Hair Growth Plateau - Tips?

[beneaththetrees]

Hi guys,
I've been trying to grow my hair out for about 3 years now, but it's been stuck at bsl for what seems like forever. I went pretty quickly from about apl to where I am now, but I seem to end up with split ends no matter what I do! Does anybody have advice on what I'm missing? Some details about my hair type and routine:

I have fine, thin, wavy hair.
I have used Calia shampoo & conditioner for about 6 months, and I love it.
I live in a very dry area (SW united states).
I had been dying my hair with conventional dyes, but I finally bit the bullet and stopped about a year ago. I have less shedding (yay!) but I haven't noticed a difference in the health of my hair somehow, and no real increase in length.
I have hard well water.
I wash my hair every 3-4 days, and use a leave-in (diy - calia conditioner, jojoba oil, lavender, cedarwood, and frankincense EO, and water) every day. On wash days I also seal it with a mixture of grapeseed, jojoba, and essential oils. I never use a hair drier or heat styling products anymore.
My hair gets crazy tangled if I leave it down, like literally matted, so I almost never wear it down anymore. (I don't remember this happening 5-10 years ago?) Silicones seem to dry my hair out, so I think I'm sticking with protective hairstyles for now.
My roots can get oily, but my ends are dry no matter how often I deep condition (which, right now, is about once a week. I use conditioner and oil, a small amount of heat, and a shower cap).
Protein makes my hair break like crazy, but I'm worried I'm not getting enough. I've started trying a protein conditioner once a month, immediately followed by a deep conditioning treatment, with mixed results. About half the time my hair still ends up with a lot of split ends after this, but half the time it ends up super soft. I do think I need protein, though, because some of my shed hairs have that "stretched out" look.
Most of the time I use a wooden wide tooth comb, but I also have a mixed boar bristle/nylon brush I use if I want a smooth look.
I drink lots of water, take biotin, omega 3, and msm supplements. I get plenty of exercise and try to eat healthy. I am vegetarian but not vegan.
I am on birth control pills, which some people claim causes hair loss. I've been on it for about 10 years, though, so I don't think that's the case for me.

I know that's quite the rambling info dump, but I'm not sure which direction to go. I feel like I've tried every hair growth tip out there! Thanks for your help!

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I have heard from some fine hairs that BBB do not work on our hair type. I use a TT so maybe the BB is causing some breakage? We need brushes that are gentle. Oh, and for me, I could never use a BBB, it would rip through my hair without getting any tangles out.
Also try to remember that you are still growing out color. Even though you stopped coloring a year or more ago, it takes about a year on average for someone to grow from scalp to chin/shoulder. Your hair type sounds a lot like mine, the more often I trim my hair the more often it behaves better.
I tangle pretty bad, especially without cones. Took me about a year or so to get a lot of my color damage out, but I wont expect better results for another year.
How long has it been since you've seen growth? Typically I dont think users here claim plateau or terminal until they have waited about 2 years on growth.
Keep up with it, you may need to cut all the color out before you see a difference.
Also - when was the last time you chelated or clarified your hair? That helped me loads, my hair improves much better since I started regularly using sulphates and such.

[Katc]

I had a friend once who's hair stopped growing, she started to lose some too. I only thought of her when I read your post as she was a vegetarian too and her Dr told her she needed to eat more protein. If you are suffering with other symptoms like fatigue, it might possibly be a lack of protein, but it sounds like you're pretty healthy.

[lapushka]

Maybe try the protein every 6 weeks or 2 months. If you use normal conditioners, it's all fine and you don't need to make "corrections" or mess with the protein/moisture balance with *extra* stuff unless your hair is severely damaged (bleach, heat, etc.).

BBB is not for everyone, true. I can't BBB, it shreds my hair, especially the further down the length it goes, and it absolutely disturbs my wave pattern.

Hair has a life of its own, and it will grow when it is ready. You do have to make sure it's not breakage, and I would suspect the protein.

[MidnightMoon]

I think I'll try to address those points in an organised manner to see if I can help a bit...

I have fine, thin, wavy hair= So do I, except for the thin bit. I find this hair type can be a bit tricky because i have to be very careful with the amount of products I put in, with the fact that it tangles easily because it's fine and wavy at the same time, etc. So yea, probably not the "easiest" combination to care for.
I have used Calia shampoo & conditioner for about 6 months, and I love it.=I have never heard of it, but it's good if you have had good results with it.
I live in a very dry area (SW united states).=This probably means your hair needs extra moisture, this means sealing it in.
I see you mention wearing it down doesn't have good results to you, and it might have to do with this too. Keeping your hair up, with some oil,
bunning it while still damp, etc. help with this. It would also tangle much less.
I had been dying my hair with conventional dyes, but I finally bit the bullet and stopped about a year ago. I have less shedding (yay!) but I haven't noticed a difference in the health of my hair somehow, and no real increase in length.=Dyes, specially for us people with fine hair is in my opinion pretty much one of the worse things to do to hair. Specially after it reaches a certain length. Sure, shoulder or BSL dyed hair is not that bad because we keep cutting the ends. But think about hip+ length hair, with ends that have been there for years, dyed several times,
wearing out. In my case, it's awful. There is a huge difference among my virgin hair and my bleached "ends". It looks worn out, it's dry, it tangles...
and you need to get rid of it all to actually feel 100% healthy hair, because bleached hair can feel a bit better using cones, but it's not a definitive fix,
and it won't restore hair back to health. It also won't give back the thickness we loose when dyeing
I have hard well water.You can buy a filter, I think?
I wash my hair every 3-4 days, and use a leave-in (diy - calia conditioner, jojoba oil, lavender, cedarwood, and frankincense EO, and water) every day. On wash days I also seal it with a mixture of grapeseed, jojoba, and essential oils. I never use a hair drier or heat styling products anymore.=Sounds like a lot of products to me. Have you tried them individually? Maybe you should stick to try them one by one, see which suits you best? I also read somewhere you're supposed to oil your hair after it's been washed with a few drops, combing your fingers through your hair, so that it helps seal moisture in.
My hair gets crazy tangled if I leave it down, like literally matted, so I almost never wear it down anymore. (I don't remember this happening 5-10 years ago?) Silicones seem to dry my hair out, so I think I'm sticking with protective hairstyles for now.=You might have product buildup. Try washing it with a sulfate shampoo, do a vinegar rinse, and if it's a possibility, you can quit the silicon conditioners. Do make sure you use at least some type of conditioner, and oil a bit. In my case, I do use cones occasionally on my dyed ends because it helps keep them slippery,
not tangle that much, and makes them look a bit better. But keeping hair up is an option, too, and probably healthier than just covering your hair in product. In the end, our hair reacts differently, so we should find what's best for us.
My roots can get oily, but my ends are dry no matter how often I deep condition (which, right now, is about once a week. I use conditioner and oil, a small amount of heat, and a shower cap).=I'd suggest not oiling the canopy too much, avoid conditioner on your scalp, and keep your ends tucked in your updos. Definitely the dye is part of the problem, but it could be that your scalp is producing too much while, which isn't reaching your ends, or staying there
Protein makes my hair break like crazy, but I'm worried I'm not getting enough. I've started trying a protein conditioner once a month, immediately followed by a deep conditioning treatment, with mixed results. About half the time my hair still ends up with a lot of split ends after this, but half the time it ends up super soft. I do think I need protein, though, because some of my shed hairs have that "stretched out" look.=no comments on that
Most of the time I use a wooden wide tooth comb, but I also have a mixed boar bristle/nylon brush I use if I want a smooth look.The BBB isn't the best option for everyone, some people don't like it. In my case, it helps get a smooth look, and tame flyaways,
but it leaves me with the "sticky roots, dry ends" feeling most of the time, so I just use it on top, two or three strokes to even out the hair on top.I think most brushes make my hair end up looking greasy on top and fluffy and dry from the ears down. a wide tooth comb is best for that I think,
and more gentle on wavy hair.
I drink lots of water, take biotin, omega 3, and msm supplements. I get plenty of exercise and try to eat healthy. I am vegetarian but not vegan.
I am on birth control pills, which some people claim causes hair loss. I've been on it for about 10 years, though, so I don't think that's the case for me.=Supplements aren't that necessary if you eat well, and unless you had some deficit, it wouldn't make a difference in hair growth. Keep in mind, that fragile ends tend to break off easily, so you might not notice as much growth as you would with virgin hair just because of the damaged hair. Make sure you are having enough protein from your veggies/nuts/beans/etc., too. Ah, and sweating can also be a reason for having oily roots/dry ends, if you exercise vigorously. You could try scalp washes only, or alternative ways of wearing your hair up when exercising,
so that it dries instead of leaving your hair scalp wet.

[beneaththetrees]

Ah, that's nice to know that most people on here wait 2 years before claiming plateau! That's about how long it's been for me, but that was just luck in my timing on posting, so it's nice to know the etiquette. :) Patience is so hard sometimes, but it sounds like growing out the dyed part is my biggest issue, so I'll try to remember that.

Thanks for the tip on chelating, too - I have a chelating shampoo, but it's SLS-free, and I haven't used it in several months, anyway. I tend to only use it if my hair's feeling really weighed-down, but maybe it needs it more often.

[beneaththetrees]

Maybe try the protein every 6 weeks or 2 months. If you use normal conditioners, it's all fine and you don't need to make "corrections" or mess with the protein/moisture balance with *extra* stuff unless your hair is severely damaged (bleach, heat, etc.).

BBB is not for everyone, true. I can't BBB, it shreds my hair, especially the further down the length it goes, and it absolutely disturbs my wave pattern.

Hair has a life of its own, and it will grow when it is ready. You do have to make sure it's not breakage, and I would suspect the protein.

Spacing out the protein will be one of the things I try next! My current conditioner doesn't have any hydrolyzed protein, so I don't know how well my hair would do in the long run without the occasional treatment, but maybe once a month is too much for my hair. I may try to do away with the BBB, too, as it sounds like that's a common problem, especially for wavy hair types.

Thanks so much!

[beneaththetrees]

Midnightmoon, this is a lot of great advice, thanks! I'm definitely going to try clarifying my hair more often and see what that does, because I haven't been doing that very often.

I loved having red hair, but I'm really starting to regret the 3 years of chemical dyes! It is nice to know that there will be damage until it grows out, though, and it's not necessarily because I'm doing something that's adding more damage. I'll keep listening to my hair and trying things out, but it sounds like I still need patience.

Do you or anyone else have favorite brands of sulfate shampoos? The fragrances in those tend to be pretty strong, so I'd prefer one that's not overwhelming. I've avoided them so long now that I'm not sure what I'll start looking for.

[Reyesuela]

Split ends is a handling issue, not a growth issue. Few people have hair that can be dyed conventionally and be healthy beyond BSL. You probably need to grow out the dye.