Breakage

Lately I have been having what I think is breakage to my hair. I usually wash, deep condition and condition my hair once a week. Due to a college work overload, recently I have been slacking.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Due to my busy schedule, I now usually wear my hair in a bun with some ecostyler gel (clear). I try to at least wash the gel out of my hair every few days using HE Totally Twisted Conditioner. But I have noticed recently that when I comb my hair out to style it into my bun A LOT of hair comes out. So I was just wondering what I could do to stop this from happening.
P.S : What are some signs of heat damage?

Are the hairs that come out the long ones with the bulbs on the end or short choppy hairs? I cannot wear my hair in a bun because it breaks off. I do not know why, but my hair and buns do not get along.

As previously stated, if you see hairs with the white bulbs attached that's an indication of normal shedding and should be expected. If the follicle is fragmented or the ends are split your hair needs some TLC. Try not to wear your hair consistently pulled back because you can develop breakage around the area of the ponytail holder. Just switch it up and detangle with wet hair only.

I BC'd a month ago, so I only have at most 1in of hair on my head. It got super cold where I live for the past 2 days (below freezing at nights). I cowash today and saw broken hairs on my hands! I am freaking out!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] What do I do?
My usual routine is to wash every other day, put my leave in condish and starting recently seal with a combo of castor oil and coconut oil. The breakage is not from the hairs that are wavy(front & crown) but from the hairs on my sides and back of my head that are so curly, they wrap around themselves. Please help! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]