Knot-ends?!

[Luminaria]

I bet you're thinking..."What exactly are knot-ends?" Two words. Pure. Evil. Ok, ok, I'll explain what they really are. Basically, they are single strand knots that form at the ends of hair. I've recently discovered them on my hair and let's just say I'm not that thrilled about them. Matter of fact, I don't think anyone would be thrilled about them. For one thing, they are troublesome. They make my ends feel rough and bumpy and they make my hair more tangly. I know I can't do much for the knot-ends that have formed, so I'd like to know how to prevent them from forming in the future. Any tips and suggestions would be great. Thanks! BTW, I call them 'knot-ends' because they form very close to the ends of hair (and because it's a pun on split ends :p )

[Nini]

If you do a search for fairy knots I'm sure you'll find someone to commiserate with around here ;)

[Firefox7275]

Are you overdue for a clarify or chelate? Otherwise more slippiy/ patch repairing conditioning ingredients at the ends, as a leave in if you don't already - silicones, panthenol, ceramides, hydrolysed protein, natural oil, the behentrimoniums. Maybe consider how you are tying off any braids and the damage done there.

[CurlMonster]

I've been noticing these in my hair a lot lately too. I'm not sure if more have started forming recently or if I've just become more obsessive about checking my hair for damage and so I've only started noticing recently what's always been there... :confused: They are nasty feeling though, I'll be keen to hear everyone's tips on preventing those buggers.

[Ocelan]

Fairy knots, yes. As someone said, those can form because you've gathered gunk on your hair making it rougher and it's time to clarify. Also your hair may be dry and a good deep conditioning could fix the problem or it can just simply be damage, one version of a split end where the hair no longer slips ouf of a knot. I know atleast my healthy single hairs will not stay in a knot no matter how tight I will try to pull it, only the damaged ones do. I cut off the single knots just like I do cut split ends. The condition of my hair has improved much since I started cutting them off aswell as S&Ding and the ends will not knot so much anymore.

[jacqueline101]

Fairy knots Ive never had them so good luck on getting rid of them.

[chen bao jun]

Fairy knots, or SSKS (single strand knots). I am plagued with these. I cut them off in S And D sessions, try to keep ends moisturized and also wear my hair most of the time as I notice they get much worse when i have had it loose. I am a 3C curly, but I think my ends are damaged from rough treatment from before LHC. Another hair style that I find really makes them worse is sock buns. When I braid my hair and put satin rollers on the ends at night, it helps. I would love to get rid of mine but my hair is growing and growing in spite of them (even though they are a pain in the neck, feel rough and horrible and create tangles--other than where they are, my hair doesn't tangle at all).

[melusine963]

I also get these occasionally, and there's no remedy except to cut them off. Luckily they only really happen near the ends of my hair, so I don't feel like I'm losing too much hair. Some very patient people unpick theirs with a needle, but there's no way I'm willing to spend that kind of time. All my energy goes to my s&d sessions.

[Tangle or Curl?]

I get these ALL THE TIME. If you are a fine curly chances are that you are going to get them no matter what, like me, but there are ways you can minimize them. Simply detangling can actually cause them for me because my follicles are so fine that if the end of one of my single strand ringlets floats above a loop and falls through it, then is somehow pulled tight it doesn't have the course structure to open up again. It's not really about damage for me (*although damage in the past did make them worse)...just that fine hair is easier to permanently fold. It even says right on NaturallyCurly.com in their 3/3A articles "you will get fairy knots with your hair type"

Helpful things:
1. Trimming is necessary because the longer your ends have been 'ends' the easier it is for fairy knots to form...but you don't have to trim more than about 4 mm whenever you notice more of them forming than usual
2. Clarifying and silicones work wonders to make the ends slippery enough that the knots slide out before really solidly forming (I tried silicone and sulfate/sulfite free hair care methods, and even after growing out a pixie i.e. no damage and no other care method it was a total knot/tangle nightmare that ended up in my hair matting like a rug the minute it got anywhere near clothing or even in the shower while shampooing or trying to detangle after having it bunned like a good girl the day prior)
3. You can try wearing your hair up but twisting the ends or putting a hair friendly braid elastic near your ends will make them worse

[Tangle or Curl?]

....forgot 4: Cut the fairy knots out with good scissors. If I don't do that I can get up to 8 fairy knots in a row on the same strand and more caused by tangles with adjacent hairs

[Leeloo]

I usually get them in the part of my hair that is touching my clothes and gets the most dry and curly. I try to get them during S&D.

[chen bao jun]

I get these ALL THE TIME. If you are a fine curly chances are that you are going to get them no matter what, like me, but there are ways you can minimize them. Simply detangling can actually cause them for me because my follicles are so fine that if the end of one of my single strand ringlets floats above a loop and falls through it, then is somehow pulled tight it doesn't have the course structure to open up again. It's not really about damage for me (*although damage in the past did make them worse)...just that fine hair is easier to permanently fold. It even says right on NaturallyCurly.com in their 3/3A articles "you will get fairy knots with your hair type"

Helpful things:
1. Trimming is necessary because the longer your ends have been 'ends' the easier it is for fairy knots to form...but you don't have to trim more than about 4 mm whenever you notice more of them forming than usual
2. Clarifying and silicones work wonders to make the ends slippery enough that the knots slide out before really solidly forming (I tried silicone and sulfate/sulfite free hair care methods, and even after growing out a pixie i.e. no damage and no other care method it was a total knot/tangle nightmare that ended up in my hair matting like a rug the minute it got anywhere near clothing or even in the shower while shampooing or trying to detangle after having it bunned like a good girl the day prior)
3. You can try wearing your hair up but twisting the ends or putting a hair friendly braid elastic near your ends will make them worse
Seconding all this. Except, I have coarse hair, so its not just being fine haired. I am a 3c and I have also read that type 3 hair just gets these no matter what you do.
I clarified recently and it helped--but it didn't make me stop getting them. I honestly just hope to minimize them at this point.

[chen bao jun]

....forgot 4: Cut the fairy knots out with good scissors. If I don't do that I can get up to 8 fairy knots in a row on the same strand and more caused by tangles with adjacent hairs
Yes, you have got to cut them off. Quickly. I learned this by sad experience. They catch on other hairs and create more of themselves until the bottom of your hair feels like velcro and you cannot avoid a trim. Trying to unknot them does not work for me. the spot where they are has damage. sometimes I can see them forming and they always form where there is a like a V bend in the hair and its thinned out. I believe that in my case its my form of split ends. I don't get actual split ends--possibly because my hair is so coarse that it doesn't split but it thins out and knots instead. At least, thats all I can figure out.
Keeping my ends 'stretched' helps. Try the satin rollers on the ends at night.

[ravenreed]

I get these more than split ends now. My hair is naturally tangly and I think they form as the main culprit in a tangle. When I carefully pull all the other hairs loose, that one is probably still in a loop, and somehow that gets tightened into a fairy knot. I trim them just like any other misbehaving hair, but I get them all the way up to my nape hairs. I think the only thing you can really do to prevent them is reduce tangles as much as possible.

[chen bao jun]

I do notice that I never get them on my bangs, which I am growing out. I keep thinking that if I can figure out why my bangs are ssk free, I would be further towards ridding the rest of my hair of them. I don't know if its that they just appear at a certain length or its a matter of rubbing against clothes or something that my bangs don't do. My bangs are below my chin now, stretched and the hair is soft all the way down.

[bo-peep]

I notice that my ends get all nasty, velcro-y (perfect for making tangles) when I don't thoroughly rinse out conditioner completely.

[Tangle or Curl?]

I do notice that I never get them on my bangs, which I am growing out. I keep thinking that if I can figure out why my bangs are ssk free, I would be further towards ridding the rest of my hair of them. I don't know if its that they just appear at a certain length or its a matter of rubbing against clothes or something that my bangs don't do. My bangs are below my chin now, stretched and the hair is soft all the way down.

I only get them on my very bottom layer (I have long layers from chin to BSL) on the side that touches my clothes and couch. I think it has to do with touching/rubbing things, plus being at the very end of the tangle on the bottom layer of hair. At least the layering limits them to this area and non or the rest of my head of hair. My canopy and the other 75% of my layers are tangle free and slippery. I just can't resist having my hair down.

[chen bao jun]

My hair is very rarely down.
I have definitely noticed that they proliferate MORE when hair is down but I still have a ton of them with hair up all the time. Except for my bangs (which are always down, actually).

[jeanniet]

I had quite a few of them when my hair was longer, and none now that I've cut back, so I agree that it may be time for a small trim if you're getting very many. Curly hair tends to be prone to them, but my hair is much curlier now so I think it's more the shape your ends are in than the curl.

[McFearless]

I feel like curly and coily haired girls suffer from this on a whole other level. I get them at the roots, mid strand and ends. They're a nightmare to cut out without taking others hairs too. Keeping my hair braided and/or tied back helps.

[Nae]

Yes, those cursed fairies strike again. I snip them off with S&D because they drive me crazy.

[alexis917]

My hair gets splits, but most of the time it's weird kinks that feel dry and a few single strand knots.
I have coarse hair, but it's actually quite straight.

[Moonfall]

Another victim here! I've had these little meanies as long as I can remember, and I haven't found anything to get rid of them yet. I sometimes use a needle to undo them, but I mostly just snip them off during S&D. Ugh, this week I found two on the same strand, next to each other! :(

[SweetBronze]

I used to get a lot of them. I changed the way I washed, dried, detangled my hair and most of the time my hair is separated in some sort of way. I never detangle my hair in the shower anymore, that's just asking for knots, I detangle with coconut oil or some water and oil and twist my hair.

[Natalina]

I get them too, they appear more often than split ends but still quite rarely. I just cut them off with my nails (oops!) and other times I somehow managed to un-knot them? lol! I don't know how that's possible, I guess it's because my strand is so firm and thick.

[Tangle or Curl?]

Roots? If I got these things on my roots they would drive me absolutely CRAZY!

[lilliemer]

Try to figure out a way to placate the fairies who are putting them there in the first place. I might need to build a little house for mine to get her to stop putting knots in my ends :)

[Luminaria]

Are you overdue for a clarify or chelate? Otherwise more slippiy/ patch repairing conditioning ingredients at the ends, as a leave in if you don't already - silicones, panthenol, ceramides, hydrolysed protein, natural oil, the behentrimoniums. Maybe consider how you are tying off any braids and the damage done there. I clarify regularly and I don't use anything other than shampoo, conditioner, and oil (sometimes).

[Luminaria]

Fairy knots, or SSKS (single strand knots). I am plagued with these. I cut them off in S And D sessions, try to keep ends moisturized and also wear my hair most of the time as I notice they get much worse when i have had it loose. I am a 3C curly, but I think my ends are damaged from rough treatment from before LHC. Another hair style that I find really makes them worse is sock buns. When I braid my hair and put satin rollers on the ends at night, it helps. I would love to get rid of mine but my hair is growing and growing in spite of them (even though they are a pain in the neck, feel rough and horrible and create tangles--other than where they are, my hair doesn't tangle at all). I'm mostly 3c too. I've been doing wash and gos and haven't been moisturizing recently... Maybe that might be part of the problem...

[Luminaria]

I get these ALL THE TIME. If you are a fine curly chances are that you are going to get them no matter what, like me, but there are ways you can minimize them. Simply detangling can actually cause them for me because my follicles are so fine that if the end of one of my single strand ringlets floats above a loop and falls through it, then is somehow pulled tight it doesn't have the course structure to open up again. It's not really about damage for me (*although damage in the past did make them worse)...just that fine hair is easier to permanently fold. It even says right on NaturallyCurly.com in their 3/3A articles "you will get fairy knots with your hair type" Helpful things: 1. Trimming is necessary because the longer your ends have been 'ends' the easier it is for fairy knots to form...but you don't have to trim more than about 4 mm whenever you notice more of them forming than usual 2. Clarifying and silicones work wonders to make the ends slippery enough that the knots slide out before really solidly forming (I tried silicone and sulfate/sulfite free hair care methods, and even after growing out a pixie i.e. no damage and no other care method it was a total knot/tangle nightmare that ended up in my hair matting like a rug the minute it got anywhere near clothing or even in the shower while shampooing or trying to detangle after having it bunned like a good girl the day prior) 3. You can try wearing your hair up but twisting the ends or putting a hair friendly braid elastic near your ends will make them worse Thanks for such a thorough and and easy to follow response. I have F/M/C hair in different regions. For me, the fine hair doesn't tangle or knot-up. It's the M/C hair that does.

[Luminaria]

Yes, you have got to cut them off. Quickly. I learned this by sad experience. They catch on other hairs and create more of themselves until the bottom of your hair feels like velcro and you cannot avoid a trim. Trying to unknot them does not work for me. the spot where they are has damage. sometimes I can see them forming and they always form where there is a like a V bend in the hair and its thinned out. I believe that in my case its my form of split ends. I don't get actual split ends--possibly because my hair is so coarse that it doesn't split but it thins out and knots instead. At least, thats all I can figure out. Keeping my ends 'stretched' helps. Try the satin rollers on the ends at night. I used to get splits more often than knots, but now it's the opposite.

[Luminaria]

I used to get a lot of them. I changed the way I washed, dried, detangled my hair and most of the time my hair is separated in some sort of way. I never detangle my hair in the shower anymore, that's just asking for knots, I detangle with coconut oil or some water and oil and twist my hair. I've been finger-detangling my hair in the shower since 2 months ago. I used to detangle my hair after my shower with a wide tooth comb. Perhaps I'm not detangling properly?

[erinlesley09]

I never knew what these were called until now--very interesting! I get fairy knots occasionally, but it's never been a major problem. I learn something new here with every thread I open.

[Anje]

For what it's worth, I find that I get WAY more of these when I use silicones. Some when I'm using silicone conditioners, tons when I've tried serums. I'm never completely free of them (and I just have waves), but the products I use make an enormous difference in the numbers of fairy knots.

[SweetBronze]

It depends because I've seen people that say detangling with oil doesn't work for them and that they need conditioner and they can do it before or after a shower. If that's what works, you to finger detangle you hair in the shower. I borrowed my method from learning from hayfranhay on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZrmdskI57I ) , my hair is mostly 4a with 4b and 3c mixed in. The main culprits of getting single strand knots from improper detangling are shed hairs not being removed or the styling tools used like combs and brushes, but you use your fingers, sometimes fingernails pull at the hair if they are not filled properly.

[chen bao jun]

I wash my hair in braids. I resisted doing this for longest time but I started about two months ago and it helps. I do an oil treatment or an SMT before washing and detangle my hair when full of product during the treatment and braid it. Then I wash in the braids (yes, your hair does get clean) and unbraid each one separately, put leave in and let it dry in braids.
the braiding annoyingly makes my curls curl less (some people get braidwaves, I get what you might call 'braid straights) , but it helps with the tangling and SSKs. Doesnt get rid of the SSKs but it helps.
They're proliferating again today. I know my ends getting dry (3 or 4 days after washing) helps promote them.

[nobeltonya]

I get one or 2 every once in a while.. I think the thing that helps keep them from forming is leave-in. Because I wear my hair down a lot, but I don't generally get many tangles or knots.. :) :disco: