Reducing mechanical damage

[Arwenlily]

I'm not quite sure what is the culprit of all of the mechanical damage I have. I started noticing that my ends are thinner, which is a result of layers but also from mechanical damage. Most of the damage is towards the back of my head. I lifted up a couple of strands of hair towards the back and noticed thicker clumps at the top and thinning out towards the end which makes me sad. I have recently been using a wide-tooth comb to detangle my hair and sometimes I'm impatient towards of the back of my hair for some reason (probably because I have more tangles back there) and I hear snaps a lot which I can now see has caused much damage. I also try to just finger detangle, but it seems that mechanical damage is inevitable because I still hear snapping. The likelihood of this damage is also probably increased because half of my hair has been colored treated and straightened once or twice while the rest is virgin.

Is there a way I can reduce this mechanical damage? And how bad is the damage that I have already? I'm afraid that those shorter strands will grow out awkwardly ... ugh.

[melomane]

Comb at the bottom of your length and then slowly comb longer and longer sections until you can comb from the scalp to the ends. Also if you find a tangle rub a drop or so of oil or Biosilk on your hands before finger detangling. To prevent tangling in the first place french braids or updos might help.

[CremeTron]

Me too! I have damage at the back. I am trying to give up elastics but I feel frumpy in braids. I am fairly stout and have a short neck

[Arwenlily]

melomane Thank you for the advice, I'm definitely going to try using a little bit of oil each time I detangle.
CremetTron I'm sure braids look great on you!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Arwenlily, do you wear your hair up in protective styles? And use a sleeping cap? Doing these things does greatly reduce tangling (and therefore mechanical damage).

[Arwenlily]

Yes, I always keep my hair in a protective style but my hair still gets tangled. Not extremely tangled but enough that a comb won't go through it smoothly. But no, I don't wear a sleeping cap ... I just can't get myself to do that. Of would be way too uncomfortable for me.

[meteor]

Arwenlily, you don't have to wear a sleep cap, but you could try a silk satin (charmeuse) pillowcase or even wrap your hair or your pillowcase with a silk scarf and see how you like your results after a few nights? Also try containing hair in a braid or two or some other comfortable style when you go to sleep.
Since we spend a third of our lives sleeping, might as well limit the mechanical damage in our sleep! ;)

Is the damage you are noticing focused only on your color-treated and heat-styled hair? If so, you could use oils and hydrolyzed proteins on that length, as porous/damaged hair tends to respond well to them.

[picklepie]

A comb is unlikely to go through 3a/3b hair smoothly, even without prior damage. It's just not in the repertoire of most curly hair. Have you tried detangling in the shower with conditioner in your hair?

[meteor]

A comb is unlikely to go through 3a/3b hair smoothly, even without prior damage. It's just not in the repertoire of most curly hair. Have you tried detangling in the shower with conditioner in your hair?
Great point! :) And you might want to look into the Curly Girl method, if you haven't tried it yet.

[ErinLeigh]

Getting protein/moisture balance will help overall condition which will lead to easier to manage stronger hair. If hair is virgin and color treated it has it own challenges in balance as you need to care for both parts almost individually.
I think adding conditioners targeted for colored or damaged hair on the dyed parts will help. Dyed hair needs so much more help than virgin hair. It kind of relies on what you put into it. You may find you need a little bit more attention to that section of hair if that makes sense. Using a good leave in on the bottom to help with slip, trimming that part off as often as you are comfortable, penetrating oils on that section (especially before washing.)
I am thinking maybe your regular shampoo to wash the scalp but then really paying attention to mid section down with conditioner that contain ingredients especially for damaged/dyed hair.

I bleach and color and my hair feels much better when I add hydrolyzed proteins to the colored part for instance. Mine needs extra protein, extra moisture, oils, ceramides etc...when I use that on virgin hair though, my hair gets crunchy. I recently learned this letting my roots grow out a bit, longer than I ever let them before. They cannot handle the same ingredients my ends can. It was interesting to discover. I never had "crunchy roots before." If I grew out my natural hair I think I would have to have a hair care routine for new growth and old hair.

These are just rambling thoughts stemming from something I am noticing in my own situation.

[CremeTron]

Thanks Arwenlily! I hope you are getting helpful answers. When I read your post, I felt I could have written it myself. I have the same thing. i know that dealing with my hair one pigtail at a time helps me sometimes with detangling. Or into three parts: Depending on your parting sort of pigtails at top and then a section below crown.