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View Full Version : The "damage prone" hair thread.



Rebeccalaurenxx
June 23rd, 2018, 08:57 PM
Anyone elses hair just, incredibly prone to damage?
Like you could just look at it and it breaks off? LOL.
Ok - i dont mean that seriously. But my hair requires very little tension or friction, and it just snaps off.
Im very polite to my hair, its in the best health its really ever been in, in my life.
But no matter what, it still seems to just break off. And after alllll these years, I think thats just my hair type....
Is there anyone else here with this kind of hair type? Fine hair that is just - damage prone. Otherwise healthy, but damage prone.
I feel that fine hair overall is more prone to damage but How EASILY that damaged is caused?
That is up in the air for me, I know I have seen a few others with this issue with fine hair like mine.
I also think the waves, curls, dont help either. Fine curly hair - more damage prone from feedback Ive gotten.

And for those of us with this hair type, how does one deal with it?
I noticed the less I wore hair styles like braids and more buns, the mechanical damage was lessened.
I have to start bunning again but I am in a bout of depression and have been wearing braids.
The mechnical damage has come back, 10x.
The problem is still consistent for me, so I am wondering if theres other members here that are, more or less:
"A part of this club"

lol

JennGalt
June 23rd, 2018, 09:38 PM
Me!! I've got naturally super porous hair, so it's not only fragile, but loves to snag on everything--including itself. Protein treatments and henna glosses help, as does keeping a thin coat of oil on it. But unless it's nearly time to wash it, it drinks up the oil at an astonishing rate. It's kind of a pain, really. Even washing too much can cause split ends and breakage, whether or not I use a regular towel or a blow fryer.

At first I thought it was heat damage from my flatiron addiction days, but weirdly enough, the part that hasn't ever been flatironed is more porous and fragile than the older stuff. Crazy! And my hair isn't fine, but I think you are right about curly hair being more damage-prone. I seem to have to worry about damage much more than my straight-haired friends.

Sorry to hear about the bout of depression. Those really suck! Hope you can get out of it soon, and with as little breakage as possible :blossom:

deeisme
June 23rd, 2018, 10:28 PM
Yes, sadly, I'm a part of the club. My hair is fine, wavy and turning grey which has all contributed to breakage. I think the idea of bunning instead of braids is something I am going to implement too.

Rebeccalaurenxx, I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with depression. I've struggled off and on myself. Not fun. Hopefully, things will turn around for you soon.

Borgessa
June 23rd, 2018, 10:37 PM
Yup, my hair too a T. It's baby fine, and just looking at it is too much handling. Not much we can do, it is what it is.

Rebeccalaurenxx
June 23rd, 2018, 10:58 PM
Me!! I've got naturally super porous hair, so it's not only fragile, but loves to snag on everything--including itself. Protein treatments and henna glosses help, as does keeping a thin coat of oil on it. But unless it's nearly time to wash it, it drinks up the oil at an astonishing rate. It's kind of a pain, really. Even washing too much can cause split ends and breakage, whether or not I use a regular towel or a blow fryer.

At first I thought it was heat damage from my flatiron addiction days, but weirdly enough, the part that hasn't ever been flatironed is more porous and fragile than the older stuff. Crazy! And my hair isn't fine, but I think you are right about curly hair being more damage-prone. I seem to have to worry about damage much more than my straight-haired friends.

Sorry to hear about the bout of depression. Those really suck! Hope you can get out of it soon, and with as little breakage as possible :blossom:

Great way to discribe it! My hair is the same.
Sometimes it feels like a spiders web, that’s when I know I need to clarify or chelate.
I think like, our hair type is very build up prone.
Because it seems worse when I regularly use cones.

Aredhel
June 24th, 2018, 12:18 AM
Oh yeah. I have this hair that you describe... my hair is fine (very low porosity though), highly tangle-prone and rips/breaks with little to no effort. Gets worse with length too.:rolleyes: For me though, braids often make the damage worse, while buns seem to protect them the most from the damage. Only certain buns though. I can't wear my hair down anymore for more than half a day or my hair will suffer the consequences. Cones make my situation better; I've tried the no-cone thing, and I actually had to rewash my hair just to condition the heck out of it because I couldn't untangle a single knot without cones.

school of fish
June 24th, 2018, 12:40 AM
Fantastic thread idea! Yup, this is me... Although my hair is in the best condition it can possibly be, it's always going to bend to the whims of mechanical damage and just life in general.

I appreciate this thread very much because those who have really delicate hair 'get' it... the most gentle treatment in the world still can't entirely prevent damage and broken strands - it's not that there's anything more that can be done once you're doing everything you can ;)

Katsura
June 24th, 2018, 01:16 AM
I feel that henna has made my hair stronger in some respect but also a bit glass like, so it breaks easily into white dots and sharp bends. I need to be really careful with it, and I need good conditioning and oils to give it some softness and flexibility.
I guess there's always going to be some damage in long hair.

Rebeccalaurenxx
June 24th, 2018, 01:25 AM
I feel that henna has made my hair stronger in some respect but also a bit glass like, so it breaks easily into white dots and sharp bends. I need to be really careful with it, and I need good conditioning and oils to give it some softness and flexibility.
I guess there's always going to be some damage in long hair.

Yes I have a lot more white dots then I do actual splits.
I see 10x the amount of white dots than I do splits.
And even when I see real splits, they’re really small.
My white dots tend to be at the very ends, usually only a few mm away.
SOMETIMES a 1/2” from the hemline but for the most part they’re a few mm away.

Which is why I deduce it’s from wearing the ends exposed.

Bookprincess
June 24th, 2018, 02:04 AM
I also have really damage-prone hair. It's been this way as long as I can remember. It's curly and fine so I think that's why. I try to treat it so gently but sometimes I'm just putting it into a bun (gently!) and I'll hear one of those dreaded snaps.

Why would braids exacerbate damage? I understand that they leave the ends exposed but I never thought they would actually cause damage...

Katsura
June 24th, 2018, 02:08 AM
Yes I have a lot more white dots then I do actual splits.
I see 10x the amount of white dots than I do splits.
And even when I see real splits, they’re really small.
My white dots tend to be at the very ends, usually only a few mm away.
SOMETIMES a 1/2” from the hemline but for the most part they’re a few mm away.

Which is why I deduce it’s from wearing the ends exposed.

It's exactly the same way for me. Then if something exposes my hair to more stress than usual the dots may appear higher. I wear my hair bunned almost all the time, exept for sleeping.

Margarita
June 24th, 2018, 02:15 AM
Me! Heat tools are just evil to my hair...

Bookprincess
June 24th, 2018, 02:23 AM
Me! Heat tools are just evil to my hair...

Oh gosh, when I used to flat-iron, I think almost every hair had a split end! Heat tools are an abomination (for me at least!)

MidnightMoon
June 24th, 2018, 02:24 AM
I think mine qualifies. It breaks at the slightest pull, the ends get dry or like velcro easily, and I can just see it deteriorating when I'm not overly protective of it. I can almost feel the damage when it's rubbing or getting caught in things...

lapushka
June 24th, 2018, 03:52 AM
It used to be that way for me, when I still had "damage" in my hair, like from a past perm, and heat damage. Once that was all out of my hair, it all improved. I no longer have these issues, but it takes a lot of time to grow that damage out. More than you think! It takes like 3-5 years even depending on what length you are.

school of fish
June 24th, 2018, 04:42 AM
It used to be that way for me, when I still had "damage" in my hair, like from a past perm, and heat damage. Once that was all out of my hair, it all improved. I no longer have these issues, but it takes a lot of time to grow that damage out. More than you think! It takes like 3-5 years even depending on what length you are.

lapushka, I have been growing out my damage since 2013 :flower: It remains delicate and damage prone - a far sight bettter than when I started to be sure, but will just never be anything other than what it is :)

For me the turning point has been acceptance of what I have to work with. I do believe I've put enough time in to see that I've reached the maximum resilience that my hair can achieve - that despite daily tender treatment over years I will always have an element of splits/white dots due to the inevitable breakage of delicate strands.

I'm quite at peace with it actually :) Very happy to have a little corner here to share space with others who have similar experience :D

lapushka
June 24th, 2018, 04:56 AM
lapushka, I have been growing out my damage since 2013 :flower: It remains delicate and damage prone - a far sight bettter than when I started to be sure, but will just never be anything other than what it is :)

For me the turning point has been acceptance of what I have to work with. I do believe I've put enough time in to see that I've reached the maximum resilience that my hair can achieve - that despite daily tender treatment over years I will always have an element of splits/white dots due to the inevitable breakage of delicate strands.

I'm quite at peace with it actually :) Very happy to have a little corner here to share space with others who have similar experience :D

I think I damaged my hair pretty heavily in the past. Now that it's all gone, I still have to be careful, but the gentle methods seem to be working for me. I rarely have splits, if any, and white dots are non-existent, even if I diffuse weekly (I keep the temperature cool to warm).

We're all different, I know. :flower:

ETA: damage can be pretty fierce! I had half a head of white dots, perm damage, heat damage. Up to the root, which I grew out to hip, then cut back to BSL after major S&D that thinned out half my hair.

leayellena
June 24th, 2018, 08:36 AM
my hair hates re-braiding! redoing my braid in the morning was a chore until I found out (today) that I have to nautilus it for few hours so my hair would go back to straight(ish) instead of braid WAVES. I found a new routine!

enting
June 24th, 2018, 09:27 AM
Hi :waving: I belong in this thread. Hair elastics? Damage. Exposed to wind? Damage. Combed at the wrong state of moisturization? Damage. Moved? Tangled.

I have friends who aren't even sure what a split end is or if they've ever had one. Meanwhile I'm wincing because I put my shirt on with hair down and pulling it out is probably causing damage.

Single strand knots cause splits in neighboring hairs. I'm familiar with divided hairs high up the hair shaft, split ends, splits that are so long they can be mistaken for separate hairs, multiple feather splits, you name it. Braiding is a problem for me because of sectioning and backbraiding. Buns that require sectioning like the disc bun give me similar problems but not quite as much damage because there's no backbraiding involved. My ends are always velcro unless well oiled.

My hair's condition has absolutely improved with different methods of working with it and treating it, but it would go right back to being back should I revert my habits. I get damage from sleeping with it loose now, as I discovered the last time I was sick and didn't have the energy to put it up for sleep.Perhaps when it was shorter it would stay up behind my pillow, or perhaps it did get damaged but I didn't notice amid all the other damage, but now it's long enough that it's under me while I sleep.

spidermom
June 24th, 2018, 10:39 AM
Mine. It stays in pretty good condition down to about hip length. After that, the ends just start disintegrating, although I did get my length down to my goal of classic. It looked great in photos, but the bottom 7 or 8 inches were trashed, and this was with the most careful handling and care I could manage without driving myself insane.

Speaking of driving myself insane, when people with bleached hair would post that they didn't have any split ends, it would make me crazy. I have split ends now!

Babyfine
June 24th, 2018, 11:34 AM
Yeah, mine. I'm 2a/2bFi/ii. That's one of the reason why I subscribe to the shorter/non growth thread. My hair actually grows well, but it damages easily. It also always snags on things, and tangles easily.
I could get some length if I wore it up ALL the time, however, but I like wearing my hair down about 50% of the time, so it's about 50/50 hair up,vs down.
I don't heat style, but I do color, (now have highlights) which of course doesn't help matters at all. I have considered henna over the years but I have so much grey I think it would be difficult not to have "hot roots"
I have considered going natural, or letting the silvers come in, but I'm not ready for that yet.

*Wednesday*
June 24th, 2018, 01:53 PM
Oh yes. I have to be gentle with my hair. I have 2a/2b and it tangles easily. I can break hair very easily. It doesn't split easily thank goodness since I kicked heat tools and hair spray.

Ligeia Noire
June 24th, 2018, 02:05 PM
Same boat here. My hair tangles if I sneeze and if I wear half of my tail down the part that rubs against my back actually matts. That's why even though I have always had long hair all my life. I ain't got to floor yet as I used to have to trim split ends 4 times a year.
Wearing braided buns really saved me a lot of time and trims. My hair still splits and tangles but way way less. I trim once or twice a year only. My strands are fine to medium and being 2b/2c makes it harder to deal with. But it is not impossible to grow it longer and healthy as long as you keep it up and be careful with it. Just takes time and patience. And silicones. Nothing like their slip to be able to comb with the least damage. No way I could've grown it to where i am without using cones and keeping my hair bunned pretty much every single day.

AutobotsAttack
June 24th, 2018, 02:23 PM
I also have really damage-prone hair. It's been this way as long as I can remember. It's curly and fine so I think that's why. I try to treat it so gently but sometimes I'm just putting it into a bun (gently!) and I'll hear one of those dreaded snaps.

Why would braids exacerbate damage? I understand that they leave the ends exposed but I never thought they would actually cause damage...

If your hair is prone to tangling, braiding probably would cause a bit of damage.

It’s not like bunning. With buns you’re taking the majority of your hair as a whole and wrapping it around itself.

With braiding, you’re separating much smaller pieces of hair, which any number of them have the potential of tangling up as soon as you separate them, or snapping and breaking any number of hairs. Espeacially if your hair doesn’t lay completely straight.

The term would be over-manipulation. Effects many people with delicate strands.

lovelymoon
June 24th, 2018, 03:25 PM
Has anyone found a way to deal with the nest that forms at the nape of their neck? I don't have fine hair, it's 1c. It's what causes the most breakage for me, unsnarling it, because I don't heatstyle my hair anymore.

Claireabelle123
June 24th, 2018, 03:25 PM
Hi :waving: I belong in this thread. Hair elastics? Damage. Exposed to wind? Damage. Combed at the wrong state of moisturization? Damage. Moved? Tangled.

I have friends who aren't even sure what a split end is or if they've ever had one. Meanwhile I'm wincing because I put my shirt on with hair down and pulling it out is probably causing damage.

Single strand knots cause splits in neighboring hairs. I'm familiar with divided hairs high up the hair shaft, split ends, splits that are so long they can be mistaken for separate hairs, multiple feather splits, you name it. Braiding is a problem for me because of sectioning and backbraiding. Buns that require sectioning like the disc bun give me similar problems but not quite as much damage because there's no backbraiding involved. My ends are always velcro unless well oiled.

My hair's condition has absolutely improved with different methods of working with it and treating it, but it would go right back to being back should I revert my habits. I get damage from sleeping with it loose now, as I discovered the last time I was sick and didn't have the energy to put it up for sleep.Perhaps when it was shorter it would stay up behind my pillow, or perhaps it did get damaged but I didn't notice amid all the other damage, but now it's long enough that it's under me while I sleep.

Hey, I have a similar problem, I was just wondering what you did to improve the condition of your hair?? 😊

littlestarface
June 24th, 2018, 03:28 PM
Has anyone found a way to deal with the nest that forms at the nape of their neck? I don't have fine hair, it's 1c. It's what causes the most breakage for me, unsnarling it, because I don't heatstyle my hair anymore.

I wish there was a way to eliminate that but iv'e tried everything and nothing works.

AutobotsAttack
June 24th, 2018, 03:29 PM
As someone with type 4a-4c hair, it’s often known that African American hair is more than likely THE most damage prone hair type probably on the planet.

Everything about my hair suggests that I need copious amounts of protein coupled with moisture, and less and less manipulation. It’s naturally dry, my natural sebum never reaches an inch or two from my scalp, and I have hair so coily that it can make my TBL hair shrink all the way past APL.

I also have incredibly fine hair. About 25 hairs can fit into 1mm of space.

But I’ve come to love my delicate hair. And I’ve put a lot of work and research into my hair care to get me where I am now. By the end of this year I hope to be at Classic. I’m about 6-7 inches away. So I’d say I’m doing alright.

sophia_
June 24th, 2018, 03:54 PM
My hair belongs in this thread lol, if I don't wear it up the ends get snagged, and if I do wear it up (no matter how loosely) other hairs break off, coconut oil and microtrimming have improved this though, I'll see if my nettle rinses are doing anything in a few months

Rebeccalaurenxx
June 24th, 2018, 04:23 PM
If your hair is prone to tangling, braiding probably would cause a bit of damage.

It’s not like bunning. With buns you’re taking the majority of your hair as a whole and wrapping it around itself.

With braiding, you’re separating much smaller pieces of hair, which any number of them have the potential of tangling up as soon as you separate them, or snapping and breaking any number of hairs. Espeacially if your hair doesn’t lay completely straight.

The term would be over-manipulation. Effects many people with delicate strands.

I also find that braids specifically put pressure/tension on hair.
This can also cause a bit of damage.
It’s why some people face damage when removing braids.

cathair
June 24th, 2018, 05:40 PM
It used to be that way for me, when I still had "damage" in my hair, like from a past perm, and heat damage. Once that was all out of my hair, it all improved. I no longer have these issues, but it takes a lot of time to grow that damage out. More than you think! It takes like 3-5 years even depending on what length you are.

I hope this will be me in time. I think I have about two or maybe three more years till I should have trimmed all my ancient heat damage out. It's still very thin, but I'm sure it's like candy floss like and splits less than before. I don't see short snapped off pieces ever.


I also find that braids specifically put pressure/tension on hair.
This can also cause a bit of damage.
It’s why some people face damage when removing braids.

I find similarly if the weight of the braid isn't distributed evenly, like in a side braid hair snaps around shoulder length :(

Then all the hairs that pop out when it sheds, they all point outwards ready to be damaged by anything that touches them.

I can't tie braids off because that causes massive splits. I found I don't need to though, mine don't unravel.

Babyfine
June 24th, 2018, 10:23 PM
Has anyone found a way to deal with the nest that forms at the nape of their neck? I don't have fine hair, it's 1c. It's what causes the most breakage for me, unsnarling it, because I don't heatstyle my hair anymore.

I get that, too. I gently detangle with detangling spray(like Pantene for fine hair) but the only way I've found to avoid it completely is to wear my hair up. When I wear my hair down, especially against a collared shirt, I get tangles at the nape.

lovelymoon
June 24th, 2018, 10:41 PM
I get that, too. I gently detangle with detangling spray(like Pantene for fine hair) but the only way I've found to avoid it completely is to wear my hair up. When I wear my hair down, especially against a collared shirt, I get tangles at the nape.

Dang, I had my fingers crossed someone had found a magical solution for it. :rolleyes: That's what I do too but now that it's waist length I've really been waiting to wear my hair loose more often. And yes, it's the WORST with collared shirts!

Lizabeth94
June 25th, 2018, 12:25 PM
My hair didn't used to be damage prone, but I'm finding more and more damage from chlorine and constant washing as I work at a pool. I'm struggling more with tangles and such that I never used to have. :( I suppose not much I can do about it besides trying to be gentle, keeping it tied back, and using a good chlorine shampoo. Wearing swim caps while teaching swim lessons isn't allowed cuz it makes us look like aliens to the kiddos. lol

Rebeccalaurenxx
June 25th, 2018, 12:27 PM
Dang, I had my fingers crossed someone had found a magical solution for it. :rolleyes: That's what I do too but now that it's waist length I've really been waiting to wear my hair loose more often. And yes, it's the WORST with collared shirts!

I usually will apply a silicone serum or a heavy oil to the nape hairs.
Seems to help me a lot. Also avoid certain materials.
Some cause more friction that others so I avoid wearing a beanie with another knit item.

Wildhorserider
June 26th, 2018, 05:38 PM
I’ve been so excited to join different threads... except this one! Unfortunately; here I am! Some of you may know that I’ve recently cut from WL to just below the ears. Anyway; I’m an endurance rider and I wear a helmet, so no bun. Doesn’t matter what I do with my hair, it is trashed after 5 hours of trotting on a horse! Up and down motion with a braid 😱
One time I left it in a low pony, thinking there would be less friction. I had a single dreadlock at the end of the day! I came in 6th place though, so I was a happy girl! 😂
This time around I’m going to use a hair net. Not sure if I should braid it first or just coil it and tuck it in...I have plenty of time to figure it out; my new prospect is too young to compete still. No rides this season. Plus, I have no hair 😆

AutobotsAttack
June 26th, 2018, 07:06 PM
I also find that braids specifically put pressure/tension on hair.
This can also cause a bit of damage.
It’s why some people face damage when removing braids.

It depends. For some hair textures yes.

For certain textures, if done loosely tension and pressure aren’t a problem. For hair types such as mine, it’s often a matter of shed hairs, and SS knots that aren’t fully removed prior to braiding. When taking the braid out you inevitably pull the tangle tighter.

Conflizzled
June 28th, 2018, 11:16 AM
I didn’t use to be damage-prone at all. I’d blow dry, flat iron, whatever my hair and it didn’t seem to care! I’d maybe get a friend to trim it once or twice a year. The past 5 years or so it’s been completely different. I don’t ever use a flat iron on my hair, I almost never blow-dry it, and I’m very careful about detangling it gently- but I need what feels like constant trimming to keep the split ends at bay. The only significant change I can link it with is my move down to Florida. The water is extremely hard and causes a lot of build-up. Citric acid rinses have been helping with that, at least. I’m wondering if the humidity somehow stresses my hair as well. 🤔 It’s definitely been hard to adjust to.

Rebeccalaurenxx
June 28th, 2018, 01:55 PM
I didn’t use to be damage-prone at all. I’d blow dry, flat iron, whatever my hair and it didn’t seem to care! I’d maybe get a friend to trim it once or twice a year. The past 5 years or so it’s been completely different. I don’t ever use a flat iron on my hair, I almost never blow-dry it, and I’m very careful about detangling it gently- but I need what feels like constant trimming to keep the split ends at bay. The only significant change I can link it with is my move down to Florida. The water is extremely hard and causes a lot of build-up. Citric acid rinses have been helping with that, at least. I’m wondering if the humidity somehow stresses my hair as well. �� It’s definitely been hard to adjust to.

Have you tried a chelating shampoo? Maybe the citric acid is too harsh?
Also hormones and age very much play a role. My hair use to be much more resilient.
But now I’m 25 and my hair changed in more ways then one.

sophia_
June 28th, 2018, 04:22 PM
I can only tie off my braids with scrunchies, I don't get splits with those, and they seem to be coming back into fashion, not that I ever really cared, lol. I've also tied off my braids with ribbons before, my only problem was that they would sometimes slip off of my hair. The strength is improving though, protein treatments have helped. I only have roughly 5-6 inches of heat/brush damage left to grow out!

lapushka
June 28th, 2018, 04:36 PM
I hope this will be me in time. I think I have about two or maybe three more years till I should have trimmed all my ancient heat damage out. It's still very thin, but I'm sure it's like candy floss like and splits less than before. I don't see short snapped off pieces ever.

It will improve, trust me!!! :)