To cut or not to cut: nape hair

[CostaRita]

I have a dirty secret.

It's my nape hair and it's my worst nightmare.

It's coarse, scraggily, dry, dull, doesn't curl, and it knots so easily.

Should I just cut it off, or would that be a bad idea?

I've tried using deep conditioner. In the pics it looks like more hair than it is.

Oh and I would NOT be going for the undercut look! It would have to be unnoticeable!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/56397417@N02/

[xsweetpotatox]

Just cutting it off seems like a bad idea since that's a pretty large chunk of hair. What have you tried using on it so far?

[CostaRita]

Coconut oil

[diddiedaisy]

I definately wouldn't cut it off. Maybe try experimenting with different oils and/or serums. I'm sure you'll eventually find something that works for you.

[diddiedaisy]

Also coconut oil isn't tolerated by everyone and can make hair feel a bit crispy. A coney serum might help with the tangles.

[Becs]

Another vote for not cutting it. My nape hair is a lot finer, curly, and more tangle prone than the rest of my hair, but I would never dream of cutting it off. I just handle it gently and give it a little extra oil and love

[xsweetpotatox]

I feel like just chopping off a large chunk of hair is a pretty extreme measure after only trying one thing.

Something that has worked really well for my tangly nape hair is Kinky Curly Knot Today. It's a suuuuper intense detangler.

[Catatafish]

What way do you wash your hair? If you wash with your head the right way up (as opposed to flipping it over), you might not be getting enough conditioner on it, or rinsing the shampoo out enough. Maybe try washing and applying a deep conditioner, paying extra special attention to that part. When you do your final rinse, flip your head over.

You might have tried that already, but thought I'd suggest it before you go snipping!

[Yozhik]

I'm going to go against the flow and say that if you wanted to (I don't know if it's long enough), you could do selective S&Ding there or microtrimming.
Most likely it's a combination of fine hair + damage from rubbing against your shirts, so gentler treatment, targeted moisturizing, and trimming (if you want) will probable all work in tandem to solve the problem. :)

HTH! :flower:

[lapushka]

We all have the issue that nape hair is to be treated a little more delicately, but you just have no other option, you know. Getting an undercut, IMMHO, it's butt-ugly. And the issue moves itself along to the next hair that's long and underneath.

[Chocowalnut]

Cut off an under layer of hair? No way, lol.. try using a really coney conditioner if you use cones, or just a good deep conditioner, and detangling in the shower. This should help somewhat, at least.

[lazuliblue]

Have you been wearing protective styles? If you haven't perhaps using oils (as others have mentioned) and also binning your hair most days will help protect it from rubbing on your collar/chair/everything else!

[tokugawa.miyako]

I tend to have a similar problem and I tried just cutting the hair off last year. It didn't really help the situation, it just came back and just as coarse and tangly as before. I second everyone else's conditioner suggestions. I've had pretty good results just making sure to focus more on that area when I condition. It's still a bit more tangle-prone than the rest of my hair, but it's less annoying now.

[hannabiss]

I actually have shaved my nape hair. Not a lot but enough to get rid of the dry yucky hair back there. My only thing is dont go over bored and take unnecessary hairs.

[two_wheels]

Two words: nape stubble shudder:
if you can't live with it, I guess you have to go there

ETA: I say it because I went there. (had a pixie, it looked silly) If you do try it & don't like- it grows back quickly anyway.

[CostaRita]

Hm....what about thinning it with thinning shears?

[lapushka]

Hm....what about thinning it with thinning shears?

I'd say that's a lot more prone to tangling and knotting, if it's even finer due to the thinning out part.

[CostaRita]

really? ok!

[Beckstar]

I keep the hair at my nape shorter than the rest. Long enough to curl and pin up but short enough to keep from tangling. It's a rat's nest other wise.

[SnowbirdRose]

Two words: nape stubble shudder:
if you can't live with it, I guess you have to go there

ETA: I say it because I went there. (had a pixie, it looked silly) If you do try it & don't like- it grows back quickly anyway.

Ackkk! I hated the nape stubble. It felt worse than DH's face stubble. So glad when it grew long enough to feel like hair again.

[truepeacenik]

I'd try a drop, literally a drop, of a coney serum.
My nape does the wanna be dreadlocked routine, then seems to disappear. Then the Marley nape is back.

[cat11]

I agree with everyone else who says wait it out. I have a similar hair type to you from your pics and I think if you paid extra attention to conditioning it, plus oiling it/leave in conditioning it, it would be better. Also, wearing your hair down often is very bad for the nape hair. It rubs on shirts and gets all tangled, like someone else said. I'm putting that out there because your hair is down in most of those pics. Especially if you have curly hair, friction is horrible for it!

[CostaRita]

^ yes, I wear my hair down mostly.

[lapushka]

Seconding more conditioner down there (preferably coney), and a coney serum afterwards. I always make sure the nape is more coated in serum and leave-in than the rest of the hair.

[sofo]

Mine improved a lot with massive S&D, and I also twisted parts of the hair and cut everything that stuck out. I had a lot of splits in the nape hair.

[schnibbles]

My nape hair is where pretty much all of my damage is. I baby it with lots of coconut oil pre-poo and WCC. I really make sure I'm getting the conditioner under there. I wouldn't ever cut it off. I mean, if I were to cut it off it would be in a Big Chop with the rest of my hair.
If you wear your hair down a lot your nape hair will show this, especially at longer lengths.

[ZeppHead]

I know it would be difficult but start s & d and do treatments to try and improve the condition don't do anything too crazy yet. If it were me I would try that as well as wearing it up more often than not to prevent more damage.

[Johannah]

I've had the same issue. Using protein-heavy conditioner made it soft. Now it's growing as well (before that, it couldn't grow further than 4 inches or so).

[spidermom]

Thinning it would only give you hundreds of short hairs - not good.

My nape hair is a problem, too. I think it's because I put my hair into a top of head ponytail or braid at night, then I toss and turn across that nape hair. I do a lot of S&D to that area only because I get lots of splits. I can't sleep with my hair down; it comes across my face and tries to smother me.

[Larki]

Spidermom, sounds like a sleep cap would be a good solution for you.

[CostaRita]

Is thinning hair with a razor ever a good idea?

[schnibbles]

^^^ No! Split-end city! (at least for my hair type, I can't speak for others)

[spidermom]

Thinning hair with a razor? No 1000 times.
The best solutions are to be sure to condition the hair well and protect with a coney serum (very tiny amount). Also wear slippery fabrics when your hair is down.

The #1 best solution would be to wear hair up; that will keep the nape hair from rubbing on your clothing. I get something like a dreadlock if I let my hair swing around over my clothing. I only wear it down if I'm not going to be moving around a lot and have the time to pay attention to my hair.