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atxgal
June 29th, 2014, 05:45 PM
I'm 28 and my hair has been around the same length (bsl) for 4 years. No matter what I do it doesn't seem to want to go past that point. The last 2 inches are fairy tale like. I try and handle it well. Comb very gently..it knots very easy. I use top end sulfate free products as well as an olive/coconut oil mix. I take biotin and exercise. I get my hair cut once every 2 months. I get about 1/4 inch. However, I see breakage on my sink little half to one inch pieces. Not sure what to do. I ordered a bakelite comb and a really nice BBB...maybe that will help? Any ideas? I'd really like my hair to be 5 inches longer with a thicker hemline. But no matter what I do my hair seems to break at this point :/

RapunzelKat
June 29th, 2014, 05:53 PM
Welcome, atxgal! :flower:

Growing out fine hair can be challenging, but it's doable with some extra care :) Do you have any other hair habits that might be damaging your hair? (Chemical dyes, flatiron or curling iron, hot blow dryer, wearing it down all the time, using hair ties with metal parts.) Is there something your hair might be frequently rubbing on, such as the back of a chair?

Also, if your growth rate is slow you might be getting it trimmed too often. You might try going a bit longer in between trims to see if you can gain more length.

If you get a chance, come visit us on the thin/fine hair thread! :cool: There's a lot of really excellent advice there for growing out our more delicate hair type.

Sarahlabyrinth
June 29th, 2014, 05:59 PM
Do you wear your hair up in a protective updo? This helps to protect the ends from rubbing against chair backs, friction against your clothes, blowing around and tangling etc. All these things can cause tangling and breakage in your hair. You will find that many LHC people wear their hair up in order to protect the ends. (Protecting the ends helps to prevent them breaking off and this allows your hair to grow longer).

atxgal
June 29th, 2014, 06:04 PM
Welcome, atxgal! :flower:

Growing out fine hair can be challenging, but it's doable with some extra care :) Do you have any other hair habits that might be damaging your hair? (Chemical dyes, flatiron or curling iron, hot blow dryer, wearing it down all the time, using hair ties with metal parts.) Is there something your hair might be frequently rubbing on, such as the back of a chair?

Also, if your growth rate is slow you might be getting it trimmed too often. You might try going a bit longer in between trims to see if you can gain more length.

If you get a chance, come visit us on the thin/fine hair thread! :cool: There's a lot of really excellent advice there for growing out our more delicate hair type.

I maybe blowdry it once or twice a month so not often. I do wear it down alot. I only ride a bicycle so that probably contributes to knots. I feel as tho if I dont get my hair cut that often then it starts to split like crazy. The hemline gets even more stringy.

RapunzelKat
June 29th, 2014, 06:51 PM
I maybe blowdry it once or twice a month so not often. I do wear it down alot. I only ride a bicycle so that probably contributes to knots. I feel as tho if I dont get my hair cut that often then it starts to split like crazy. The hemline gets even more stringy.

Yes, having your hair blowing in the wind could definitely cause a lot of the tangles. I would suggest finding ways to wear your hair up to protect it, especially when you are riding your bike. A simple English braid might be a good starting point - it would be comfy under a helmet if you wear one, and it would help prevent tangles when you ride. Just make sure and tie it off with a hair-friendly tie. :) I like those little slippery silicon ones for braids.

Simple buns like a cinnamon bun are an even better way to protect your hair, as Sarahlabyrinth mentioned. Spin pins are great for securing fine hair, especially when it is shorter. Hair sticks and forks are also great, but might work better after you've gained a little more length. Fine hair is quite delicate, and it can get damaged pretty easily when worn down frequently.

And you're definitely right - if you're getting splits it's best to keep trimming. :agree: Split ends in fine hair can end up doing more damage in the long run.

Oh, another thing you could look at... Do the shampoo and conditioner have a lot of protein in them? When I first joined, I found that the protein in the shampoo and conditioner I was using was a big cause of tangles and knots. For some people, the protein just doesn't agree with their hair and can make it rough and tangly.

panffle
June 29th, 2014, 06:56 PM
I second protective styles. You said you wear your hair down a lot, I have fine-ish hair too that tangles very easily... wearing my hair down every day for a week was enough to cause lots of splits because of all the rubbing and tangling. Since I started wearing it up every day (I do a lazy bun held with a flexi-8 ) my hair has waaaay less split ends, I can go longer without trimming my hair and therefore any growth shows more. :)
Oh, just remember that a ponytail isn't a protective style.

meteor
June 29th, 2014, 07:36 PM
Lots of great advice was already given here.
I'll add that protecting hair while sleeping is important, since we spend a third of our lives in our sleep: silk satin pillowcases/sleep caps/scarves, keeping hair braided or otherwise contained and placed above your head to prevent rolling on it.

Anje
June 29th, 2014, 07:49 PM
As everyone else has said, it's time to start putting it in more protective styles. It's amazing how many people get stuck in the BSL zone and find that their splits start almost exactly where chairbacks touch them. You wouldn't think chairs would be such hair-eaters, but they seem to be! (Classrooms and lecture pits are a fantastic place to observe this.)

Buns (best held by hairsticks, forks, good jaw clips and clamps, or U-shaped hairpins -- not bobby pins or elastics!) are typically the most protective option because you can tuck your ends deep inside where they won't get worn away. Braids are also a good choice if you're willing to babysit them a little -- pull the braid over your shoulder when you're sitting down, don't get it caught under backpack/purse straps, and so on.

Silverbrumby
June 29th, 2014, 08:56 PM
I've been around bsl and shorter on and off for the past three years. The last two plus inches are fairy tail and I'm convinced I have a short terminal. I kept trimming to get a blunt hemline but that didn't work.

Since January I've stopped trimming it and only do search and destroy on splits. It's not going to help my fairy tail ends or thicken up the hemline but I'm curious to see if I get a length gain. I hope to last out till Xmas.

I'm also doing more buns and braids. The wind and wearing it out are really rough on it.

My longest strand (lonely little thing it is) is 27 1/2 inches. A gain of about two inches since January 2014.

I'd say stop cutting it for four to six months with protective styles and S&D.

AmyBeth
June 29th, 2014, 09:59 PM
In order for you to make sure that BSL is terminal for you, you really must stop damaging it! I've very seldom in my life known anyone to have finer thinner hair than mine, and I can promise you that one episode of blow drying results in several months of breakage. I just won't do it-ever again. Letting it blow around when you ride is not going to help at all. You know that old dead horse about treating your hair like antique lace? That's the ticket! As far as treatments, I swear by light coconut oil on the ends daily, as well as a daily quick scalp massage to really rev up the circulation to the follicles. With my hair as fine and fragile as it is, I always feel like I'm in a race to get it to grow faster than it breaks off.

Johannah
June 30th, 2014, 03:07 AM
If it breaks, you do something what damages your hair, obviously. Like others said, protective updo's will do great. My hair got definitely less split ends since I wear it up everyday. There's a challenge thread on this forum as well. And like Amybeth said, stop the blow drying, even though you only do it a couple of times a month, and daily moisturizing can really help.

QMacrocarpa
June 30th, 2014, 07:07 AM
In my teens my (always-down) hair was at a "false-terminal" length around BSL, where it broke off as fast as it grew. For some of us, protective updo's are key. With regular bunning, I can go about six months between tiny self-trims and never have lots of little broken pieces flying around each time I detangle (a once-familiar sight). For mental-health reasons, I never S&D. I've reached waist-length and am still slowly gaining length.

I'd be cautious about the BBB, my experience with one of those was not encouraging, it was too tough on my split- and breakage-prone hair and I think led to even worse end-shredding. I now use a tangle teezer almost exclusively, rarely a comb.

I don't own a blowdryer or any other heat tools (but I don't avoid sulfates or take biotin). My hair is split- and breakage-prone with no heat, no dye, weekly-ish washing, and gentle handling. Some of us just got the short end of the stick as far as hair durability goes, and for us protective styles are very important if we want to grow long.

You mentioned olive/coconut oil, and I think you're on the right track there. I find oiling my ends at least once between washes helps postpone the need for trims.

I get around by bike too, and my hair is always secured somehow when I'm out and about on my bike. I find a low bun (or folded braid) doesn't interfere with my helmet. Center-secured buns (nautilus, lazy wrap, split bun, etc.) work well: the lower edge of my helmet can tuck in between the top of the bun and my head if it needs to. I usually opt for hairtoys other than sticks when I'll be on my bike, since I get nervous that I'll lose my stick (it's happened!). I'm more confident about a flexi-8 or a clip staying put. If I really want to wear a stick on my bike, I'll probably convert it into an "elastic slide" by looping a hair-friendly elastic around the ends of the stick (sandwiching some bun-hair between the stick and the elastic). A simple braid also works, but for me elastics on my ends are a breakage problem, so I pretty much don't use them on my braids, my hair's curl and "grip" just keep the braid in place by magic. My braid for sleeping works the same way.

lapushka
June 30th, 2014, 07:19 AM
I strongly suspect your hairdresser is taking off all of your growth. You might want to go *much* longer in between trims, and see how that goes. Better yet, trim it yourself by using Feye's self-trimming method:
http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/