ingredients, pulling your hair too tightly, and washing your hair too often can make hair more prone to breakage.

We know there’s a lot of misinformation out there, so to get you all the right information you need to keep your hair strong from scalp to ends, we asked four hair experts to share all their best tips. From using silk scrunchies to incorporating gentle and reparative formulas, keep scrolling for their insight.

What Is Hair Breakage?

Hair breakage occurs when the hair shaft breaks, which then leads to split ends and shorter strands of hair. “It can manifest itself in many ways. The mid-length area of the hair looks fused or worn, think of a rope and how the fibers of the rope start to break first. The ends are frayed and have seen better days,” celebrity hairstylist, Diaz-Santin explains.

But don’t fear—not all short hairs point to breakage. “A lot of interspersed short hairs at the scalp could be new hair growth and isn’t a cause for panic,” explains trichologist, Tiffany Young. “However, if the hair is clustered in one area and is all a shorter length, that is usually from breakage.”

What Causes Hair Breakage?

Strap in because there are quite a few culprits behind hair breakage.

Hair breakage can be caused by: over-brushing, tight hairstyles, unprotected heat styling, rough towel-drying, a poor diet, stress, harsh hair products, dryness, too-tight hair ties, dye, chemical treatments, and waiting too long in between trims.

One of the most common causes (and easiest changes) is repetitive styling and tight hairstyles. “In fact, hair breakage from wearing your hair in clips and tight ponytails is so common there is a name for the hair loss that results from it: Traction Alopecia,” says Young. Her number one tip for avoiding hair breakage is skipping out on repetitive hairstyling. Anything that puts stress on the hair follicle is a no-go. “No ponytails at bedtime! Consider using hair-friendly materials like satin hair scrunchies, if you must wear your hair up.”

Another common problem is dryness. Dryness could stem from many root causes from overdoing it on the heat styling to just plain dry weather. Break out the conditioner to tackle signs of dryness. Focus it on your ends to stop breakage before it has a chance to start.

“Keeping the hair well hydrated [and] moisturized will prevent the hair from snapping off,” Diaz-Santin says before stating that banishing dryness is especially beneficial for preventing hair breakage in cold weather.

Other, more severe, causes of hair breakage are thyroid disorders and eating disorders. If you are having continuous problems with hair breakage but you handled the common causes like towel drying and restrictive hairstyles, it may be time to see a professional. A professional will be able to get to the bottom of your hair breakage problem to ensure you have a thick and healthy head of hair in the future.

How to Tell If You Have Hair Breakage

Are the short hairs around your hairline different lengths? Do you have seemingly more and more split ends? It’s probably hair breakage.

“An easy way to see if you have hair breakage is to do a strand test,” says Young. “Take a section of your hair—about an inch [in] diameter. Assess the diameter at your root and see the rate at which your hair tapers toward the ends.  Some tapering toward the ends of the hair is normal. But, if you have hair breakage you’ll notice a marked difference between the density of your hair at the root compared to the ends.”

Diaz-Santin states that hair breakage will often centralize at the hairline. You’ll notice it from the root and you wind up with many short pieces of hair.

How to Fix Hair Breakage

Unfortunately, once hair is damaged you can’t un-break it. Once hair is broken, the only solution is to cut your hair and work on preventing further damage. However, there are things you can do to make amends by treating new hair growth with care and making haircare decisions that bring out the best in your hair’s current appearance.

How to Prevent Hair Breakage:

The best way to deal with hair breakage is to keep it from happening. From hair masks to heat protectants, here’s what you’ll need to do to protect your hair from breakage.

Invest in a High-Quality Hair Mask: The number one tip from both of our experts? A good hair mask. Technology has evolved so much in recent years that even a single treatment can deliver dramatic changes. We recommend the cult-favorite K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Mask as it just takes four minutes to work its magic. Just one use makes hair—and especially tips—feel softer, stronger, and much more moisturized than before.

Always Use Heat Protectant: Anyone with breakage should avoid heat completely, but if you must heat style it’s very important to use a thermal protection product. “They definitely work—but only to a certain temperature,” hairstylist, Sascha Breuer says. If you want to flat iron or curl hair, try Oribe’s Soft Lacquer Heat Styling Spray. “It seals your ends and protects them from irons,” Anthony Campbell, a celebrity hairstylist explains.

Wash Your Hair Less Often: “The natural oils from your scalp help reduce damage,” Campbell says. Try adding an extra day or two between washing; ideally, he suggests lathering up only two or three times a week, but even skipping one day will help. And when you do wash, be sure to use a breakage-preventing shampoo, such as the Nexxus Unbreakable Care Anti-Breakage Shampoo.

Turn Down the Heat: Many flat and curling irons—even those with temperature settings—turn on at 400 degrees, a temperature that can literally cook the inside of your strands. “280 degrees is a good place to start,” Breuer says. “You want to use the lowest possible temperature to get your desired result.” No temperature setting on your irons? It’s time to upgrade. Try T3’s Smooth ID Smart Flat Iron and Smooth ID Smart Curling Iron which use innovative tech to adjust the heat settings depending on your hair type and texture.

Get Consistent Trims: To keep split ends from traveling up the shaft and creating extra damage, stay on top of your trim schedule and try to visit your hair salon every two to three months. Doing so will keep your ends in tip-top shape and both looking and feeling healthy.

Use Hair Oil: Obviously, a trim is the fastest—and best—way to get rid of damage, but if you’re in a pinch try Campbell’s trick. When he arrives on set and sees split ends, he immediately reaches for oil as he says it brings life back to hair. Coat your dry strands with Oribe’s Gold Lust Oil or Fekkai’s Brilliant Gloss Serum.

Avoid Alcohol-Heavy Haircare: While you’re rehabbing damage, try to avoid products with a high level of alcohol, like certain dry shampoos, hairsprays, and mousse—and definitely avoid anything gel-based! Try Nexxus’ Mousse Plus instead.

Loosen Your Updos: The less stress you put on your hair, the less breakage you’ll have. Coat your hands with oil and wrap strands into a loose bun to conceal split ends, or a side braid to hide breakage until it starts to get better. Additionally, use a soft elastic, like Slip’s Silk Scrunchies.

Brush Your Hair Correctly: To prevent knots and tangles from traveling down the shaft, begin brushing your hair from the tips and slowly work your way up. If you sense you may have a few more knots than usual, consider prepping hair with a detangling spray.

Use Reparative Haircare Products: Damage requires gentle, restorative products. Anything too strong or harsh could exacerbate damage. Instead, Breuer recommends Living Proof’s Restore Collection of Shampoo, Conditioner, and Repair Leave-in Cream. “Most products made for damage can weigh down your hair and make it look flat,” Breuer says. “But these are different—they’re very light.”

Seek Out Professional Advice: If you’re at a point where your hair snaps just by brushing it, you need to turn to a professional, Breuer says. “Ask around for recommendations and set up consultations on your lunch break with new stylists to see what they can do to help you,” he says. It’s also time to ask yourself why you have so much damage in the first place. “It’s probably time to get a new colorist or lay off the heat,” explains Campbell.