Very very Tangled Hair and Hip Length Help.(pics) Thank you a lot!!

[amitomo]

Hey guys!
English is not my first language so apologies in advance.
I have been following the LHC for a very long time and enjoy many of the tips, especially regarding washing and combing the hair gently.
I also enjoy seeing other people progress, and finding the ones that have hair similar to mine.
However I would like very much to hear your opinions regarding my “1 world hair problems”, since now I am lost in what to do next.
I post 2 picture of my hair, please noticed that I have straighten my hair in the last one, so you can see in 2 years that even though I cut it, basically the ends grow and continue to be thin.


http://s5.postimg.org/5ghep5suf/lhc2.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
image upload no registration (http://postimage.org/)



http://s5.postimg.org/cifcbcwg7/lhc1.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
image uploader (http://postimage.org/)




My hair grows very, very, very slowly and is thin (not extremely thin) and wavy and frizzy (yummy) and my goal is to reach hip length. I am now stuck for about 2 years in this length; I had cut my hair twice or 3 in a year period (1-2 inches each time) because the ends got thin. I do not like thin ends.
Also I wash my hair twice a week and unfortunately I have to blow dry my hair. I also don’t comb my hair a lot because it’s extremely tangled but I follow LHC advice and always sleep with a braid. I will now make a keratin treatment to remove the freeze.
My questions are:
Why does my hair get so tangled? Basically if I sneeze my hair gets tangled.
Is it because it’s not healthy? When I comb it (I use a very large comb like LHC advices) even very gently I rip off A LOT of hair. So my main problem in the tangled hair (I almost get dread looks yep yep). Maybe the hair experts from LHC can help me? I use a lot of conditioner and coconut but still so much hair comes out.
I also have to admit I wear my hair down most of the time, because I feel more confident, because I hide behind my hair a lot (one of the reasons I like to have long hair)
The second thing is the ends of my hair; they are very weak, but not splitted. I understand many people like fairy tale ends, but I really don’t. How do I correct this problem? I always cut blunt.
After my keratin treatment, should I maintain this length and dust every 6 weeks a little bit? If so how much? Because my hair grows very slowly.
Should I not dust because it can cause more split ends?
Should I try to grow it to hip and see what happens? Is it possible that it won’t grow to the hip looking healthy, I have the goal to grow to hip and no more, but I don’t want hip length hair that looks gross? I am little bit tired because between dustings and split ends cuts it took me I think 5 years to grow my hair this long.
Thank you very much for your help! And to Gumball!

Amitomo

[Aurum]

It looks like you're already hip length by our definition of it. Do you mean tailbone length?
For the thinness, I recommend microtrimming. That'll clean up your ends over time without losing much length.
As for the tangly hair, it looks like you're a curly in need of some Curly Girl TLC. There's a Curly Girl thread here somewhere that I think would help you a lot. Your hair looks quite dry in the top picture, which may contribute a bit.

[amitomo]

Hi Aurum!
Thank you for your reply. That's true my hair is very dry :( thank you for your advice I will definitely find the Curly Girl thread.
Regarding hip length, maybe I am not using the right name, I would like my hair to touch the hips, after belly button,I am kinda tall.

Thanks

[Wildcat Diva]

Yes you look to be already at hip. :D
Beautiful hair! Your waves need moisture maybe? And more scrunching and less combing? I cannot comb for two days after my wash due to my waves/curls.
I use LOC method, which is for me a small leave in conditioner, tiny amount of oil, and a cream or gel.

I would recommend looking into mineral oil as a leave in?

Or check out the rinse-out oil thread on here too.

Are you comfortable being wavy?

I bet you are pretty wavy behind the straightening iron.

[Kina]

First, welcome :)

Secondly, your probably experiencing breakage from the heat treatments. Can you try doing something like a dubi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifqCjAwGY5s) to straighten your hair if you don't like your waves?

Thirdly, I agree, your hair looks a bit dry, maybe start adding a bit of oil to your routine.

[schnibbles]

Hi :waving:

Are you positive that your hair likes coconut oil? I was doing coconut oil treatments (probably too much, for awhile) and it was making my ends dry and crunchy. When I stopped, my happy hair was back. Maybe you could try a different oil to see if the coconut is what's not agreeing with you...protein overload can do strange things.

You asked if you shouldn't dust because it can cause more split ends. If your hair scissors are sharp and you only use them for hair, you shouldn't be getting any spits from trimming, ever. Dusting can be a great way to gradually thicken up your hemline while still gaining a tiny bit of growth too.

Do you know if you have hard water? If you have mineral build up that can make hair tangle-city also. Have you ever chelated and have you clarified recently? Sorry for the nosiness, just want to give you some different things to think about. :o

[meteor]

So much great advice was already posted, I'll just add something about what jumped out to me from the original post: you mentioned keratin treatments... Do you mean keratin straightening treatments? If so, I'd recommend reconsidering whether you really need them or at least understanding all the chemicals used in them. They work by a combination of heat and chemical straightening and cause your hair to accumulate damage. Ditto on heat straightening - I really recommend avoiding heat altogether. Heat use is not just drying but also damaging and can turn into a vicious cycle: if hair looks dry, damaged without it, one wants to use more heat (and higher setting), but that heat will cause even more damage in the long run.

About tangles, I'd consider clarifying (to remove product build-up) and chelating (to remove mineral build-up) and doing moisturizing treatments like SMT (conditioner + honey + aloe), pre-poo oiling, oil added to conditioner and oil as leave-in to seal moisture post-wash. You probably need to experiment with different coney and silicone-free conditioners to find the right combination of products to suit your hair's needs.

Also, it's practically impossible to avoid tangling, especially on textured hair, after a certain length, if you don't wear hair up or otherwise contained (e.g. braided). Check out different protective styles and see what you like. :)
I'd recommend sleeping on silk/satin pillowcase and/or using a silk/satin sleep cap or scarf at night to help hair glide against the smooth material without tangling so much at night.
Tangly hair is often dry hair, so you might want to look into humidifiers if you know the humidity is low where you live.

[kitana97]

If you aren't using a coney conditioner already try one of those out. I had the same problem when I moved to my current city because the water is so hard. My hair tangled instantly within a few minutes of wearing it down. I just tried Garnier Fructis sleek and smooth and my hair is so silkaaay.

[MsPharaohMoan]

And detangling starts at the end! Keep your hand light and no pulling tangles through -- take them apart gently with your fingers.

[amitomo]

Hi Schnibbles!

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! :)

I will try other oils, since honestly coconut oil does not make a huge difference for me. I have in my home jojoba oil which I will try.

I am also very glad about your last recommendation regarding chelated(already google it) and clarified washes.I think that will help me. The water where I live in now its very hard and "agressive", and it damages the hair, so this is a recommendation I will start to follow. Specially chelated shampoo. Do you recommend any product in particular? Thanks for sharing tips and your hair looks very healthy and pretty and the ends also look very nice!
______________

Dear Meteor

Thank you for all this fantastic tips.

I will follow the clarifying and chelating idea (I already searching online) and also the oil added to conditioner seems like a very good idea.
I rarely straighten my hair, but I do blowdry it once or twice a week, without straighten it because I have to in the Winter.
The keratin treatments i do, do not straighten my hair but take the frizz out, but its very damaging.
In terms of conditioners and hair masks and gently combing my hair, I always follow LHC tips and try my best.
But in Winter time here I have to blowdry my hair, i know heat its bad for hair and the replies confirm this, so thank you for the tips because I can use them to try to reduce the damage the heat makes.
Also the water here is bad so I really hope that your tip and schnibbles tips are going to work!!
I also will check out SMT.
Thank u meteors!!
_____________________

Hi Kitana :o

hahaha I also want silk hair!!Ok I will try to see if I can find Garnier Fructis sleek and smooth, right now i am using tsubaki.
____________________

Thank you for the welcome Kina!
Already check the video, did not know that I could that, but this dubi looks very cool. I will try to do it, dont know if i will succeed. After trying I will tell you if was able to wrap my hair like that haha.
Without the keratin treatment I will have the frizz, the keratin does not take away my waves only freeze also please notice that i only make one keratin treatment per year, the one i am going to do is my second.
:)
p.s by you post and other lhc members i having, i can see that I have 2 problems heat and water damage.
_______________________

Hi wildcat! thank you for the compliment :p....i am now freaking out.... can i call my hair ....dare i say.....Hip length!!!!i cant say it.
lol thats the problem if i dont comb my hair goes wavy like 1 picture, and after 2 days i start getting really bad tangles.
I like my wavy hair ok, my problem is the frizz I hate it and huge tangles that come with it.
Also ok...I HATE HATE HATE washing my hair,because is sooo much work lol so i only do it twice of week, and since my hair is dry it gets even more dry.
I think that clarifying and chelated wash will help me and also the oil with conditioner idea sounds cool, however i cant escape heat in the winter..

[Kina]

You're very welcome. The frizz is possible due to dryness, maybe experiment with oils etc. I do leave in (a pal full of my conditioner) cream, oil and lastly gel. It sounds like a lot, but it's actually pretty quick.

[schnibbles]

Hi Schnibbles!
I am also very glad about your last recommendation regarding chelated(already google it) and clarified washes.I think that will help me. The water where I live in now its very hard and "agressive", and it damages the hair, so this is a recommendation I will start to follow. Specially chelated shampoo. Do you recommend any product in particular? Thanks for sharing tips and your hair looks very healthy and pretty and the ends also look very nice!


When you're looking over ingredient lists, if you see ingredients that have a suffix "EDTA" those will have chelating properties. I'm not sure where you are in the world, and what products you have access to, but common chelating products in the US are swimmer's shampoos like Paul Mitchell #3, Joico makes one, Malibu, and ION from Sally Beauty makes one. (I've only ever used the Paul Mitchell #3 and it's very harsh, so I'll caution you about that one. I think it could remove paint from a wall lol. If your hair is already fragile, I would not make a habit of that one!)

Instead of subjecting my hair to that every few weeks, I work on trying to keep the minerals from building up in the first place with citric acid. You can do a citric acid rinse (dilute about 1/8 teaspoon in 1 gallon of water) Or what I discovered works for me, (since I dilute my shampoo anyway in an 8 oz squeeze bottle) I toss in a pinch of citric acid into my diluted shampoo. I noticed that my favorite clarifying shampoo (Neutrogena Anti-Residue...not necessarily a chelating product, but a great clarifier) contains citric acid, so that's where I got the idea. Of course, your mileage may vary but I find that it works for me.

And I bet once you get your protein/moisture balance corrected, maybe you will not feel the need for keratin treatments? I also second the idea of maybe adding in a mildly coney conditioner to your routine, as long as you don't abuse them, cones can be very helpful for certain hairtypes.

I wish you much luck in finding your perfect hair routine plan -- I think that's the hardest part, actually. We all struggle with our routines from time to time. :flower:

[lapushka]

The links to LOC and the rinse-out oil are in my signature. Hope that helps. :flower:

I second the curly girl method, and treating your hair with loads of moisture.

For what it's worth, I don't think your ends are thin at all. It looks to be a natural progression of growth in general.

[MeAndTheMaz]

I also suspect that there's a Curly Girl (http://thecurlyhairproblems.tumblr.com/cgmethod) in there just dying to get out. Also, if you have to blow dry your hair, you can do it on a cooler setting.

Welcome to LHC.

[MINAKO]

In general i would say go for the keratin treatment, but make sure they use a premium product and the stylist is expirienced enough not to overprocess your hair with a too intense heat setting. I do the treatment myself and am highly successful, it actually helps me to prevent mechanical damage instead of doing any harm with the heat application.
Otherwise i can only recommend silk protein and oil, oil, oil, any chance you get. I prefer to wear my har in a bun, so thats als not a problem. And believe me, i know what we are talking about here, i have a very undecided mixed hairtexture too and even when its healthy and not dry it tangles like crazy.

[kidari]

You got a lot of good advice, the only things I'd like to add are that you should really consider stopping the keratin treatments and wearing your hair in protective updos most of the time instead of down all the time. I feel like those are the main culprits. To combat frizz, you can try damp bunning. I don't do this on really damp hair- more like 100% dry hair that's been misted with water or something similar. Look up the recipe for Kimberlily's defrizz spray (it's aloe vera, oil of your choice, glycerin, and water- but you can adjust it to your liking and your hair). Everybody always warns about humectants and humidity, so that's something to consider as well. I found that my ends tend to get really dry and then start to break if I go a long time between washings and especially if they are not protected in a bun. On non-wash days I find that I have to moisturize and seal in the moisture for my ends. Different people have different methods that work well for them. Some simply mist with plain water. Other use fancier things like hydrosols. I love Kimberlily's defrizz spray- I forgot how this allowed me to grow longer with nicer ends. You can spray it damp first and then seal it in with an oil or butter or coney product afterwards as well. As always avoid buildup by making sure to remember to chelate or clarify. I find the shampoos very drying if I rely on them too often. I try to use a strong shampoo like that 1 time a month and if I find that I need some clarifying in between I just use a very mild acidic rinse after my wash (I used to use vinegar but I just discovered citric acid- no vinegar smell!)

[Fairina]

Hey guys!
English is not my first language so apologies in advance.
I have been following the LHC for a very long time and enjoy many of the tips, especially regarding washing and combing the hair gently.
I also enjoy seeing other people progress, and finding the ones that have hair similar to mine.
However I would like very much to hear your opinions regarding my “1 world hair problems”, since now I am lost in what to do next.
I post 2 picture of my hair, please noticed that I have straighten my hair in the last one, so you can see in 2 years that even though I cut it, basically the ends grow and continue to be thin.


http://s5.postimg.org/5ghep5suf/lhc2.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
image upload no registration (http://postimage.org/)



http://s5.postimg.org/cifcbcwg7/lhc1.jpg (http://postimage.org/)
image uploader (http://postimage.org/)




My hair grows very, very, very slowly and is thin (not extremely thin) and wavy and frizzy (yummy) and my goal is to reach hip length. I am now stuck for about 2 years in this length; I had cut my hair twice or 3 in a year period (1-2 inches each time) because the ends got thin. I do not like thin ends.
Also I wash my hair twice a week and unfortunately I have to blow dry my hair. I also don’t comb my hair a lot because it’s extremely tangled but I follow LHC advice and always sleep with a braid. I will now make a keratin treatment to remove the freeze.
My questions are:
Why does my hair get so tangled? Basically if I sneeze my hair gets tangled.
Is it because it’s not healthy? When I comb it (I use a very large comb like LHC advices) even very gently I rip off A LOT of hair. So my main problem in the tangled hair (I almost get dread looks yep yep). Maybe the hair experts from LHC can help me? I use a lot of conditioner and coconut but still so much hair comes out.
I also have to admit I wear my hair down most of the time, because I feel more confident, because I hide behind my hair a lot (one of the reasons I like to have long hair)
The second thing is the ends of my hair; they are very weak, but not splitted. I understand many people like fairy tale ends, but I really don’t. How do I correct this problem? I always cut blunt.
After my keratin treatment, should I maintain this length and dust every 6 weeks a little bit? If so how much? Because my hair grows very slowly.
Should I not dust because it can cause more split ends?
Should I try to grow it to hip and see what happens? Is it possible that it won’t grow to the hip looking healthy, I have the goal to grow to hip and no more, but I don’t want hip length hair that looks gross? I am little bit tired because between dustings and split ends cuts it took me I think 5 years to grow my hair this long.
Thank you very much for your help! And to Gumball!

Amitomo

Have you tried clarifying it? Before cutting I would recommend washing with Pantene clarifying shampoo and conditioning with Mane and Tail Conditioner. It made my tangly, staticky, coarse, dry hair turn slippy soft and shiny. :)

[Blackfire]

You gots curls. Your hair is probably tangling because are you straightening it and otherwise treating it like straight hair. That just what my hair does when I don't let it dry right and touch the curls too much for them to form properly. Try letting it air dry without touching it at all, maybe add a little leave first, and see what happens.