How can I retain length and prevent so breakage in curly hair? Your tips?

[lole18]

I shampoo my hair twice a week sometimes 3 using a sulfate free shampoo, and condition with tresemme's moisture silicone free conditioner. I do a protein\olive oil+honey+conditioner pre poo treatment every week or so. I finger comb in the shower and sometimes use a wide tooth comb\tangle teezer + squeeze the excess water out with a shirt and apply a little bit of silicone free leave in from the ears down then wrap my hair in a shirt for 30 or so minutes and take it out till it dries then put it in a ponytail if i'm going to college or a clipped bun when i'm home. It's not very tight and i'm very gentle with it but I have SO MUCH breakage and tangles and i don't know how to braid my hair and i tried sleeping with it up or in loose bun\ponytail and on a silk pillowcase but couldn't handle it. And i tried CO but my hair hated it and i ended up with so much dandruff! I do a lemon\ACV rinse and leave it in my hair a little bit sometimes :) My hair is dry, scalp is normal& low porosity & I live in a very dry REALLY HOT in summer REALLY COLD in winter and very dry place. it's APL i microtrim since i'm trying to grow it out but it looks so thin from my neck down because of all the breakage! I never use chemical treatments! I do use heat once or twice a month. I have very weak hair though i take a multivitamin and my hypothyroid medicine. I'm not a very healthy eater and I rarely exercise. I live in VERY hard water place that's why i use the ACV rinse and sometimes rinse with filtered water at the end (I want to try chelating but i don't have and chelating shampoos where I live and I do clarify sometimes) And I have very thin fine hair :)

Can you give me some tips to lessen the breakage and is there something wrong with the way i'm styling it or with my routine? Thanks :) :o

[Firefox7275]

Can you be more specific please, which products and treatments? How much heat/ flat iron or blow fryer, brush or not, what temperature? Why only a little leave in?

Ponytails can be hugely damaging, the lengths and ends are not protected and the secure pulls on one spot of hair. Low porosity hair doesn't generally go with a lot of breakage, how do you know? How coarse is your hair and what us the elasticity?

[heidi w.]

I would recommend oiling once you're done washing and conditionining your hair. Spray it on while your hair is still damp. This is best for curly girls. Only oil the length, not the scalp hair. Allow sebum to do its job on your scalp hair. Find a detangler and use it too before oiling and while hair is still damp. I do not recommend sleeping in a bun; instead I recommend sleeping on a satin pillowcase so hair can slide and loosely braiding your hair in twin braids. The looseness should begin at the top of braiding then braid the length normally. This will lessen your time in the morning and few if any tangles will occur.

I hope this helps.

Oh, and don't ponytail the hair. This does not protect the length. Learn to braid or bun the hair. Also, watch what kind of tieoffs you use. Rubber bands are very bad for hair. I recommend, also, not using heat on the hair. Instead air dry in front of a large fan and detangle the hair and blow dry the hair on a cool setting til the hair is mostly dry. THEN allow it to finish air drying without a fan.

Do not chelate the hair which is pronounced as key-lating. Do not regularly use baking soda and shampoo mixed 3 tablespoons each, blended very well with no lumps and a few air gas bubbles. This is how the clarify shampoo is made by hand if you cannot find a clarifying shampoo to purchase. Do not use this shampoo regularly; only use it on an as-needed basis. Also for the water quality, you can purchase a shower head filter from Menards or Lowes or some kind of home store and put it on yourself even if you rent. It removes easily. Regularly change the filter, so make sure it's not a filter that will go out of business. I made that mistake, but later I added on a water softener to my house, so now I'm all good.

I hope this helps you out.
heidi w.

[lole18]

Can you be more specific please, which products and treatments? How much heat/ flat iron or blow fryer, brush or not, what temperature? Why only a little leave in?

Ponytails can be hugely damaging, the lengths and ends are not protected and the secure pulls on one spot of hair. Low porosity hair doesn't generally go with a lot of breakage, how do you know? How coarse is your hair and what us the elasticity?

Gelatin in water once every two weeks for the protein. Olive oil + honey + conditioner every one\two weeks. I don't mean too little but the amount that's enough for my hair.

Loose ponytails! I think buns are too much fuss and the only bun I know how to do is where I tie my hair in a ponytail then twist the hair and clip\pin the ends is that better than ponytails? I tried the test thing :) my hair is veeeryy fine and thin! I edited some stuff in my first post that i forgot to write! Please give me all the tips you have :) and the changed I need to change! Also about the amount of heat and elasticity I actually don't know :\ but I use a blow dryer with a brush then sometimes a straightener on top of it since my hair is so frizzy! But It's only once a month\2 months

[lole18]

I would recommend oiling once you're done washing and conditionining your hair. Spray it on while your hair is still damp. This is best for curly girls. Only oil the length, not the scalp hair. Allow sebum to do its job on your scalp hair. Find a detangler and use it too before oiling and while hair is still damp. I do not recommend sleeping in a bun; instead I recommend sleeping on a satin pillowcase so hair can slide and loosely braiding your hair in twin braids. The looseness should begin at the top of braiding then braid the length normally. This will lessen your time in the morning and few if any tangles will occur.

I hope this helps.

Oh, and don't ponytail the hair. This does not protect the length. Learn to braid or bun the hair. Also, watch what kind of tieoffs you use. Rubber bands are very bad for hair. I recommend, also, not using heat on the hair. Instead air dry in front of a large fan and detangle the hair and blow dry the hair on a cool setting til the hair is mostly dry. THEN allow it to finish air drying without a fan.
heidi w.

I wrote in my post that I couldn't handle braids\a satin pillowcase. So I should stop pre-oiling with olive oil and just put some drops in the length after putting my leave in while wet? Or do both? And what oil should I use? I have olive oil jojoba and coconut but i tried coconut oil my hair didn't like it.. And i'm scared if I put some after showering it will make it greasy or go up till my scalp and cause more shedding since I have hypothyroid :o my hair is very thin and fine :)

[lapushka]

There's the bad diet, the hypo, the F/thin hair and there's the heat. You can change 2 things, your diet and the amount of heat you use. I'd try and change those two things first. It will help your hypo out as well!

[lole18]

There's the bad diet, the hypo, the F/thin hair and there's the heat. You can change 2 things, your diet and the amount of heat you use. I'd try and change those two things first. It will help your hypo out as well!

What sort of things should I be eating? And I only use the heat ONCE a month! Sometimes I even skip it! But I do use it for special occasions so :( Does my routine seem fine though? And are buns really better than loose ponytails? Will they make a difference?

[lapushka]

What sort of things should I be eating? And I only use the heat ONCE a month! Sometimes I even skip it! But I do use it for special occasions so :( Does my routine seem fine though? And are buns really better than loose ponytails? Will they make a difference?

I thought you said "once or twice a month" in your OP. A healthy, fresh, diet. Enough protein, meat, dairy, fruit, veg, etc. Maybe take a multivitamin or something to help you along if your diet isn't as healthy as you'd want it to be.

I think buns might be better, because you can do them looser. You only need to lightly twist the hair up for a bun. A ponytail can be really restrictive and the elastic won't help any. It all really depends on the condition of your hair, in what it's able to withstand.

[lole18]

I thought you said "once or twice a month" in your OP. A healthy, fresh, diet. Enough protein, meat, dairy, fruit, veg, etc. Maybe take a multivitamin or something to help you along if your diet isn't as healthy as you'd want it to be.

I think buns might be better, because you can do them looser. You only need to lightly twist the hair up for a bun. A ponytail can be really restrictive and the elastic won't help any. It all really depends on the condition of your hair, in what it's able to withstand.

Yeah I meant once a month\every 2 months lol :o I only know how to do the bun where I tie my hair in a ponytail then twist the hair and clip\pin the ends is that better than ponytails? I mean I guess it's the same but the ends are up :o will it make a difference?

[heidi w.]

If you have some kind of hypo disease, follow the doctors orders. The hair shedding will stop in time. Hair does not stay the same all of our lives. So braiding and a satin pillowcase don't work. I usually recommend twin braids so no one is sleeping on a lump. Well, then wear your hair loose although you'll have more tangles in the morning. Sleep on the satin pillowcase or wear a satin cap for nighttime which a lot of people do. For oiling since you don't like Jojoba Oil and Coconut Oil which are the best 2 oils out there as far as I'm concerned, choose any other kind of oil you'd like such as Almond Oil, Apricot Oil and a myriad of other oils. These are all carrier oils. And do not oil the scalp hair. I recommend against this because it can cause scalp skin conditions which can be hard to overcome.

Just oil the length only or the ends on a nightly basis. The ends on a nightly basis but overall the entire length. Same with conditioner. Just condition the length only not the scalp hair. This is what I do. I condition and oil from the earlobes on down.

I also recommend learning more updos which you can do via searching Torrin Paige and watching her youtube videos. I have a youtube video too on how I oil my length. Find it via google, under, heidi w. oils hair length. Anything not done in the video means don't do it.

heidi w.

[lapushka]

Yeah I meant once a month\every 2 months lol :o I only know how to do the bun where I tie my hair in a ponytail then twist the hair and clip\pin the ends is that better than ponytails? I mean I guess it's the same but the ends are up :o will it make a difference?

I personally ditched my ponytails (for the better) in favor of a peacock twist. Been wearing this for years with a regular simple plain old claw clip and I never saw damage from it. You'll have to see what it does for your hair and if it really is much more comfortable.

[walterSCAN]

Yeah I meant once a month\every 2 months lol :o I only know how to do the bun where I tie my hair in a ponytail then twist the hair and clip\pin the ends is that better than ponytails? I mean I guess it's the same but the ends are up :o will it make a difference?

I would advise browsing around this forum and youtube (TorrinPaige and Hypnotica both have quite a few how-to videos for various buns, though they may be difficult at your length) to learn buns that don't start with a ponytail/ use elastics. They really aren't very protective. Even doing a loose pony, you are going to have some breakage/ damage where the hairtie (hope you aren't using rubber bands!) is constantly rubbing and in contact with your hair. Spin pins are likely to become your friend! :) We've got a hairstyle reference thread in progress here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=112682) with lots of links to various styles. I do think lapushka's suggestion of the peacock twist is a good one for your length, and would definitely be less damaging.

Also, I'd like to add my vote for improving your diet-- if your body isn't healthy, it isn't going to waste effort and nutrients to grow hair, and growing healthy hair is even less likely. I'd also advise you to avoid heatstyling period (not sure where they got to, but we used to have some way-close-up photos of heat styled hair floating around here-- maybe in the articles section?-- that were really eye-opening regarding damage) and learning to appreciate your natural texture. If you can't bring yourself to leave off the heat, then you need to go forward knowing that it IS going to be damaging your hair, every time.

Last thing: can you be more precise about where you are seeing the damage? Is it all over, or localized to a particular spot or spots? Knowing the answer to that question can give you clues about what needs to change to avoid the damage you're seeing.

[Firefox7275]

Repeatedly brushing hair when wet (blow frying) is damaging over time, flat irons can destroy the hair in just ONE session if the heat is too high or hair is even slightly damp (Google bubble hair). I caused major breakage with daily ponytail that were not tight and only secured with no snag elastics. Sounds like you are also starting a bun with a ponytail so way too often: learn other styles, Spin Pin messy buns are easy and secure.

Do you need weekly hydrolysed protein treatments? These can strengthen, but can also build up and cause brittle tangly hair if overdone. Your pre-shampoo conditioning doesn't make sense, that should be after shampooing or you just wash away the conditioning. Penetrating oils like olive are beneficial to porous hair but should be applied dry not wet. You still have not listed all your products?

Healthy diet and lifestyle: start with your government's recommendations, many have modifications online for those with specific health conditions. Otherwise see charities that focus on thyroid issues. In general eat wholefoods like oily fish, low sugar fruits, non starchy vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, plain dairy, eggs. A very wide variety of foods that look much as they come off the plant or animal, as little processing and refining as possible (bread is massively processed from whole wheat berries). You can't just eat for hair, it comes from the skin which is your largest organ and needs a balance of ALL nutrients.

HTH.

[lole18]

I would advise browsing around this forum and youtube (TorrinPaige and Hypnotica both have quite a few how-to videos for various buns, though they may be difficult at your length) to learn buns that don't start with a ponytail/ use elastics. They really aren't very protective. Even doing a loose pony, you are going to have some breakage/ damage where the hairtie (hope you aren't using rubber bands!) is constantly rubbing and in contact with your hair. Spin pins are likely to become your friend! :) We've got a hairstyle reference thread in progress here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=112682) with lots of links to various styles. I do think lapushka's suggestion of the peacock twist is a good one for your length, and would definitely be less damaging.

Also, I'd like to add my vote for improving your diet-- if your body isn't healthy, it isn't going to waste effort and nutrients to grow hair, and growing healthy hair is even less likely. I'd also advise you to avoid heatstyling period (not sure where they got to, but we used to have some way-close-up photos of heat styled hair floating around here-- maybe in the articles section?-- that were really eye-opening regarding damage) and learning to appreciate your natural texture. If you can't bring yourself to leave off the heat, then you need to go forward knowing that it IS going to be damaging your hair, every time.

Last thing: can you be more precise about where you are seeing the damage? Is it all over, or localized to a particular spot or spots? Knowing the answer to that question can give you clues about what needs to change to avoid the damage you're seeing.

I loved the hairstyle Lapushka suggested but i'm not sure it'll hold well for an entire day without me redoing it and my hair's frizzy so i'll see how it goes! I never heard of spin pins.. What are they? Where can I buy them? And is it still that damaging to use heat once a month\every 2 months!! The breakage is all over but specially the ends and the nape\ears\edges.. LOL so everywhere? And no I don't use rubber bands! And i'm trying my best to improve my diet but it's hard :( :o

[lole18]

I personally ditched my ponytails (for the better) in favor of a peacock twist. Been wearing this for years with a regular simple plain old claw clip and I never saw damage from it. You'll have to see what it does for your hair and if it really is much more comfortable.

It's really nice but does it stay on for an entire day or do I have to keep redoing it lol? And will it work for curly\frizzy hair? My hair isn't too curly it's more on the wavy\frizzy side. :o

[lole18]

Repeatedly brushing hair when wet (blow frying) is damaging over time, flat irons can destroy the hair in just ONE session if the heat is too high or hair is even slightly damp (Google bubble hair). I caused major breakage with daily ponytail that were not tight and only secured with no snag elastics. Sounds like you are also starting a bun with a ponytail so way too often: learn other styles, Spin Pin messy buns are easy and secure.

Do you need weekly hydrolysed protein treatments? These can strengthen, but can also build up and cause brittle tangly hair if overdone. Your pre-shampoo conditioning doesn't make sense, that should be after shampooing or you just wash away the conditioning. Penetrating oils like olive are beneficial to porous hair but should be applied dry not wet. You still have not listed all your products?

Healthy diet and lifestyle: start with your government's recommendations, many have modifications online for those with specific health conditions. Otherwise see charities that focus on thyroid issues. In general eat wholefoods like oily fish, low sugar fruits, non starchy vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, plain dairy, eggs. A very wide variety of foods that look much as they come off the plant or animal, as little processing and refining as possible (bread is massively processed from whole wheat berries). You can't just eat for hair, it comes from the skin which is your largest organ and needs a balance of ALL nutrients.

HTH.

I need to get my hair straight in order to trim it! I don't know how to trim it and the only people I trust are my friends but they only know how to trim straightened hair! Since it penetrates the hair shouldn't I be doing it as a pre-poo? I put the oil before shampoo and honey and conditioner after :( sorry i'm not good at this :o also i only use any SLS free shampoo and tresemme's conditioner and fructis leave in

[walterSCAN]

I loved the hairstyle Lapushka suggested but i'm not sure it'll hold well for an entire day without me redoing it and my hair's frizzy so i'll see how it goes! I never heard of spin pins.. What are they? Where can I buy them? And is it still that damaging to use heat once a month\every 2 months!! The breakage is all over but specially the ends and the nape\ears\edges.. LOL so everywhere? And no I don't use rubber bands! And i'm trying my best to improve my diet but it's hard :( :o

These are spin pins. (http://www.amazon.com/Goody-Simple-Styles-Assorted-Colors/dp/B003FVDNO6) I've found them at Wamart/ Meijer/ drug stores/ other stores like that. I haven't been able to do a peacock twist in years (my hair is too long/ heavy/ contrary for that style), so I'll have to rely on others to help you with those questions, sorry. :)

It seems like you want us to tell you that heat styling infrequently is not going to damage your hair-- while it's definitely not as bad as doing it daily, I can't truthfully tell you that it isn't damaging either. I'm not saying you have to stop doing it, though I would advise it, but, yes, I am saying that heat styling even one time is going to damage your hair. How much it damages your hair depends a lot on your particular hair type and how hot your styling tools are. Regarding frizz, my hair is 1a so I don't have a lot of experience here, but my impression from listening to wavy/ curlies talk is that straightening/ blowdrying can cause frizziness. Also, frizziness seems to be seen more in hair that is curlier or wavier than the person thinks it is, and/ or the person isn't giving it as much (moisture or conditioning or whatever) as it needs. I'll let other curly/ wavies elaborate and give advice there, though, since that's not my hairtype.

Breakage around your nape/ ears sounds like mechanical damage from wearing ponytails to me-- the hair under the hairtie is getting damaged due to friction. Glad you're not using rubber bands! Keep in mind though that any hairtie/ elastic wrapped tight enough around your hair to hold it up is tight enough to create friction. That's a big reason you'll see so many people around here using things like hair sticks, forks, spin pins, ficcare clips, etc. Damage at the ends could be many different things, but it is seen a lot with heat styling.

Just do your best regarding diet. Lifestyle changes can be stressful if you try to do too much at once, so take it slow if you need to and just make one or two changes for the better at a time. The more you do, the easier it gets. :) Good luck!

[chen bao jun]

you need to 100% stop straightening and blow drying, sorry. Ponytails have to go. It's buns for you. Try to eat better and take a hair skin and nails vitamin. Wash your hair in braids and only fingercomb, don't ever use the comb and brush. Don 't worry about trimming just yet but you do not need to straighten your hair to trim.

[livelycurls]

Basically what I do is to follow all the tips in this website http://www.tightlycurly.com/welcome. This is really good info for curly hair, you can see on her pics how long is her hair. Only difference is that I use the Wet Brush instead of a Denman Brush. I felt the Denman was pulling too much hair. Probably you will like her website and info a lot. It has been totally helpful for me :)

[Firefox7275]

It's really nice but does it stay on for an entire day or do I have to keep redoing it lol? And will it work for curly\frizzy hair? My hair isn't too curly it's more on the wavy\frizzy side. :o

It feels like you are mentally dismissing every suggestion. Long hair and curly hair do take a different type of care to shorter or straighter hair, that is the nature of the beast. A lot of the changes have to be in attitude: I was doing EVERYTHING wrong when I came here except I was not heat styling. Every product, every tool and every technique has changed .... And so has my hair.

There is no such thing as a frizzy hair type, hair if neglected (no washing or combing) would end up matted or dreadlocked not frizzed.

Frizz is damaged hair and/ or badly treated curly or wavy hair. It is individual hairs that have been separated by brushing, combing or dryness or damage so they don't lie nicely together, good care and piles of conditioner can resolve that over time. Again see the Curly Girl method.

If you looked that method up you would learn about curly specialist haircuts which are done on dry hair in its wavy or curly styled state. Other wavies wet cut we don't heat style to straighten, our hair will go stick straight temporarily when dripping. There is also wet wrapping.

Google or see YouTube or run an advanced search on LHC for any terms you don't understand, there are threads on every topic.

[BroomHilda]

Given your hair care routine I think its very unlikely that the culrpit for breakage is something you do/not doing.
I would not concider Ponytails and updo's as a cause of the problem

You said u have hypothyroidism and over that you are unhealthy eater and don't exercise. This is where I would pay attention
The hair breaking is about 1-2 years old, which means if you started therapy later than 2 years ago it's normal for it to be porous/thin/etc up to the breaking point.
Have patience , your hair should be growing in better condition during therapy. You should defenetely fix your diet, eat adequate protein and vegetables/fruits etc
Maybe you should concider a vitamin/fish oil supplement as well

[YamaMaya]

Curly hair seems to be a lot more prone to breakage mainly because of the structural arrangement of the hair. My best advice would be prevent hydral fatigue at all costs, don't get the hair wet as often, stretch your washes further, and use coconut oil to try and reduce the porosity a bit. And of course, a healthy diet promotes strong growth.

[QMacrocarpa]

Learning a basic braid will really help, check youtube for a tutorial that fits your learning style. My (curly, breakage-prone) hair would get terribly tangled if I didn't put it in a braid for sleeping. I have definitely had breakage in the back caused by mechanical damage from how I was securing my hair (barrettes were the culprit for me), so I try to be quite careful about that now, and I pretty much never use hair elastics at all any more (my curly, grippy hair will stay in a sleep braid without an elastic at the end).

I would strongly advise against constant ponytailing. I'm not sure how much length you have to work with, but you might have good success with using an octopus clip (http://www.amazon.com/Scunci-No-slip-Grip-Octopus-Colors/dp/B001T8W5EQ) as a bun cage. There's no need to ponytail the hair first, you just gather your hair wherever you want the bun to be, gently form it into a bun-shaped blob, and fasten the octopus clip over it, making sure to grab some scalp hair with the teeth. For me this was very secure, easy to do, and quite protective of my ends, which split and break if my hair is down all the time. When you want to branch out, there are lots of great updo tutorials on youtube as well. Many buns are super fast and easy once you know how to do them and have a few handy tools, like spin-pins, a hair-friendly clip like a Ficcare or an inexpensive knock-off (http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=VP10435), hair sticks, and/or a Flexi-8 (http://www.flexi8.com/).

I never heat-style. Literally never. I would expect any heat-styling to be quite hard on my fragile, wimpy hair. I also self-trim, with Feye's method (http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/).

Improved nutrition and exercise will be good for your hair (and the rest of you!) but you will likely still need to treat your hair more gently to prevent breakage and tangles.

[Kina]

Just my $.02 cents. Curly/wavy hair does NOT need to be straightened to achieve a straight cut, all you have to do is wet and comb it. It's also the most forgiving hair type for errors in cutting, since the hair tends to curl/wave unevenly, you never really get them all to lay at the same length (except with heat) when dry.

That, however, is not the best cut, IMO, for that hair type (which is my own). By far the best way (if curly) is letting it dry and cutting each clump of hair individually, ala the curly girl method. Makes for the most beautiful curl and wave pattern.

My hair is fine/medium, which makes it light and frizzy, especially with no product. If you're hair is frizzy all the time, it's probably because you haven't learned to use what product works on your particular hair type.

What works for me with my type of hair is laying off the shampoo (once a week just the keep the scalp clean), I rinse and condition from the ears down to the ends daily, light oiling and alcohol free hair gel to keep the shape. Without the oil and the gel, my hair flies absolutely everywhere. Also, no brushing. Ever. I comb it with a wide tooth comb in the shower about weekly, the rest of the time I finger comb to keep the tangles manageable. My hair is VERY prone to tangling, so much so that one strand will get a knot in it, all by itself (I believe they call it fairy knots on this board). I swear my hair gets into fights with itself, and has also managed to attack people on the train, walking down the street, in the car, pretty much everywhere. The more moisturized it is, the better it behaves. I keep the oil away from the scalp, however, since I will break out. I like coconut oil, or did until I moved to where my house has hard water (sob). After figuring out what was wrong, (my ends were completely crispy and the tangling was out of control, dunno how much hair I lost due to it) I've started clarifying and using almond oil on the the ends. It's working nicely.

my sister thought I was just joking about my hair, until I was sitting approximately 2 feet away from her in a restaurant and she thought a fly was buzzing around her face. Nope, my hair.

My suggestion would be to first figure out what type of hair you have (here is a link: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=116252) then read up on the threads that are for that particular hair type. Once you've done that, start experimenting with one or 2 things at a time, until you see what works for you.

[spidermom]

I would guess that most of the leave-in is ending up on the shirt you wrap your hair in. Wrap your hair first to absorb the drips, then apply the leave-in.

A generous pre-wash coconut oiling keeps my hair from drying out.

[Firefox7275]

I would guess that most of the leave-in is ending up on the shirt you wrap your hair in. Wrap your hair first to absorb the drips, then apply the leave-in.

A generous pre-wash coconut oiling keeps my hair from drying out.

You'd be surprised, a wrap that is not overly tight wicks water out without taking all the product. Personally I find there is a huge difference between applying leave in to wet hair and to blotted hair - the former means it seems to absorb better (yes I know most ingredients don't) and way less pouf whether wearing wavy or straight. This might be a function of my hair being colour treated and porous, but it is also standard Curly Girl practise.

[MultiCultiCurly]

Hello, fellow curly here :waving:. I second what was said a few times before about trying to take better care of your body, especially when it comes to drinking enough water and eating a fairly balanced diet, as yeah, hair is definitely towards the bottom of the list on getting those nutrients anyways. Length retention is a problem for many of us, especially if your hair is tightly curly, as each bend in the hair is a potential weak spot. Our hair NEEDS moisture, and often, so avoiding water will only make your hair dry and even easier to snap (especially the ends). The best thing I've learned to do, is:

1) Avoid the urge to comb/brush/fingercomb hair often--keep it down to maybe a couple of times a week at most, don't worry, it won't dreadlock, lol! Our hair cannot be treated the same as straight hair, or you won't be retaining much of what you grow. Our hair "clumps", especially when left alone after a wash and condition to set with either some conditioner or other product on it, which helps keep the individual curl strands protected. Breaking up the clumps not only makes the strands more vulnerable, but also creates tangles and frizz that result in more loss of hair if you're not super careful. Go to bed in a loose braid or bun (or "pineapple" your hair) and a satin cap or pillow case, then to refresh your curls (they'll look ruined by morning, but they're not) with just a [I]little[I] bit of water and some product (preferably a moisturizing one--not a gel, since gels harden and can cause more breakage with letting it build up). You would just run your lightly coated and watered hands over the frizzy parts and general outside of your hair from top to bottom and leave it be--then watch your curls pop back to life :-). Do your detangling in the shower on sopping wet hair saturated in conditioner---that nearly eliminates (gentle technique does the rest) troubles with breakage while detangling.
2) Be sure to balance your moisture with protein--curly hair NEEDS sooo much moisture, but too much without a protein balance will result in weaker strands (hydral fatigue). The best way to know which you need at any given time is unfortunately only learned from time, trial and error. You'll probably need protein if your hair seems extra fragile and almost mushy, and you'll need to lay off protein and use moisture if your hair feels straw-like and/or hard (also, strands snapping with no elasticity is a sign of too much protein; and too much moisture is usually signaled by strands that have too much elasticity and no "sturdiness").
3) Try pre-pooing the night before (or for a while before shampooing), with an oil like coconut oil (my personal staple) or olive oil, or really, any of the natural oils (apricot, grapeseed, almond, etc). It helps protect the strands and keep the shampoo from stripping all moisture out of them, while still cleansing your hair.

These tips helped me retain lots more length, so I hope they can help you too :D

[Firefox7275]

Be careful with the protein-moisture balance that is badly named. Hydrolysed protein is actually a weak humectant so water attracting/ potentially moisturising. Curly and wavy hair generally needs more conditioning/ emollience (softness, slip, shine) it does NOT all need more water, too much is damaging (hygral fatigue). Like any head of hair some of us are low porosity some high, some fine and some coarse - very different needs.

[cat11]

I have 2c/3a hair and I noticed breakage recently on the baby hair of widows peak from the elastic band on my sleep cap. it makes such a difference though I ordere a nicer one without the elastic band because in general I used to get the most breakage from untangling matted, ridiculous bedhair in the morning. I seriously swear by it now it reduced my "hair frustration" by like 75 haha. its impossible to sleep on curly hair and not end up losing hair in the morning trying to get it to look half decent

[Elenna]

Does your hair dry fast? It may be indicative of fine hair that isn't retaining water moisture.

Pre-oiling with coconut oil helps a lot with dry & brittle hair. Coconut oil helps the hair to retain moisture & flexibility. I found that the lighter oils like jojoba just didn't do much in the way of moisturizing fine hair. For water moisture, I try to slow down the drying time by wrapping a towel around damp hair for an hour afterwards.