View Full Version : Hair Diagnosis Please?
Darling_naiveté
September 3rd, 2013, 11:05 AM
Hi everyone! Well, I have just joined this forum after having been browsing through it for quite some time. So I'd like to formally introduce myself. Hi! All warm greetings aside, here's why I'm posting. I'm having some hair troubles (unfortunately) and I don't know how to fix it! It's making me dismayed. My hair is experiencing really bad breakage. I never knew how serious it was until I was in a fitting room at Express, where those ghastly fluorescent lights had exposed the severity of the issue:( Here's what I am talking about: http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz295/Morningstarssang/image_zps71a5f2d6.jpg?t=1378218541*Sob*:boohoo: Doesn't it just want to make you cry? I bet you all are clutching your hair in protection, out of fear that even just simply looking at this picture will make your hair snap. So what I am saying here is that I need your advice. Based on the picture, what do you think my hair needs? I'll give you some background information about my hair as well. My hair is fine, and from what I discovered on this board, fine hair is much more likely to have issues with breakage. My hair is pin straight (1a) and I'd say it's not too thin, more in between (ii). I'd like to also tell you my journey with my hair thus far. I've never been nice to my hair. Like, at all. Once I had been introduced to the world of hair dyes, I knew there was no going back. I became a dye-happy gal, dying my hair often to the point that I had finally reached my breaking point. I started with a brown dye in the eighth grade. I found myself excited by all the different ways I could play with my hair and went through a phase of experimentation. In the ninth grade, I decided to cut my hair in blunt bangs and dye it another shade of brown, more of a mahogany I'd say. Then I introduced myself to the hair straightener, never realizing the havoc I was putting my fragile hair through. Which was pretty dumb if you think about it, as my hair was already super straight. I would often dye my hair various shades of brown, which never really took a toll on my hair at the time. But my tenth grade year was the year where it reached a point my hair couldn't take any longer. I decided to go blonde. I can imagine you all groaning in pain. I also realize now that a brunette with as dark a hair as mine should never go blonde. Well, at least never do a home job, that is. I put my hair through at least seven boxes of blonde :no:. My poor hair was never the same after that. My hair's chemistry completely changed. It started to develop a wave that was never there before and a bad case of frizz. I had completely fried my hair. What baffled me the most with that experience is that when my hair was wet, it became stringy, so much so that you could stretch it. It was like if you were to stretch a piece of dental floss. That's what my hair did. It was really awful. My hair literally was straw and the blonde was certainly not flattering on me. I looked like Lady Gaga. I kid you not. I had the platinum blonde with blunt bangs thing going on. That was definitely the worst state my hair had ever been in. And if I didn't already learn my lesson,I decided to dye my hair back to brown and get blonde highlights done. But then my final dye job occurred when I was inspired by a hair cut I had seen on a girl on America's Next Top Model. Oi :rolleyes:. So I chopped my hair to chin length, sporting a blunt bob with blunt bangs. I had dyed it an ash brown, trying to get it as close to my natural hair color as possible. After that, I finally had broken free of the cycle, realizing had that totally ruined my hair as it was no longer a source of pride for me. Not that it ever was, buutttt....you get my point. I decided that I was done playing with my hair and that I was just going to let it grow out, all of it. I pulled back my bangs in a headband everyday and let it be. So I have been growing my hair out for about two and a half years already. I would say that I grew it out 22 inches approximately and trimmed it so as to get rid of the old dye parts. Actually, I believe that I grew it more than 22 inches as I remember trimming my hair several times. I've lost track to be honest. Anyhow, my hair's current length is about 16 inches, sitting at bra strap length and I am so proud of it. It is nearly all virgin, except for the ends (about two inches). Yay! My goal is to grow it out to waist length and chop off the dyed ends. It'll sit a little shorter than waist length by then. It's going to take another year. Goodness, I never realized how long it would take to grow out my hair. It certainly takes patience. But my goal is coming up soon. Just one more year! I can't wait. I don't feel like that is too far away as I've been waiting for two and a half years already. And well, I was so excited over how long a ways my hair has come, I never realized the problem of breakage would surface. It's making me really sad right now. Gosh, I wish I had joined this site two years ago so I would have known how to properly take care of my virgin hair. I never realized it took care. I figured that as long as I didn't apply heat to my hair or dye it, I would be good. Now I realized I have been making a few mistakes with my hair. I was wearing my hair up in a ponytail, for about eight months, once my hair had gotten long enough. It never occurred me that that would cause breakage to my hair! So I'm guessing that that is one of the causes for my breakage. Also, I would brush my hair with a brush.One of those cheap brushes too:( But recently I changed my hair regime so I can help stop the breakage. I switched to a wide tooth comb, sleep on a satin pillow case, and only recently started coconut oil (which my hair absolutely loves!). But I guess my question would be, based on the picture and my hair history, how should I care for my hair? What do you think my hair would like? Sorry if this got too long, I just couldn't help but rant! I'm also really excited to be a part of this community as well:D
spidermom
September 3rd, 2013, 11:14 AM
I could take a picture of the surface of my hair right now, and it would look pretty much like yours. It isn't breakage; it's new hairs growing in. Every single day you shed out hairs that have reached the end of their growing cycles. And every single day you grow in new hairs to replace the hairs that shed out. That is why every single one of us have hairs of every length.
I'm sure you and I have some breakage, but I'll bet money that most of what we see is new growth.
You can use products like styling gels, pomades, serum, etc, to smooth over the surface of your hair and make it look sleeker. Some people say that oil works for them, but it doesn't help me at all.
Do the best you can with gentle hair care and love those baby hairs; they're your future long hairs!
meteor
September 3rd, 2013, 11:22 AM
Welcome to the LHC! :D
I'm happy to see that you are already applying some great tips: wide-tooth comb instead of a cheap brush, coconut oil, satin pillow cases are all great!
I got a bit confused reading your post: have you actually completely cut off that old dye damage? I'm asking because it would change some of the advice. For example, you mention stretchy, gummy hair - if you still have this problem, you know you need hydrolized protein treatments. Also badly damaged hair may need silicones to cover it and help with detangling, but then you will need to clarify periodically.
To be honest, you hair looks frizzy, but not damaged. :) Since your hairs strands are fine, that frizzy look may appear like damage, but could be totally normal. When I get such frizz, I just use some oils, as they are anti-humectants/occlusives (coconut oil is one of my favorites).
You might want to look into the Curly Girl method, as it helps define your natural hair texture and cut down on frizz dramatically.
Lillybelle
September 3rd, 2013, 11:35 AM
Both of these ladies are right. It's just frizz and new hairs. Coconut oil treatments do wonders for that. If that doesn't do it, try say yes to carrots leave in conditioner and/or shea moisture coconut hibiscus hold and shine moisture mist. Also, braiding is awesome. It doesn't tug on your scalp (at least not mine, side braids are the most comfortable), it protects the length and ends, and keeps the frizz away. Good luck
Firefox7275
September 3rd, 2013, 11:46 AM
Welcome!
Agree with Spidermom, some/ much of that is just new baby hairs not breakage. For damage beneficial ingredients include coconut oil, hydrolysed protein, ceramides, 18-MEA and panthenol - IMO concentrate on the first two ingredients since your hair is mostly virgin. Fine hair also tends to do well with protein.
Having said that constant ponytails can be damaging, that was part of the damage I have mostly grown out - both breakage and hair ripped out at the roots. Try looser styles, switching them up, gentle tools like Spin Pins, terry cotton ponios, silk scrunchies/ scarves, satin ribbon. I do wonder if you are now permanently wavier than you used to be, that can happen over time: with age, hormonal changes, health problems for example. If your hair is stick straight why would you bother flat ironing it?
The stretchy hair thing is quite normal for overly bleached hair, hydrolysed protein or scissors are the only salvation! Anyway I am sure you won't ever experience that again. Frizz is either significant damage or hidden wave/ curl or both.
allycat
September 3rd, 2013, 11:50 AM
Yes, I'm another whose hair looks just like that! It's all new hair. Lately it's been very humid so it's even more obvious - I have this crazy halo of frizz all over my head!
LAG93
September 3rd, 2013, 02:50 PM
I get that frizz too! Also my hair is very similar to yours in type and attitude. It's definitely not just damaged, maybe some of it is. But don't worry! When I get that frizz, I use a little bit of chi keratin silk infusion. It's got cones, which you may or may not like, I like them and have never noticed build up or bad side effects. It's also got keratin amino acids, hydrolyzed silk, argan oil, jojoba, all great stuff. It's expensive but I only use a little bit and it makes my hair so smooth and silky, and I feel it has improved the overall health of my hair as well. I use it on wet and dry hair or whenever I see frizzies. One bad thing is the smell, it goes away but..it smells like hum....ahhhh.....male ejaculation...:O not noticeable on your hair but in the bottle it is..blech.
spidermom
September 3rd, 2013, 02:57 PM
I love the CHI too, including the smell. It's sort of a floral musky smell to me, which men definitely aren't. haha
Lately I've been using Renpure Originals argan oil leave-in (which also contains silicones). If I really want those baby hairs to lay down and behave themselves, though, I'll rub styling gel between my wet palms, then slide my palms down the surface of my hair. My hair will look smooth until I run fingers, comb, or brush through it, though not as fluffy as when I do nothing.
Panth
September 3rd, 2013, 03:07 PM
Average hair growth is ~0.5" / month. You had a bob, then grew for 2.5 years if I read correcly? So, you have: 0.5 x 12 x 2.5 = 15" new hair.
So measuring from your scalp, the first 15" or so (more if you have a faster growth rate) should not be in any way affected by your previous dyeing/bleaching escapades. If there is any more than 15", then the bottom bits will still be damaged. However, that would not explain the hair you see. Ponytails also won't explain it - they leave a characteristic diagonal line of breakage (from chin-ish pointing up towards the back of your head on each side - as the hair at the front has further to go to reach the ponytail).
I agree with the others - most of what you're seeing is just new growth, which is totally normal.
A little bit may be damage from heavy-handed brushing.
Of course, you can always improve things (e.g. swapping brush for a wide-toothed comb, using a satin pillowcase (silk satin is best), trying oils, etc.). However, there isn't really anything to worry about. To lessen the fuzzy look you could try products that would slick down the hair and/or reduce static - e.g. aloe vera gel, oils, 'coney conditioner (helps particularly with static), etc.
Another thing I noted - you said at one point "My poor hair was never the same after that. My hair's chemistry completely changed. It started to develop a wave that was never there before and a bad case of frizz." Does your hair still act like that, or was it a temporary effect due to the over-bleaching? If so, it is entirely possible that you have always had wavy hair but that your haircare (e.g. lots of brushing) hid the waves. Annoying, unmanageable hair with lots of mis-behaving frizz/poof is often a symptom of a wavy/curly-headed person who is using straight-hair haircare. These short bits that you see could be sticking out so much because they are short enough to be light enough to retain their wave, whilst the main bulk of your hair is straightened into submission by your brushing, etc.
If that is the case, I recommend you check out the Curly Girl technique. You may be pleasantly surprised!
Darling_naiveté
September 3rd, 2013, 05:54 PM
Oh wow! Thank you all for those replies and warm welcomes. I'm glad to be a part of the community. Haha, I guess I forgot what it was like to have virgin hair, so much so that I thought I was doing something wrong! Looks like it's normal. New growth, whew! It makes sense. Glad I'm not alone. But I will definitely take all you ladies' advice. I found that applying coconut oil is doing wonders for my hair. My hair really likes it! You know, when I was browsing this board and reading about the benefits of coconut oil, I thought it was all just hype. That usually tends to happen, when you try a new product only to be disappointed by it. So I bought a tub of coconut oil, figuring why not? At four dollars, it was worth a try. If anything, I could return it. I was a bit worried because my hair is quick to get oily. I find myself having to wash it everyday. But the coconut oil is amazing! If I am to take anything from this site, it is definitely the coconut oil. My hair drank up that stuff. I washed my hair and applied a drop of oil to my wet hair. I woke up the next day with such soft hair, the best it has ever felt. It definitely helped with the frizziness too. I've only been using it for two days already, as a pre-wash and after washing. It's definitely a keeper! It will be a new staple of mines:) But I may have confused some of you. When I was mentioning the stringy hair and straightening, I was talking about my past experiences with my hair. What I used to do with my hair. I guess you live, you learn, right? Sorry for the confusion though. But thanks to all the things I learned from fellow hair lovers here, I am handling my hair with much better care. I'm so glad my hair is at a MUCH better state now, lol:D Thanks everyone!
jrmviola
September 3rd, 2013, 07:55 PM
I was going to add that you could use Fructis Nutrient Spray, thats what works for me; but coconut oil is a much better product. It just doesnt happen to work on my hair...
&rea
September 3rd, 2013, 08:44 PM
You mentioned you were in a dressing room when you noticed the condition of your hair. Trying on clothing can cause a lot of static and friction, which can make your little baby hairs stand out. The strands that are sticking out look healthy. They don't appear to be dry or split at all. I've never experimented with color, but something we have in common is we're both recovering heat-stylers :p I'm still getting used to not having that flat iron smooth look that I was so used to. Those little baby hairs would have been forced to lay down flat back when you were using heat. The new hair your growing probably isn't affected by the color experimenting you did back in the day. Don't be discouraged. Its sounds like you know what your doing :)
&rea
September 3rd, 2013, 08:57 PM
Edit:
The new hair you're growing probably isn't affected by the color experimenting you did back in the day.
Darling_naiveté
September 3rd, 2013, 09:13 PM
You mentioned you were in a dressing room when you noticed the condition of your hair. Trying on clothing can cause a lot of static and friction, which can make your little baby hairs stand out. The strands that are sticking out look healthy. They don't appear to be dry or split at all. I've never experimented with color, but something we have in common is we're both recovering heat-stylers :p I'm still getting used to not having that flat iron smooth look that I was so used to. Those little baby hairs would have been forced to lay down flat back when you were using heat. The new hair your growing probably isn't affected by the color experimenting you did back in the day. Don't be discouraged. Its sounds like you know what your doing :)
Hm yes I never considered the static. That would explain why my hair went crazy. It's nice to know that those are healthy hairs though. I'm glad I'm being reassured that I'm treating my hair well:) It is pretty tough recovering from heat, isn't it? I remember that it was pretty tempting to use a straightener after having decided to quit heat cold turkey. There would be those days when my hair was looking pretty rough. It's funny how I used to use a straightener even though I never actually needed it. My hair was already straight. I can't even remember why I used to do that cause it so pointless. I see you're a 1a, too. Hey, we are actually hair twins! Our hair is similar:D Seeing that our hair is very similar, what's your hair regime? I'm still trying to see what my hair likes and I figured I could learn from others with similar hair. But anyways, I'm glad you decided to stop using heat. Hair is much healthier that way.
&rea
September 3rd, 2013, 09:45 PM
Hm yes I never considered the static. That would explain why my hair went crazy. It's nice to know that those are healthy hairs though. I'm glad I'm being reassured that I'm treating my hair well:) It is pretty tough recovering from heat, isn't it? I remember that it was pretty tempting to use a straightener after having decided to quit heat cold turkey. There would be those days when my hair was looking pretty rough. It's funny how I used to use a straightener even though I never actually needed it. My hair was already straight. I can't even remember why I used to do that cause it so pointless. I see you're a 1a, too. Hey, we are actually hair twins! Our hair is similar:D Seeing that our hair is very similar, what's your hair regime? I'm still trying to see what my hair likes and I figured I could learn from others with similar hair. But anyways, I'm glad you decided to stop using heat. Hair is much healthier that way.
Lol people would always ask me why I straightened my hair when it was already straight. At first, it just made it look perfect. Then when I had been doing it for so long, it looked bad when I didn't. I actually remember getting a Remington Wet2Sraight. You read that correctly. It was a straightener that was made to be used on wet hair! It had these little holes through out the plates that steam would shoot out of as you used it. Horrible. I actually cut my hair into a bob in June to get rid of all of the damage and I'm regrowing now.
My hair care routine is ever-changing. When I chopped my hair off and started missing it, I started looking into things I could change to help make my hair grow back faster. When I realized there isn't much in that department, I wanted to find out what I could do to at least preserve my ends. My cleansing method at the time was too harsh. My freshly cut ends were becoming split and brittle so I started trying natural cleansing methods like "no poo" (baking soda and apple cider vinegar rinses). I did that for about two months and decided that was a no go. Now I'm using Avalon Organics. I really like it. I'm trying to lessen the amount that I wash my hair so on my between days I just use a little bit of corn starch as a dry shampoo. At lease once a week, I like to do some sort or hair mask (usually a tea rinse-there's a thread floating around about that). I'll usually do a weekly S&D (search and destroy) session to eliminate split ends without losing length. As far as styling, sadly I don't have many options. I'm just grazing collarbone length and I don't want to cause breakage. I'm rocking the messy look a lot these days ;)
BlazingHeart
September 3rd, 2013, 10:00 PM
Um, looking at your hair, there's no way your hair is 1A straight. And treating your hair as if it was straight hair can make the new hairs stand out a LOT. It causes frizz, too. You might want to look into conditioner only or the Curly Girl method.
I say your hair is not 1A straight because of a couple of things. 1A is like perfect, totally stick straight hair. In this picture, you've got a pretty clear wave just above eye level. Also, all of your shorter hairs are flicking out in waves. What happens if you wash your hair, use a lot of conditioner, and then just leave it alone while it dries? Don't touch it, don't comb it, don't brush it. That'll give you a better idea of what your hair's natural texture is, and that in turn will help people give you suggestions on what your hair might like.
~Blaze
Darling_naiveté
September 3rd, 2013, 10:21 PM
Um, looking at your hair, there's no way your hair is 1A straight. And treating your hair as if it was straight hair can make the new hairs stand out a LOT. It causes frizz, too. You might want to look into conditioner only or the Curly Girl method.
I say your hair is not 1A straight because of a couple of things. 1A is like perfect, totally stick straight hair. In this picture, you've got a pretty clear wave just above eye level. Also, all of your shorter hairs are flicking out in waves. What happens if you wash your hair, use a lot of conditioner, and then just leave it alone while it dries? Don't touch it, don't comb it, don't brush it. That'll give you a better idea of what your hair's natural texture is, and that in turn will help people give you suggestions on what your hair might like.
~Blaze
I suppose I'll have to try that. See the reason I classified my hair as 1a is because I always grew up with pin straight hair as a kid. But age and hormones could have changed that. So maybe I misidentified my hair type. I'll give you a better picture of my hair. Maybe you could help me figure out my hair type? Note that the ends of my hair is still the dyed damaged part. Here's the photo: http://s837.photobucket.com/user/Morningstarssang/media/image_zps2e67a426.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
Darling_naiveté
September 3rd, 2013, 10:29 PM
Here's a better photo:
http://s837.photobucket.com/user/Morningstarssang/media/image_zps50fb9009.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
&rea
September 3rd, 2013, 10:30 PM
Personally, I would still classify you as an 1A. The wave that can be seen at eye level can be caused by pushing your hair behind your ear. I do that and it causes a visible wave in the bang area.
Darling_naiveté
September 3rd, 2013, 10:47 PM
Personally, I would still classify you as an 1A. The wave that can be seen at eye level can be caused by pushing your hair behind your ear. I do that and it causes a visible wave in the bang area.
Yeah I'm still thinking that too. Plus that little wavy piece of hair you saw in my first photo has a little story behind it. I actually got a little bit of super glue in my hair. Gak! I know, the horrors lol. It had something to do with a broken flip flop mishap that my friend and I were trying to fix. I spilled super glue all over my hands and I ran my fingers through my hair to get it away from my face. So dumb. But I thought the glue had already dried on my fingers. Anyhow, that evening I was forced to rip out the super glued bit of hair. Otherwise, it would have stayed as a hardened strip of hair. I tried my best to salvage it, but I couldn't free the hair:( Ah well, it's not too bad. It just looks like baby hairs growing and is easily hidden by my hair. So I guess that since that piece of hair is so short, it curls a little bit. If it was longer, my hair doesn't usually do that.
BlazingHeart
September 4th, 2013, 12:53 AM
Does that curl under at the end happen naturally, or do you shape that deliberately? Given the flicking ends of the shorter hair, I'd still say more likely 1B and quite possibly even wavier. I'm a 2a/2b, and I can make my hair almost perfectly straight by just brushing it at the right time when it's drying. The only way to be sure is a pic where you haven't handled your hair at all - don't even detangle it after you finish washing, because that will break up waves if you have them.
Darling_naiveté
September 4th, 2013, 03:06 PM
Does that curl under at the end happen naturally, or do you shape that deliberately? Given the flicking ends of the shorter hair, I'd still say more likely 1B and quite possibly even wavier. I'm a 2a/2b, and I can make my hair almost perfectly straight by just brushing it at the right time when it's drying. The only way to be sure is a pic where you haven't handled your hair at all - don't even detangle it after you finish washing, because that will break up waves if you have them.
To be honest, I wouldn't be able to tell you for sure. The ends do have a tendency to flick out like you said, but that's because those ends are the damaged, dyed ends. So maybe the ends behave that way because their chemistry has been changed. I guess I'll have to see in a year when I plan to cut the dyed ends. Then I'll be able to see how my true ends are. But I'll try that tonight after washing my hair. I'll observe it in its natural state and texture:)
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