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View Full Version : Question about ends: Dry, Damaged, or Normal?



cosmic crusader
December 6th, 2015, 10:24 AM
Hello!

I have a question for you...

I'm growing out layers, and my hair is feeling and looking so much better after a good trim (3.5" or so). I'm noticing that the last 4" or so of my hair feels different from the length. I clarified, and am being good about extra moisturizing, but they definitely feel drier, or rougher, or something.

I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is the last of my layers, the last of my damage, dryness, the result of the ends being wrapped in a bun, or if everyone notices a slight difference in texture toward the ends. I'm not having tangling issues or Velcro ends. I don't think they look bad, but they're definitely thinner than the bulk of my length.

I guess what I'm asking is, do your ends feel the same as your length? What gives?

lapushka
December 6th, 2015, 10:54 AM
No my ends, when left alone, always feel dryer. That is why I moisturize a lot (double conditioning & LOC method - see signature).

YellowLedbetter
December 6th, 2015, 12:45 PM
I have layers and they certainly feel different than my length. Layers, just by the nature of what they are, ends of hair laying over one another, are going to have a textural difference when compared to the length. Having said that your ends are the oldest part of your hair and most likely to be drier because of that.

Sarahlabyrinth
December 6th, 2015, 01:01 PM
No my ends, when left alone, always feel dryer. That is why I moisturize a lot (double conditioning & LOC method - see signature).

Mine always look dryer too, so with me it's moisture, moisture moisture all the way.

cosmic crusader
December 6th, 2015, 01:23 PM
Lapushka and Sarahlabyrinth, thanks for your replies. Glad to know I'm not alone! I'm with you on the WCC too...maybe I'll try LOC.

YellowLedbetter (cool name btw), thanks for your reply too. I hadn't thought about the layers that way (ends on top of each other), but it totally makes sense. I get the ends being the oldest part of the length too, but it's frustrating that the bits that are less than a year older than the rest feel ickier!

dollyfish
December 6th, 2015, 01:40 PM
Also this is because the sebum from your scalp is constantly moisturizing the upper parts of the hair, but not getting to the ends! So the ends are always going to have less moisture than the roots. Even constant BBBing doesn't really help. My hair is pretty dry and frizzy so this is the bane of my hair existence lol.

cosmic crusader
December 6th, 2015, 02:12 PM
Also this is because the sebum from your scalp is constantly moisturizing the upper parts of the hair, but not getting to the ends! So the ends are always going to have less moisture than the roots. Even constant BBBing doesn't really help. My hair is pretty dry and frizzy so this is the bane of my hair existence lol.

Hi! I didn't think about the sebum part either...darn! That's so true. I wash my hair a couple of times a week, but it almost seems like getting it wet every other day might be the answer, since it only really feels thoroughly moisturized for the couple of days following a wash (oiling in between on dry hair doesn't seem to cut it).

ravenreed
December 6th, 2015, 07:15 PM
I CO wash ever other day to keep my ends moisturized. If I go longer than that my hair gets ridiculously dry. If I wet my hair and add oil, all that happens is that I end with hair that feels dry and stiff.

EbonyCurls
December 7th, 2015, 04:56 AM
I find that the only way I can get true moisture into my hair is to damp bun it nightly, or wash it at least twice a week. I also do not add "moisturizers" between washes as I find that just causes build up and blocks the conditioner I use when I wash and leave in when I style. My hair responds to being cleaned frequently (which is twice a week for me), and starting with a clean slate each time I condition so that the conditioner is allowed to do its job.

spidermom
December 7th, 2015, 06:42 AM
My ends at nearly tailbone feel pretty much the same as the rest of my hair. When my scalp hair gets oily, I oil the length, then wash the next day (about twice per week). I also use a dab of coney serum to the bottom of my length after washing once per week, and I think that helps seal in the moisture.

chen bao jun
December 7th, 2015, 07:20 AM
Thanks for posting this and thanks for the answers. I have been having this same problem and really have not known whether its damaged hair or not and whether or not I can (or should) eventually cut the bottom off. I don't want to do it if the hair will still be same at the ends, dry and difficult to moisturize--and shorter.

In my case, the last two inches are not only so dry that they don't even feel like the same hairtype, but they thin out drastically very suddenly, which is what made me assume it was damage, too. My hair is not that long--not even quite touching bra strap and it had some rough treatment before LHC, so I'm not sure that I'm not in a different category than the OP but it is informative to hear that mnay struggle with this problem.

Carolyn
December 7th, 2015, 07:45 AM
Your ends are the oldest part of your hair. They have been around the longest and will have had the most wear and tear. It sounds like you are doing the right thing with trimming and using moisturizing products. When my hair is in a single braid, I like to lightly oil just the tassel. I will sometimes add a leave in or a coney serum on top of that.

Buttercup1223
December 7th, 2015, 06:41 PM
My hair isn't that long at all, but mine is like this too. My roots are oily and ends are dry. It seems that my top layer of hair with my layers are always dry where my underneath layers are oily. It's so frustrating. I think mine it because when I used the hair dryer or style the top layers seems to be where I style the most.

cosmic crusader
December 7th, 2015, 06:57 PM
Ravenreed and EbonyCurls, that's exactly how my hair reacts!

Spidermom... Lucky!! Like I said to Carolyn below, maybe MO or cones are something I need to try now. Any ideas on how to get it into my ends without combing through or disturbing my air-drying hair? Maybe misting??

Chen Bao Jun, I'm glad you're getting something out of this thread! I am generally pretty quiet around here because I have this fear of annoying people.

Carolyn, I've been avoiding cones for a few years now, but maybe a touch of either that or mineral oil might work. I air dry my hair without touching it out of the shower these days though...I'm not sure how I would work it in there without disturbing my hair (which gives me tangles!).

Hi buttercup! I wonder if it's the last of pre-LHC damage as well.

Thank you so much for your responses!

Anje
December 7th, 2015, 07:17 PM
My classic-ish ends feel the same as the rest of my hair (thinner, though), but I'm pretty sure even those ends have been grown since I joined LHC. Certainly when I had leftover damage from rougher handling, they felt different. Same with when I've had to deal with buildup or excessive dryness. Ends get worn out pretty easily, given how old they are, so I've hacked them off a few times when I couldn't otherwise remedy them.

trolleypup
December 7th, 2015, 08:40 PM
The more ends there are in the mix, the rougher the hair will feel. The older and more worn the hair is, the rougher it will feel. It is only the first foot or so of my hair that feels smooth, the rest gets progressively rougher. Also, most likely, noone but you will notice!

calmyogi
December 7th, 2015, 08:53 PM
My ends are always dryer than the upper parts of my hair. Even if I moisturize with oils, even if I use a coney conditioner, Even if I use a conditioner without cones, even if I use a sulfate free shampoo with a cone free conditioner. My ends are always rougher feeling. I assume at this point it is because I did have a red ombre and colored over that back to my natural color almsot a year ago. I'm sure for me the coloring has something to do with it, but I remember even before I colored it my ends were always a tad rougher, but back then I also didn't take as good care of my hair as I do now. So again, I am sure in my case it's the hair color atm.

I will say that when I started sleeping in a satin cap, not sleeping on a satin pillow case because that still didn't cut it, but when I started sleeping with my hair contained in a cap, my split ends have not been as bad and they feel slightly better.

turtlelover
December 7th, 2015, 09:08 PM
My ends tend to feel more dry in the winter than in the summer. Frequent use of GVP Nexxus Humectress seems to combat it pretty well as well as coconut oil pre-wash treatments left on overnight. I've never found cones to help, but that is just me. (Though they do help w/ detangling at times for sure!)

EbonyCurls
December 9th, 2015, 04:33 AM
I find that the only way I can get true moisture into my hair is to damp bun it nightly, or wash it at least twice a week. I also do not add "moisturizers" between washes as I find that just causes build up and blocks the conditioner I use when I wash and leave in when I style. My hair responds to being cleaned frequently (which is twice a week for me), and starting with a clean slate each time I condition so that the conditioner is allowed to do its job.

I forgot to add....I only damp bun/ moisturize with DISTILLED water in between washes. Makes a difference from when I used to use tap water. It's a lot softer and it reactivates my leave-in better. I just wash my hair with normal tap water....I'm not rich yet. Though I might consider a final rinse with distilled since water plays a major part in my after wash styling. I leave my hair drenched and comb through a handful of V05 moisture milk on each half of hair. The water holds my curl pattern (making it clumpy, bigger/rounder, and frizz free), and keeps it moisturized longer b/t washes.

Arctic
December 9th, 2015, 05:11 AM
Hmm, for me rough feeling ends would be a "deal breaker" - if I couldn't get them to feel soft/like the rest of my hair after X length, then that would be the length where I'd keep my hair (unless I'd decide to go shorter, of course). It's a personal preference, I have trichotillomania and rough hair is one of my irresistible triggers, and I just can't and don't want to deal with it on daily basis. I understand not everyone feels the same, but for me, I love my freshly trimmer, nice ends, and am willing to trade off with more length gladly.

meteor
December 9th, 2015, 08:53 AM
It's normal and it comes with the long-hair territory. :agree: The wear and tear on the cuticle from daily grooming alone would often be enough to accumulate over the years, let alone any chemical or heat treatments. When keratin structure gets weathered, porosity increases and the moisture can be lost more easily. And since "lipids are gradually lost as hair fibers grow" (for details on how this happens, check out this study: Characterization of the lipid composition at the proximal root regions of human hair: http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2005/cc056n01/p00001-p00016.pdf), I think it's really good practice to replenish ends of long hair with oils from time to time.

And if the hair is textured, the sebum travels down the hair shaft more slowly (moving down the kink or curl or teased volume, etc... slower than down poker-straight and brushed down strands), so the moisture treatments and oiling may need to be more intense and/or frequent.


My own ends currently seem to feel the same as the rest, but I know it's just an illusion, since my hair is ~ 50'' long, with highlighted ends.
I do a mini-LOC (spray some water on length or braid tassel and run a drop of oil and/or a dollop of leave-in conditioner) if my ends are feeling dry (usually when heaters are on). I adjust amounts or frequency as needed, and it always fixes it for me. :)

cosmic crusader
December 9th, 2015, 11:25 AM
You guys are super awesome for replying. Thanks so much. I noticed that I was able to finger comb through the ends with no tangles today (and I haven't combed since I washed on Sunday) so I'm feeling confident. I also decided to stop twisting my buns...I realized that my recent daily cinnabun topknot was maybe the culprit behind those kinked ends. Instead, I've been watching a buttload of tutorials and have managed a couple of stick buns (LWB foreva) and have otherwise been using a ficcare. Keeping the length around the nape is so boring but it really seems to help the ends stay smooth. Maybe this will change once I grow out the layers?

I'm going to try the distilled water misting between washes, and I'll be continuing with Shea butter pre-poo.

Thanks for making me see that this is all normal! I welcome further suggestions if you have any :]