Please help with dry ends.

[April1]

Sorry if this has been asked a million times but..........can someone please point me in the right direction as to what to put in/do to my hair to stop the ends from drying out too quickly. At the moment Im having to get 1cm cut off my hair every 8 weeks and would like to lessen this amount.
I wash my hair 3 times per week with limmited shampoo (conditioner as well), and always, always let it dry naturally. I then put some jojoba oil on to it when its dried as it controls the frizzyness. Thats about all my hair routine involves.

Ive looked around here a bit, but couldnt find much in recipies etc........I may have missed something though, as I am really tired right now.

Thanks.........April.

[*BelievingAgain]

Do you do any deep conditioning treatments, or pop some oil on your lengths before washing? I really like avocado oil (you can buy it in bottles at Woolies etc.), but I guess you just have to try different things.

Have you looked much into the ingredients used in your shampoo and conditioner? I think there's at least a few threads on here which address different aspects of 'negative' things which are used in commercial-type sh. & co. ... or maybe protein is a problem, I know that some people's hair doesn't like extra amounts of it. I'm still learning so much, so do keep trawling around the site, you will learn some amazing things from some very interesting and knowledgeable people.

One last brain cell before I fall asleep on my keyboard :p, could it be outside influences that may be affecting your hair? Such as whether you leave it down a lot, your working and/or living environment, the weather, etc.? Are you coastal or more inland? (Hi to my fellow Aussie BTW!!)

I'll start blabbing nonsense if I don't turn off my computer and go to bed, but I will check up on this thread tomorrow. Hopefully you'll have had some more coherent responses than mine by that stage!!

Jess :flower:

[April1]

Hi Jess,

I think Im ok as far as ingredients in my sham/cond. Im using the Alchemy brand from the health food stores - no nasties in it - if you dont know that brand it does sound nasty doesnt it, but its not. As for protein.........:shrug: I have absolutely no idea.
We have just moved house fro Abrefoyle Park to Nairne - and will eventually move to Mt Barker when our new house is built. The Ab Pk house was quite old so, old pipes and have moved to a newer house with, yup, newer pipes so i dont know if its the water - which i think would be ok as since moving up here while using water in the shower my hair feels softer. Oh and Ive always got my hair up in one of those claw/clasp thingys, so I dont think its weather.
I might start giving olive oil a go in between trims and see how that goes.

Hi to a fellow Aussie also. Bye for now:)

[aisling]

A few suggestions:


try another conditioner
try some deep treatments
try some pre wash treatments like oiling
how about some leave in or oil on wet/damp hair after washing (that makes a whole lot of difference to my hair).
do you wash your hair from roots to ends with shampoo? If you do, stop that and wash only your scalp with shampoo, not the length. Try C-W-C, where you first add conditioner to the ends, wash your scalp&roots with shampoo and then, after rinsing the shampoo out, put conditioner on your ends again before your final rinse
try another oil than jojoba oil, I prefer coconut oil


DON'T try all of this at once, test one thing at a time.

[April1]

I'll give the CWC thing a go. And yes, one thing at a time. I'll start adding more oil to the ends also, but i have to be very carefull to add only to the very ends, as, with it only being 15" long at the moment, I dont want to end up having to wash it more often. Hope you can see where Im comming from: someone with long hair can add lots of oil to there ends without it affecting the rest of their hair, where as adding oil to hair that is short will probably travel quickly to the rest of that hair, which for me would be more washing...do you know what I mean??.....I'll stop babling now.:)

[angelthadiva]

We don't have the same hair type, but prior to me joining LHC, my ends were crispy! Think Fried Chicken...I began doing CWC, and when I washed I would only wash my scalp, and not my length at all...When I'd do the condishes though I would apply from root to tip; and out of the shower I'd apply coconut oil (which I loved until I tried jojoba)...Jojoba is my new favorite hair product, I use it to remove make up...I just love jojoba! :D O, BTW, my ends are very hydrated now...Not crispy at all!

[Curlsgirl]

Aisling had some very good advice. I was going to suggest a light moisturizing leave-in also and trying coconut oil. Just a pinch will go a long way and shouldn't "travel" up your hair but absorb into the dry ends.

Another of my favorite tricks is to braid your hair or at your length you may have to ponytail and then stick the very last inch or whatever is dry into distilled water, take it out and press the drips out with your fingers gently then apply coconut oil (as much as you can to saturate) and then squeeze gently with your fingers again. Then just let it soak in overnight or until it's dry. I was having to get lots of trims until I started this. Now I rarely have to do it but it was a miracle for me.

Watch about putting oil on dry hair, that can sometimes give you crunchy ends. Good luck!

[Ursula]

Since you are using only non-sulfate shampoos, you may benefit from occasionally using a sulfate shampoo to clarify your hair. Sometimes buildup can cause hair to dry out. You haven't said what kind of conditioner you are using. If it has silicones, that is especially likely to build up and need clarifying, but even non-silicone products can sometimes need clarifying out.

You might also try doing a CO type wash some of the time. Nothing fancy, just soak your hair in conditioner at the beginning of your shower, let it soak in as you take care of your other showerly duties, then rinse well. Since your hair isn't really long enough to CWC, (Assuming the 16" is still accurate) if you shampoo every time, you're putting shampoo on those dry ends every time, which may be more than they can handle.

Another thing may be just to tough it out with the dry ends. Yes, the ends of hair gets dry. But cutting off the ends just means that the next bit up is more exposed, and that dries out in turn. It may be that the last 1/4 inch will be dry no matter what, and you can either let that quarter inch remain the same bit of hair, or keep cutting it and having that quarter inch be newer growth.

Also, if your conditioner has a lot of protein, that sometimes causes problems if the hair is not already well moisturized. Try to find a purely moisturizing conditioner - no protein, no silicones - that may be better overall.

[Deborah]

I like to put just a dab of raw shea nut butter in my palms, rub them together, then run them over about the last 6 inches of my hair when it is still damp from washing.

My hair won't tolerate too much oil (it's extremely fine-textured), but the shea on the ends works well and absorbs in, leaving no greasiness behind.

I hope you find something that works well for you. :flower:

[chrissy-b]

Cutting out the cones (if you're using them) might help. A daily leave-in and/or coconut oil on the ends will help tremendously. I made a mixture of aloe, shea butter, a squirt of coneless conditioner, and a couple drops of jojoba oil which I use as a styling aid (my hair is still above my shoulders with layers) and that has also helped to soften my ends.

Good luck to you, and as others have already said, try each thing alone to see which works best for you. With a little trial and error you'll find what's perfect for you.

[*BelievingAgain]

Awww, see? Look at all these great replies. The magic things that happen when we go to sleep, lol.

April1, I do know of Alchemy very well, I used their shampoos and conditioners for quite some time. I'm just trying some different brands/formulations from my health food shop at the moment.

I'm sure you will find at least some of the advice posted on here very helpful and like many have said, it's a matter of you working out what's best for your hair. Hope you can find a routine that works!!

Jess :flower:

[waidz]

Alot of people have recommended clarifying with a tsp of baking soda in your shampoo.
I've found if this doesn't help, then John Frieda Dry Ends treatment does.

[Leisa]

Before coming to LHC I always had dry ends and was forever cutting off my hair.:(
The only thing I can attribute it to now was product build up.

My motto for hair is "less is more."

Now i use either a silicone free shampoo + oil, or herbs + oil.

NO CONDITIONER.

I have fine and curly (porous) hair.

[backtolonghair]

Hmm I'm gonna have to start trying out some of these suggestions as well!:)

[April1]

Wow... thats some great advice. Thanks so much everyone. I'll have to copy this all down so i dont forget it all.

I have decided to give adding coconut oil to my ends every day a shot, and stick with this until my next trim and see how it ends up this time round, oh and the CWC - its not just my hair dresser telling me its a little dry, I can actually see it myself.

My hairdresser can be trusted too, which is a little unusual. She is my trichologist who happens to do hairdressing also - the two have come hand in hand and very appealing to people with real hair problems/conditions, that a normal hairdresser would'nt understand. I went to one hairdresser that my friend recommended once inbetween visits to my trichologists, and after explaining everything to him properly, at the end of the appointment he turned around and said 'may I recommend that you take a hair/skin/nail tablet'....well hello:rolleyes:.....he obviously didnt listen to a word that I had just said. I calmly replyed after nearly falling off my chair that 'yes, I have actually been through all that sort of thing (and more) with the trichologist.' Ah well' another lesson leart I guess.

Anyway thanks all again for the replys, and I'll let you know how it goes.

[spidermom]

One more little tweak you might try. When you CWC, dilute the shampoo in about 1/2 cup of warm water. I use an empty shampoo bottle for this, shake well, and squirt it all over my scalp. This cleans very well and the shampoo lasts a long, long time.

Also, if you haven't clarified in a long while, try it. I was absolutely amazed when I did this as I thought my hair was dried out beyond hope. Nope. It was buildup. I clarify with full-strength but gentle shampoo. I tried baking soda a couple of times. It worked all right when I added it to warm water and slowly poured the solution through my hair. However, when I added it to shampoo, it stripped my hair so completely that it matted down like felt.

[shikara]

I do similar to what curlsgirl suggested, but i dont include the oil. Just wet the bottom few inches of hair and out in a large roller overnight. After all, water is what moisturizes - other products help keep the moisture in, or add other benefits, such as softening, strengthening, etc. Anyway, my wet and roller routine produces delightfully miusturized and tangle free hair in the mornings!

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/lmarie29/th_a5642814.jpg (http://s1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb328/lmarie29/?action=view&current=a5642814.jpg)

[jacqueline101]

If your ends are breaking off do a s&d then put cocoa nut oil on the ends.

[proo]

Chiming in from the WO world: detangle, then comb with a lightly oiled comb from roots down
Spritz with distilled water, preen from roots to ends with a silky scarf
Perhaps a final spritz, then bun up and cover with the silky scarf
Magic

[caiti42]

I'm pretty sure the Alchamy Brand is full of proteins? I was interested in trying it but i vaguely remember loads of proteins in the few bottles i looked at. My hair does not like regular protein use and if I use coconut oil after protein it definately does not work for me.

Maybe u could try to clarity and try a different shampoo/conditioner that is protein free and see how that works? I use garner triple nutrition which is cone/protein free and on special at Woolies this week for $3.90 I think. I use this fine with coconut oil.

[ktani]

See this post, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1932949&postcount=32

[the.fee.fairy]

try a leave-in conditioning cream on the ends only after washing.
My hair is oily at the root and dry at the ends (years of bleaching don't help...), and i find that a leave-in conditioner on the ends really helps them.

Could it be your hair's history growing out? I went through a pretty wild time at Uni and i'm pretty sure that if i smoked some of my ends, i'd get high...I blame the stress i put on my poor body on the state of my ends. (not that i'm suggesting in any way that anyone else's dry ends are caused by a wasted youth...just admitting that mine are...)

[jojo]

I like a little oil on my ends, as hair gets longer natural sebum is harder to reach those ends. Oil helps as does using a BBB to help spread the sebum along the hair shaft. Its one thing I miss about shorter hair, having naturally conditioner ends. It is achievable with longer hair though!

[Avital88]

i recommend doing heavy oilings once a week