Can anyone help me with dry ends?

[roman8]

Hey everyone,
I've been apart of LHC now for a year and although i have made huge progress with babying and micro trimming/oiling. I have an issue with dry ends! I know the cause of them is previous years of bleaching/heat. It only affects the last 4 inches or so of my hair. I have tried EVERYTHING! The last 4 inches of my hair has obviously extreme high porosity.
Ive used cheap/expensive conditioners and hair masques and left all different types of oils in my hair, natural products, silicone laden products, nothing will lift the dryness!
I know you can't reverse damage but my hair acts so bizarre, in water it seems to stay dry and as soon as I'm out the shower my ends will be bone dry first, i could have oil on it and they will become dry again within a few hours.
I've gone SLS free, silicone free, done co washing only, I'm running out of ideas.

I am in the process of micro trims and big trims to get all the damage away next scheduled end of october.
If anyone has same experience or any tips for me they are appreciated hugely.

[YvetteVarie]

My thought would be to do some type of protein treatment in the area that has bleach damage. Protein does help with moisture retention, I have noticed that my hair doesn't dry out fast if I use protein. That may help you till your trim

[Anje]

You've clarified your ends recently, right? If not, grab the sulfates and wash those ends a couple times!

I agree that protein might be a good thing. (My ends happen to get horrible if I use protein with any regularity, but damaged ends often need some.) Follow it up with a decent moisture treatment.

If you're after a recipe, I recommend the SMT (link in my signature). Recently I've been mixing it up with a dab of soy sauce (low sodium is ideal, but I've been using dark soy sauce) to add some hydrolyzed protein to the mix, and my hair has come out very nice. It doesn't smell as lovely and edible as the original SMT recipe, but it works very well. That's about all the protein my hair ever gets, so it doesn't put up a protest.

[TrapperCreekD]

In addition to the excellent advice above, do you seal the moisture in with anything? When my ends are feeling parched I dampen them with water or diluted conditioner and then seal with some shea butter or almond oil. If I don't seal it, the moisture makes my ends feel rougher and drier than leaving them bare.

[meteor]

Check out this article on damaged hair by Nightshade, I think it should help: Damaged Hair: Understanding, Preventing & Rehabilitating: http://web.archive.org/web/20120125071723/http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

I definitely agree on hydrolyzed proteins (but always followed up by a moisturizing treatment like the SMT/oil+conditioner/LOC!): Aphogee 2-step (http://aphogee.com/two-step-protein-treatment-for-professional-use/) (it's super-strong), Joico K-Pak, Redken Builder Plus, DIY gelatin treatment (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html) and products rich in oils, 18-mea, ceramides, silicones - they are usually in products marketed for lightened/chemically treated/damaged hair.

I'd definitely recommend pre-poo oiling and LOC oiling to seal in moisture or gradual oiling with something penetrating like coconut oil or olive oil or palm oil; and processed, porous bleached hair should absorb way more oil than virgin roots, so focus just on length. Bleached hair has trouble retaining moisture (since it's porous), so anything that helps hair stay more hydrophobic (oils and butters are perfect for that) can be helpful. More on this here: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/oil-pre-shampoo-or-pre-wash.html
(http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/03/oil-pre-shampoo-or-pre-wash.html)

Obviously, it's important to stop any additional damage (heat styling, chemical, mechanical), sleep on silk/satin, keeping your hair up to protect the ends (especially when it's sunny or windy) and definitely avoiding excessive washing, excessive combing/brushing/grooming... Hair accumulates damage and doesn't "recover", so it's very important not to add new damage to old. Ultimately, I'd baby those ends while micro-trimming the damage away.

I hope your hair will feel much better soon! Happy growing! :cheer:


ETA: Oh, and since you mentioned going silicone-free, I should mention that I would definitely not avoid silicones! :flower: Silicones create a protective film and add slip to help with detangling, damaged hair can really benefit quite a lot from the added protection from silicones, which is why products for porous hair are usually loaded with them. :flower:

[lapushka]

I know this girl has high porosity hair as well. Maybe have a look at her channel and see how she does things. Here she is doing a pre-poo that works for her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht7NS7EK0DU

[sarahthegemini]

Tbh I'd just get rid of them. If you're not prepared for that then try some of the suggestions made but in my opinion, once the hair is that wrecked, they're better off going.

[Deborah]

I have only rarely had dry hair, but when I have, I find that stroking some shea nut butter on the ends before washing my hair makes the ends feel great afterwards.

[Kiiruna]

Damp bunning helped me. Makes hair to take forever (~6 hours in my case), but with damp-bunning I got rid of the dry feeling!

[Alastríona]

I read somewhere that the only difference between a conditioner and a treatment is the length of time it stays on your hair. This might not be correct, but the last two times I have had straw hair I gave it a try - soaked my hair in conditioner ie half a bottle of the stuff and left it at least overnight (two towels on the pillow plus one on my head lol)
When I finally washed it out, straw hair gone yay

[tigress86]

In addition to the excellent advice above, do you seal the moisture in with anything? When my ends are feeling parched I dampen them with water or diluted conditioner and then seal with some shea butter or almond oil. If I don't seal it, the moisture makes my ends feel rougher and drier than leaving them bare.

This is what I do basically. I have a few centimetres of bleach damage left on my ends. Moisture (water or light, no protein spray conditioner) and then seal it in with oil or butter.

[CRX<3]

Maybe try a Olaplex treatment, my ends always feel better after I use the take-home treatment (step 3) and if you just use it on your ends it will last a long time! :)

[casiopeia]

I would do the following things. Clarifying followed by the most moisturizing mask I have, some leave in spray and/or some silicone serum on the ends , than putting your hair in a bun with the ends tucked in somehow. I could almost guarantee you that when you take your hair down your ends will be nice and soft. Silicones are not "bad" neither other commercial products . Oils alone will not moisturize your hair.