How I beat the never ending battle with white dots and splits ..

[bunzfan]

So i have seen quite a lot of posts recently about people especially fine hairs like myself getting depressed about how they seem to have constant splits and or dots and i want to let you know there is hope out there.

Old routine :

Washed twice a week with sulphates.
Brushed 3 or 4 times daily with a tangle teeer (brushed from top to bottom without de-tangling first)
Used Mini silicone hair ties.
Only S & D occasionally.

New routine :
Exclusively went back to co washing wash once a week .
Now comb daily with wood comb and only brush every other day with a bamboo brush.
Stopped using silicone hair ties.
Regularly oil length the day before i plan on washing (coconut oil has helped with the porosity of my hair (thanks Firefox)
Regular Treatments be it moisture or protein if i have done a few moisturising ones the following week i will do protein one (my hair likes protein because its finer as has some damage)
Oil length daily very tiny amount.

I truly believe ditching the tangle teezer is the biggest reason i'm not getting scary amounts of splits and combing more is giving the damaged parts of my hair a break yes obviously that wasn't giving me the whit dots it was probably the old highlights from about 4 years ago but happily i'm not seeing them any more. I have found recently that doing regular treatments is also stopping my hair from splitting so much being wavy i'm prone to very dry hair anyway even at shoulder length i had alot.

Hope this may have helped some of you and if you want to know anything just ask.

[LadyCelestina]

Thanks for sharing your routine! I like your approach because it sounds more sustainable with longer hair (imo) while still keeping the fragile parts from further damage.

I don't have fine hair,but as my hair got below waist in wet/stretched length, I found myself with more splits than I'd like.I guess it's unavoidable given the condition the last few inches of my hair are in.

[Bambi]

We have the same hair type and I follow the same routine as you except that I have to wash with a sulphate-free schampoo because of my scalp. So glad you posted this as it confirms it for me to be working:).

[Firefox7275]

Glad it's working, sounds like you have a really logical and balanced approach.

[cranberrymoonz]

sounds great. I get splits easily too, maybe i'll try brushing less and combing to detangle.

[Wosie]

Your hair looks beautiful, bunzfan. :blossom: On the day before washing - do you wet your hair before oiling it, and how much do you put in?

[AmyBeth]

My routine is quite similar to yours, Bunzfan, and works for me too. Henna helped a great deal too. I tried the Tangle Teezer and it was a disaster for my hair and so was daily brushing with my BBB.

[cathair]

I am curious what conditioner do you use for CO washing? When I've tried it it's come out looking not good, but your hair doesn't look at all like that it looks nice. But I notice you have a similar hair type and are in the UK too, so you might be using something I could get hold of.

[Crumpet]

Ahh, someone else who doesn't like the TT! I always feel like there's something wrong with me because my hair doesn't like it. At all! Your routine is similar to mine, only I CO every other wash (which is once a week). I may end up doing more CO as I get used to it. Good luck to you. I hope my own hair gets over the splits and white dots soon -- I thought it was over but it seems to be back!

[LaurelSpring]

I also felt like the TT was causing problems. I only use it occasionally now and mostly just to sort of scratch my scalp.

[Weewah]

I use the Tangle Teezer to help suds up my co-wash and brush it through my length. But i saw you posted somewhere else about the TT being damaging, so now I detangle as much as possible with my fingers first, before using the TT. Maybe someday ill quit the TT completely but I do really like using it in the shower.

Also I think our hair types are very similar!

[Rio040113]

You mentioned a bamboo brush, is there one in particular you'd recommend to a fellow UKer? :)

[bunzfan]

We have the same hair type and I follow the same routine as you except that I have to wash with a sulphate-free schampoo because of my scalp. So glad you posted this as it confirms it for me to be working:).

Sulphate free works too i just found it didn't clean my hair as well as sulphates did so i tried cwc but it trashed my hair so that's why i went back to co washing.



sounds great. I get splits easily too, maybe i'll try brushing less and combing to detangle.


What i have started doing is combing first and then brushing if my hair really looks like a good brush but, what i really like with combing it doesn't disturb my wave pattern.


Your hair looks beautiful, bunzfan. :blossom: On the day before washing - do you wet your hair before oiling it, and how much do you put in?


I am curious what conditioner do you use for CO washing? When I've tried it it's come out looking not good, but your hair doesn't look at all like that it looks nice. But I notice you have a similar hair type and are in the UK too, so you might be using something I could get hold of.

Just recently i found a good light conditioner in Lidl its the teatree and apple one 98p for a massive bottle i do water it down a bit because its really thick, with co washing its all about how you do it i have always found i apply conditioner to all my scalp hair put far more on then you would think you would need then put a thicker conditioner on the bottom half then put on a shower cap and carry on with my shower, once i've done that i take the shower cap off run some water over the conditioner soaked hair until it almost feels slimy and give it a really good massage much longer than when you are shampooing and then rinse, rinse,rinse (that's the key)


Ahh, someone else who doesn't like the TT! I always feel like there's something wrong with me because my hair doesn't like it. At all! Your routine is similar to mine, only I CO every other wash (which is once a week). I may end up doing more CO as I get used to it. Good luck to you. I hope my own hair gets over the splits and white dots soon -- I thought it was over but it seems to be back!


You mentioned a bamboo brush, is there one in particular you'd recommend to a fellow UKer? :)

Ohhh sure i got a bamboo brush and wood comb from the bodyshop both came to about £12 i don't seem to shed as badly either since i've been using it. i have this one http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/haircare/hairbrush-with-bamboo-pins.aspx

[Tini'sNewHair]

Sounds really good. I always thought about getting one of them wooden/bambo type of brushes, theres one here at the shop a bit costly and its a paddle brush type but with a lot less teeth... would this help with static hair in winter time? (its the start of autumn here). When you co wash, do you only apply conditioner to your length? I dont think i could do that, stretching my washes is tricky enough as it is :(

[bunzfan]

Sounds really good. I always thought about getting one of them wooden/bambo type of brushes, theres one here at the shop a bit costly and its a paddle brush type but with a lot less teeth... would this help with static hair in winter time? (its the start of autumn here). When you co wash, do you only apply conditioner to your length? I dont think i could do that, stretching my washes is tricky enough as it is :(

I don't have staticy hair now that's true, i apply conditioner everywhere a light one on the scalp a heavier one on the length, my hair gets less greasy than when i shampooed ;) it does feel really nice to brush it gives the scalp a bit of a massage.

[Rio040113]

Ohhh sure i got a bamboo brush and wood comb from the bodyshop both came to about £12 i don't seem to shed as badly either since i've been using it. i have this one http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/haircare/hairbrush-with-bamboo-pins.aspx

I was hoping you'd say that one :p I've been eyeing it up for a little while, so it's nice to hear good things about it from a reliable source! If it helps my hair look as nice as yours then it'll be well loved :D Thanks for the tip!

[renia22]

I truly believe ditching the tangle teezer is the biggest reason i'm not getting scary amounts of splits and combing more is giving the damaged parts of my hair a break yes obviously that wasn't giving me the whit dots it was probably the old highlights from about 4 years ago but happily i'm not seeing them any more. I have found recently that doing regular treatments is also stopping my hair from splitting so much being wavy i'm prone to very dry hair anyway even at shoulder length i had alot.
.

Thank you for sharing. You are not alone in the negative TT experience. I had a bad experience with it too and have been working on growing out the damage from it.
*sigh*. Glad you figured it out and found alternatives that work better for you!

[chen bao jun]

I don't have fine hair but I do pretty much the same as you. Tangle Teaser killed my hair, so I gave it away. I fingercomb while full of conditioner. I do protein less now than I used to but protein does really help me keep the ends on my hair.
I never had splits and white dots but what I had(have) is very fragile ends that can (they are not at the moment, thank goodness) that are prone to SSKs, tangling and knotting when my routine isn't right.

[cathair]

Thanks for the info on CO washing Bunzfan. I will have to check out that conditioner in Lidi :)

[ArienEllariel]

And funnily enough, my fine hair loves the tangle teaser. Just shows every person's hair is different. :)