Scraggly ends :( please help

[Yasmine91]

Hey guys, I really need help with my hair, it won't grow, or at least that which I can see and the ends are just pitiful compared to the rest. I don't know what is causing the hair to stop growing, it's gotten to bra strap length and I haven't seen any growth for a very long time. What can I do to repair my ends? And why isn't my hair growing? I oil it and I've had longer hair before, so I can't be at terminal length.

[watermelon]

I have pretty much the same question. I search and destroy my ends, take biotin, oil my hair's ends, eat healthfully (maybe a little low on the protein since I'm something of a vegan/vegetarian) and don't use heat styling. But my ends are just thin, dry, have minimal movement and are fluffy/scraggly.

[laceyfairy]

As far as I know, you can't really fix the ends. And you might just be in a stall/pause for growing.

[laurend1985]

I agree with the other posters. At this stage, less manipulation is the best thing you can do for your hair.

[jacqueline101]

I'd get a trim and wear it up leave it alone.

[watermelon]

Mother of fluff...I don't want to cut off any more. :'[ I feel like my hair grows so slowly these days. :rolleyes:

[Lunadriael]

I have the same problem, it's really depressing. It makes me wonder if my hair even has the capacity to grow any longer. My ends are so fragile that they got really snarly while I was waiting for it to grow. It's constantly full of split ends no matter what I do... I keep S&Ding but I just get more! So I trimmed it and now it's still stringy, still uneven and shorter to boot, even though some of worst damage is gone. Argh! I don't do anything bad to my hair at all, treat it like antique lace but it just seems worse than ever. So frustrating. You are definitely not alone Yasmine. Now if I could reach a nice manageable, full thick waist length I'd be ecstatic...

[Rufflebutt]

Maybe you need to cut off like 3 or 4 inches of ends in this case. Sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[melusine963]

My ends are so fragile that they got really snarly while I was waiting for it to grow. It's constantly full of split ends no matter what I do... I keep S&Ding but I just get more!

Don't give up hope. After I stopped all my damaging habits it took over a year of regular S&Ding before I stopped finding so many splits. Years of heat-styling and rough treatment had left my hair pretty fragile, so even after I trimmed the ends and snipped off split ends, my hair would keep splitting anyway for a long time. There's not much to do other than be patient, and make sure you use very sharp scissors when S&Ding. Tell yourself you want quality, not quantity, so it's better to have healthy hair that's your current length than much longer and straggly hair.

[Elenna]

Hair with thick, even ends doesn't just happen. It takes regular trims (like a quarter or half inch) every three to four months. It's kind of a balance between growing and trimming hair.

[AcornMystic]

I have the same problem, it's really depressing. It makes me wonder if my hair even has the capacity to grow any longer. My ends are so fragile that they got really snarly while I was waiting for it to grow. It's constantly full of split ends no matter what I do... I keep S&Ding but I just get more! So I trimmed it and now it's still stringy, still uneven and shorter to boot, even though some of worst damage is gone. Argh! I don't do anything bad to my hair at all, treat it like antique lace but it just seems worse than ever. So frustrating. You are definitely not alone Yasmine. Now if I could reach a nice manageable, full thick waist length I'd be ecstatic...

Something I have learned in the year and a half that I have been here is you can be as gentle with your hair as you are capable, but if you do not take steps to ensure its well-being you will continue to handle damaged lifeless hair. Do you moisturize? The best thing you can do is give it an initial trim (which you seem to have done), moisturize the heck out of it (the length/ends) on a daily to every other day basis, (possibly give it protein treatments, but do this with caution as it sometimes makes things worse from some) and keep it up. I repeat: keep it up. This will allow the moisturizer to do its job and avoid friction while your hair builds itself back up to something strong enough to take some time down and be exposed to the world. Wearing my hair up, and especially with oils in it has improved my hair drastically. This post is to the OP as well and anyone that has similar problems. This is what I have learned so far. Hope it helps!:)

EDIT: I didn't even mention.. SLS, SLES, and ALS free shampoos will be a good friend of yours. That way you won't be stripping the moisture you are putting on your hair and desperately trying to keep there. Just a little did you know fact. SLS was used as an industrial degreaser ie. cleaning the oil from motors and i used as a commercial cleaner, everything from carpet cleaner to surface cleaners. That's what I found out.. and that's what people put on their heads because it's super cheap for companies and creates pretty bubblies that make us feel that the more they bubble the more efficiently it's doing it's job. Before I type up a whole right up on the harmful effects of SLS I'll just stop and say it's bad. Avoid it. Anyone that says different is asking for serious problems. I advise you to look up on it to become more informed.

[Oksana]

Although you may not want to, sometimes a little trim can do the world of good. Take off what you need to on the ends and then oil and protect . I always find I notice more length gain after a trim :)

[Madora]

Hey guys, I really need help with my hair, it won't grow, or at least that which I can see and the ends are just pitiful compared to the rest. I don't know what is causing the hair to stop growing, it's gotten to bra strap length and I haven't seen any growth for a very long time. What can I do to repair my ends? And why isn't my hair growing? I oil it and I've had longer hair before, so I can't be at terminal length.

Are you getting enough essential vitamins and minerals. Protein plays a large part in having beautiful hair.

Are you protecting your ends by wearing your hair up? Are you using hair friendly products and staying away from blow frying/heat styling, etc? Do you do daily scalp massage?

Your hair is growing..but it takes time to show it. Wear your hair up and just keep babying it.

If you're concerned about slow hair growth, you might want to make an appointment with your doctor and have him check your blood and thyroid to rule out any deficiencies. Good luck!

[Anje]

Hair with thick, even ends doesn't just happen. It takes regular trims (like a quarter or half inch) every three to four months. It's kind of a balance between growing and trimming hair.
This, especially if you're one of the many folks who have hairs that like to sprint ahead of the rest.

Wearing hair up most of the time helps a lot. It seems that a lot of people report their hair not growing and getting scraggly right around BSL, and when they wear it up, it "magically" starts growing again. Why? Because this is the length where their hair gets caught behind them when they lean back in chairs.

[rock007junkie]

If your ends are really bad you may have to trim a bit...no other way around it. I've found sometimes that oil is not enough to moisturize ends. Misting my ends with water or a liquid leave-in and then sealing with an oil or butter seems to work best for me.

[Vrindi]

If your ends are really bad you may have to trim a bit...no other way around it. I've found sometimes that oil is not enough to moisturize ends. Misting my ends with water or a liquid leave-in and then sealing with an oil or butter seems to work best for me.

Did you say butter?

[Avital88]

Something I have learned in the year and a half that I have been here is you can be as gentle with your hair as you are capable, but if you do not take steps to ensure its well-being you will continue to handle damaged lifeless hair. Do you moisturize? The best thing you can do is give it an initial trim (which you seem to have done), moisturize the heck out of it (the length/ends) on a daily to every other day basis, (possibly give it protein treatments, but do this with caution as it sometimes makes things worse from some) and keep it up. I repeat: keep it up. This will allow the moisturizer to do its job and avoid friction while your hair builds itself back up to something strong enough to take some time down and be exposed to the world. Wearing my hair up, and especially with oils in it has improved my hair drastically. This post is to the OP as well and anyone that has similar problems. This is what I have learned so far. Hope it helps!:)

EDIT: I didn't even mention.. SLS, SLES, and ALS free shampoos will be a good friend of yours. That way you won't be stripping the moisture you are putting on your hair and desperately trying to keep there. Just a little did you know fact. SLS was used as an industrial degreaser ie. cleaning the oil from motors and i used as a commercial cleaner, everything from carpet cleaner to surface cleaners. That's what I found out.. and that's what people put on their heads because it's super cheap for companies and creates pretty bubblies that make us feel that the more they bubble the more efficiently it's doing it's job. Before I type up a whole right up on the harmful effects of SLS I'll just stop and say it's bad. Avoid it. Anyone that says different is asking for serious problems. I advise you to look up on it to become more informed.




I second all of this! SLS free shampoo is my hairsaver especially after bleaching it to nearly death.. So before trimming of death ends, please try sls free shampoo for a week or 2, you will see a change for sure

[aenflex]

For me keeping SLS in my routine was a GOOD thing. I use some heavy oils and wash infrequently. When I do wash, a nice SLS shampoo helps remove build-up. Which, incidentally, can lead to dry ends as moisture is locked out due to product and other impenetrable collusives/oils.
My treatment for dry ends is a good SLS wash and then apply virgin/unrefined coconot or EVOO to the ends and let it soak in for hours.

[Anje]

Did you say butter?
Well, most folks around here prefer stuff like shea butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter to dairy butter. But I've heard a few folks say that the kind you put on toast works reasonably well on hair, too, so long as it doesn't get stinky.

[Lunadriael]

I hope I didn't hijack this, thanks for all the suggestions, I'm sure it's good advice for the OP as well. :)

In response to the advice, I already use an SLS free shampoo and stretch my washes as long as I can (2-3 days), my hair actually gets greasy very quickly, I tried to stretch washes further or CO only, but it was a disaster where I looked like that girl out of The Ring constantly and I was ashamed to be seen so I gave up.

I use jojoba and coconut oil to trap moisture quite regularly, although coconut oil seems to make my hair kind of stringy even when I use very little and I find it hard to get a balance.

I've been focusing on moisturising conditioners and get through a ton of it every time I wash, but sometimes it's difficult to wash all of the oil/conditioner out of my hair and it ends up looking limp as soon as it's dried, so I doubt it's a lack of product... I was trying to use less stuff tbh. If I wash with just shampoo my hair gets dried out and impossible to comb through, so that doesn't work for me either. I brush my hair with a tangle teezer and I'm very gentle unless I get frustrated after about an hour of brushing, (I try not to), so I am not sure I can improve that either.

I also did a deep oil treatment and a deep conditioning treatment (not on the same day). I think there is supposed to be some protein in my shampoo, but maybe I should try to get something with protein in it too, although I am a bit scared to use too much of that.

I am wondering if my problem is just because I left it for about a year without cutting it at all (or doing anything with it except henna) when I was living in France, but I've trimmed off a good few inches since then and been S&Ding like mad with new hairdressing scissors, which should be sharp enough. I cut some more hair off yesterday and the ends feel a bit less claw like, so that's an improvement. I keep getting those bent ones that grab all the rest of my hair, and other parts keep getting stuck in my earrings and breaking off. I hate it when that happens. :/

I do eat a balanced diet with way more fish and veggies than I used to and I started taking a hair, skin & nails supplement so I don't think it's that either. I've also been tying it up way more than I ever did in the past too, since I discovered LHC, although I am still guilty of sleeping with my hair down quite a bit because it's more comfortable. I try to make up for it with silk pillowcases. I kind of regret when I leave it down now at this length though because I get thousands of tangles to sort through in the morning. Having all my hair up doesn't seem to suit my face so well either, which is another reason I prefer it down. I thought about cutting a long fringe in to solve that problem, but I am not sure I have the hair spare to do that unfortunately. It's nowhere near as thick as I'd like it to be.

Oh, and I never heat style it, I never got into the whole straightener thing, so it's definitely not that. I don't think my hair has even seen a straightener in years, possibly once when my cousin wanted to put it up and that was many moons ago. I am too lazy to blow dry my hair either, so I didn't even do that before I found this forum. Also because my hair has residual henna and indigo on it I literally can't dye it, so I haven't done that in months either. I just have difficult hair I guess.

Don't suppose anyone has any other suggestions? Thank you all for the help. ^-^

[Silverbrumby]

Hey guys, I really need help with my hair, it won't grow, or at least that which I can see and the ends are just pitiful compared to the rest. I don't know what is causing the hair to stop growing, it's gotten to bra strap length and I haven't seen any growth for a very long time. What can I do to repair my ends? And why isn't my hair growing? I oil it and I've had longer hair before, so I can't be at terminal length.

I think my terminal is BSL but yes,I have the exact same problem. Weedy ends etc.

I have found that trimming off 5 1/2 inches during 2012 didn't help thicken my ends as I approached BSL. I have very few split ends now and no chemical damage. I rarely use heat and baby my hair most days. None of this has made the ends thicker but it has made my hair overall appear healthier and less frizzy.

I would suggest you use a good oil or silicone on the ends to stop them tangling. I think iF cones are used carefully and only on the very ends you might help preserve them.

Trimming is the preferred option. I'm hitting BSL now and I trim about 1/2 inch every 4 months or so. My husband does it and he KNOWS what 1/2 an inch is. If you are getting your hair cut professionally it might just be that they are taking too much off. I don't know.

[Lunadriael]

I think my terminal is BSL but yes,I have the exact same problem. Weedy ends etc.

Nooooooo. I hope it's not that. T-T

[Silverbrumby]

Nooooooo. I hope it's not that. T-T

I only say that my terminal is BSL. That's not common and I'm open to being proven wrong. All my old photos show hair that's only ever gotten to BSL. My Braid drops off in thickness from the 5 bump down. My thickness is 3' at the ponytail but by 4 inches away from that point it's around 1.9 and falling until at BSL it's a tiny little thing.

I have found that most who grow to long lengths tends to have braids that are similar in thickness a good way down. People like me who lose braid thickness pretty quickly usually don't grow to a very long terminal.

The Op. who posted has a ii/iii thickness which makes me think she could possibly grow it longer. I'm a firm ii now.