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plainjanegirl
September 1st, 2008, 12:27 PM
Maybe this is a stupid question but yesterday when I was out in the sun I noticed white dots on the ends of my hair. Are they split ends? I am sure they are from all the flat ironing I used to do. Do they have to be trimmed of? I need advice.

granitbaby
September 1st, 2008, 12:30 PM
The fuzzy white dots are signs of damage. To not cause lagers splits they need to bet snipped of.

bunnii
September 1st, 2008, 12:30 PM
They are breakages in the hair there's a thread with pictures from Nightshade - http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=126426#post126426 it's post number 19 with the white dot being the 2nd to last picture :)

ktani
September 1st, 2008, 12:33 PM
Maybe this is a stupid question but yesterday when I was out in the sun I noticed white dots on the ends of my hair. Are they split ends? I am sure they are from all the flat ironing I used to do. Do they have to be trimmed of? I need advice.

plainjanegirl

No question here is stupid, IMO.

White dots are evidence of breakage. It is what is left at the end of the hair after it has been broken in your case.

Sometimes the hair splits, sometimes not. My hair no longer splits. I still get white dots but much less so than I used to pre catnip. There are times when I see them and the hair has not broken off yet - the dot is visible though, at the hair end or further up.

It is damage - for me mechanical.

The cuticle has eroded. I trim the hair just above the dot, when I s&d, to keep the hair sound. If they are further up the hair shaft, and not removed, they can catch other hairs, causing tangling.

DragonLady
September 1st, 2008, 12:36 PM
I get hundreds of them. I haven't used a blow dryer or heat appliance for years, yet I still get them. I assume it's just mechanical damage from my normal life style. :( As gentle as I'm trying to be, I still live in my hair, and that's apparently too much for it to bear.

plainjanegirl
September 1st, 2008, 02:48 PM
I have never done an s&d. Sometimes I get a trim maybe once a year...but very very small trim. Most of what I saw was on the ends. So what do you all do to yours? I don't wanna cause any more damage. My hair normally does not tangle much except when wet from washing or whatever. So is there anything to do to prevent more or should by not flat ironing no more will that help?

MeMyselfandI
September 1st, 2008, 02:55 PM
I agree with ktani,

There is no stupid question.

I saw many white dots when my hair was breaking off a few months ago. I snipped individual dots off.

On may hair the damage was the whole length, so I did not cut off at any point to prevent it. I did cut about 8 inches a couple of months before the breaking started happening.

WIth lots of loving care, my hair is doing much better.

If your dots are at the end, I would trim off about an inch. If not time to learn to (seek&destroy) S&D.

Anything that prevents damage will help.

ktani
September 1st, 2008, 02:57 PM
I have never done an s&d. Sometimes I get a trim maybe once a year...but very very small trim. Most of what I saw was on the ends. So what do you all do to yours? I don't wanna cause any more damage. My hair normally does not tangle much except when wet from washing or whatever. So is there anything to do to prevent more or should by not flat ironing no more will that help?

plainjanegirl

Not flat ironing is good, so is just taking the best care of your hair you can, not stressing it too much, (seamless combs, no brushing when wet, etc.).

When hair is long it is older and has been through more. Some breakage is normal, IMO.

If the white dots are not causing you problems, don't worry too much about them.

S &d'ing can only get so many at one time, IMO.

Little_Bird
September 1st, 2008, 02:59 PM
Stoping the flat ironing would be the first step to minimize white dots of course. It's up to your priorities if you want to stop it or not...

Your hair does look good in your signature picture, but if you see white dots than yes, it's damage. I have them too and so does my sister. In my case it might be breakage from my (still) rather dry ends, which I am trimming off slowly. Just try to s&d or do dustings (very small trims every other month or so).

I wish you the best luck!

Anje
September 1st, 2008, 03:56 PM
They're probably splits, or places where a hair was damaged and broken off, as the above folks have said.

However:
Make sure it's not dust, particularly if you have oils or leave-ins in your hair or if it's been a few days since it was washed. I've S&Ded off more than a few white dots that turned to be little white dust particles.

danacc
September 2nd, 2008, 08:19 PM
No flat ironing will help a lot in preventing the white dots from forming.

I still get some from day-to-day wear and tear, and most of all from tangles, I think. But I don't get many. I S&D, and I will cut the strand a little above the white dot with my for-hair-only scissors when I see it. I do this even if the white dot is on the very end of the hair. I always interpreted this as a sign that the hair broke there at some point in the past.

danacc
September 2nd, 2008, 08:22 PM
And yes, make sure it is a white dot that is part of the hair shaft if you decide to cut. Sometimes it is a spec of something on the hair. For white dots that are not at the very end, I do the "bend" test. Bend the hair at the white dot. If it bends at an angle right at the dot, it's damaged badly and must go. If it bends in an arc, it's ok.

Katze
September 2nd, 2008, 08:34 PM
I have tons of these and am not sure why, as I regularly S&D my ends. However, I used to have many more *splits*, now I have mostly white dots.

I cut them off above the dot.

Hopefully, as my old ends are replaced with hair that has been treated better, they will go away!

pinkprincess
September 4th, 2008, 07:07 AM
I had a lot and just S&D them off, but since I've started heavily oiling my night-time braid tassel every night I haven't had many at all.