Lower part of hair

[queenbee1]

Okay so I've been a member of LHC for a few months now, and i really love the commitment you girls have with your hair! :) so i started a good hair care regimen and I'm kind of happy with my hair :) my question is.. Have you ever noticed that the to part of hairs is really nice and pretty but the lower part is just plain and ugly? How can i make my old hair look as good as the younger one, without sacrificing length? I don't have many split ends, do post shampoo oiling and have plenty protein too, please help!

[gthlvrmx]

Does your hair need the protein? Hair is basically keratin I believe and some people's hair doesn't react well with too much protein. What do you mean it's "ugly"? Do you have a photo? Can you give us some of your hair history? If you have previous damage that didn't get cut out, it's still there and the new growth will look different compared to damaged hair.

[queenbee1]

Does your hair need the protein? Hair is basically keratin I believe and some people's hair doesn't react well with too much protein. What do you mean it's "ugly"? Do you have a photo? Can you give us some of your hair history? If you have previous damage that didn't get cut out, it's still there and the new growth will look different compared to damaged hair.

Well, i use protein shampoo/conditioner one, someone's twice a month. Or didn't have any adverse a effects as long as i don't go overboard :p
Ugly as in the list part is fluffy white the part above the collarbones is smooth and straightish, but i don't have a photo yet, sorry :p
I did loss of hair assist about for years ago, bleach and great styling , but it got cut out. Now i just straighten my hair every month.v I've never dyed my hair either. Maybe it's just the previous damage, thanks to the heat along :(

[gthlvrmx]

Well, i use protein shampoo/conditioner one, someone's twice a month. Or didn't have any adverse a effects as long as i don't go overboard :p
Ugly as in the list part is fluffy white the part above the collarbones is smooth and straightish, but i don't have a photo yet, sorry :p
I did loss of hair assist about for years ago, bleach and great styling , but it got cut out. Now i just straighten my hair every month.v I've never dyed my hair either. Maybe it's just the previous damage, thanks to the heat along :(

From what you have said, you probably are getting heat damage from straightening it every month.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

You certainly could be getting heat damage from styling it. Also, do you wear your hair down much, because wearing it down so it rubs on chairs, gets purse straps rubbing it etc also causes damage.

[queenbee1]

You certainly could be getting heat damage from styling it. Also, do you wear your hair down much, because wearing it down so it rubs on chairs, gets purse straps rubbing it etc also causes damage.

That just might be the problem, thank you :)

[pamrlyn]

hi queenbee!

the longer your hair is - the older your ends are. so they need to be babied & treated gently. hair that's closer to the scalp benefits from your natural sebum or scalp oils. as your hair gets older it probably becomes more porous - so it needs oil more - but gets it less, being farther away from the scalp.

you can start by using a drop of whatever oil you have on hand. Olive oil is probably in your pantry & works great for a lot of people.. If that doesn't work for you - there.s plenty to try. There's an oil thread - I'll look for it & post a link. here it is: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10971&page=39

anyway put the drop of oil in the palm of your hand & rub your hands together warming the oil & spreading it across your palms & fingers. then gently distribute the oil through the ends of your hair - from the ears down to the ends.

If your hands run out of oil - get another drop & continue. After you have it all through ears to ends - take a look & see how your hair likes it.

[queenbee1]

From what you have said, you probably are getting heat damage from straightening it every month.

Oh I'm so sorry, i didn't realize how many typos I've made. Must have been such a pain reading through that, my bad! I'll post the correct reply here:

Well, i use protein shampoo/conditioner once, sometimes twice a month. It doesn't have any adverse effects as long as i don't go overboard :p
Ugly as in the last part is fluffy while the part above the collarbones is smooth and straightish, but i don't have a photo yet, sorry :(
I did lots of hair abuse about four years ago, bleach and heat styling , but it got cut out. Now i just straighten my hair every month. I've never dyed my hair either. Maybe it's just the previous damage, thanks to the heat styling :(

[queenbee1]

hi queenbee!

the longer your hair is - the older your ends are. so they need to be babied & treated gently. hair that's closer to the scalp benefits from your natural sebum or scalp oils. as your hair gets older it probably becomes more porous - so it needs oil more - but gets it less, being farther away from the scalp.

you can start by using a drop of whatever oil you have on hand. Olive oil is probably in your pantry & works great for a lot of people.. If that doesn't work for you - there.s plenty to try. There's an oil thread - I'll look for it & post a link. here it is: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10971&page=39

anyway put the drop of oil in the palm of your hand & rub your hands together warming the oil & spreading it across your palms & fingers. then gently distribute the oil through the ends of your hair - from the ears down to the ends.

If your hands run out of oil - get another drop & continue. After you have it all through ears to ends - take a look & see how your hair likes it.

Thank you so much! :) i do this with coconut oil, currently six drops every day, and my hair loves it :)

[yahirwaO.o]

Oiling does give some shine and oomph to the boring weird down part of the hair. But I believe its natural to have very healthy and nice hair at the roots than mid to ends, even if you protect your hair a lot, its just the way hair naturally is (of course chemical or mechanical damage makes it look worse). :cool:

[Seventy7]

Thanks for the reply without typo's, queenbee1. We're a friendly bunch here that will try to read through them, but at least I enjoy not having to guess what was meant before autocorrect. ;)

I did have fluffy and dry ends when I started growing. It took a while for I got this sorted out, but now it's looking and feeling much better.
There is a ton of wisdom on this forum, the biggest being that you have to find what works for you.
Try small changes in your routine for a while and see if you like it better or not. Then move on to the next small change.

You could try conditioning the ends more, either CWC or WCC.
With the first, you protect your length from shampoo by putting conditioner on it, them wash your scalp with shampoo and rinse it all out. And condition the length again after.
The second one is to wash the scalp first and rinse. Then put conditioner on the length twice with a good rinse after each one.

Don't expect it to make everything perfect in one try. But every little bit of improvement is a step in the right direction!

[queenbee1]

Haha, i agree! Must have been a pain to read through all that! :p Thank you for the advice though x :)