Wiry Hairs!? FEELING MAJORLY OCD ABOUT THEM, HELP ME!

[blondie9912]

If any of you recall my hair story, I had blonde highlights for a while (around 3 years ago), then summer 2011 I decided to dye my hair about 5 times in one week. Since then, I've called it quits with chemical damage. I've been letting my natural colour grow out and haven't dyed in almost 2 years. I cut my hair from MBL to shoulder a few weeks ago, and I only have about an inch of dyed hair on the ends of my canopy.

Now, recently (I've only noticed this after cutting my hair) I have some wiry/wavy/zig-zaggy hairs growing out of my head! They seem to be most prevalent in my bangs and around my part line. This is EXTREMELY frustrating because I compromised ~8 inches of length and my preferred hair colour for the health of my hair, and now it feels like I'm getting cheated out of that. The underside of my hair is different, it's still completely smooth and silky. I've used honey to lighten my hair several times since growing out my natural colour, but I used it on my whole head, so if that were the cause of these zig-zaggy hairs, then they would be found throughout the underside of hair as well.

I'm wondering if this can be caused by mechanical damage? Perhaps combing/scratching my scalp?

I'm quite upset because I was expecting my hair to be like it was before it was dyed (perfectly smooth and sleek) and it is on the underside, but throughout the canopy and in my bangs I have a bunch of these wonky hairs. I also cannot stop myself from yanking them out, and there are WAY too many of them to do that with!

Also, some of them are rough feeling only on some parts of the hair, not throughout the length of the entire strand.

Argh. Help me, please!

[goldloli]

Eeep, don't yank them out, that's trichotillomania... it turned into a very addictive compulsion from my own exp!

What are the hairs like exactly? is it soft ziggles like this ~ or crizzly ones like ^^^ ?

unless you have afro kinky type hair crizzly ones would usually be caused by chemical damaged follicle, scab hairs i think they call them. If its more of a wiggle then they are generally common. I have a whole bunch of them, which after being pulled out then moving onto curly/wavy hairs, made me almost bald... :rolleyes:

Is it possible you just never noticed them before when you had natural hair? Could it be the hairs have been over stretched and now the shape is distorted (this wouldn't be a uniform tight ~)? Hormones and age can affect hair type too, so it might not have anything to do with damage.

Also folicles that are damaged, stressed or w/e can chuck out different hair types too. I do know for sure that when you pull them out they grow back just as wiggly except over time they just stop growing back.

[UltraBella]

Hair texture can significantly change over time, and often in an isolated area - these hairs may be perfectly healthy & normal.

My canopy is completely different than the rest of my hair - wiry, crazy afro kink vs smooth waves everywhere else.

[Bagginslover]

I have these too, and I struggle too with a compulsion to pull them out. Do try not to though, as Goldloli said, it becomes addictive, and very difficult to stop.

Mine grow out of my head this way, they are unevenly crimped, and often VERY thick. Brittle too, if I do pull one, they snap rather than pulling out, leaving a spikey bit poking out of my scalp.

You are not alone.

[torrilin]

No one's hair is perfectly uniform in type. While I type as 1c, I have individual hairs that are crimped in texture like a type 4 curly. A few tendrils near my face are 3b or 3a curls, pretty much at random. It's very rare for natural things to be uniform, so my hair is pretty normal. The thing that makes me a 1c is that the vast majority of my individual hairs are stick straight or form very long S waves. Unless you know what you're looking for and are going over every hair on my head, you'd have a tough time finding a crimpy or curly strand.

My hair is also really fine, and even so, you'd probably have an easier time finding a medium to coarse hair on my head than a curly one :D.

Since I live in this body, I can usually find a curly strand pretty easily... but I know exactly where to look too. We tend to know our own bodies very well indeed.

[Katze]

Hair texture can significantly change over time, and often in an isolated area - these hairs may be perfectly healthy & normal.

My canopy is completely different than the rest of my hair - wiry, crazy afro kink vs smooth waves everywhere else.

This.

It is genetic. I have them, the texture of horse hairs and kinky like 'other body hair,' though the top layer of my hair is baby fine. My parents have quite different hair genes; I'm a mix. I have everything from blonde baby fine hair to reddish and dark brown M texture hairs, to these dark dark kinky curly wiry hairs.

Lots of people have this. :)

[cathair]

Are they the same colour as the rest of your hair? I ask because if I feel a particularly wiry hair, when I actually look at it it's often a white one, I guess they would also be harder to see on blonde hair. They seem to change texture sometimes for some reason.

[spidermom]

Differing textures is very normal. I've got it all, from very fine and kinky to coarse and straight. Just let your hair be; it's unique.

When my DD was little and I'd braid her hair, I noticed that she had a few baby-duck yellow hairs like this WWWWWWWWWWWW scattered through her hair. That's just how it grew; no damage.

[Jesabel]

Yep I have this, it freaked me out, I thought all my hair would turn like this! There's getting to be more of them I think. My hair is very fine and blonette/mousy brown/dark blonde, whatever you want to call it. I get the hairs you describe, they feel wiry, they are zig zaggy and often much darker than my natural hair. I get them mainly on the top of my hair so the stick out and they are impossible to smooth! I think it's normal, thought it is annoying haha.

[2TortyCats]

I have them too, they are kinky and black, where the rest of my hair is lighter. Since they also only grow at the top of my head near parts, I wondered if sun damage doesn't cause it by damaging roots, but I don't know.

[ravenreed]

I have some really coarse, wiry, twisty hairs that I can actually feel a texture on. They are about as thick as sewing thread, and they feel the same all the way up to my scalp so they aren't damaged, that is how they grow. I also have some very, very fine hairs.

[MissAlida]

No No NOOOO, don't pull them out, please.:tmi: I used to do that, didn't even know it had a name (trichotillomania) in a period of my life when I was very stressed, and on the verge of depression. I ended up with an almost bald spot right on top of my head. It wasn't nice, and it was really noticeable. Once I realised what I've done to my already thin hair (I also had major shed for years), I felt so bad about it, I swore I will never ever yank another hair from my scalp. Well, I broke that promise, since on an s&d session I've found a blue-black two inches long straight hair, that I just had to pull out (it showed up in my part and looked weird, but I also wanted to take a closer look). But never a healthy hair, not straight, wavy, curly or kinky one. And I have all of them on my head. Also, the ones that I did yank out in the first place, grew back in 2 years, and they are just as kinky as ever. I tought it was damage, but it's not. It's just kinky hair. Love your hair just as it is...even the kinky ones contribute to a full head of hair and thick braids and buns. ;)

[Anje]

I get crazy ones too. My hypothesis is that it's a mutant or damaged follicle that decides to do its own crazy thing.

[lapushka]

I get crazy ones too. My hypothesis is that it's a mutant or damaged follicle that decides to do its own crazy thing.

That's one theory or hypothesis rather I'm avid to follow. I get them too, but on the underside of my hair. I have blonette hair, but this hair is like black and kinky curly. It is the way it is. I'd leave it be, do not, under no circumstances, start pulling that hair out! You'll be sorry.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Be kind to ALL your hair -don't start pulling them out ...

[TheHowlingWolf]

I have a lot of those too! I really want/wanted to pull them all out because even if my length is all smooth and nice, my hair still looks bad/frizzy up top. It's so annoying! I wish I didn't have them but it's nice (in a comforting way) to see that others have them as well so I know nothing is wrong with me! lol

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I found one of these in my shed hairs this morning - looked like a corkscrew! Really odd and not at all like my other hairs! Very peculiar....

[heidi w.]

Hair changes significantly through the coarse of our lives. It's growing in just fine and per normal. Don't worry overly about it. It is what it is, and that's all you can do if you want it all natural.
heidi w.

[JaneinMarch]

Afro hair is not crazy.

[UltraBella]

Hair texture can significantly change over time, and often in an isolated area - these hairs may be perfectly healthy & normal.

My canopy is completely different than the rest of my hair - wiry, crazy afro kink vs smooth waves everywhere else.


Afro hair is not crazy.

*MY* afro area of hair is wiry, kinky & crazy. It's growing out of a specific spot on the very top of my head - surrounded by hair that is completely different. It's tightly coiled - the second you touch it, comb it or brush it - it's HUGE and the sheer volume is "crazy" looking on me considering that the other 70% of my hair is behaving completely differently.

I made no generalizations about hair belonging to anyone else, I chose descriptives that describe my hair and how I feel about the extremely odd difference in texture that I have.

[blondie9912]

Thank you for the replies, everyone! Sorry that I'm kind of late reading this, haven't had a chance to hop onto LHC lately.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one experiencing this, phew. I will definitely stop pulling them out, because if I continue, I'll probably end up yanking 20% of my hair out because it isn't "smooth enough". Is there any chance that honey lightening can contribute to rough-feeling hairs?

[Ocelan]

Well I'm glad your hairs have been proven normal now. I have some of those strange coarse hairs too that are kind of kinky or wiggly. I posted a thread (http://chatter.thebeautybottle.com/showthread.php?t=3067) with pictures on TBB about these "special" hairs of mine if you want to have a look. I haven't found very many so far but whenever i see one I like to look at it since it's such an oddball compared to my other hairs. I also have some of those hairs that feel like change in thickness throughout the hair's length.

[torrilin]

Thank you for the replies, everyone! Sorry that I'm kind of late reading this, haven't had a chance to hop onto LHC lately.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one experiencing this, phew. I will definitely stop pulling them out, because if I continue, I'll probably end up yanking 20% of my hair out because it isn't "smooth enough". Is there any chance that honey lightening can contribute to rough-feeling hairs?

Pretty much anything that damages your hair can contribute to your hair feeling rougher. That's not a very helpful guideline tho, because pretty much anything that causes your hair to move can cause damage. Including stuff like breathing :P. You can't realistically eliminate all damage.

What you can do is focus on building a routine where the focus is on doing helpful stuff, and as little as possible of anything else. It sounds like you're in the habit of petting, combing or playing with your hair several times a day, and that's when you notice the "weird" stuff. So for you a reasonable place to start is cutting back on the fussing and fidgeting. A lot of posters seem to find updo challenges helpful for that... wearing your hair up is a good way to cut down on the urge to fiddle. And it works extra well when you've found some updos that you think are flattering and comfortable all day.

[HintOfMint]

I have those, and yes, it's a major compulsion to not yank them out. I think they're natural, not necessarily caused by damage considering they just grow out that way.

[Angelica]

I agree with the rest of the posters. You need to stop obsessing about those different hairs and also stop plucking them out. That tricholtomania (or however it is spelt) is a bad condition and one which is difficult to break, not only will it cause bald patches but if you keep doing it repeatedly you risk damaging your roots and it you could suffer permanent hair loss over time. I've got this habit, or mania, and fortunately I never pluck the hair on my head. But I can tell you I have permanently damaged my eyebrows. So it is best you stop now before that thing takes over your life. Head hair is beautiful, so love how natural it is.