Breakage and velcro ends

[deedrr]

Im getting a lot of breakage about 2-4 inches long and velcro ends. What can I do to fix this? I am using pureology s&c and have highlighted/lowlighted hair.

[vindo]

It works best to stop doing what is causing the damage. Products can only do cover ups, but if your hair is already breaking in sections and your ends are velcro you would be better off trying not to cause the breakage in the first place.

[deedrr]

I dont know what is causing the breakage though

[deedrr]

It works best to stop doing what is causing the damage. Products can only do cover ups, but if your hair is already breaking in sections and your ends are velcro you would be better off trying not to cause the breakage in the first place.
I dont know what is causing the breakage though

[arcane]

When my ends get velcroy the first thing I try is clarifying them. Each time for me that seems to clear up that problem.

With your ends, I sometimes find I get some breakage when my hair needs protein, but if that doesn't work I will give myself a trim to get rid of the bits that are just going to break off some more if I just let them be.

As for what is causing the damage, do you heat style, dye, bleach, wear your hair down regularly? If you can figure out what is causing the damage you can figure out ways to stop/minimalize it. I just read back and saw that you do highlight and low light your hair, that causes damage for a lot of people, especially if the bleach is brought through to the ends each time.

[deedrr]

When my ends get velcroy the first thing I try is clarifying them. Each time for me that seems to clear up that problem.

With your ends, I sometimes find I get some breakage when my hair needs protein, but if that doesn't work I will give myself a trim to get rid of the bits that are just going to break off some more if I just let them be.

As for what is causing the damage, do you heat style, dye, bleach, wear your hair down regularly? If you can figure out what is causing the damage you can figure out ways to stop/minimalize it. I just read back and saw that you do highlight and low light your hair, that causes damage for a lot of people, especially if the bleach is brought through to the ends each time.
Yes I highlight about 3 times a year, no clue if it is brought to the ends or not though. It may be silly to ask but is there a way to highlight and still not have breakage? Would it be best to just start lightening my roots with color? I always wear my hair down. Not an expert on long hair care but I thought it damaged your hair more to put it up? I do heat style but not too often and I use a heat protectant and dont leave the heat on my hair for long periods of time. Anyways, thanks for any and all advice!

[HylianGirl]

When the hair is lightened it tends to get dry because lightening the hair causes its cuticle to open up in order to remove the pigments from it, a good way to compensate for that could be moisturising treatments, either with heavy conditioners or oils (they tend to try and close the cuticle) or maybe a protein treatment to try and replenish the proteins that may have been lost during the pigment removal.

[deedrr]

When the hair is lightened it tends to get dry because lightening the hair causes its cuticle to open up in order to remove the pigments from it, a good way to compensate for that could be moisturising treatments, either with heavy conditioners or oils (they tend to try and close the cuticle) or maybe a protein treatment to try and replenish the proteins that may have been lost during the pigment removal. I started another thread about it but do you have any recs for limp/fine/oily hair?

[HylianGirl]

This moisturising treatment is very reccomended in this forum http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128 (I can't find pure aloe vera here where I live, so I did without it) and it makes my hair really soft ^-^

My hair is on the voluminous side, but I have dyed my hair blond in the past, which caused it to become quite dry, and moisture treatments helped a lot. Do you have split ends or is it just really dry? The ends of the hair tend to be the most sensitive part of the hair because they are older, so they show more damage. If your hair is not too light (if it is then this may cause it to get yellowish tones, it not, it won't change hair color), you could try cassia, it makes hair stronger, works like a protein treatment and in some people even makes their hair thicker (good for people with fine hair ^-^) take a look here http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=42754

Catnip rinses have been known to minimise split ends as well: http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com.br/2009/11/part-3-of-4-on-innovative-approaches-to.html

[deedrr]

This moisturising treatment is very reccomended in this forum http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128 (I can't find pure aloe vera here where I live, so I did without it) and it makes my hair really soft ^-^

My hair is on the voluminous side, but I have dyed my hair blond in the past, which caused it to become quite dry, and moisture treatments helped a lot. Do you have split ends or is it just really dry? The ends of the hair tend to be the most sensitive part of the hair because they are older, so they show more damage. If your hair is not too light (if it is then this may cause it to get yellowish tones, it not, it won't change hair color), you could try cassia, it makes hair stronger, works like a protein treatment and in some people even makes their hair thicker (good for people with fine hair ^-^) take a look here http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=42754

Catnip rinses have been known to minimise split ends as well: http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com.br/2009/11/part-3-of-4-on-innovative-approaches-to.html
A few split ends, not a ton. Its really weird, its snapping off 2-4 inches from the tip. My hair is naturally a level 7-8 so it isnt processed very long to get my highlights. I guess I really dont feel like my hair is tht dry either so its really puzzling. Thanks for your advice :)

[HylianGirl]

That's good to know that you don't need too much processing to get your highlight, it's better that way, I hope you get to find what works best for you ^-^

[vindo]

I dont know what is causing the breakage though

Could it be the dye? Especially bleach can have that effect. Sometimes, even after years of bleaching without problems your hair can give up and break. Highlights are usually not just done at the roots so damage to the lengths can worsen over time.
If you are sure that can't be it, and you don't cause any other damage by straightening it or something like that, if is probably a health issue, maybe hormonal or autoimmune. For a healthy person hair does not turn into velcro and break off in sections. :/

[ravenreed]

Protein or build up can cause velco ends. Try clarifying and see if you products contain protein.

[Bagginslover]

Are you able to tell which hairs are breaking? Is it the hightlighted ones? Lowlighted, both, or your natural colour as well? This could help to pinpoint what the problem is :)

[Thinthondiel]

I see a few people have suggested clarifying, which is a good idea. Another thing you could try if just clarifying doesn't work, is chelating. I had velcro ends that kept splitting/breaking a while back, and what really helped for me was using a chelating shampoo.

[goldloli]

I use pureology except i rotate it with a moisturising dish because the protein can build up. I suggest clarifying and using a protein free conditioner for a few washes, then come back if that hasnt fixed it. If it hasnt fixed it then it could be dye damage, hair tie damage, hair rubbing on clothes, previous brushing technique... there's a whole bunch of possibilities but my guess is the protein and hair dye. If you have bleach damage, you have to balance out the moisture and protein, if you have too much of either it can cause breakage.

[Anje]

I get weird, velcroy, snappy ends when I've got protein buildup. It's a rarer problem (so clarify and rule out things like bleach damage first), but keep it in the back of your mind. What fixed it for me was daily moisture treatments for a couple of weeks, after I had clarified.