I love my hair, so I do take pride in caring for it, but there is one thing that I must confess: there is more to haircare than products.

You will go on cosmetic websites that will say this will help for growth and that will help for healthy skin and the works. Then if you are losing your hair, you complain about the products not working and how ineffective it is, but sometimes it is not the products, it is just us.

Right now, I have discovered that my hair is breaking almost in the centre of my head. It is the perfect blend of short and long strands. So, with a twist, for instance, when you hold it at the root and glide your fingers to the tips, you feel the drastic thinning. This is definitely not due to lack of care or treatment. It is caused by stress: most women have that difficult spot in their hair where, when they are stressed, they start shedding.

Now I must admit, this is the worst it has been, the last time I lost my hair like this was during exam period during my university days. How did my hair stop breaking? I stopped stressing. Everything you take in affects both your skin and your hair, whether it be food or stress. This really does not go for everyone, some can have the world on their shoulder and others like myself can have a bad couple weeks and the hair just decides to go. So, it is important to make a mental check. It is also vital to know when your hair is damaged versus when it is shedding because of stress. Here are a few things to look out for.

1. When you start losing hair from just one section of the hair, it is more often than not stress related. That is usually your pressure point.

2. Brittle hair is usually due to damage. This is often seen in persons who either over process or use too much heat in their hair. This can be addressed with clipping and treating.

3. Shedding from the roots without effort irrespective of not using heat and treating your hair is usually due to stress or deficiencies in your diet. You should ask a doctor to ensure that you are well health wise. And if all checks out, you know that you have to find better coping mechanisms for your hectic lifestyle.

4. Thinning edges are usually due to tension alopecia. Either your braids, cornrows, rope twists, or your choice protective style, pulls at your edges resulting into your edges receding. If you are someone who combs your hair in one often, you might be affected too and this is something you truly want to avoid because nine out of 10 times, your edges won't return.

5. Split ends that result in breakage. There are many factors to consider for the cause of this, such as constantly leaving your ends out in the wash and go and twist outs that we love. Sometimes you need to tuck your ends in. Using a cotton instead of a silk scarf to tie your hair can split your ends. Using a T-shirt instead of a towel to dry your hair is a preventative method.

All in all, I advise that you take care of yourself inside out. See you in two weeks' time where I will share what exactly I am going to do about my thinning hair and my products of choice to help boost growth, while I take care of the inside.