healing hair damage

[annys]

Hello all,
I have almost classic length hair. I wash my hair every couple of days, use cone free conditioner, comb when dry using a wooden wide tooth comb. I usually wear my hair up or in a braid, using metal-less hair ties or wood hair toys.

I recently started SMT, but have not seen a difference yet.

The bottom 10" of my hair is full of split ends, is dry and brittle, and breaks easily. I am looking for any suggestions for healing the damage without losing the length and keeping this from happening again.

My hair is growing VERY slowly at the moment because of the breakage, so cutting off small amounts of damage while maintaining the length I have would take years to get rid of all of the damage.

I have already gotten suggestions for dusting and for oiling the ends of my hair, but I would appreciate any other suggestions or ideas.

Thanks.

[Kirin]

Unfortunately, once hair is damaged, there is no way to heal it. Damaged hair can't be repaired, as it is dead and has no ability to mend or heal itself.

That said, you are doing all you can.

[VanillaTresses]

How about some herbal treatments, like catnip or cassia?

[Carolyn]

You can't heal the damaged hair but you can keep it well moisturized. SMT is great for that. I like to leave my SMT's on for several hours and let my hair wallow in the the treatment.

[salamander]

Cassia and S&D are probably your best bets. S&D is more about preventing the damage from getting worse, but I think it's valuable. Cassia will reinforce your hair a bit, which is as close as you can come to healing it. What is the damage originally from? Some types of damage need different help than others.

[harpgal]

annys, unfortunately there is no repair for severely damaged hair. I think you would be surprised at how much faster your hair will grow if you do very small trims and maintain one length for a while. I am doing that very thing because of weathered and sun damaged ends. Meanwhile, I would oil and condition your ends a lot.

[annys]

I'm actually not sure what the damage is from. I was barely paying attention to my hair, though keeping my usual routine, during a couple of months when my kids were going through a rough time (two of my kids have disabilities).
I woke up one day a year ago and decided to cut my hair short. I thought about it, and realized that it wasn't the length of my hair I was having issues with, it was the quality of my hair, especially the bottom. I joined the LHC and started paying more attention, and overall my hair has gotten a lot better, except for the bottom.

[annys]

Cassia and S&D are probably your best bets. S&D is more about preventing the damage from getting worse, but I think it's valuable. Cassia will reinforce your hair a bit, which is as close as you can come to healing it.
How would I use the Cassia?

[Nat242]

The last three or four inches of my hair are damaged from heat styling, synthetic hair dyes, and wear and tear (I used to wear my hair down or in a ponytail quite a lot). I haven't trimmed in over a year. My ends are still damaged, but they don't look bad and breakage is minimal. Here's what I've done:

- Lots of moisture and oiling, e.g. coconut oil, SMT, honey treatments, etc.
- Wearing it in a bun a whole lot; braids are somewhat protective, but tend to leave your ends vulnerable.
- Henna, but I like red hair, so cassia might be a better option for you. I've never used cassia, but check out the cassia thread. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=406)
- S&D.
- Catnip rinses. They really reduced the number of my split ends; rather, catnip seems to help stop new splits from forming. I've been staying with family for the past month and haven't been able to use catnip rinses, and I've really noticed the difference.

Keep in mind that sooner or later, those ends will really have to go. I'm holding out for hip length, and then I'm going to start trimming a small amount every month until the damage is gone.

[annys]

Nat242, thank you for all of the suggestions and the link to the cassia thread. My hair is more dark honey blonde than red, but I am not adverse to adding a little more red to it. Is there a way to add henna without making it totally red?

[Nevermore]

Try scalp massages and possibly hair vitamins/biotin for speeding up your growth, so you can slowly trim away the damaged part without it seeming like forever. I'd also suggest conditioner washing, if you don't already.

[spidermom]

If it were me, I'd cut all the old damaged stuff off in one haircut. You'd be surprised by how much faster it will grow without those bad ends.

Oh - something just occurred to me - it might be worth trying to clarify those ends with a clarifying shampoo or a baking soda solution, then applying a moisture treatment. Hair with buildup on it will act just like brittle, damaged hair. Get the buildup off, and you may find pretty decent hair underneath.

[annys]

Oh - something just occurred to me - it might be worth trying to clarify those ends with a clarifying shampoo or a baking soda solution, then applying a moisture treatment. Hair with buildup on it will act just like brittle, damaged hair. Get the buildup off, and you may find pretty decent hair underneath.

Would hair with mineral build up from hard water act like brittle, damaged hair? I have amazingly hard water here. I will definitely try the clarifying shampoo and moisturizer. Thanks!

[spidermom]

Would hair with mineral build up from hard water act like brittle, damaged hair? I have amazingly hard water here. I will definitely try the clarifying shampoo and moisturizer. Thanks!

As a matter of fact - yes; it would. I believe they sell special products for clarifying hair with mineral buildup in beauty supply stores.

[Fantak]

My last few inches were always dry brittle and scraggly, I've found S&Ding helped a lot, much more than I expected. I've also been doing cassia treatments so maybe that has helped too.

I find the catnip idea intriguing I may try that soon.

[Demetrue]

I am thrilled with my new regimen of catnip tea treatments several times a week, and cassia mixed with catnip tea once a month (henna will make your blonde hair red/orange but cassia and catnip both enhance the golden tones) and then my new discovery that I pat on the damaged areas after I wash my hair - 3 drops glycerin and rosewater, one drop jojoba oil, one squirt clear aloe vera gel. I thoroughly mix it in my palms and lightly pat the damaged areas to make the splits or halo hairs lie down. The difference in my hair is amazing and none of these things is harmful to the hair. I did a search here on aloe veral gel/jojoba oil and glycerin and found Kimberly's Defrizz mist, which takes the ingredients (more or less) that I have been using and adds distilled water in a mister bottle - that might be easier to use on the bottom part of your hair. I call my concoction my halo smoother.

[LaurelSpring]

Thanks for the catnip/cassia idea. You could also try mixing some henna and cassia so it wouldnt be so red and use a less red henna like the pakistan one at Henna4Hair. I think there is something about the henna that seems to seal my hair better than just the cassia. The finish is smoother and glossier. I would try the cassia first though and see if that does the trick before using the henna if you dont want any color change. Strand test!

[Darkhorse1]

I found oiling my ends really helped--I just used plain olive oil--on either wet or dry hair. I then washed it out with a clarifying shampoo--if your ends lack moisture, I'd apply the oil on wet hair, and then wash out.

I always get 'neatening' ups at the ends because not cutting, at least for me, looks bad. I've found the olive oil works amazing for me when my ends start to look yucky. It can't repair the damage, but it will lay the cuticle flat to reduce the splits traveling up the hair shaft. So, with this plus regular mini/micro trims, you should be rid of the damage. :)

[Meli]

How do you wear your hair for sleeping? I'm in a similar situation with damaged, rough, dry, breaking ends that just have to go sooner or later. I was handling my hair too harsh overall before LHC, but I find that the really bad, unrepairable damage is from sleeping with loose hair. I'm a restless sleeper and my hair would constantly rub against the sheets, and also get trapped underneath me. Sleeping with my hair contained has made a huge difference, and while my ends are still breaking, it is not as bad as it used to be. I can't sleep with buns, so my solution is regular English braids, that I stuff in small satin pouches. That keeps my hair protected, and as the pouches contain most of the length, my braids don't get caught underneath me anymore.

I have noticed that braids are not as protective as buns - the tassel will be exposed to the elements and if I wear braids too often, my ends will dry out and the breakage increases. Moisture is very important to reduce breakage.

I also find trimming necessary - I wanted to go without trims, as I love fairytale ends, but the thinner my ends get, the more exposed to breakage they get, and I gain very little length, and stalls are common. With a slightly thicker hemline, the hairs seem to protect each other a little better. I find that with my current damage and fairytale ends, my hair seems to grow extremely slow or not at all, but when I trim to thicken my hemline a little, I get my regular growth - at least for a while until my ends fairytale again... I could probably do S&D only, but then I would likely stall pretty often while the damaged parts moves down and I get more hairs at a certain length. So, I trim. I might not gain length faster anyway, but at least I can feel that I'm doing something. And I can count how much I have trimmed and how much dry ends I have left and see improvement in this way instead of how much length I have gained. I had hoped to be at tailbone by now, but here I am, just about reaching hip length. So, I just have to keep treating my hair as good as possible, be patient and wait it out. :meditate: Sooner or later the damage will be gone and my hair will grow again.

I didn't see anyone mention this yet, but there is a very good article about damaged hair here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79).

[Katze]

great advice so far.

I've got damaged (color, heat) ends and am still waiting for them to go away, trimming as little as I can while trying to thicken my hair up. SMT, leave-ins, misting, *very light* oiling helped a lot, but ultimately those bad ends have to go. I hope, some day, for my hair to get to waist length (30" on me) but with thicker, healther-looking ends.

In your case, however, your hair is already much longer, leading me to think that the ends can't be THAT damaged. Maybe try clarifying and a few deep treatments (SMT?) and see what happens?

[annys]

Last night's treatment.

I started by using a clarifying shampoo to get rid of whatever is on my hair. My hair felt so coarse afterwards, like straw.

Then I did a neutral henna treatment, then SMT.

This morning my hair is smooth and soft. After combing, I could see individual strand breakage from the tips of my hair up, as they were sticking out. I oiled, and these calmed down.

Today I will start a serious S&D.

My hair isn't as bad as I thought. There are splits that definitely need to be taken care of, and I will have to do that regularly.

However, I think build-up from the hard water and not enough moisture are my main problems.

I sleep with my hair loose, and it may be time to rethink that also.

Thank You everyone for the suggestions and the help. It's a long road to healthy hair, but at least I'm on it!

[spidermom]

I'm glad you're seeing a little improvement.