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View Full Version : *SCREAMS* I hate breakage!!!!!



ScrimHazard
August 31st, 2008, 12:49 AM
Oh my gosh, I have been growing my hair out for so long and trimming some (about 2 x year) to get rid of the super fried ends. I'm hoping to achieve a completely naturla head of long, lustrous hair. Only...once my hair gets to the tips of my shoulderblades, the ends turn crunchy and break off if I do anything to my hair. So I've taken to washing at night and not running a brush through it. CWC'ing and pulling my hair back most days once it's dry.
Still...those derned brittle ends!!!

Someone please commiserate with me. I just want healthy ends, par excellence so I can grow a mane!

:(

Missie
August 31st, 2008, 01:09 AM
well, I'm a relatively newcomer to the LHC myself but I learned something here that might help you too. I had dry frizzly ends myself until I discovered that some of the ladies here wash there hair in conditioner, then before rinsing it out they apply a little shampoo to the scalp (avoiding deliberately shampooing the ends) and then rinsing out the conditioner/shampoo and then re-apply the conditioner and rinse again. I follow this with about a dime size of Camellia oil on my palms and put it on the wet ends of my hair. This has absolutely revolutionized my ends.. Give it a try.. don't forget.. leave the conditioner in when you shampoo. Good luck ! Blessings..

Denebi
August 31st, 2008, 01:24 AM
@Missie: What you are describing is the CWC method, ScrimHazard is already using... But sure, this helps in general.

My advice for ScrimHazard: Relax! Your hair will grow with frizzy ends, too, and sooner or later, it will be longer than shoulder length and from this on, it will be a lot better! Wearing updos will help, they keep the ends out of the way. Maybe you can put some oil in the ends to protect them even more.

Good luck!

eadwine
August 31st, 2008, 02:00 AM
Great advice you already got, you might also want to ditch the brush and switch to a wide toothed comb, or fingercomb.

GlassEyes
August 31st, 2008, 02:57 AM
I think she already said she doesn't use a brush...

Unless she just meant she doesn't use one when it's wet.

Hatsumomo
August 31st, 2008, 03:14 AM
Are your ends virgin or growing out hair with dye or old styling damage? Do you heatstyle a lot?

serious
August 31st, 2008, 04:15 AM
I have shoulder lenght hair ,and have simmilar problem with dry ends.What I ve discovered is that putting some oil on wet ends helps A LOT !

Shanarana
August 31st, 2008, 04:16 AM
I use jojoba on my ends everyday and that seems to help a lot.

NurseMama
August 31st, 2008, 04:36 AM
Shoulder length is a super damaging length because the ends are constantly brushing against the shoulders. I know that you said that you are pulling it back. Are you pulling it back into a ponytail or an updo? If it is a pony I recommend some sticks and putting it up for the next few months until it gets closer to APL.

Also, the Fox's shea butter (http://http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4586) has saved my ends. When oil didn't help with the crunchies, this did.

ktani
August 31st, 2008, 07:03 AM
It will take patience and you have gotten some great advice here but growing out hair with dry ends and breakage is possible.

Catnip tea worked for me but I still get white dots - much less than I used to though.

I have some sections of hair that are still recovering from past breakage but even with that, my hair no longer tapers at the ends the way it used to and it has grown longer and thicker because the breakage is now minimal.

It will take a while for you to find your best options but do not give up.

ChloeDharma
August 31st, 2008, 09:28 AM
Growing out damage is such a nightmare isn't it. As Hatsumomo asked, is it damage from chemicals? Rough handling? Heat styling? All of them?

It's harder to give suggestions without knowing a bit more about your hair, but things i found that helped me were misting, usually with a mix of aloe gel, glycerin (just literally a drop in the bottle) and some essential oils, then lightly oiling, or sometimes heavier oiling, on top then bunning. That helped to soften my hair quite a bit.
Heavy oiling helped too, i'd oil my length heavily for about 3 days before a wash then the night before washing it i heavily oiled the scalp and all the length.....coconut oil i found good for this.
Regular trimming helped to minimise tangling, i found on my hair when it was processed that 3 months was the point where the ends would start to catch each other and cause breakage, but just a tiny 1/4 inch trim when i started to feel them catching kept this in check.
I'm a big believer in yogurt treatments, and they definately improved my hair even the fried parts.....it's really easy to use.....i used to add it to conditioner, often with some honey and/or aloe vera gel. But you could mix an egg yolk into it, or herb paste, really whatever you fancy trying.
Contained styles really are a must for me, even letting my length hang in a ponytail causes tangling and breakage, although i do have fine hair, but the length that hangs is subject to friction so maybe keeping your hair bunned will help.
ACV rinses help my hair somewhat, they help the cuticle lay flatter which reduced the catching of the cuticle scales as hairs pass over each other.
Another one to consider is henna or cassia treatments......i've not used cassia, but i do use henna and i find it really helps strengthen my strands and reduces breakage. I understand that cassia does the same but without the red colour.

HTH :)

ScrimHazard
September 1st, 2008, 01:27 AM
Catnip tea worked for me but I still get white dots - much less than I used to though.



Catnip tea...that's interesting. I'll definitely have to try that. And if it doesn't work...I'll at least be abel to get my cat high. :)


Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!

I do use a brush (when my hair is dry) as it is very fine and succeptible to tangling. If it would help though I would switch to comb only.

I would love to start oiling my ends (I currently have no oiling regimen) and read up on Fox's Shea Butter. Would it be okay if I used Jojoba oil in place of Coconut oil? Coconut Oil hasn't taken well to my hair in the past.

The outer, last 3 inches of my hair is chemically processed and I can't wait to get rid of it. However, I'm not so peeved by it that I would lob it off. In fact, if I did that, I might cry. I just long for long, virgin hair.

ChloeDarma: The idea of misting my hair daily with a concoction as you mentioned sounds like heaven. Restorative perfume for hair. SIGH. Divine!

I currently blow dry my hair about once a week (usually for meetings). I've cut back big time because it makes such a difference in the health and shine.

I guess what I need is patience and potions. *grin*

jojo
September 1st, 2008, 01:34 AM
when I went through the 'crunchy' stage I got a brilliant tip off Shadow walker and then is to dip my ends in olive oil, I haven't looked back.

Also maybe your hair needs claryfying or a small micro trim?

ScrimHazard
September 1st, 2008, 02:03 AM
Thanks, jojo!

Pierre
September 1st, 2008, 06:55 AM
I find that sleeping with my hair in a Buff helps a lot.

berr
September 1st, 2008, 07:22 AM
Shoulder length is a super damaging length because the ends are constantly brushing against the shoulders. I know that you said that you are pulling it back. Are you pulling it back into a ponytail or an updo? If it is a pony I recommend some sticks and putting it up for the next few months until it gets closer to APL.

Also, the Fox's shea butter (http://http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4586) has saved my ends. When oil didn't help with the crunchies, this did.


This link needs to be corrected. ^^^ to this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4586

Duh. I thought it was my internet connection because everytime I'd click on it everything would disconnect and I'd have to pull down the menu under file and click work offline to get back where I started. Vicious circle for a little while.

LifeisAdventure
September 1st, 2008, 07:31 AM
Hey there ScrimHazard, I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone, and even those of us with lovely, long, luscious hair still struggle with breakage sometimes (i.e. me!!)

There are lots of great suggestions here, so the best I can offer are to stop blowdrying completely (I know it's hard, especially at those awkward in-between stages of length, but it really will make a WORLD of difference when you stop) and to sleep with your hair up, covered by a cap, or on silk pillowcases every night. Good luck!

ktani, would you mind elaborating on how to make catnip tea for your ends? I'd be really interested in giving that a try. :)

NurseMama
September 1st, 2008, 08:04 AM
This link needs to be corrected. ^^^ to this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4586

Duh. I thought it was my internet connection because everytime I'd click on it everything would disconnect and I'd have to pull down the menu under file and click work offline to get back where I started. Vicious circle for a little while.

Thanks for fixing my error!

Sorry!

danacc
September 2nd, 2008, 07:17 PM
Finger-combing, then using a wide-toothed comb is the gentlest way to detangle. Brushing tends to rip through hair. If you continue to use a brush, be very gentle with it. It will also help if you detangle with fingers and comb before picking up the brush.

Since your ends are chemically processed and breaking, I second the recommendation for micro-trims fairly often. You can trim less than you grow in a month so that you still make progress in length. Damaged ends will fray, get caught on, then tangle nearby hair, and cause more damage. The goal of micro-trims is to keep the ends as freshly cut as possible to minimize damage.

Also, if your hair is prone to tangling, look for ways to minimize opportunities for tangling. Think about how you wear it at night, how you wear it outside, what it might get caught on or rub against inside, and how to prevent it. I wear an unfastened braid at night, but that doesn't work for everyone. During the day, my hair is up with a stick or fork.

ScrimHazard
September 2nd, 2008, 10:38 PM
I seriously thing I need to invest in a silk pillowcase and hair wrap to keep my hair out of the way at this length so the ends aren't getting marled.

LifeisanAdventure: Thanks for the encouragement. Your hair is gorgeous!

Hue
September 2nd, 2008, 11:17 PM
I never, ever was able to get past BSL-ish until I started doing S&D every so often. I'd swear to myself that this time I wouldn't cut it, I'd just plow through it, I can always put it up, it's only tangles, etc. But It would snarl. The last inch or two of my usually straight and silky hair would turn into a Brillo pad, and I just couldn't bear it. Ugh.

But S&D did it for me. I've also seen people recommend clarifying and protein, depending on the individual hair needs. There is great advice above about gentler hair care.

You'll get through it!

Arctic_Mama
September 3rd, 2008, 12:40 AM
I'm struggling with the same thing right now and this advice is great. Thus far a good oiling of the ends has done wonders and I have a trim scheduled next month. But in my case, at least, with chemical damage I know I just have to maintain it as healthily as possible before I get rid of it completely (if I cut if ALL off now I'd have three inch hair ;)) and trimming, containing, and protecting it are SO helpful.

Let us know how any of these suggestions work for you - the hair spray I am VERY interested in, it sounds like a great humectant!