Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with my hair. :(

[FallingDarkness]

As you can see from my recently changed profile picture, my hair has just like....given up in the middle. I take exquisite care of my hair. No dyes, no heat. I use bamboo towels to dry it, wash once a week (Redken extreme shampoo/conditioner). Up in a hair forked bun during the day, braided and put in a silk cap at night. Braided for exercise. I put a little argan oil on it as a leave in. Use a wide toothed comb for brushing. I don't know what could have happened to it, what I could have done to stop it, and if I should just give up and start from square 1 all over again. My hair is just making me so sad. It's just extreme breakage and I really can't figure out what I would have done wrong.

Has anyone else ever run into something like this? I don't want all my progress to just be erased like this.

[akurah]

When's the last time you been to a doctor?

[FallingDarkness]

Been over a year lol. Probably close to a year and a half at this point.

[Simsy]

Could be as simple as old damage that’s finally just gone. Could be as serious as an old nutrient deficiency that’s only just showing. See a doctor when you can; and for the time being just continue on. I can’t think of anything obvious from what you’ve listed, so flailing around in the dark is as good as anyone can do at the moment.

Given that it starts at about bsl, I’m going with an older problem that’s only just made breaking point. Trying moving your bun around, and check your fork for rough spots that might be causing cumulative damage.

[SleepyTangles]

Can we have a bigger version of your avatar picture? I can't see very well :flower:

Hypothesis:
- There may be a way you usually bun your hair/distribute the weight of your hair that pulls in that area, causing breakage;
- Some people just have a uneven terminal length, so certain spots of hair may not get as long.
- Have you been on a hypocaloric diet or restricting calories? Hair is usually the last part of our body that gets nutrients, so growth may stall or be fickle when dieting.

Can I ask when it was the last time you got a trim?

[Suortuva]

Have you used the same products a very long time? Isn't Redken Extreme a heavy protein line? Maybe there's too much protein in your hair?

[FallingDarkness]

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=11649&attachmentid=44816 here you go!

And I've been using Redken Extreme for probably 6+ months now. The hair salon people recommended it to me and since I only wash once a week I didn't think it would be TOO problematic. Do you have any suggestions about what else I could use? I also use a protein treatment monthly so protein overdose might be the problemo here.

And my hair used to be even AND this long, so I don't think it's an uneven terminal length issue. No diets for me lately although I have been trying to eat a little cleaner in general.

Also has been a shamefully long time since my last trim. I have been avoiding going because of covid :/ Maybe last I got one was August? Oof. Didn't even feel like that long ago lol.

Thank you all for your help <3

[lapushka]

Thing is, most hair doesn't even need extra protein, unless it is severely damaged...

I would stop those.

Then see what that does. Wash well (clarify with a sulfate, the Redken might be sulfate free, IDK the brand that well), and also put the shampoo globs on your length as well, no just letting the suds run down.

That's a quick reset for you.

Could there still be old damage in there, from when you did used to heat style (I don't know you, just grasping for some hold in the dark, as Simsy so nicely put it).

A little more info and insight into your washing routine, would be useful! :)

Hope it clears up fast, though.

[FallingDarkness]

I just shampoo my scalp and condition my length, normally leaving the conditioner in for 5 or so minutes.

I don't really have much noticeable damage or do things that could cause damage. I did use sun in one day while I was in Florida, but it was super duper long ago. Like 3 years ago now. I have like straightened my hair maybe once a year but use a heat protectant and have it on the lowest settings. Really try to do all the right things.

It does seem to have sulfates in them, but I'll probably try and grab a different shampoo for this though. (Tomorrow is my wash day lol.)

Do I just slowly trim off my bottoms and hope that my hair catches up eventually? Cutting off all my other seemingly healthy length is a very very scary thought lol.

[MusicalSpoons]

Oh, wow yes I can see why that would be upsetting. Does it always lay that way? I'm assuming you took extra photos to see if that really *is* how it is or if it was a fluke, but worth mentioning just in case you didn't :blossom: Our hair can lay very differently literally from one second to the next, so it can really trick us!

[morrigan*]

I googled redken extreme and it seems it's protein rich. Does your hair feel dry and a little stiff ?
Because then it might as well be that your hair doesn't like proteins or it's just too much proteins and not enough moisture.
I think there were people here that got a lot of breakage when they done too much protein treatments.

Too much protein result in dry stiff hair, that can feel straw like. And too much moisture means mushy hair that takes a long time to dry and without shine.

Eta: Clarify as Lapushka suggested. Pick up a conditioner without proteins. You can also do a deep treatment after clarifying with aloe vera, honey and protein free conditioner.

[squirrrel]

Oh, wow yes I can see why that would be upsetting. Does it always lay that way? I'm assuming you took extra photos to see if that really *is* how it is or if it was a fluke, but worth mentioning just in case you didn't :blossom: Our hair can lay very differently literally from one second to the next, so it can really trick us!

The possibility of a fluke falling was the first thing that came to my mind as well. Often, just now, I can have bits that look shorter, or the ends seeming to split in photos. I take another shot after a quick finger comb and it has settled with no noticeable problem. I would hesitate to say that it was damaged without someone else who knows long hair there in person who was able to say that it definitely wasn’t due to how it was lying and that there was definitely breakage there. Photos can only take you so far.

[FallingDarkness]

It doesn't feel stiff nor does the area where it has seemingly broken off appear to be damaged. Honestly except for my thinning ends my hair APPEARS to be healthy and relatively moisturized. But also my hair gets kind of oily, I exercise often, so maybe that's masking some of the damage or stiffness? I'll see how it feels after I wash tomorrow.

[AutobotsAttack]

I’m willing to bet it’s got something to do with your hair type. I’m assuming your hair is quite fine and fragile as mine is. I’m assuming this has happened over a prolonged period of time. Your hair seems to be breaking off in very distinct areas. How do you usually treat those areas? Are those areas under a lot of mechanical stress or tension? How do you comb this area? Are you well versed in using protein treatments for added strength?

[lakhesis]

How does your hair feel when it's wet? Any chance it is a little stretchy in those areas that are breaking off?

[The-Young-Maid]

I feel like this is most likely mechanical damage. Buns just might be putting too much tension on your hair. Theres breakage right around your shoulders which is what my hair looked like after bun damage. The length is losing thickness because the hair is breaking off higher up. The products are probably fine. Maybe a bit of damage from combing? But I doubt you're being that rough. When you bun your hair pay special attention to the placement, you may be able to pinpoint where the tension would show.

Another possibility is an unhealthy scalp. Have you always washed once a week or have you started stretching recently? How often did you wash before? Is your scalp ever itchy or sore? Do you ever scratch your scalp and get buildup under your nails? Have you noticed increased shedding when you do wash? You said that the short hairs don't look damaged. So maybe they are new growth?

Just some thoughts I hope we can help!

[Deborah]

Are you maybe growing out thick bangs? You seem to have a lot of hair that ends at APL. Another thing you might consider is that lots of people find using only a comb to be rough on their hair. The comb tines don't bend like a hairbrush does, and can tend to cause breakage. Just something to consider.

[lapushka]

I just shampoo my scalp and condition my length, normally leaving the conditioner in for 5 or so minutes.

I don't really have much noticeable damage or do things that could cause damage. I did use sun in one day while I was in Florida, but it was super duper long ago. Like 3 years ago now. I have like straightened my hair maybe once a year but use a heat protectant and have it on the lowest settings. Really try to do all the right things.

It does seem to have sulfates in them, but I'll probably try and grab a different shampoo for this though. (Tomorrow is my wash day lol.)

Do I just slowly trim off my bottoms and hope that my hair catches up eventually? Cutting off all my other seemingly healthy length is a very very scary thought lol.


I have to be a bit of a darn Debbie Downer and say that heat from a real hot tool, whatever the frequency of applying, can damage your hair and leave you with white dots (sharp angle breakage) mid shaft, even up to the root, because that tool goes everywhere.

I did it infrequently too, like once a week, and half my head was riddled in white dots (also: perm damage at the time) and I had breakage all the way to where it grew out. I stopped heat, of course. Better not to! You can, but then you have to be able to handle what it does to your hair, potentially. :)

3 years ago, that's 18 inches of "virgin" growth. I say "virgin", because it's been hot-tooled.

I know I might come across harsh, but heat (not the warmness of a blow dryer) can really do a trick on you!

Try and check your hair for white dots. They will form sharp angles at around mid shaft, or the last bits (last 3/4 inches of your hair). But they can go high up!

[FallingDarkness]

No stretch in my hair after washing. No gummy feeling either. I can run my fingers through my hair when it's wet and it doesn't come out/break/tangle.

Do you have any bun recommendations for me? I really just go LWB every day and a 3 pronged wooden hair fork if it matters. I have a couple of wooden hair sticks as well.

I started stretching a couple of months ago; prior to that was just doing every 3-4 days. My scalp sometimes gets some gunk under my nails but for the most part it isn't itchy.

No worries about being "harsh" I just want to fix my hair by any means necessary :( :( :( I really can't find any white dots except for a few right at the ends. I don't have much need for heat really, just did it for special occasions, so I really have no issue just throwing my straightener in the garbage lol. Don't even own a curler or a blow dryer.

[baanoo]

Oh Darkness I am so sorry you’re going through this! I concur with what others are suggesting: switch your products to something with less protein, go ahead and pitch your straightener, and get thee to a SMT.

I would also start taking prenatal vitamins as well as collagen and biotin. There’s a lot of debate around here about supplements but I notice clear differences (over time, of course) with the overall strength and health of new growth when I’m taking them as compared to when I don’t.

In the meantime, keep babying your hair and gradually trimming off your ends. I personally feel like a nautilus with a fork is the bun that requires the absolute least amount of tension to stay put with a fork, so maybe try switching it up?

[Wusel]

It looks like mechanical damage to me... Is it always the same bun you do? The same placement?

[spidermom]

It could be so many things! Besides the things mentioned above, have you gone through a stressful situation in the last year? That can cause massive shedding, which you probably would have noticed.

Also, sometimes a lot of hairs can reach the end of their growth cycles around the same time. It's a natural process that you can't do much about. This happened to me once in the past. I finally passed waist length, but a few weeks later, my longest ends were shorter than waist length. Losing all my longest hairs is the only thing I can figure.

If it were me, I'd cut back to a length that made me feel feel better about the appearance, but I'm not very sentimental about length. Even when I regret a cut, I turn my mind to other things and get on with my life. Soon my hair grows back.

[JasminxCat]

Are the strands of your hair thin? Does your hair have a decent amount of stretch or does it break before it can stretch. Pull one out, stretch it back and forth and see how many times it lasts before it snaps. Some stretch is healthy, no stretch is not, and too much stretch is also not. Can you be sure this is breakage and not shedding that was unnoticed? You may be nutrient deficient if single strands seem unhealthy and weak, or had a tremendous amount of shedding. A cause could be mechanical damage, but there could be something causing your strands to be so weak to have easily snapped off in so many sections

[FallingDarkness]

Same bun same placement every day. Will definitely try out a nautilus bun going forward.

I'll hit up Ulta and buy some new, less protein intensive shampoo/conditioner and hope things improve.

Also yea, my boyfriend dumped me and then I had to take a really insanely challenging class in order to graduate, and if I failed instead of just retaking a term I'd have to retake the whole year, so needless to say I was really panicked lol. Perhaps that made all my hair fall out?

Really and truly thank you to everyone <3

My hair seems to stretch a little bit and didn't break easily so I think that my hair is healthy/strong.

[SleepyTangles]

Same bun same placement every day. Will definitely try out a nautilus bun going forward.

I'll hit up Ulta and buy some new, less protein intensive shampoo/conditioner and hope things improve.

Also yea, my boyfriend dumped me and then I had to take a really insanely challenging class in order to graduate, and if I failed instead of just retaking a term I'd have to retake the whole year, so needless to say I was really panicked lol. Perhaps that made all my hair fall out?

Really and truly thank you to everyone <3

My hair seems to stretch a little bit and didn't break easily so I think that my hair is healthy/strong.

I'm sorry to hear you had a stressful period! Hopefully the next months will be easier and allow you to relax...

If you like braids, crown braids and hair taping (Morgan Donner style) are very comfy and distribuite the weight very differently than a bun, so they may be nice to switch.
One of my go-to hairstyles is two braids tucked into a wide, soft headband. Not sure if it fits your style, but is very comfortable and doesn't pull anywhere.

[Feral_]

Sorry you’re going though this. I have not anything useful to add, but I just wanted to say how great it is that so many on here have offered advice and support at what must be a difficult time :flower:

[FallingDarkness]

Sorry you’re going though this. I have not anything useful to add, but I just wanted to say how great it is that so many on here have offered advice and support at what must be a difficult time :flower:

I know. I'm so lucky to have you all. Thank you all for your support and advice <3 <3 <3 I really can't thank you enough. It's pretty dang incredible we have such a positive and helpful community here.

[Eastbound&Down]

I'm sorry to hear you had a stressful period! Hopefully the next months will be easier and allow you to relax...

If you like braids, crown braids and hair taping (Morgan Donner style) are very comfy and distribuite the weight very differently than a bun, so they may be nice to switch.
One of my go-to hairstyles is two braids tucked into a wide, soft headband. Not sure if it fits your style, but is very comfortable and doesn't pull anywhere.

Yes, the video Morgan Donner did on her hairtaping method was so informative!

[yulia396]

A problem of yours could be the parting of your hair. Do you always part your hair in the middle, in that zone? That could be pulling your scalp. I heard this on Alana Arbucci's yt haircare video, she talks about it here: https://youtu.be/rf-DVBya2Dk

Though I could be wrong, maybe that's not the case for you. I heard castor oil kinda helps with hairfall, though I don't know by my own experience.

The problem seems to be either your scalp (scalp problems or the parting/pulling thing) or body. (some sort of defficiency or hormonal changes/stress, no idea tbh).

I would say stop fussing with it so much, sometimes that does more bad than good. Perhaps wear it loose from time to time as well, give it some time to breathe and don't have your scalp always be pulled. Switch up your part, that's also important, and eat better. If it's getting worse, go to a specialist.

I really hope you will sort this out, keep us posted 🌹

Edit: Also, we here at the pharmacy can find these boxes from Doppelherz made for hair health, might help 😊 But that's just Europe, I don't know where you're from - however, I'm pretty sure every pharmacy from each country has some kinda safe hair multivitamin:)

[lapushka]

It looks like mechanical damage to me... Is it always the same bun you do? The same placement?

It's what I've done for years, and I don't have damage. :) Not saying you can't have wear and tear, but this seems like a more major breakage issue than can be explained away by bun placement. :hmm:

[SleepyTangles]

It's what I've done for years, and I don't have damage. :) Not saying you can't have wear and tear, but this seems like a more major breakage issue than can be explained away by bun placement. :hmm:

I think it also depends on the person... I develop easily breakage if I use buns extensively and every day. That's why braids are better for my individual needs.

[FallingDarkness]

Also seriously does anyone have any good suggestions for what shampoo/conditioner I switch to? I'm thinking of going All Soft Redken just to stay brand similar but I'm not super sure about anything anymore lol

[morrigan*]

Do you sleep with your hair in a braid ? The placement of damage could also be where your hair are rubbing off during sleeping ? It really looks like broken off hairs.
Changing styles through a week cold certainly help. Maybe try few different buns where you start twisting your hair differently ?

[renia22]

^Yeah if you’re saying your hair used to be one way, but the same length, and you noticed a change, the reason for that happening is usually:

1) something medical/ nutritional
2) a side effect of certain classes of medications
3) mechanical damage
4) some combination

And any one of those categories covers a lot of different things, so it can be a challenge to figure out.

During times in my life when I was going through something like that, it did at least make me feel a little better to get a trim, and to change up hair products. Usually I like to start with something clarifying in case anything I’ve been using has been building up. I like Prell, Paul Mitchell shampoos 2 & 3, Ultra Swim (shampoo 3 and Ultra Swim are also chelating, which would help with mineral deposits if your water is problematic), Herbal Essences Tea Tree clarifying..Not sure what to recommend for regular use, but hopefully a few changes will make you feel a little better at least, while you are working out what’s going on.

[lapushka]

I think it also depends on the person... I develop easily breakage if I use buns extensively and every day. That's why braids are better for my individual needs.

I had issues at shorter lengths as well, hence I wore a very loose peacock twist all of the time, without issues from then on.

But now at classic, buns are so easy, and comfortable.

[SleepyTangles]

Also seriously does anyone have any good suggestions for what shampoo/conditioner I switch to? I'm thinking of going All Soft Redken just to stay brand similar but I'm not super sure about anything anymore lol

A shampoo that's widely available and fairly priced is Garnier Aloe Hydra Bomb shampoo (here https://www.garnier.it/fructis/fructis-aloe-hydra-bomb/shampoo-aloe-hydra-bomb... is a picture of the bottle).
It's fairly detangling, moisturizing, and easy to dose. It's not expensive, so if you don't like it you can easily use it up as a body wash.
For conditioners I'm a bit more picky, but I generally like Garnier Hair Food masks.

[Shorty89]

Also seriously does anyone have any good suggestions for what shampoo/conditioner I switch to? I'm thinking of going All Soft Redken just to stay brand similar but I'm not super sure about anything anymore lol

Personally, I'd try something different just in case it's something in Redkin that you're reacting to. Maybe try a cheap one like Pantene?

[foreveryours]

FallingDarkness, do you have animals that sleep with you?

[spidermom]

From all you've said, my guess is that a lot of hairs shed out, and what you are seeing now is the re-grow. I doubt there's a problem with your shampoo and conditioner, but if you want to use something different, Garnier Fructis has a number of formulations. I decided that I needed more protein so I'm using L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths S&C, also the 5-minute hair mask. Protein is in about the middle of the ingredients list, so not too much. I like the results so far.

[Obsidian]

I'd go with heavy moisturizing products just in case it is protein cause issues. I've always like hello hydration, aussie super moist is really nice too.

[JasminxCat]

I agree I don't think it has to do much with bun placement. Her hair would have to be incredibly weak to lose that amount

[morrigan*]

FallingDarkness how is your hair ?