Unhealthy long hair ?

[Pinecone]

Hello ! I'm somewhat new to this forum, so I hope I'm posting this in the right place :D

I've been growing my hair for a few years, it's almost down to my waist. The problem is that I've noticed I've been losing a lot more hair than usual, getting lots of split ends, and also my scalp hair seems to be thinner than normal? My hair is pretty unhealthy-looking in general. I don't use heat, chemicals, dyes or anything like that, at the same time, I don't take any vitamins or have a specific diet to maintain healthy hair, nor do I trim my hair..like ever. so that may be it? Are there any tips for this, or perhaps any recommendations for products/vitamins I could take? :(

Thanks!! :o

[lapushka]

First of all, welcome! :)

Your routine sounds good to me. Don't "confuse" split ends with rattier looking ends though, because those just need moisture. A split end is just what it says a hair with branches, or that's split down the middle.

[catoala]

Regarding your scalp looking thinner - maybe it's just the fact that the weight is pulling the hairs and it looks thinner. That happens very often to people with long hair. But maybe you should take vitamins. Good luck!

[spidermom]

"Unhealthy looking" means different things to different people, so can you be more specific?

If you have hairs of different lengths sticking out all over the place, that's totally normal. Every day you shed out old hairs and every day you grow in new hairs, so you're always going to have hairs of different lengths. Whether or not they stick out and make themselves obvious depends on hair type. Wavy to curly types like me constantly have a halo of shorter hairs. I can stick them down with styling product, but the moment I get hit by wind or high humidity, they frizz right back up. Perhaps your hairs are wavier than you think?

If you are noticing that the hairs at the bottom are very thin, that's a trimming issue. By getting regular small trims, you can keep shape to the bottom of your hair (the hem) and maintain some degree of thickness. Trimming enables newer or slower-growing hairs to catch up to the length of older or faster-growing hairs. However, trimming also shortens your length potential, although if you've got only a few hairs on your head that will grow to mid thigh and the rest of your hairs shed out around hip length, for appearance sake, it might be worth keeping your hair trimmed at about hip length. It all depends on what you like.

If the issue is split ends as lapushka describes them, there is something in your routine or lifestyle that is damaging the ends of your hair. It would be good to figure out what that is. Is your hair getting caught between your back and the chair? (for example) Once you can figure out where the damage is coming from, you can change your routine.

[sipnsun]

Another thing to consider, do you wear your hair in tight hairstyles? Sometimes when I pull mine back particularly tight I lose more than normal when I let it down. Our hair types are very similar and I do a deep moisturizing treatment weekly and it's helped my ends tremendously. Fine hair is very prone to mechanical damage, just rubbing my shirt for a few hours can make my ends look dry and ratty. I also started doing a protein treatment once a month and although my hair can be protein sensitive, it's definitely made it stronger with less breakage.

[MusicalSpoons]

Welcome!

How do you wear your hair? That might be your main problem, damaging the ends if it's loose / in a ponytail / secured with a hairtie.

[Pinecone]

Thank you so much for all of your responses !! I normally don't do anything with my hair at all, except I occasionally braid it before going to bed (not always) because I feel like it's better than laying on it/risking more breakage. What are some (generally) good vitamins I could take for my hair? I've been looking into biotin supplements but there are so many and every product's reviews vary greatly so I'm kind of lost :(

[Pinecone]

Another thing to consider, do you wear your hair in tight hairstyles? Sometimes when I pull mine back particularly tight I lose more than normal when I let it down. Our hair types are very similar and I do a deep moisturizing treatment weekly and it's helped my ends tremendously. Fine hair is very prone to mechanical damage, just rubbing my shirt for a few hours can make my ends look dry and ratty. I also started doing a protein treatment once a month and although my hair can be protein sensitive, it's definitely made it stronger with less breakage.

What sort of moisturizing/protein treatments? This sounds like something I definitely have to look into as well!

[Dark40]

Thank you so much for all of your responses !! I normally don't do anything with my hair at all, except I occasionally braid it before going to bed (not always) because I feel like it's better than laying on it/risking more breakage. What are some (generally) good vitamins I could take for my hair? I've been looking into biotin supplements but there are so many and every product's reviews vary greatly so I'm kind of lost :(

I've started taking vitamins for my hair for the last 5 years on and off but this year I have my it a point to start taking these hair vitamins all for your hair, skin, and nails. They are called "Nature's Bounty." I also take the one the says "5,000mcg of biotin." So, that means you are getting 15,000mcg of biotin! Because, these vitamins recommend you take them 3 times daily if you really want to see any results. So, you don't need to invest in any other separate biotin pills or vitamins. Because, these I take already have enough biotin to help your hair to grow longer and thicker.

[Ylva]

There is no point in taking ultra doses of any particular vitamin. Naturally, they appear and function in complexes, and we are only able to absorb and utilise so much of any given vitamin. Unnecessary supplementation is generally advised against. It is also worth noting that it's extremely difficult and unlikely to be deficient in biotin in particular. Then again, a vitamin D or an iron deficiency, for example, is rather common, so if you are interested in supplementation, I would look at something like that for hair growth IF NECESSARY (do a blood panel!) rather than biotin.

[MusicalSpoons]

Yeah, unless you have a bad or restricted diet lacking in nutrition or you know you have low vitamin/mineral levels, you need to be looking at how you treat your hair rather than looking to supplements for a miracle fix (I'm not saying that's what you are doing, but anything you take will only affect what grows while you're taking them, they won't help the hair that's already grown).

If the ends are ratty, it's probably damage from wearing it down - especially if it gets tangled, or caught on things - and maybe from securing braids with a hairtie. It might also be because your hair needs more moisture, so more conditioner/leaving it on for longer is the simplest starting point for that.

Do you comb or brush, and do you take care to untangle when you hit a knot or do you just keep going until knots are ripped out?

What's your washing routine like?

Lots of questions I know but like spidermom said, 'unhealthy looking' could mean all sorts of things. If we know how you currently treat your hair we can start to pinpoint what might be causing whatever it is that looks or feels unhealthy to you :)

[Pinecone]

There is no point in taking ultra doses of any particular vitamin. Naturally, they appear and function in complexes, and we are only able to absorb and utilise so much of any given vitamin. Unnecessary supplementation is generally advised against. It is also worth noting that it's extremely difficult and unlikely to be deficient in biotin in particular. Then again, a vitamin D or an iron deficiency, for example, is rather common, so if you are interested in supplementation, I would look at something like that for hair growth IF NECESSARY (do a blood panel!) rather than biotin.

Hmm.. You're right, that totally makes sense! Thank you so much! and for everyone else who gave advice :o I appreciate it !!

[Pinecone]

Yeah, unless you have a bad or restricted diet lacking in nutrition or you know you have low vitamin/mineral levels, you need to be looking at how you treat your hair rather than looking to supplements for a miracle fix (I'm not saying that's what you are doing, but anything you take will only affect what grows while you're taking them, they won't help the hair that's already grown).

If the ends are ratty, it's probably damage from wearing it down - especially if it gets tangled, or caught on things - and maybe from securing braids with a hairtie. It might also be because your hair needs more moisture, so more conditioner/leaving it on for longer is the simplest starting point for that.

Do you comb or brush, and do you take care to untangle when you hit a knot or do you just keep going until knots are ripped out?

What's your washing routine like?

Lots of questions I know but like spidermom said, 'unhealthy looking' could mean all sorts of things. If we know how you currently treat your hair we can start to pinpoint what might be causing whatever it is that looks or feels unhealthy to you :)

I only brush (with one of those wooden massage brushes that feel so heavenly) and when I shampoo I just do my scalp and then I condition my ends rather than everything/scalp, but that's also true! I don't usually take any extra steps with moisturizing or anything like that so it could definitely be a problem as well. (Also, looking for a miracle fix was totally what I was doing :D haha)

[CuteCrow]

Also, I don't know if anyone commented on this already but the longer your hair gets the more you notice your normal shedding. Meaning that your hair is not really falling more, just that as the shedded hairs are longer they seem like a lot more hair when clumped all together.
If you don't trim it at all, and don't do anything to keep the damaged ends at bay (like Search&Destroy, trimming only the damaged ends) you could benefit from a small trim. Also, you might not be using heat or chemicals right now but your ends are the oldest part of your hair. If you've used heat or chemicals in the last 2-4 years, your ends are still holding that old damage.