Odd top layer of hair?

[kmangus]

Ever since i started LHC i have noticed a drastic change in my hair, but even so....the top layer of hair is still ratty!:confused: The under layer is beautiful and curly with perfect spirals..but I cannot seem to achieve this on the top. I currently CWC everyother day with Aussie. I thought at first it was the cones, but after going coneless for about a month I couldnt stand how my hair looked and felt so I went back to them. Would anybody have any suggestions as to what I could do to fix my problem? :hollie:

[maskedrose]

Canopies are usually always a little more damaged than underlayers, because the hairs on the top layer are subjected to a lot, every day. They get the brunt of weather, harsh combing practices, rubbing on various things, etc. Just try to be extra careful from here on out and you should see an improvement :)

[RancheroTheBee]

I have the same problem, actually. Maybe CO on the canopy for a while and see how that goes?

[kmangus]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I forgot to mention that I have been using Jojoba every night on my ends....but now i feel compelled to try the top layer as well! :)

[heatherdazy]

Do you comb/touch/smooth the top of your hair often, or have you in the past? Sometimes that can cause hair to 'remember' to lie straighter over a long enough period of time.

[kmangus]

Well i have to admit that before i joined LHC that i frequently blow dried my hair and colored it....and that just HAS to be the cause :( Im frequently not brushing my hair unless it is bone dry and im going to braid it or something.....but other than that i will just keep oiling it and growing the damage out....

[spidermom]

The canopy (top layer) of my hair isn't in as good of condition as the under-layers. It gets weathered. It used to drive me crazy but I have to accept it.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Ugh....it sucks doesn't it!!

[violetka]

Hi, I have the exact same problem. I hate my top layer. It is short an just looks damaged, has split ends and is frizzy as hell. I decided to stop brushing at all, get a trim on the damaged parts and always keep my hair up. I am also starting with a special mask that was suggested to me by a girl with the same problems.
It is made from gas, vodka, egg,swine fat(i am not sure how this is called in english), rose oil, vitamins and chinine water. It sounds gross, but is supposed to be trully magical.
I have used gas as a small child because i had bugs in my hair an i remember i had great hair, but the smell was horrid :D

[Centifolia]

We are on the same boat. I'm loving my underlayers's spirals and curls, but my canopy looks really awfull. It have barely any wave and also looks damaged. It's still short (yes, layered hair :\ ) and I hope as it grows it will look better.

I will be watching this thread.

[violetka]

The worst part is that you just can get rid of the layers and they become more and more prominent, just because the bottom of the hair has no problems an grows faster and the top is just stalling...

[kmangus]

Wow....that concotion sounds so gross! :) And what do you mean by gas?

[Drynwhyl]

Hi, I have the exact same problem. I hate my top layer. It is short an just looks damaged, has split ends and is frizzy as hell. I decided to stop brushing at all, get a trim on the damaged parts and always keep my hair up. I am also starting with a special mask that was suggested to me by a girl with the same problems.
It is made from gas, vodka, egg,swine fat(i am not sure how this is called in english), rose oil, vitamins and chinine water. It sounds gross, but is supposed to be trully magical.
I have used gas as a small child because i had bugs in my hair an i remember i had great hair, but the smell was horrid :D

I'm not so sure about the vodka, alcohol dries out hair. But I guess the pig fat neutralizes that xD
And yes, I have that problem too. I trimmed it a few times, but I stopped because of the layers. It really bothers me as it gets tangled all the time :/

[kmangus]

I would think that layers would help the hair in this situation....but it seems the exact opposite here! Is there a specific reason for this?

[ktani]

I forgot to mention that I have been using Jojoba every night on my ends....but now i feel compelled to try the top layer as well! :)

That is a good idea. Condition the top layer more with whatever works well for you and you should see an improvement.

[bigdreamer]

I wondered about this on another thread but it was too buried maybe.

Is the outer layer just damaged hair that will eventually grow out if it is not further damaged? My virgin hair is about 2+ inches down now, and I can feel a really noticeable difference in texture between that and the long ratty canopy stuff that I (was) using a curling iron on for so long. It's shot. The virgin stuff is smooth and shiney.

Lots of long hairs on here seem to have smooth healthy looking canopies, like how the hair looks on children. Is that possible now on the (eventual) length if there is no further heat or other outside damage done now?

[Charentais]

Hi, I have the exact same problem. I hate my top layer. It is short an just looks damaged, has split ends and is frizzy as hell. I decided to stop brushing at all, get a trim on the damaged parts and always keep my hair up. I am also starting with a special mask that was suggested to me by a girl with the same problems.
It is made from gas, vodka, egg,swine fat(i am not sure how this is called in english), rose oil, vitamins and chinine water. It sounds gross, but is supposed to be trully magical.
I have used gas as a small child because i had bugs in my hair an i remember i had great hair, but the smell was horrid :D

You put gasoline on your head?

[ktani]

The canopy is always going to be more exposed to the elements and certain other things. It takes more of a beating.

That said, extra conditioning can make it much better and stronger. Trimming will remove damage. Nothing can repair it.

The hair on children is different. Hair changes as one gets older. Children's hair can get damaged too though.

[kmangus]

thanks ktani!! :) i have jojoba'd tonight...i plan on doing this for about a week or so then i will give some feedback for you guys that have the same problems as me

[ktani]

thanks ktani!! :) i have jojoba'd tonight...i plan on doing this for about a week or so then i will give some feedback for you guys that have the same problems as me

You are most welcome!

I use catnip tea but the principle is the same. When I was not using enough of it on the top upper layer, I could see and feel a differece in my hair. Once I started to do that (use more tea), my hair looked and felt much better. This was a while ago now, and the results have been consistant.

[violetka]

yes i put gasoline(im not sure this is the word, but the thing you put in old lamps for ex.) ...im not sure what the logic is but in most potions there is 2-3 drops to one tea spoon of gasoline...especially helps with hair loss and increasing hair thickness/ shine.Also garlic. My mother used this on me as a very young child when i had fleas (since gas kills them) and my hair dramatically improved then. I did the mask yesterday but it was very tough washing it off, cause i did not put the alcohol in.

[violetka]

Just to mention that I do it for the first time, so cannot certify for anything, i just heard that it works...it is a very popular mask supposedly

[Tabitha]

I'm another whose canopy is much straighter, with an almost curly underlayer. And yes it annoys me a lot!

[Centifolia]

Hum, i will try oiling my canopy as I oil my lenght.
And clarifying my hair with baking soda, because I've realised that can be really helpful, I think I could have a lot of buildup and I'd never clarifyed my hair properly.

[Hampshirelass]

yes i put gasoline(im not sure this is the word, but the thing you put in old lamps for ex.) ...im not sure what the logic is but in most potions there is 2-3 drops to one tea spoon of gasoline...especially helps with hair loss and increasing hair thickness/ shine.Also garlic. My mother used this on me as a very young child when i had fleas (since gas kills them) and my hair dramatically improved then. I did the mask yesterday but it was very tough washing it off, cause i did not put the alcohol in.

Could that be liquid paraffin (kerosene across the pond)? You can use paraffin wax baths for the skin.

Wiki link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraffin)

[violetka]

yes, exactly kerosene. XD it still sounds heretic an smells gross, though.
p.s. thanx for the linguistic help.

[pinchbeck]

You may have multi-textured hair. I do. The underneath is really wavy and the canopy is straight and my hair looks odd sometimes. Also, hair is always at different lengths so there will be longer and shorter pieces. The shorter pieces will stick out and perhaps make hair look frizzy. It can be calmed and moisturized with an oil that works for your hair type. It is trial and error. There is much information on a variety of oils that members have tried and use.

[No excuses]

I also have multi-structured hair, almost stick straight at canopy and wavy, sometimes even curly underneath... But - I like it! It allows me to do some fancy half-ups to show my waves and also adds volume to my rather thin, fine hair at the canopy. The only thing that bothers me is the frizz (I think these are small rebelious hairs that don't want to join neither canopy nor underneath part and stay somewhere in the middle, sticking out silly :p) but I fight with it by oiling and moisturizing. No dryness, no frizz - this is how it works in my case.
But, all in all, multi-structured hair is fun! :D

[Amara]

I've also got a damaged canopy - I have layers in the front and all of those different lengths are harder to S&D, harder to trim, and more tangly, so they get extra damaged. I know it'll take extra time but I think when they're the same length as the rest of my hair it will help. I'm going to try a little extra treatment on the canopy, too.

Not only is canopy hair the "exposed" hair most often, since it's on top, canopy hair also grows from the very very top of your head, so it's actually longer than a hair from farther down on your scalp... that probably has something to do with it being more damaged too - it's been around longer.

[kmangus]

Wow....this is a REALLY old topic..... :) I think its a floater no?

[halfbakedtulip]

ohhh something new to be jealous of!!!! I am sort of opposite to all of you. My canopy is umm lets say "crap" That includes new growth. Its dry, appears damaged although its looked that way for years and insanely curly. All of my bottom layers are straight. Oh what I would give for straight hair on the top of my head.At least that is something close to a style people want. I had a hairdresser accuse me years ago of perming it...I was like mmhmm yes because everyone perms only the top of their head. The best description of my hair came from a hairdresser as well...she said "you have a black persons hair on top and a white persons hair on the bottom."( no hate mail please...her words verbaitim) I considered for years perming the bottom so it would look like the top but never have. So I have insane hair in the am...I look like Krusty the clown from the ears up. so QUIT COMPLAINING!!! you could be me LOL!!

[jojo]

Just another thought, try altering where your hair is when its up, this used to cause me to have a scraggy canopy, especially at the back.

[Jezerellica]

Just another thought, try altering where your hair is when its up, this used to cause me to have a scraggy canopy, especially at the back.

Excellent point! This was true for me as well. Sometimes habits we do all the time are easy to forget.