Dry/Hard ends, advice?

[Auni]

To start off, my hair is pretty healthy. I henna, use coconut oil before every wash, hardly ever use heat to style, and haven't seen a white dot or a split end in 5 years. Lately, my ends are well, "hard" maybe dry, does that make any sense? The last inch or so of my length doesn't like to bend and just feels rough. You can actually see my ends fraying away from each other and doing funny acrobatics. I have about 4 different textures scattered about on my head, and I expect some of the ends twisting and turning on my 3a areas, but this seems to be the story throughout right now. I really don't want to trim as its counter productive to growing, and really, I don't think I need to. Any advice for concoctions? I did a SMT and well, not bad, but not great either. Also, my hair is high porosity, and I haven't quite figured out the best way to shove moisture into my strands. Help!:justy:

[gthlvrmx]

Have you ever tried oiling after you wash your hair? There is more moisture to retain right after you wash it (so apply the oil on damp/wet hair). Have you tried clarifying your hair?

[Nadine <3]

Have you clarified? M ends feel really dry when I get build up of coconut oil or any other product. I shampoo with a harsh cleanser all the way to the ends and then follow up with a SMT to put the moisture back into my hair.

[Auni]

Have you ever tried oiling after you wash your hair? There is more moisture to retain right after you wash it (so apply the oil on damp/wet hair). Have you tried clarifying your hair?
Oil post wash with my low porosity= oily hair, my hair just won't upload the moisture!


Have you clarified? M ends feel really dry when I get build up of coconut oil or any other product. I shampoo with a harsh cleanser all the way to the ends and then follow up with a SMT to put the moisture back into my hair.

I guess I could be do for a clarify, I usually try to stay away from the ends, but just maybe I should let the shampoo venture south!! I'll try tomorrow pre henna.

[Arctic]

Sounds like it could be buildup, like Nadine said, or too much protein (coconut oil and henna can act a bit like protein on some people's hair. If you use proteiny products on top of that, it might be too much).

And sometime a trim is what it's needed. Small trims every now and then won't slow your growth gaining that much.

[meteor]

This happens - just normal wear/fraying of ends, I'd give those ends a lot of TLC.

When this happens to me, I always clarify first, then do an SMT and a protein treatment (usually, just gelatin added to SMT) and then I oil those ends with whatever oil is around to add elasticity.

I like hydrolyzed proteins because they help frayed ends by giving them more "structure" and they are also mild humectants. They need to be balanced with oils, though.

For the long run, try to figure out which oils your ends like the most for softness and elasticity - some people get crunchy ends with certain oils (e.g. coconut) but get softness and shine from others... It's a pretty individual thing. :)

[Auni]

Sounds like it could be buildup, like Nadine said, or too much protein (coconut oil and henna can act a bit like protein on some people's hair. If you use proteiny products on top of that, it might be too much).

And sometime a trim is what it's needed. Small trims every now and then won't slow your growth gaining that much.
I was wondering if the henna could just be too "thick" down there.


This happens - just normal wear/fraying of ends, I'd give those ends a lot of TLC.

When this happens to me, I always clarify first, then do an SMT and a protein treatment (usually, just gelatin added to SMT) and then I oil those ends with whatever oil is around to add elasticity.

I like hydrolyzed proteins because they help frayed ends by giving them more "structure" and they are also mild humectants. They need to be balanced with oils, though.

For the long run, try to figure out which oils your ends like the most for softness and elasticity - some people get crunchy ends with certain oils (e.g. coconut) but get softness and shine from others... It's a pretty individual thing. :)
No protein for me. I found out pretty quick my hair and protein have a very bad relationship! Actually, it may have been about 2 years ago when I discovered coconut oil, after my last trim. I tried a protein deep condish for this same issue and oye, dry crackle city on my head!
I may rethink some new oil though, I guess I really didn't consider oil to build up in a way that would cause this!

[Anje]

For me, hard ends are symptomatic of too much protein in a product. Clarifying and SMT (my hair LOVES its humectants!) is my way through that. Too much coconut oil has historically given me hard ends too, but not so much since the quality of the hair there has improved. But it's pretty individual -- not all hair likes humectants and hates protein like mine does.

[meteor]

Oh, I can't believe I missed that you use henna... :oops:
Yeah, on hennaed hair it's very likely that you need more moisturizing ingredients than you normally would (more humectants, occlusives and emollients) - so more SMT and more oils. I'd definitely stay away from proteins in this case, and also from any herbal treatments that can be coating or potentially drying.
Quite a few people report that their hennaed hair needs more moisture and doesn't respond exactly the same way to their usual shampoos/conditioners/etc, so you might need to look for new products to fit your new hair needs.
Also, look into bumping up moisturizing ingredients in your henna mixes or glosses: maybe adding more oils, honey, coconut milk, stuff like that...?

[lapushka]

Maybe try the rinse-out oil method? The link is in my signature. You only need about 10 drops of MO in between shampoo and conditioner. That seems to be perfect for me.

[Shibe]

I recently did a moisturizer and my ends are still soft a week later.

Mix olive oil, coconut oil, and and a little bit of honey together, than heat lightly in the microwave.

I applied it to my hair and let it sit for about 2 days, and now my ends are incredibly soft!

[truepeacenik]

Did I read that right, two days, ie 48 hours?

[Auni]

Thanks peeps! Got lots of stuff to try! I was thinking about olive oil on my ends for a bit instead of coconut oil, it just seems so thick! I also know I gotta experiment some more with honey, my hair loves it! I'll let everyone know the results after my hair "spa" day tomorrow!

[Shibe]

Did I read that right, two days, ie 48 hours?

Yep. What ended up happening is that I oiled my hair for a few hours on a wash day, but my attempt to wash it out left an insane amount of oil left on my length.

I decided to wait until my next wash day to try and remove it again, and it turns out my hair loved it!

[endlessly]

This was my problem and the main reason I had to trim about 8 inches off my hair. For me, the culprit was coconut oil - it was too much protein for my hair. As soon as I stopped using the coconut oil and trying other options, my hair improved, but the ends were still a little crunchy. I clarified, used ACV rinses, deep conditioning treatments - even switched up my shampoo/conditioner and the frequency of my washings. One year later and I had to make a cut in order to help the rest of my hair because my ends were also tangling something fierce. Now, if I would have trimmed a year ago, it probably would've been for the best but like you, I couldn't stand to lose any of the length. Now, my hair is about an inch past tailbone after my "big chop", but it's so much healthier now.

[yahirwaO.o]

When in doubt, you could make a mini trim like half centimeter or inch if u prefer.... it usually helps a lot somehow....

But like everyone else says here, oiling and maybe a vineger or acidic rinse could help better.

[AlexDig]

Coconut oil made my hair crunchy over long term use as well. I now prefer castor oil and mineral oil as leave ins.

Micro trims have done amazing things for my ends. I've still grown about 7 inches this year and I trim monthly. I used to lose w lot of hair to getting dry/brittle and breaking off so even though it felt counterintuitive at first, I have gotten better results with this method. Just my two cents though and I totally hear not wanting to lose any length! Just throwing out an idea.

[Auni]

Ok. So I went and got a better clarifying shampoo, neutrogena, and wash ALL of my hair, not just the top and let the suds travel south. Then hennaed my 1/2 inch grayed roots. After I rinsed the henna out I did a SMT and added about 1/2 tbsp of EVOO (despite my aversion to it's thickness!), left it on for 30 minutes, showered and rinsed, then followed with my regular Ice shine condish. *taking a breathe*. Fabulous results people! I think I'm mostly amazed that I don't have an oil slick on my hair from the EVOO, who would've thought! Thank you for all your advice! :applauseMy ends are pretty close to normal, they're soft and slightly curling again! :happydance:Glad I asked about this as it may have lead me to my mothers kitchen...for a trim!

[Arctic]

So happy it worked!!!

[meteor]

Yay, that's awesome, Auni! Congratulations! :applause
Yup, there aren't many dryness issues that SMT and oils can't fix. ;)