help please, stall or breakage?

[nakima]

HI All, Well I am hopeing to reach tailbone by christmas but it seems this past year I have been stuck at about hip. I'm not sure if I hit a stall or just loseing length from splits and breakage? I seem to have a lot of splits since reaching hip. I s&d more lately and I do a micro trim once every 2 or 3 months. I deep condition every 2 weeks. what else can I do I need help! my hair is blonde and straight. I do color abt every 6to7 months ( not sure I'm ready for gray/white hair yet ) going to see if I can get through the winter without coloring. see how it goes. Anyone else have this problem after hitting this length? any advise would be appreciated. Thanks All!
P.s. My hair seems to be healthy otherwise. I eat a well balnced diet,workout,drink lots of water etc.

[Madora]

HI All, Well I am hopeing to reach tailbone by christmas but it seems this past year I have been stuck at about hip. I'm not sure if I hit a stall or just loseing length from splits and breakage? I seem to have a lot of splits since reaching hip. I s&d more lately and I do a micro trim once every 2 or 3 months. I deep condition every 2 weeks. what else can I do I need help! my hair is blonde and straight. I do color abt every 6to7 months ( not sure I'm ready for gray/white hair yet ) going to see if I can get through the winter without coloring. see how it goes. Anyone else have this problem after hitting this length? any advise would be appreciated. Thanks All!
P.s. My hair seems to be healthy otherwise. I eat a well balnced diet,workout,drink lots of water etc.

The oldest hair is the most delicate and prone to damage easily.

A few questions:

1) How do you wear your hair?
2) How do you brush/comb your hair?
3) How do you detangle your hair?

4) Do you ever trim the ends? If so, how often?
5) Do you S and D regularly or only sporadically?

Splits can derive from either mechanical damage (how you comb/brush your hair, how you wear it) or it can come from lack of moisture.

If lack of moisture is your problem, I suggest trying a few drops of mineral oil (aka baby oil) on damp hair. Mineral oil is very light, leaves no after scent, helps tame frizzies, is a great detangler and helps moisturize your hair. It washes out easily during your next shampoo.

However, you apply 2 drops of mineral oil to your hands, rub them together, then run your hands through your hair several times until the sheen has vanished from your hands.

Johnson and Johnson makes a great baby oil. It contains only mineral oil and a fragrance. Beware of mineral oil with additives. They do not work as effectively.

For best results, clarify your hair first, then apply the mo to damp hair.

Be sure to check your hair routine to make sure you are using your comb and brush correctly. Believe me, it makes all the difference when you detangle, comb and brush correctly..and with the right tools!

[Panth]

I agree with Madora. It'd help a lot if we knew more about your routine. That said, there are some possible culprits:

1) Do you have any medical conditions? Are they well managed?

2) Wear & tear - from about TBL on, hair starts to be rubbed between your chair/body as you sit. This can cause enough extra damage to completely prevent further length-gain (ask me how I know!) and is more likely with finer hair types and thinner hair types. If you don't wear daily protective updos, you may need to consider it.

3) Dye. What sort of dye are you using and how are you applying it? Demi-permanent and permanent dyes contain developer (aka bleach) which will progressively damage the hair. Reapplying dye over previously-dyed hair will mean that the damage is cumulative. You may want to consider switching to a semi-permanent dye (no developer) or some sort of natural hair dye (e.g. cassia, chamomile rinses, henna, henndigo - depending on what colour you're aiming for - bear in mind that henna is very permanent and should be approached with commitment!). Alternatively, you could use demi-permanent or permanent but only touch up your roots, preventing cumulative damage.

4) Haircare. How gently do you detangle? What tool(s) do you use?

5) What is your washing/conditioning routine? Both under- and over-conditioning can cause tangles and damage. Overly harsh washing can strip the scalp and damage the hair, but insufficient washing can leave susceptible individuals prone to scalp conditions such as seborrheic dermatitis which result in hairloss. If we knew more about your routine then it'd be easier to see if there is a problem with this part of it.

[nakima]

Thank you both so much for your responses. There a few things that yu have suggested that I am not already doing so hee is my routine.
1.Wash hair every other day sometimes longer with suave shampoo and then condition with biolage conditioning balm.
2.I leave hair in towel while putting on lotion,makeup etc. then sqeeze it out before detangleing with wide tooth comb.
3.On when I need to I blow dry cool setting on low but try not to do this regularly
4.The color that I use is loreal champaine blonde and although I only color every 6 months or so I do end up putting it all the way down my hair so i'm sure this is one of the problems.
5.I oil my hair once in a while but usually on dry hair. I will put it on while my hair is moist and see how it does.
do have some health issues autoimmune (dr. not sure exactley which one ha!) and I do manage my health condition through diet,excercise,supplements etc. I have noticed that since hitting this length I do tend to have more tangles. I usually wear my hair braided or up while at home and down when out but lately I have been neglecting to put it up as often:( I do s and d a lot lately and I micro trim periodically. I have not had a good trim in several years due to trying to get my length. So there you go this is my routine. oh and I have no scalp issues. Thanks ladies looking forward to hearing more.
P.S. I try to keep hair over the back of chairs when sitting but I do catch it in my seatbelt a lot when I dont remember to put my hair on the ohter shoulder :(

[EarthArtist]

Instead of wrapping your hair in a towel, get an old cotton tee-shirt and use that to dry your hair.

[molljo]

When's the last time you did a protein treatment? Bleached hair needs protein to patch repair and maintain the structure of strands, and without it it makes total sense your hair would be breaking off.

[MJ1972]

5.I oil my hair once in a while but usually on dry hair. I will put it on while my hair is moist and see how it does.

I think your applying the oil to dry hair may be part of the problem, especially if you don't rinse it out afterwards (do you?). I've learned the hard way that putting anything on dry hair, be it oil or anti-frizz gel, results in lots of split ends for me. I think this is because it glues my hairs together, with dire consequences the next time I brush or comb my hair. I've come to accept that leave-ins are not for me, least of all leave-ins applied to dry hair. Maybe they're not for you, either?

[ErinLeigh]

I totally relate to keeping the dye so I won't try and talk you out of it. I will ask though..Can you try only coloring the new growth and avoiding the ends? Even though it is only every 6 months..on hip length hair that is multiple processes which weaken hair. When my hair was done only roots only I never got splits or breakage. It seems ever since I moved to Florida I cannot find a stylist to leave my ends alone and they have been shattering even at shorter lengths.
If you need to pull the color all the way down try putting lots of coconut oil on 24 hours prior and letting it penetrate (color over the oil)

Best of luck to you!

[Mya]

If you have to dye your regrowth it means your hair isn't stalling.

It's most likely breakage. Dye damaged ends are catching up on you, plus if you wear your hair down you may get damage from that too. The amount of growth you keep is incredible when you wear your hair up in a bun all the time.

[nakima]

Thank you all so much for the much needed advice. I will try the t shirt for wrapping my hair, only color the roots from here on, only oil damp hair and I will try a protein treatment. Any suggestions on how to go about doing that? I've never done one before unless maynaise treatment counts and its been years since i've done that. I really appreciate all your help.