Damaged front hair - what to do?

[Crumpet]

Hi All -- I'm in a bit of a quandry. I decided to give up on growth and focus on hair health for the time being. My main hair issue is the hair at the front/sides of my head. This hair is rather scraggly, while the back of my hair is in much better shape. The worst part is that I'm trying to grow out the front bit since it was layered and I would like to have my hair all one length (or at least better layers). For this reason, I need for it to catch up to the rest of the hair, but he scraggles mean that I want to keep trimming it to keep it looking better.

As a bit of back story -- I got highlights/lowlights for a few years because I moved from a sunny to a dark place and my hair darkened a lot (it looked like I bleached my hair and stopped!). I stopped doing this about 17 or 18 months ago. I have never used heat on my hair and I almost always wear my hair up. I'm pretty gentle with my hair now, but was less gentle about a year ago. I also had a hard water problem until about 10 months ago.

I realize that damage accumulates, but is there anything you would suggest I do to nourish these front pieces beyond keeping them up?

[AcornMystic]

I am in the same situation, unfortunately. Wayyy back I tried doing Feye's method. So proud on the idea that I was going to save money by cutting my own hair and control just how much came off I took it into my hands to attempt a V cut without really thinking just what the shape would be if I cut looking at my knees. Not down at my toes.... my knees! I had to seriously curl my neck to get that cut. I was really hung up on the idea of a V cut that tapered somewhat like a lion's mane down my back. What I didn't realize is that the side hairs didn't work like that for me. What ended up happening was I had a lot of length in the back and some terribly short layers in the front and sides. I looked ridiculous... *facepalm* ... They don't even frame my face! They just kinda... hang there. :disgust: At any rate. The front and sides are at shoulder and some at collarbone now when pulled straight. I'm slowly getting there, but they still don't quite look like they are 'kept'. I am reluctant to take any length off so they will slowly fairytale into the length, however... it's not quite working that way because they are damaged... They repel the length of my back hair rather than blending in. I try to put extra moisturizing substances on the front and sides, but it inevitably feels unwashed and stringy... I'm cone free so maybe that has something to do with it. :shrug: I suppose I could keep those up all the time, but I'd like to enjoy having it down with my length.

Maybe we don't have a choice but to keep it up, and moisturize while we're at it... If anyone has anything to contribute I'm totally ears.


ETA: It doesn't help I'm a side-sleeper. I actually just thought of that... So all this time I don't think my hair has gotten considerably healthier. I have a mulberry silk pillowcase, but I swear I feel friction... I also tried wearing a silk cap but the darn thing gives me a headache... and sometimes it slips right off or it plants itself in the groove of my eyes and the tightened elastic there... not pleasant at all... How exactly does one comfortably and securley wear a silk sleep bonnet anyway.... *grumble*

[Crumpet]

I wear a sleep cap, which helps some with sleeping damage. I am really carefully with this area of my hair and always give it extra coconut oil etc. Maybe we just have to try to deal with it! I would include a picture, but its hard to see them with my waves (which is good I guess).

[Gertrude]

I have very fine hair and the front and sides of my hair are ultra fine, very, very light and baby hair like. It's not damage, but naturally weak hair. It gets very split, as in ends with multiple splits, and breaks easily,
I put up the rest of my hair in a bun with a hair fork, while leaving the front part out. I then comb that, fluff it with my hands to look soft, add a tiny bit of leave in if needed and tuck the longest parts under the fork with a single short Amish type hair pin. The shorter bits help make to make the bun not look too severe. I always use hair forks as everything else slides out of my slippery hair and forks may sag, but not lost one yet.

[Crumpet]

I have very fine hair and the front and sides of my hair are ultra fine, very, very light and baby hair like. It's not damage, but naturally weak hair. It gets very split, as in ends with multiple splits, and breaks easily,
I put up the rest of my hair in a bun with a hair fork, while leaving the front part out. I then comb that, fluff it with my hands to look soft, add a tiny bit of leave in if needed and tuck the longest parts under the fork with a single short Amish type hair pin. The shorter bits help make to make the bun not look too severe. I always use hair forks as everything else slides out of my slippery hair and forks may sag, but not lost one yet.

Oh, sounds like a good plan! I like making the bun less severe. My front hairs are babyfine too. I just made it worse with about 4 episodes of highlighting/lowlighting (why?). I'll give this a try!

[Mustang Suzy]

Crumpet, a tea or coffee rinse can be used to tone down the highlights or if you choose to keep your hair light you can use honey to lighten. All three, tea, coffee, and honey are good for the hair. When I have used any of the three my hair felt soft and smooth. Scalp massage also helps stimulate the follicle and may result in faster growth. From my experience the rinses and massage helped to fill in my widow's peak with new hair over time.

[Kaelee]

The front/sides of my hair gets more damaged too for some reason. Never could figure out why. S&D is definitely my friend.

[MiaBeth]

I have the exact same issue -- this hair is just finer and more damage prone on me. I'm adding extra protein to the sides with every wash to see if it'll help strengthen the areas. I've moisturized the heck out of it to no avail, so time to try something else!

[ErinLeigh]

Hi Crumpet. I deal with this too. I highlight the front, plus that hair is naturally more fragile so it does require more care from me. I currently am not focusing on length either. This year is about trying to get it in better condition before growing out.

I treat that area with products and ingredients.
I use hemp seed oil on that area. It seems to help it not snap. It is said to have natural ceramides that help damaged hair.
I use panacea on dry hair to give layer of protection.
I use a protein filler from Sally ($1.99) and just put it in a spray bottle and spritz on after washing. I found it is just as good as $20 bottle of Redken anti snap. (Not everytime of course)
I microtrim the area so it doesn't get unkempt on the ends.
I found a great leave in conditioner that is helping a lot to prevent tangles and that grabby effect that causes my hair to break.

Just extra care for that area I suppose is the general idea for me.

[Crumpet]

Thanks for the suggestions. ErinLeigh, I know you've done an amazing job nursing your hair to a pretty state -- I'll try your suggestions and hopefully end up with ends looking a bit better. Its funny, my ends get some dead ends and splits but they mostly look really dried out and unhappy. Poor things!!

Mustang Suzy -- thanks for the suggestions, but I plan to stay natural now. I only highlighted about 5 times total and I have completely given it up. My natural colour is actually almost identical to the highlight/lowlight shenanigans I was doing (which is why I don't really have a demarcation line). It was really silly of me! I haven't highlighted for 17 months or so and don't intend to go back. I'm happier without them.

[Nope]

I have the same issue too! The hair on the right side of my head is always so scraggly and dry, but it is much curlier than the rest. I just put extra conditioner/leave in/oil in that area and it seems to help. Deep oiling it helps the most, I think.

[AcornMystic]

My hair is very finicky about protein... I have this huge tub of coconut oil and sometimes I wonder if any is really penetrating my hair or it just sits there until next wash. Those hairs are certainly more delicate. Funny enough they also curl the most. Since curly hair is apparently more prone to damage/breakage that may explain it. I did order some of Nightblooming's trinity of the Panacea, Freya, and Ostara... so I'll report how that works for me and maybe it'll help you as well. It's a bit pricey, but apparently it lasts a LONG time since you only use a pea size for up to waist I believe she said. If that doesn't fix it I think I may end up trimming, but that will take me out of the no trims challenge for 2014. I guess it's not like I'd be losing any length and I could just tough it out. We'll see how things go.

[AcornMystic]

repeat post... Second time in 2 weeks blah...

[tiny squirrel]

I'm not a big fan of S&D in general (too tedious), but I do S&D my very front side pieces. The sides "repel" the rest of my hair if I allow the sides to get to scraggly, probably because I do a lot of half ups and the front and sides get manipulated a lot more.

[Feathered]

I have this problem too, since my hair is kind of fine and the hair around my face is thinner than the rest. I had accumulative damage from 2 summers of too much chlorine and wind damage, plus not caring for it like I try to do now. I had major split ends and breakage, so I just cut the damage off around my face up to my chin and left the rest at low-back length. I don't really like the shorter length at my face, but I couldn't stand looking at all the damage. So, now I just keep it up in combs and I can't really tell it's shorter while waiting for it to grow out. It grows pretty quick, so I don't regret doing it. At least I don't have the damage anymore and it's so much healthier now. Totally worth it.

[höpönasu]

I struggle with the same problem. What I do is let them grow until I can sacrifice some length and cut worst. Then I let it grow again and cut until they're better. With bangs it's easier; you can cut them pretty short and they still look good (those awkward side hairs won't look anywhere near cute if you just chop them off, trust me... :laugh:). Patience. :pray:

[ErinLeigh]

Thanks for the suggestions. ErinLeigh, I know you've done an amazing job nursing your hair to a pretty state -- I'll try your suggestions and hopefully end up with ends looking a bit better. Its funny, my ends get some dead ends and splits but they mostly look really dried out and unhappy. Poor things!!

Mustang Suzy -- thanks for the suggestions, but I plan to stay natural now. I only highlighted about 5 times total and I have completely given it up. My natural colour is actually almost identical to the highlight/lowlight shenanigans I was doing (which is why I don't really have a demarcation line). It was really silly of me! I haven't highlighted for 17 months or so and don't intend to go back. I'm happier without them.

Crumpet, you will fix those ends don't worry. I look at your hair with great envy actually. Its gorgeous. A few small tweak to treat a problem area (dried ends) wont be hard to do.
If you are not opposed to cones, I found the Nexxus pro-mend split end repair and the Loreal split end repair are very helpful in making the front look healthy. They really do glue those frayed looking pieces together until washed out. It may be cheating but it helps. In the long run it seems to help the state of hair also as the splits and frays don't get worse. I am cone free but I use the night before I clarify just so the product doesn't go to waste and I am always surprised how much they change the appearance of the fuzzy ends.

If you want some product name recommendations, I like a ceramide/protein based spray called Salerm Energy Hair Regenerator (found on Amazon). It gives my hair a lot of strength and it's an HG product for me. They come in glass vial single applications but I pour into a mister and can get 3 uses per vial that way. I use probably twice a month when hair needs a boost.

I found a cone free deep conditioner by Briogeo "Hair Repair Don't Despair" that is hands down amazing. It just melts into hair and makes it feel incredible. I can wake with dry, fuzzy damaged looking hair and after 20 minutes under a shower cap with this product hair looks salon fresh and smooth. The effect lasts. I have only used once so far and hair is still silky a week later.
For a leave in I have to rave about the Alba Botanica Leave in conditioner. No cones/no protein/no fragrance. It is great for retaining moisture to prevent breakage. It is coconut oil based and has wonderful ingredients..just does not make hair look heavy or oily at all. I seal it with a drop of the hemp oil or jojoba and it still leaves no greasy look. Its incredible. It kicked my Giovanni leave in right to the curb. . I don't think I will ever find a leave in as helpful. My ends look a lot more moisturized using it.

Of course coconut oil is a life saver. Prepooing with it has saved me so much breakage and hair loss when washing. Sometimes I will mix it with olive or avocado for extra shine and smoothness.

Even though my hair is damaged, I still color treat and even with adding more damage technically, hair quality/appearance has improved greatly. I really do think the right ingredients can do wonders. It took me a lot of trial and error to find them, but it was worth the experimenting.

Question for you all that do have more damage in the front...do any of you wear glasses? Glasses seem to be my issue. I always seem to get a hair stuck in the hinge and I think because my hair is weaker in front the effect from glasses breakage makes it look a little worse. I think I do spend so much time trying to strengthen that area because my glasses make an already bad situation worse so I need extra attention to prevent additional breakage.

[Crumpet]

Thanks for the sympathy and company everyone! I really appreciate it!

Acornmystic -- do update me on that product. I'll be interested to see how it goes. I just ordered some of her cassia mix to try to strengthen my hair up. I'll report back on how it goes!

Erinleigh -- you're so good with product recommendations. Thank you! Its great how much research you've done into products -- it really shows in your hair, which I think looks lovely. Also, the highlights seem to work well on your hair so I think you've managed the balance very well. I'll peruse some of those recommendations. The Giovanni LI is okay, but I'm not super-impressed by it. Thanks for some other ideas that might be more helpful to my poor ends!

In the past few days I've really thought about a big chop, but internally invoked the two-week rule. I think I'm more freaked than otherwise because I finger-combed my damp hair, which made my hair straighter than usual. The straightness made the scraggle much more visible than usual. I'm a bit of a hair (and well, everything!) health nut so this really bothered me. Thanks for pulling me back from the abyss everyone!

[AcornMystic]

Well, Crumpet.. I received my trinity pack 2 days ago. I washed my hair and while damp did a light oiling that night with the Panacea. I went to bed and got up the next morning for work. I certainly felt the difference right away. The sensation was actually likened to flat-ironed hair but with slight wave.. if that makes sense. In other words, it felt very smooth as opposed to the night before (It did say in the description that it smooths the cuticle). Much to my surprise and pleasantly so, it was not at all greasy feeling, as I feared slightly it might upon waking. My hair had actually absorbed the salve. So before putting it up in a bun at work yesterday I added a generous amount to the ends and worked it up the length. When I got off work and took my hair down it felt like day 3-4 hair. It was basically on the oilier side getting close to stringy. I dismissed the idea of adding more oil that night and braided my hair for bed. I woke up just this morning and I've gone back to day 2 hair! I have to say I am pretty shocked... My hair is actually 'drinking' this stuff. As someone that has seemingly had difficulty in getting oils to absorb into my hair I think I can say I am finally understanding what trial and error means. You really don't know if a moisturizer works for you unless you have something to compare it too. It started with vegetable oil and then olive oil. From olive to argan oil. Agran to almond. Finally almond to jojoba oil. I began to then experiment with essential oils. Mainly rosemary. I felt it wasn't working as well as it should so I began to go back to previous oils hoping to see renewed improvement. Each oil I couldn't really gauge if it REALLY worked for me because I didn't have a good idea what it really meant for hair to absorb oil and the way hair reacts when it finds an oil it likes. You know? All I knew is that it just didn't feel like I felt it should.

I hope I am not getting my hopes up after only 2 days... especially since I have only used Panacea, but I think I may have found a salve that works for me if my hair continues to react this way.

I will say though... although I did not touch my front and side hairs I broke down and trimmed an inch and a half off my back ends. The moisture that the salve added to my hair made me see just how damaged my ends were. They were soft, but they were not smooth like the rest of my hair. There was definitely contrast. As someone who is growing terminal hair (eventually resting on knee-length) and forming a close bond with my mane it is important my hair have some health and I felt it was contradictory for me to say how much I love my hair if I was allowing the ends to be in such rough shape. I was showing not care for my hair, but the length it was providing for me to enjoy and that was not fair. I was also willing to part with it it because it still leaves me below APL, so I can feel as though I have not just reached that milestone, but have been beyond it for a while. Give it the summer and I'll be back to where I was. No biggy.

Based on immediate results I do recommend at least trying this product, even if it's the samples. I am very happy I spent the money to give this product a try, especially going for the trinity. I have a little secret stash; kinda feels like I am applying the essence of the gods to my hair; kinda magical... especially with the designs on the containers :o. I feel I can say it now with truth that I truly love my hair enough to go the distance for it and do what is best for it. :love:

*skips off to work some Panacea into her hair for the day*

P.S. If you check out the Nightblooming Panacea thread I plan on keeping everyone up to date on how they work for me as I use them. I am taking the time to properly evaluate them individually first and based on raving reviews of Panacea I am starting with that. Plus it smells awesome... Yum.

ETA: I just realized while I was working salve into my hair... By me trimming off the ends I am actually saving this expensive product for healthy hair to make all the more difference once it reaches longer lengths when it REALLY needs it. That thought actually makes me happy. ^.^

[Crumpet]

AcornMystic -- thanks for the extensive review! I'll checkout your other thread for updates. It definitely sounds like a good option for me to try out! I'm so glad its working for you and that you may have found the oil for you!!

[Siiri]

Mine too is in worse condition in the front and sides. I'm growing out my fringe too, so the sides are shorter. The hair on the sides and front gets more mechanical damage from the wind and putting the hair behind your ear etc.

What has helped me the most is braiding my hair in double braids for sleeping. A single braid isn't as protecting as double braids for the side parts I think, and I don't have a bonnet. Double french braids might be even better, but I can't french braid yet. Apart from that I just try to be more careful to apply leave-in conditioner and oil to those areas. I've always had this problem so I don't think it's something I can really fix.

eta: ErinLeigh, I mostly wear contact lenses. If I'm wearing glasses I sometimes get a hair stuck in them. Glasses are part of the problem, but for me it's not just the glasses.

[repunzelwannabe]

I totally feel your pain with this! Personally it's my own fault because I mechanically have to pull it back all the time, but I just started using avocado oil and am currently loving it. I do a lot of pin/headband curls at night and apply just a little of the avocado oil directly onto dry hair in the morning. It works as well as the super cone-y serums, except it doesn't last as long. It's a trade off, but I would rather reapply than risk build up over time. The curls themselves help hide how much my front (and even canopy layer in general) doesn't match the rest of my hair as well. Thank you for the post and I'll definitely be checking back for other's problem solving ideas (:

[maskedrose]

I have this exact same problem. I did my last salon partial highlights nearly two years ago, but I did Sun-In last Spring on the pieces around my face and I'm regretting it now. My hair is also very fine, and it just doesn't seem to hold up to any kind of chemical damage. The pieces around my face fray easily, and within a few months of a trim they start to look ratty. I recently did a large chop from hip to BSL to get rid of layers and most of my highlight damage. I'm really happy with the improved health, but I know the front pieces are going to keep splitting and breaking. Now that I've chopped, I really don't want to trim again for a year...but I may have to keep trimming the face framing layers until the highlights+SunIn are all grown out. Sigh.

I do believe I've been enabled though...now the Briogeo deep treatment and the alba botanica leave in are on my list of things to try lol.

[christiansummer]

I'm thinking about trying the Briogeo, it sounds amazing. What does it smell like?