Hair breakage ... advice needed

[Amethyste]

Hello everyone -

i have been coloring my hair with henna for a while now. recently though, i have been noticing some hair breakage towards the end of my hair, but only on the top section of my head...

at first i thought it was caused by using the claw clips on my hair, but it always use them carefully and loosely also. What I find bizzare is that it is mostly on the right side of my part. when i look at the hair in that section, it looks extremely thin going from the root until the end where its broken/damaged.

Do you think it could be from using chemical dyes for so long? i have to say, i didn't get a healthy trim in a while ( where you'd cut off several inches ) nor i want to cause i am trying to grow it longer. i am a medium brown who is 70% grey - also who has been coloring her hair extremely light blonde for a looooong time. also, i always did all head blonde coloring in that time - maybe that is why the endings of that particular section are fried - they are the longest in length and probably endured the most abuse

Anyone of you have a good product to recomment to help these ends to look less frizzy or damaged? Coloring with Henna has considerable helped. The hair in that section look and feel awesome the first 3 weeks of the henna treatment, but then after that, they look frizzy...

Any advice is well appreciated. thank you in advance...

[Unofficial_Rose]

It does sound as though your hair is a little damaged - I henna'ed over bleached hair too, and though the henna has improved the condition of the damaged areas, they're still not as nice as the areas that have never seen chemical dyes.

Maybe a small trim is in order? I have shortish hair and I hate to trim, so I appreciate not wanting to do so, but a small amount can make a big difference. Or oiling the ends a little when the hair is damp may soften them.

[dropinthebucket]

Found the same thing - once the resin coating has worn off, that just-hennaed lovely conditioner look is gone, too - still better than no henna, just, the first "glow" doesn't last. You could try Elumen's Clear product - lots of people use it to control frizz and coat/cover damage. Unless you dislike a heavy silicone product, in which case, I'd steer Clear.

[ChloeDharma]

Just to check i got it right, the ends of the canopy hair feel damaged and the hair exposed by your parting feel damaged too?
If so then it sounds like you need to try and protect it more. Maybe try oiling and mix it with a little shea butter to add protection. More moisture treatments may help too as damaged hair usually means less ability to retain moisture.
I'd try lots of heavy oilings with a rich oil like avocado maybe mixed with coconut and castor oil which i find leaves a nice coating.

Yogurt is my choice for rescue treatments when my hair needs heavy duty conditioning.
You might also want to try misting it, maybe add a drop or two of glycerine then put your hair up. I found when growing out chemical colour that helped keep the moisture up in my hair. Keeping my hair oiled and leaving heavy oilings to soak in overnight as a minimum helped me alot.

[little_cherry]

My canopy felt damaged even though I babied my hair and didn't use chemicals.. Turns out I had major build-up from oils and the minerals in the water... I clarified, DT, and did an acidic rinse... My hair feels nice and smooth..

As for the hair loss, that will take a little time for the hair to grow back. Castor oil can help speed up the process.

[Amethyste]

THank you ladies for the kind replies...
Maybe I am wrong - or read wrong - but doesn't heavy oiling pull somewhat the henna out of the hair too? that's why I am a little skittish to do heavy oiling...

[little_cherry]

I do heavy oilings and haven't had a problem with my henna fading... I just don't use olive oil much since it has peroxide. Lots of henna heads oil straight after henna.

[ktani]

That area is the most exposed to the weather (UV) too. Try using more conditioner or oil there when you condition or treat to help minimize the visible effects of any damage from whatever the cause. Nothing can repair hair though. Don't overdo it to increase the chance of build-up. Just make sure that you pay extra attention when you condition or treat to get good coverage there and try and figure out ways to minimize any causes of damage you may be contributing to in your routine.

When I first started to use catnip, I neglected spots and my hair felt rougher in certain areas, especially the top canopy. When I learned to get even coverage when I condition (I use catnip as a treatment), that stopped and my hair became smooth and soft in all areas.

[blctsyllwdg]

I've used henna for 7 years now, and done oiling for 6 with no color removed, and for now several years of oiled and braided and ignored. Not losing any color yet, so seems to work.

[Amethyste]

Thank you Everyone for your replies and suggestions - i guess i should maybe get some jojoba or do extensive research to give my hair some good conditioning treatments...

i posted some pictures here for you all to see what i am looking at - there are some breakage all over and some more localized. which is strange cause it is mostly located on the right side of my part.

and all of those little hairs? i am not sure if it is regrowth or some sort or more breakage?
What do you guys think?