Desert Dry Ends...

[rcblinn]

Good Morning :)

I've been struggling for several months now with Sahara dry-like ends. After a bout of failed co-washing (not that it didn't actually work, I was just shedding too much for me to be comfortable with) I am now CWCing. Yet my ends are still dry! Stiff and crackly with splits, they also stick together like velcro. A bit of aloe vera gel on damp hair has been helping but the dryness is still pretty severe. I'm considering trying mineral oil next to seal moisture in but I've had mixed results with that. I prefer simpler routines and products but any suggestions are very much appreciated!

[mscm]

What about oils, for example olive oil? Is it because you probably should have trimmed the ends a little? I would try olive or wheatgerm oil for the ends and let it stay on as long as possible. The reason could also be buildup if you are using products with silicone in them? If so, try a clarifying shampoo, then a deep condition, then some oilings in damp hair. Good luck :)

[jacqueline101]

Have you tried mineral oil? I had a spell of dry ends a few years ago and mineral oil worked well. I'd clarify, do your normal routine, and mineral oil while damp.

[hanne jensen]

You're in Ca. Isn't the air dry? If the air is dry, aloe isn't a good idea as it will draw moisture out of your hair. You say that your ends are sticky as well as dry. Have you tried clarifying or de-mineralising? You could do both at the same time-use 1 part clarifying poo, one part ACV and one part water. Wash your hair and leave on for 5 minutes. Rinse well.
Use conditioner. Apply a little oil of your choice every day to the last couple of inches of hair.

[lapushka]

After going CO, and now CWC, I'd most certainly try and clarify-wash in between. A harsh sulfate shampoo, and then a good moisturizing conditioner after. Maybe see what that does?

[Anje]

Agreed, sounds like you might just be in desperate need of clarifying.

I get severe velcro-y ends from protein overload, so it might be worth checking your conditioner ingredients lists and trying some protein-free moisture if the clarifying doesn't fix you up. But clarify first.

[Rio040113]

Another vote for clarifying :) If that doesn't work it might be time for a micro-trim and some oiling? Depending on your hair, EVOO, mineral oil, avocado oil and jojoba oil could all be good options to consider (there are more to choose from, those are just the ones I like!). I also like coconut oil but that could be risky, especially if it is a protein problem so I'd skip that, at least for now. Good luck!

[Leeloo]

Try clarifying and putting a tiny bit of coconut oil on dry hair concentrating on ends and keep adding coconut oil when your hair absorbs it.

[Mya]

I too have (or had?) the problem of dry ends. Oils don't do much. I like hair wax for maintaining moisture, but it's too heavy and causes too much buildup. I decided I wanted something in between the two. I tried hand/body lotions (those that come in a metal or plastic tin), because I found some that contain petrolatum or anyway a few waxy ingredients, but also are smoother, lighter and more nourishing. After a couple of tries, I found my magic leave-in lotion I use after washing and anytime my hair feels dry. I need no other things and it's cheap too.

You may want to try that kind of products.

[Firefox7275]

Good Morning :)

I've been struggling for several months now with Sahara dry-like ends. After a bout of failed co-washing (not that it didn't actually work, I was just shedding too much for me to be comfortable with) I am now CWCing. Yet my ends are still dry! Stiff and crackly with splits, they also stick together like velcro. A bit of aloe vera gel on damp hair has been helping but the dryness is still pretty severe. I'm considering trying mineral oil next to seal moisture in but I've had mixed results with that. I prefer simpler routines and products but any suggestions are very much appreciated!

Have you clarified and chelated? Anionic shampoo and cationic conditioning agents can combine to form build up.
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2011/05/before-you-shampoo-conditioner-or-oil.html

[YamaMaya]

Sounds like what your hair definitely needs is oil. Try doing a hot oil treatment with a light and easily absorbed oil like grapeseed oil. Just put the oil in a bath of hot water until it's in a liquid like state, then spread it over your hair focusing on the ends most of all. Pin it up and put a plastic cap over it to keep the heat in and leave it for as long as you can. When you go to wash it out in the shower, run your head (with cap still on) under the warm water to get even more heat in, then go about your shower, and wash your hair last with your choice of shampoo. You may not even need to condition if you leave the oil in long enough.

[Temme]

2 things.

I think the most important thing is not to shampoo your ends. You can shampoo your ends occasionally, but really your scalp should be the only part getting greasy, so only do it as often as necessary. So that's kind of like shampoo on the scalp but CO washing the length. Not using cones causes less build up, which enables you to wash your length less often.

Aloe Vera gel is a humectant, which means it can attract moisture from the air, which is good, however, I would recommend using oil with it, because if you don't seal in moisture, it escapes. IMO, jojoba oil is the best oil for sealing hair (if you're not looking for something that penetrates). So what I would do is mix aloe Vera gel with a couple drops of jojoba oil or any sealing oil really and use that as a leave-in as often as you can, probably at least daily.

Hope that helps!:)

[Ambystoma]

I agree with all the suggestions to do a clarifying and chelating wash - my hair suffers from build up very easily and the last few inches especially behave just how you are describing if I don't keep it build up free. Since you've been experimenting with CO and CWC this may be the problem.

I'd use a good swimmers shampoo right down to the tips and follow it up with a cone free, protein free moisture treatment and see what happens. When it's wet, check your moisture protein balance by stretching a shed strand (how to do a "stretch test" here: http://blackhair101.com/hair-care/moisture-and-protein-maintaining-the-balance) Since you will have a nice blank slate after clarifying, it would be a great time to do a porosity test too, like the float test here:http://www.naturallycurly.com/texture-typing/hair-porosity. Once you know your porosity and moisture/protein situation, there's lots of great advice out there for your type which makes choosing products and troubleshooting a lot easier :)

[Anje]

I think the most important thing is not to shampoo your ends. You can shampoo your ends occasionally, but really your scalp should be the only part getting greasy, so only do it as often as necessary. So that's kind of like shampoo on the scalp but CO washing the length. Not using cones causes less build up, which enables you to wash your length less often.
In general this is true. When you need to clarify, though, make sure you use plenty of shampoo on the ends specifically. Since they tend to get all the treatments and not a lot of shampooing normally, ends tend to show buildup first.

[jeanniet]

You're in Ca. Isn't the air dry? If the air is dry, aloe isn't a good idea as it will draw moisture out of your hair. You say that your ends are sticky as well as dry. Have you tried clarifying or de-mineralising? You could do both at the same time-use 1 part clarifying poo, one part ACV and one part water. Wash your hair and leave on for 5 minutes. Rinse well.
Use conditioner. Apply a little oil of your choice every day to the last couple of inches of hair.

Climate varies quite a bit in California, so it kind of depends on where she is. Southern California is drier (but not so much near the coast). I'm in Northern California and this summer dew points have actually been pretty high, so my problem with humectants has been more on the other end of the spectrum. I think you have a good idea about the chelating, though I would just use a chelating shampoo. I don't think ACV chelates enough to be worthwhile if you really have a mineral problem, or at least not enough if I need to chelate.

[Naiadryade]

I agree with the recommendations to clarify and chelate first and foremost. If you still find your hair/ends to be dry after this, I highly recommend Shea Moisture's Deep Treatment Masque. I use it as conditioner and sometimes small amounts as a leave-in. Nothing has moisturized my hair like it has. My hair used to be super dry. Oils kind of helped, sorta, but my hair transformed after I started using Shea Moisture.

[rcblinn]

Wow, thank you everyone for the thoughtful replies! I've been at work all day so no time til now to check. I live on the coast of CA and typically the dewpoints don't get too low here in these parts. My hair generally does very well with aloe vera but hates with a passion protein. I suspect it could be build up of some sort (though I avoid silicones) but we do have hard water. However my hair doesn't look like there is build up-it's still shiny and doesn't feel gummy or sticky. I have fine hair but alot of it and the ends just seem to love to hang out and canoodle with one another, resulting in tangles. Is there any other way to detect build up other than tangly ends? Thanks! :)

[hanne jensen]

In your first post you said that your ends are sticking together. If your ends are sticky and feel like velcro, then it's time to clarify. I've lived both in the Bay Area and in southern Ca. Both places the water was so hard that I could walk on it. Mineral deposits don't make your hair feel rough, but there sure is a difference when you remove them. Aloe and other herbs can build up on the hair. I have fine hair and a lot of it. My hair loves small amounts of coconut oil and argon oil. It helps to wear your hair up in protective updos.

[AnqeIicDemise]

Application of the oil is also important. Do it when the hair is damp, not wet nor dry. It'll help keep moisture in. ^0^

Also, even properly moisturized hair feels dry as all heck when you got velcro ends. Get a nice trim, or sit down next to a desk lamp and a good pair of scissors to do some rather intensive search and destroy of those nasty little splits.

[rcblinn]

Agreed, sounds like you might just be in desperate need of clarifying.

I get severe velcro-y ends from protein overload, so it might be worth checking your conditioner ingredients lists and trying some protein-free moisture if the clarifying doesn't fix you up. But clarify first.

Well I went ahead and took the plunge to clarify my hair! I've been hesitant to put shampoo anywhere near my ends because of the dryness but decided I'll never know until I try. So far so good but my hair is still drying. I'll check back in with the results after it's completely dry :)

[Silverbrumby]

Can't wait to hear how it goes.


Well I went ahead and took the plunge to clarify my hair! I've been hesitant to put shampoo anywhere near my ends because of the dryness but decided I'll never know until I try. So far so good but my hair is still drying. I'll check back in with the results after it's completely dry :)

[cranberrymoonz]

Just offering a different perspective: you might actually be overdoing it. On fine hair (especially if it is low-porosity, which I don't know), products tend to build up easily. You may need to find the right balance between hydrating, oil and protein in your routine: increase moisture and cut out a great deal of protein. I'll share my buil-up treatment and prevention checklist.

- Check your conditioners for protein. Try a week or two without them(to remove excess protein), before sparingly re-introducing them.
- Clarify with a sulfate shampoo to remove generic product buil-up, follow up with a 15 min (protein-free) conditioner soak to add moisture and remove protein.
- Aloe builds up on some people, so try without it and see if that helps. Honey sometimes does too. SMT's are not for everybody...
- Oiling dry hair can lock OUT moisure instead of locking it in. Only oil damp or hydrated hair.
- Microtrim to remove irreparable damage and/or splits caused by dryness and detangling velcro-like hair.
- Check if you have hard water. If you do, try a filter shower head. (and a chelating wash from time to time)

Remember: less is more when caring for build-up prone hair.

[rcblinn]

Well it's pretty much dry and all I can say is Holy Smokes! My ends are not catching on one another and there are hardly any tangles-I can't believe that was build up! I used my regular Vo5 ( I am cheap and refuse to buy expensive things that just end up down the drain) and massaged it gently but thoroughly into the ends. Finished up with my conditioning with suave and then applied Tres Flores (basically frangranced mineral oil that smells amazing). My hair is a little frizzy and the ends still feel a tad dry but they are laying some much more nicely now. What I am flummoxed by is what could have been contributing to the build up...to be honest though, I hadn't clarified my hair in nearly 2 years (eek!) because I assumed the suds being rinsed through the length were sufficient. I guess not! I know this is subjective but how often should clarifying be done? My hair is fine but there is alot of it. It seems to be low porosity (did the water test and it floated). I don't use silicones and I find that coconut oil too often causes the crunchies. Light mineral oiling on the ends while damp and that's pretty much it. So would once a month be sufficient perhaps? :)

[Firefox7275]

Well it's pretty much dry and all I can say is Holy Smokes! My ends are not catching on one another and there are hardly any tangles-I can't believe that was build up! I used my regular Vo5 ( I am cheap and refuse to buy expensive things that just end up down the drain) and massaged it gently but thoroughly into the ends. Finished up with my conditioning with suave and then applied Tres Flores (basically frangranced mineral oil that smells amazing). My hair is a little frizzy and the ends still feel a tad dry but they are laying some much more nicely now. What I am flummoxed by is what could have been contributing to the build up...to be honest though, I hadn't clarified my hair in nearly 2 years (eek!) because I assumed the suds being rinsed through the length were sufficient. I guess not! I know this is subjective but how often should clarifying be done? My hair is fine but there is alot of it. It seems to be low porosity (did the water test and it floated). I don't use silicones and I find that coconut oil too often causes the crunchies. Light mineral oiling on the ends while damp and that's pretty much it. So would once a month be sufficient perhaps? :)

Those DIY tests for porosity have been debunked. Many things can build up: many silicones, some polyquats, butters, mineral oil/ petrolatum, waxes including cetyl esters, the combination of an anionic shampoo and a cationic conditioner, proteins, minerals from hard water. Just clarify when you feel you need to, there is no requirement for a 'schedule'.