Dealing with breakage

[Arwenlily]

Over the past couple months I believe I have experienced a good amount of breakage. I don't brush my hair but instead try to finger comb or use a wide tooth comb. However, sometimes I find myself becoming impatient when I reach tangles and sometimes pull through my hair. I know this horrible because when I do this I can hear the snaps and I cringe. I even used a fine tooth comb once because there was nothing else around and I was fed up with the tangles. Since I know I have this breakage I wanted to ask all of you about how these hairs end up growing out. When my hair reaches my goal length, am I going to have random different lengths of hair? Has anyone else been through this?

I believe I may have to avoid combing all together but I hate when my hair looks ratty!

[Lady Una]

I've been going through a lot of breakage too since I didn't treat my hair very well before joining LHC (I hear you on the fine-tooth comb thing)! :P I would expect that the shorter pieces would continue growing at the same rate as the rest so when most of your hair reaches the goal, you will have other strands of hair that are shorter...maybe like having layers? I'm just beginning to figure things out so I don't damage my hair more. Will be checking to see more replies to this thread!

[Anje]

Fact is, you'll ALWAYS have random different lengths of hair mixed in with the full-length stuff. You're always going to be shedding some hairs, then a new hair starts growing in its place, but it'll be years for that to get to the bottom. That's how people get taper, even with very healthy hair with no breakage at all. It's OK and normal, and every long-haired person you see has it.

That said, it's definitely worth minimizing the breakage. Address WHY you have it:

Is your hair less slippery than normal? You might have some buildup that should be clarified away.

Are damaged strands hooking onto healthy strands? It's worth S&Ding or even perhaps having a small trim.

Is the hair just plain dry? I get more breakage if my hair isn't kept well-moisturized. As my hair likes humectants, SMTs are a fantastic treatment for me for this. (I've got a link in my siggy.)

Is it tangled because it's been loose a lot, getting caught in things or windblown? Consider braiding or bunning it more days.

Are there little pieces of lint, cat hair, etc. in the center of every tangle? Ummmm.... pet your cat for me! Try to convince the cat that it's your hairbrush, not his. (Good luck with that!)

Above all else, don't detangle when you're upset or in a rush. It's better to leave it for a few hours than to start breaking it off because you're not able to take the time and energy to go slowly and carefully.

[Arwenlily]

Lady Una That sounds about right :) It's definitely going to be annoying with so many hairs of different lengths but like Anje mentioned that many people have it.

Anje I'm not sure why my hair gets so tangled sometimes. I never wear my hair loose so that can't be it. It is possible that some damaged hairs may be hooking onto healthy strands although I recently gave myself a small trim. Often I wear my hair up twisted in a claw clip and when I take it down it is tangled. Maybe I should avoid wearing my hair like that? Also, I definitely will take your advice about not combing when I'm upset or in a rush ... that will definitely stop unneeded breakage.

[Anje]

The rushed hair-combing was always a struggle of mine, too.

I'm wondering if your hair does badly being twisted. I tend to give my updos at least a bit of twist to keep the hair in one mass so it doesn't fall apart into a zillion loopies, but a lot of people find that they're better off making their updos completely untwisted. Nautilus buns are a good style for that, if you want one to start with. You could still clip it with a claw, or just put a stick or fork in it to make sure it holds.

[meteor]

The rushed hair-combing was always a struggle of mine, too.

I'm wondering if your hair does badly being twisted. I tend to give my updos at least a bit of twist to keep the hair in one mass so it doesn't fall apart into a zillion loopies, but a lot of people find that they're better off making their updos completely untwisted. Nautilus buns are a good style for that, if you want one to start with. You could still clip it with a claw, or just put a stick or fork in it to make sure it holds.
That's why I like braided versions of all common buns. My hair is too thick/lumpy to bun well untwisted, but braided, it stays contained and ready to go up in a bun.

[Arwenlily]

Thank you both for the advice. I think my hair might still be too short for a nautilus bun or any braided buns though :( I think I still need a couple more inches.

[StellaKatherine]

I usually had worst breakage after washing my hair and I lost the most hairs then as well. Now I stopped touching my hair at all untill it dries by itself! No finger combing even ! Wash at evening -> let dry -> go to sleep -> comb with the wide tooth comb in the morning ! And I hear less breakage!