Protecting Hair from Certain Styles Possible?

[Peggy E.]

I've been trying out a lot of new styles lately, including finally learning how to do a crown braid and other "braid around the head" styles I had been previously unable to create. All thanks to YouTube.

One in particular has been a great easy fun go-to style and I'm wondering if it might not be damaging my hair: the Aphrodite Knot. This uses no elastics, no teasing, no hairspray. However, you do tie your hair on top of your head in knots (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_30u_7KOAo).

I have been pinning the ends under with Amish-style pins. Also have been doing some top knots, again without elastics and with what I think is as hair-safe procedure as possible. And yet my hair is really looking damaged, broken, roughened.

Thought I would try to protect it by making sock curls so that I would not have to tuck the ends under. Put leave-in conditioner on my ends before putting hair up and tying n the sock. This has made the ends appear almost burned, frizzy - have not brushed them upon removal of socks, so having protected them before putting them up, carefully removing them, then tying in knot, don't understand what is going on and how I can prevent this from happening?

Would like to continue this style, as I really love it, but if there's no way to continue it without damaging my hair somehow, I'll have to give it up. As well as the sock curls? And even the braiding around head? And return to the boring two or three styles I did every single day for years??! :o(

What if I put it in the knot while it was wet and slathered in leave-in conditioner?

Any advice? My hair is thin (and getting thinner with all this) but it is beyond hip length, so pretty long. In "Fairy Tail" ends, I'm not real fond of on my because they are thin and, as has been so often said, "stringy." I'd taken to micro-trims in an attempt to thicken them out; no luck.

It does seem that so many of the styles have teasing involved and I will NOT do this - might as well just rip it out of my head and save myself some trouble! :o(

Thanks for any comments, suggestions, advice or just plain sympathy!

[longNred]

Burnt looking frizzy ends for me, is the result of build up. I'd blame the leave in conditioner before the style.

[Anje]

I think this knot-tying business could definitely be causing you trouble. When you tighten hair into a knot like that reef knot, you're pulling the strands against each other in a way that's going to encourage the scales of the hair to lift. Wet sounds even more damaging to me. Braids around the head sound great, though; I hope to get my hair long enough to do that comfortably!

Do rule out buildup and make sure that your protein/moisture balance isn't tipped too far either way.

I'll offer sympathy and good luck on thickening up the ends. Mine are substantially thicker and my braid less tapered than it used to be, but it has literally taken five years of maintaining at tailbone length to reduce the taper as much as I have.

[Peggy E.]

I think this knot-tying business could definitely be causing you trouble. When you tighten hair into a knot like that reef knot, you're pulling the strands against each other in a way that's going to encourage the scales of the hair to lift. Wet sounds even more damaging to me. Braids around the head sound great, though; I hope to get my hair long enough to do that comfortably!

Do rule out buildup and make sure that your protein/moisture balance isn't tipped too far either way.

I'll offer sympathy and good luck on thickening up the ends. Mine are substantially thicker and my braid less tapered than it used to be, but it has literally taken five years of maintaining at tailbone length to reduce the taper as much as I have.

Yeah, I was wondering about the "scraping' of the hair shafts against each other, so this is unfortunate. Maybe not do it so often?

And leaving that conditioner in with the sock curls may really be over-kill. Just wanted to be sure I was protecting those ends....by killing them! :o(

Five years, you don't say? Shouldn't be too hard to do, as I really don't think I want my hair any longer and, in fact, might even be open to taking it closer to waist, or between waist and hip length. A lot more styles I can do more easily and with my hands causing me so much trouble, need to make it as easy as possible.

Thank you for the response.

[spirals]

Anje mentioned buildup. Peggy, my dad lives in your area and I know you all have really hard water up there. Well, we do, too. (I'm in the Fox Valley.) Doesn't it seem like the hardness gets worse in summer, or am I imagining that? I'm feelig like I need to clarify more often.

[Kaelee]

I would save that style for special occasions personally...I like to rotate styles myself. I do have a daily "go to" style but I even try to change that out.

[Peggy E.]

Anje mentioned buildup. Peggy, my dad lives in your area and I know you all have really hard water up there. Well, we do, too. (I'm in the Fox Valley.) Doesn't it seem like the hardness gets worse in summer, or am I imagining that? I'm feelig like I need to clarify more often.

Yes, the water is hard here. I haven't noticed if it's harder in the summer, or not, but certainly could be!

I use Neutrogena clarifying shampoo once a month - I only need to wash my hair once a week - and it seems to work on the hard water build-up. Don't use any styling products on my hair, so have the ability to stretch out times between hair washes.

Will take your comments to heart and watch more closely to see if there does seem to be a hard water build-up problem. Seems odd, though, that the problems began when I started attempting styles that were more involved or required methods that could be causing possible damage - like that knot I love so much. Boo hoo....

Thanks for your thoughts, though, do appreciate it!

My brother's in Appleton - where are you? Where in Door County is your dad?

[Peggy E.]

Thanks, Kaelee. The style is really more of an informal one, rather than a special occasion one. But doing it on a very limited basis is what I'm going to have to do, I guess.

It's too easy, too quick and too cute to be non-damaging, as well! Oh, poop... ;o(

[Anje]

At least some towns in the Fox Valley soften their water on a municipal level, though. It's still hard, but it's not nearly as hard as it otherwise would be in Appleton, for example. (Not stalking -- I lived there til I went away to grad school.)

[spirals]

Peggy, I'm in Appleton (well, technically Grand Chute). My dad used to live in Sturgeon Bay, but last summer he and my stepmom moved to the other side of the peninsula and are now in Algoma. My brother is in S.B. I'm having Door County withdrawl right now. I think I missed Fyr Bal. Forgot it was in June.

[spirals]

Anje--yeah, up in Door they are sitting on a rock slab. My dad coudn't even have a basement in the last house because it was only a few feet 'til you hit the slab. They had a cellar. I'd hate to be stuck in there during a tornado warning. I get soap scum in the shower, but it doesn't seem especially hard. In some places I've lived you could see the residue.

But maybe Peggy's damage is mechanical. I don't know. I have split ends in my 4-inch layers, probably due to combing. And I have really grabby hair.

[alexis917]

My first guess would be damage from the friction of your hair being tugged against itself.