Sudden change in hair needs?

[Miss Thyme]

About two weeks ago I noticed that the ends of my hair were super dry. The final 10-15 cm of my hair was coarse, rough, and gave an almost velcro-like kind of resistance to being separated. I say was, but the sad truth is that they are still like this :(
The thing is, I haven't made any recent changes in my hair routine, so I don't know why this happened so suddenly. Any advice?

About my routine:
I wash every 3 to 4 days. Shampoo, then conditioner.
Shampoo: Head and Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo (I've been using this for years)
Conditioner: Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage conditioner (been using this since October)
Air drying, and if I do use the hairdryer it's on low heat, low intensity and only the scalp.
I oil daily and post-shower with coconut and jojoba (since January)

My own thoughts are:

Protein overload? There is protein in my conditioner, and I've had no issue in the time I've used it, but could my hair have finally had enough and overloaded?
Product buildup? My conditioner also has some cones, like amodimethicone, but I figured the sulfates in my shampoo should prevent buildup? (I squeeze it in just a little bit down the ends just to be safe regarding buildup)
Changes in the weather. It's getting warmer, and it's raining less. I'm also experiencing increased severity in dandruff in roughly the same timeframe, to such extreme that even my forehead and eyebrows create dandruff :mad: I've never had this issue before, and can't point to any other explanation than the weather.

[Miss Thyme]

An addition: I've noticed that my hair seems to get kinks easier too, even just from having it in a lazy wrap bun. From what I gather, this points to protein damage, right?
I also want to note that I have tentatively skipped conditioning during my last wash, in case the sinner is protein or product buildup.

[Ylva]

It could certainly be protein overload!

Also, have you washed in different water? Hard water could cause something like that as well. You get rid of mineral buildup with a chelating shampoo (containing an EDTA).

[Miss Thyme]

Water around here is certainly hard. I'm a bit hesitant about using other shampoos, as my dandruff usually rears its ugly face after one or two washes without my usual and right now even that doesn't seem to be quite enough. Do you happen to know of any good chelating shampoos that are also anti-dandruff? Alternatively, would an ACV rinse do the trick?

[Ylva]

Water around here is certainly hard. I'm a bit hesitant about using other shampoos, as my dandruff usually rears its ugly face after one or two washes without my usual and right now even that doesn't seem to be quite enough. Do you happen to know of any good chelating shampoos that are also anti-dandruff? Alternatively, would an ACV rinse do the trick?

Unfortunately, I'm not a hard water expert by any means since I only ever deal with relatively soft water, so I can't recommend anything. ACV I hear is pretty good at preventing hard water buildup but probably won't help in getting rid of it.

Would it be possible for you to just wash your hair with the chelating shampoo but use your usual one on your scalp?

[Miss Thyme]

Oh, I just remembered one more "clue" that I definitely intended to put in the original post. I don't know if this is a normal way for splits to occur, but I'll occasionally find a strand that has split into two only to then turn back into one further out, so it's not so much a split end as a split middle. Could this point to anything in particular, or is it just a thing that happens to worn out hair?


Unfortunately, I'm not a hard water expert by any means since I only ever deal with relatively soft water, so I can't recommend anything. ACV I hear is pretty good at preventing hard water buildup but probably won't help in getting rid of it.

Would it be possible for you to just wash your hair with the chelating shampoo but use your usual one on your scalp?

That's a good idea, actually. I'll find a chelating shampoo and try that :)

[AutobotsAttack]

How long is your hair?

[Miss Thyme]

It is just below TBL.

[Bat]

I needed to see this, I had noticed my hair is getting lots of dandruff and its since I moved house, so the water here must be harder than my previous home O_O a revelation! I'll have to look into water filters for showers,

[AutobotsAttack]

It is just below TBL.

I don’t think hard water or your conditioner has much to do with it. The longer your hair gets the more you actively need to be doing moisture treatments. Ends becoming velcro-like is completely normal since they’re quite old with your hair now being TBL. For your split end situation, again, I’d recommend doing more deep treatments.

[Tinyponies]

About two weeks ago I noticed that the ends of my hair were super dry. The final 10-15 cm of my hair was coarse, rough, and gave an almost velcro-like kind of resistance to being separated. I say was, but the sad truth is that they are still like this :(
The thing is, I haven't made any recent changes in my hair routine, so I don't know why this happened so suddenly. Any advice?

About my routine:
I wash every 3 to 4 days. Shampoo, then conditioner.
Shampoo: Head and Shoulders anti-dandruff shampoo (I've been using this for years)
Conditioner: Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage conditioner (been using this since October)
Air drying, and if I do use the hairdryer it's on low heat, low intensity and only the scalp.
I oil daily and post-shower with coconut and jojoba (since January)

My own thoughts are:

Protein overload? There is protein in my conditioner, and I've had no issue in the time I've used it, but could my hair have finally had enough and overloaded?
Product buildup? My conditioner also has some cones, like amodimethicone, but I figured the sulfates in my shampoo should prevent buildup? (I squeeze it in just a little bit down the ends just to be safe regarding buildup)
Changes in the weather. It's getting warmer, and it's raining less. I'm also experiencing increased severity in dandruff in roughly the same timeframe, to such extreme that even my forehead and eyebrows create dandruff :mad: I've never had this issue before, and can't point to any other explanation than the weather.


Hi there and welcome to the forum :)
A couple of thoughts have occurred but please forgive me if it’s stuff you already know.

You mentioned that you are oiling daily post shower with coconut & jojoba. Some people’s hair just hates coconut oil and others love it.

Oiling daily would be way too much for my hair. Maybe you need to clarify (use a cleansing and silicone free shampoo all the way to the tips and let it sit a min), moisturise (you sound happy with your conditioner) and then go easy on the oil, or even leave it out for a while.

There are fabulous infos here on pre wash oiling and also rinse out oiling (ROO). One of these might suit you better if you want to still use it.

Don’t forget that stress can play a big part in skin health and that might be contributing along with the weather changes.

How do you usually wear your hair day to day? I have fine hair too and when I first joined, I had dry ends but since I learnt how to wear my hair up comfortably in a bun my ends are tucked away and they are much much better.

Another thought is to consider what you’ve added or changed since your ends were fine. If you need to, go back to your old routine that worked, then make small changes from there so you always know what’s working and what isn’t.

Lastly congrats on getting to tailbone length while being new to “proper haircare” (I had a peek at your profile). That’s quite impressive, to me!

Best of luck :)

[GoddesJourney]

Sounds like it could need clarifying. It also sounds like there may be some years old mechanical damage or driness that has finally caught up with you. Your hair could have gone through something when it was young and the old injuries are now showing (much like many joints in my body that have extra mileage I didn't notice until it was too late).

[lapushka]

If it's TBL. How long ago did you give up straighteners and curling tongs, blow dryers on *hot* (not blow dryers on cool/warm, that's no problem)?

[Miss Thyme]

Hi there and welcome to the forum :)
A couple of thoughts have occurred but please forgive me if it’s stuff you already know.

You mentioned that you are oiling daily post shower with coconut & jojoba. Some people’s hair just hates coconut oil and others love it.

Oiling daily would be way too much for my hair. Maybe you need to clarify (use a cleansing and silicone free shampoo all the way to the tips and let it sit a min), moisturise (you sound happy with your conditioner) and then go easy on the oil, or even leave it out for a while.
How soon would you expect to notice the adverse effects of over oiling? Oiling, even daily, just seemed to be doing my hair a lot of favours in terms of softness and shine for the first few months. My ends also do terribly when I do a pull test on them, so I wouldn't think oil was the problem? Unless I'm locking moisture out...


How do you usually wear your hair day to day? I have fine hair too and when I first joined, I had dry ends but since I learnt how to wear my hair up comfortably in a bun my ends are tucked away and they are much much better.
I wear a lazy wrap bun almost 8 hours a day for work, which I have to undo before going home because I can't comfortably lean back on the drive home otherwise :p I'll either put my hair in an English braid, a rope braid, or a loose ponytail gathered to the side and hanging over my shoulder at this point. I tie it off with a velvet scrunchie. I'll usually either keep it as it is when I get home, but sometimes it'll end up in a bun again, or hanging loose.
I'll braid it to wear to bed, and chances are it'll stay this way on my days off. Sometimes I'm a bad girl and let it be free, but then I'll usually end up having to do something that makes me put it in a bun and just let it stay there.

I can't stand buns that are tied with elastics, so I always use a stick or a fork, but my ends are so dry recently that even a stick leaves kinks :(


Another thought is to consider what you’ve added or changed since your ends were fine. If you need to, go back to your old routine that worked, then make small changes from there so you always know what’s working and what isn’t.

Lastly congrats on getting to tailbone length while being new to “proper haircare” (I had a peek at your profile). That’s quite impressive, to me!

Best of luck :)
And that's the thing, I haven't really changed anything since the first few days of the year, except I went from washing 3 times a week to 2 times a week in February. And up until the past few weeks my hair has been no worse off—and I'd like to say it's been better—than it was up until October last year when I was washing 3 times a week while taking no steps to moisturise. It seems like it worked for too long for it to have been bad, but again I'm not really sure about the frame of time in which it's reasonable to expect changes to occur?

I had a few weeks where I played with using less shampoo, but I dialled it back up again when I started leaving insane amounts of lint on my brush. I also did try using extra coconut oil overnight (skipping jojoba in the process) before showering the next morning once. It does happen to coincide with being just before I noticed the change in hair health, but from just the once?

[Miss Thyme]

Sounds like it could need clarifying. It also sounds like there may be some years old mechanical damage or driness that has finally caught up with you. Your hair could have gone through something when it was young and the old injuries are now showing (much like many joints in my body that have extra mileage I didn't notice until it was too late).
My hair definitely does have a lot of old wear and tear, no denying that. It just turned bad so suddenly, and only after I'd started taking steps to keep it healthy, that I suspect something else must be afoot too.


If it's TBL. How long ago did you give up straighteners and curling tongs, blow dryers on *hot* (not blow dryers on cool/warm, that's no problem)?
I've never owned curlers or straighteners of any kind. It's probably been two months since I last used my blow dryer on hot. In case it matters, I've only had a blow dryer for a little over a year, and I would maybe use it once or twice a month on hot along with a heat protection spray.

------

I went looking for a chelating shampoo today with no success. Little surprise there, I suppose. I bought an Aussie shampoo with EDTA (pretty far down on the ingredients list) instead, as it seemed like the best alternative available at the moment. I've washed my lengths with it today and then I did a deep moisturising treatment with a Garnier Fructis Hair Food with macadamia that I picked up at the same time. No protein, no cones in either product. I still followed it up with coconut oil and jojoba oil when it had dried a bit and turned damp.

I'll see how this turns out. Right now my ends feel better, but not great.

[MusicalSpoons]

For a chelating shampoo recommendations, what country / continent are you in?

Though looking back over the thread and to your first post, I think the culprit could well be the coconut oil :hmm:

[bokeh]

Though looking back over the thread and to your first post, I think the culprit could well be the coconut oil :hmm: I really think that the problem is the coconut oil too. I’ve read that it can act like a protein. I haven’t had good success with it in my hair.

[Miss Thyme]

For a chelating shampoo recommendations, what country / continent are you in?

Though looking back over the thread and to your first post, I think the culprit could well be the coconut oil :hmm:

I live in Denmark, Europe.

I'm sad to see how many people suggest coconut oil, because I really like it even though my hair, according to suspicions, doesn't. It's one of my favourite scents.

It seems obvious that I shouldn't take too many new initiatives at once, or I won't know what is and isn't helping. I've probably already taken too many different measures today, clarifying with a new shampoo + doing a deep moisturising treatment with a new conditioner without cones and protein... I feel like I'm back to square one regarding what to add, keep or cut out.
Supposing it could be either protein, coconut oil or hard water buildup: If I were to take steps to correct just one of these potential issues, which one would be most likely to show results first if it were the culprit?

[MusicalSpoons]

I live in Denmark, Europe.

I'm sad to see how many people suggest coconut oil, because I really like it even though my hair, according to suspicions, doesn't. It's one of my favourite scents.

It seems obvious that I shouldn't take too many new initiatives at once, or I won't know what is and isn't helping. I've probably already taken too many different measures today, clarifying with a new shampoo + doing a deep moisturising treatment with a new conditioner without cones and protein... I feel like I'm back to square one regarding what to add, keep or cut out.
Supposing it could be either protein, coconut oil or hard water buildup: If I were to take steps to correct just one of these potential issues, which one would be most likely to show results first if it were the culprit?

I think chelating hard water buildup would give the quickest results if it is the problem, if you're able to do it properly and can deep condition your hair afterwards. Citric acid is a good chelator; vinegar can help with some forms but it's hard to get a strong enough solution and still have a high enough pH for your hair to be okay with it. Anything with EDTA needs to have it in roughly the middle of the ingredients list otherwise it's just there as a pH buffer. Also especially for chelating, you need to let whatever you're using sit on the hair for a few minutes to really work thoroughly.

Is Tresemme cleanse and replenish shampoo available in Denmark? (This one https://www.superdrug.com/Hair/Shampoo/TRESemme-Deep-Cleansing-Shampoo-800ml/p/789951 NOT the 2-in-1) it has three chelating ingredients: ascorbic acid, citric acid, and disodium EDTA; and is protein-free and silicone-free - pretty much perfect for clarifying and chelating.

Coconut oil can resolve pretty quickly if you clarify thoroughly then moisturise your hair enough. I don't know the exact mechanism why it's dreadful for some hair; I've read plenty of times that it's a protein mimicker but I don't know how or why, and therefore I don't actually know what process needs to happen to undo the problem.

Protein overload can be balanced out with moisturising treatments (even if that's just a nice conditioner left to sit for as long as you can - from a few extra minutes during a wash, right through to several hours) and how long it takes depends on how bad the overload is and how moisturising you can be. Really bad protein overload usually results in hair being brittle and snapping off, so if you're not at that point then it's definitely salvageable :grin:

[fiabia]

Hi Miss Thyme! I'm from Denmark as well and just wanted to chime in and say that the Tresemmé Cleanse and Replenish Shampoo, that MusicalSpoons recommend, is available in Normal :)
My hair gets crunchy with coconut oil. Right now I really like using a few drops of argain oil everyday. For protein-free products, I really like Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment, it's available at the shop African House (they have a store at Vesterbro and an online shop).

[Miss Thyme]

Thank you both for the help with chelating shampoos and deep conditioner advice, MusicalSpoons and fiabia. I'll have to see when I can swing by Normal :D

Having thought about it some more, I guess it makes sense that my hair might feel different about the amount of coconut oil I've been subjecting it to after I started washing less. My hair feels pretty okay after yesterday's treatment even though I still followed it up with coconut oil. I'll think about whether to keep using it, but only post-wash, or cut it out entirely.


For protein-free products, I really like Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment, it's available at the shop African House (they have a store at Vesterbro and an online shop).
Thanks for the recommendation. Right now my hair seems to like the fructis hair food, but I'll keep it in mind :)

[Miss Thyme]

UPDATE

Thanks again for all the recommendations. Since last time I've bought the Tresemmé Cleanse and Replenish shampoo. I chelated and followed with a deep condition last Thursday, and then this Wednesday I just did a wash with my regular shampoo and used the Garnier Hair Food as regular conditioner. I've cut out coconut oil and am currently just using jojoba oil after showers to help lock in moisture, and when I feel like my hair needs a little extra slip when brushing.

My hair is definitely doing better. It is a lot softer, and the velcro effect has been heavily reduced. I do need to have some product or oil in my hair to eliminate it completely, but that's still infinitely better than before.

Right now, however, my hair is a fantabulous frizz fest. Perhaps I should have deep conditioned on Wednesday as well. I did not realise that it had been almost a full week since I last washed! I sure managed to stretch that one a lot :p I'm thinking of going back to my cone-y conditioner to combat the frizz and give my hair some of that extra slippery protection, but at the same time I suspect that the cones have been hiding some quite significant splits and damage from me during S&D, which I'd rather want to have cut out :(

I haven't completely ruled out trying coconut oil again in the future, but this time with more moderation. I'm not sure I want to risk it, but I do miss the feel of applying it along with that wonderful scent :p I'm also thinking of adding an ACV rinse to my routine to help with the hardness of the water, and maybe a tea rinse for whichever benefit :)

I'm not sure how often I should be chelating, but I gather it's best to do no more than once a month or so?

[Miss Thyme]

I'm back with an update just in case anyone finds this thread while looking for solutions to similar problems as mine.

I found the cure!
Whatever caused my problems in the first place, the solution was protein. After using this gelatine protein treatment (http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/p/recipes-and-projects.html) my hair feels perfectly healthy and soft and not at all velcro-like. It lasts me at least three weeks, but I do eventually have to refresh with another round of treatment. I always follow it up with a deep conditioning. Sometimes I chelate first, but I am not sure how much of a difference it makes with my current routine.

I don't oil anymore.
It just doesn't feel like I need it at the moment. I've been wanting to try coconut oil before washing but other than just once I keep forgetting to do it ahead of time, and so just skip it.

Was it the cones?
I suspect so. I had replaced my coney Garnier Fructis Grow Strong conditioner with the non-coney Garnier Fructis Strength and Shine while sorting out my issues. A while after finding the gelatine treatment to get my hair back to normal I decided to go back to the coney conditioner because I still had a stash of it and was out of the other one. It definitely seemed to shorten the effects of the gelatine treatment! I went back to Strength and Shine (without cones) and the treatments started lasting longer again.
I think I had pretty healthy hair to begin with, and it just took a while for the cones (and maybe coconut oil overuse) to break it down, but I can't be sure.


Thanks again to everyone who chimed in and gave their advice!