How to prevent breakage from the bottom?!

[Helenae]

My hair has been stuck in a frustrating waist-length rut for about three years now.

For the past year (with the help of LHC :cheer:) I've really been looking after my hair. No heat, no abrasive chemicals, no dye, no rough detangling. I've been doing oilings, catnips, S&Ds on split ends - everything possible. The quality of my hair has improved.

Yet... my hair never budges past waist length?!
For a long time, I thought my growth was stunted and that I had reached my terminal length (which isn't possible, because in my teens I had hip-long hair). However, having measured the length of new hair growth between today and 10 months ago (from dye that I had done a year ago), it shows that my hair grew 5-6 inches between now and then.

It seems clear that my hair suffers from an awful breakage at the ends. But I hardly have any split ends. I genuinely don't know what to do about this, I've tried so many things.

If anyone has been in a similar situation and had something work for them, I would really appreciate any advice, routine-tips etc.

[nobeltonya]

It sounds like you're doing everything right.. maybe your hair is fragile where you have to wear it up most of the time? I noticed a big difference when I started using a leave-in also.. yesterday I didn't put it and my hair felt so weak and velcro-y.. I wear my hair down most of the time now, but at shorter lengths (until about waist) I always wore it up.. :disco:

[neko_kawaii]

Remember that each hair follicle has a life cycle. Hair grows, rests, is shed and a new hair grows from the follicle. You could indeed be at terminal length and still see your dye demarcation line change. That said, it is very hard to rule out breakage or a long growth stall given the time frame you are looking at.

[lunalocks]

Pay attention to the white dots that form near the ends of the hair. That is where the hair will snap. I snip those dots before they snap.

For me, both the white dots and splits improved dramatically with catnip soaks and leave in.

If you wear a braid, the elastic (even a soft scrunchie) can do damage on the ends and cause breakage.

[jacqueline101]

I agree breakage from white dots can be bad I had that before lhc. I found up dos to be the best and a leave in conditioner works well.

[ravenheather]

Maybe it's dye damage from before? Maybe you will retain more length with micro trimming.

[AmyBeth]

You may be stuck at waist, Helenae, but you are stuck with some absolutely beautiful waist length hair! Are those bun waves? You might try wearing your hair up more often to protect your new growth. I'm convinced that wearing sleep caps must be helping my hair- after all, you're protecting your hair from friction for 7-8 hours a day, 365 days a year when you wear a cap to sleep in.

[Firefox7275]

Being gentle certainly reduces 'weathering' but it cannot eliminate it entirely. The effects of weathering/ hair ageing are accelerated by chemical processes or heat styling so I wonder if your old dye is a major culprit.

What are you tying off your hair with when you do a braid (if you do)? Are you patch repairing damage with ingredients like hydrolysed protein, panthenol, ceramides, 18-MEA, leave in conditioners rich in fatty alcohols or cationic surfactants? Which oils, coconut or something non penetrating? Are you wet or dry brushing and do you ever see short pieces of broken hair? Wet combing is linked to mid shaft breaks, dry combing with breakage closer to the ends.
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-what-ingredients-in.html
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2010/08/ceramides-patching-up-damaged-hair.html
http://yourbeautyspot.ninemsn.com.au/tipsandtricks/news/378043/breakthrough-in-hair-colouring
http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2009/06/protein-conditioners-for-hair-part-2-of_03.html
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/products-ingredients/panthenol-hair-products
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/better-crafting-through-chemistry_30.html
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/mineral-oil-versus-coconut-oil-which-is-better
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2010/01/combing-damage.html

[Leeloo]

Holy bat spit! Thank you Firefox7275 for the links! They are absolutely great. Maybe now I’ll be able to read the ingredients list on the hair products and not just look for cones :toast:

[Helenae]

Thank you every one for the replies!

@AmyBeth! Thank you, you're too kind! My hair is actually naturally 2c/3a wavy curls, but if I brush them out on the third day, they just sorta start waving like that pic in my siggy. And I never thought of wearing a sleeping cap before but now I'm definitely going to buy one. Even when I bun my hair at night, I still get awful knots.

@Firefox7275 Great links, I will definitely read through those! I tend to dry comb and that's probably why I'm getting bottom breakage. I also shed a LOT of hair (in the shower, and in my hair brush). It's most likely heat and dye damage from previous years... after all, the hair at my waist is maybe 6/7 years old and can't repair itself.

[Firefox7275]

Holy bat spit! Thank you Firefox7275 for the links! They are absolutely great. Maybe now I’ll be able to read the ingredients list on the hair products and not just look for cones :toast:

You are welcome! This is a good basic list, the whole 'curl chemist' series of articles are useful, wavy-curly or straight.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/celebrities/ingredients-commonly-found-in-hair-care-products

[restless]

Is there any possibility that youre damaging your ends by for example leaning toward the back of chairs/sofas and let them get stuck inbetween that and your body?

[spirals]

Helenae, you and I have the same type and length. I feel like I'm in a stall, too, but it's probably dye-related breakage. I wear mine up frequently, but the last 3 inches have been colored 3 times. The rest of my hair is pretty healthy. We both just need to hang in there.

[Freya9]

I have the same problem too, since using a paranda most days I have noticed a difference. I only stopped chemically dying and using heat on my hair about 4 months ago, and made changes to my diet within the past 2 months.. so in my case I know the cause of the breakage.. but having my hair pulled back without needing to tie off the ends or fiddle with them/pin them has made a difference as far as I can see.