Help, my hair is sabotaging me!

[Eirinn]

I don't know what's going on - my hair first started to split and in a really strange way like 4in1, bubbles or L-shape. Then it started to break a lot and now it's falling out... All 3 things happening together:confused: .I didn't do any major change in my rutine; I mean I try different products all the time of course, but there's no new *one* which could cause it. I switched from demi to semi-permanent dye few months ago and I put my hair up like 90% time. Do you have any idea or advice, please?:(

[sahiba]

Maybe you should stop your dye for a couple of weeks and see if anything changes.

[aisling]

I'm guessing old dye and other damage is starting to add up now as your hair is getting longer and the ends are older.

[Eirinn]

I dye it every 5 weeks, not so often and beside those strange things it's just great. And I've been dyeing it for 2,5 year so I guess it should rebel a bit earlier

[Shanarana]

Do you dye your whole head, or just the roots? If it's your whole head, I would stop dying the lenght at least.

[Eirinn]

Shanarana: the roots only

[Shanarana]

Shanarana: the roots only

I do my roots as well, and do them every 6 to 8 weeks. Not sure if that would be the culprit than.

[Katze]

every five weeks seems awfully much, especially for the length.

What's the difference if you DON'T dye your hair at all?

I notice a huge difference between my hair that's virgin and that which has been dyed, even once; the dyed bits are simply drier and more fragile. This could be the case for your hair...

[Eirinn]

Katze: I considered it and came up with the conclusion that there's no difference, really

[eadwine]

I approach this really simple: dye is dye is dye. It is all bad when it is chemical. And now it is getting longer is is showing up more.

I would say: let go of the dye and switch to a natural product if you HAVE to dye :)

[aisling]

I dye it every 5 weeks, not so often and beside those strange things it's just great. And I've been dyeing it for 2,5 year so I guess it should rebel a bit earlier

My experience is that there are certain lengths were treatment starts to matter a lot more. It's different for different people but BSL and waist is quite common, from what I've learnt here. Past that point you'll just have to pay more attention to what you do to your hair. No matter for how long you've dyed your hair, now when it has grown and the ends are older, the damage will be more and more visible. BSL was such a border for me, I could never get past BSL before starting to take care of my hair much better.

I think this is something Katze for example also knows about, if you want longer hair, you might have to give up on something or accept trashed ends.

[Anlbe]

Massive splitting and breakage can happen as a result of

Need a trim (solution trim)
Protein overload (solution clarify and move to conditioner without protein)
Silicone overload (solution clarify and move to conditioner without silicones)
Lack of moisture (use deep moisture treatment, prefereably with gentle heat such as
using a shower cap and your own bodyheat)
Damaging hair toys (identify and get rid of them - for me it's everything but hairpins,
sticks and lycra)

Do any of these sound like they might be the cause of your problem?

[Eirinn]

Anlbe:

I've recently had a trim
I don't know nothing about the protein
My hair is demaged without cones
My hair is really well-moisturized
Sigh... I can't use any hair toy without pulling out my hair:( But before now it was in good condition even with this

[Eirinn]

aisling: I see what you mean but my hair feel just too well moisturized to be demaged... I hope you understand that I'm trying to say - it's silky, shiny and soft:shrug:

[aisling]

My hair is demaged without cones

Do you mean your hair is damaged from cones or that it needs cones to avoid damage? I'm probably thick today because I'm not sure :)

Anyway, if you use a conditioner with cones, your hair could very well feel soft, silky and happy, but the problem is that the cones might hide the damage and also dry out your hair. That could explain the sudden damage you're seeing, when damaged enough, nothing will hide it.

[Anje]

I suspect that there's something wrong with your protein/moisture balance. (Quite possibly, you need more deep treatments of both.)

Read this, see if it makes any sense:
Hair breakage and shedding 101 (http://blackbeautyblackhair86911.yuku.com/topic/511/t/Hair-Breakage-and-Shedding-101.html)

[Isilme]

what colour do you dye your hair? If you can find a deposit colour only (without ammonia and peroxide) it would be great for your hair. I also think it could be the protein.
ETA. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=17
This is a link to an article about protein.

[Emme76]

Since you are starting to loose hair, and it hasn´t happend before - one suggestion is that you see a doctor. It might be something else in your body, and it effects your hair. Just to make sure..it is always good to consult your doctor! If it doesn´t stop and you feel like it is getting worse and how big the change is.

When it comes to your routine and treatments, I am sure you got great advice from other fellow LHC´s!!!! Still a newbie, I will skip giving you advice on that for now....:D!!!!

Have a great day!
/Emme

[Kirin]

A good -litmus- test for finding out what is going on, is to shampoo, and use no conditioner, and check out your hair afterward. Just clean with no added moisture and left to dry, can be very telling on what exactly it needs. Doing this to check its condition without any product, conditioner, or leave in will not damage your hair. (if your hair afterward is........ AWFUL, it will give you a clue what to do next).

I find this method the best way to diagnose problems.

If your hair is smooth, tangle free and feels -better- without a conditioner or treatment after shampoo, chances are you have been over oiling, over conditioning or just plain old have TOO much moisture. Likely there is a buildup of moisture products.

If your hair is dry, tangly, rough, feels like straw and sort of mats/clumps together, you likely have too much protein going on and NEED more moisture.

If it feels wirey, fragile, and whispy, almost flyaway but doesnt tangle or knot, you might need a protein treatment. Check the ends, if they seem "transparent" too, that could also be a tipoff you need protein.

I am no expert but the clean shampoo with nothing after has always worked for me to pinpoint the problem.

Once the problem is somewhat identified, use a shampoo/conditioner thats as plain as you can find, and start with that. Try to go silicone/protein free, and go from there.

I often find when i am frustrated with my hair i try this, that the other thing, and make problems worse, returning to a simple no muss no fuss routine usually changes everything.

[Eirinn]

aisling: I've used a lot of no-cone products and my hair were worse than with cones, kind of hmm defenseless and tangly. I'm just getting back to my Fructis:)

[Eirinn]

Isilme: I use kind of dye that you've described, it's really safe:) (Now I'm not sure if I know the meaning of semi and demi-permanent:confused:) Thanks for link, this is just what I need:flowers:

[Riot Crrl]

I find this timing worthy of consideration: 2.5 years of dye... hair is BSL+... the ends might now be the age of the oldest dye. Even if you only do roots, it's pretty impossible not to get a little double processing going on. Has this dye always been deposit only, for all of the 2.5 years?

[rubyredslippers]

A good -litmus- test for finding out what is going on, is to shampoo, and use no conditioner, and check out your hair afterward. Just clean with no added moisture and left to dry, can be very telling on what exactly it needs. Doing this to check its condition without any product, conditioner, or leave in will not damage your hair. (if your hair afterward is........ AWFUL, it will give you a clue what to do next).

I find this method the best way to diagnose problems.

If your hair is smooth, tangle free and feels -better- without a conditioner or treatment after shampoo, chances are you have been over oiling, over conditioning or just plain old have TOO much moisture. Likely there is a buildup of moisture products.

If your hair is dry, tangly, rough, feels like straw and sort of mats/clumps together, you likely have too much protein going on and NEED more moisture.

If it feels wirey, fragile, and whispy, almost flyaway but doesnt tangle or knot, you might need a protein treatment. Check the ends, if they seem "transparent" too, that could also be a tipoff you need protein.

I am no expert but the clean shampoo with nothing after has always worked for me to pinpoint the problem.

Once the problem is somewhat identified, use a shampoo/conditioner thats as plain as you can find, and start with that. Try to go silicone/protein free, and go from there.

I often find when i am frustrated with my hair i try this, that the other thing, and make problems worse, returning to a simple no muss no fuss routine usually changes everything.

What a good idea! I've never seen it laid out like this before, this diagnostic tool for hair issues. Thanks Kirin, this is really useful. I shall have to try it!

[Eirinn]

Well, Riot Crrl, it hasn"t been. At first it was, than it was a regular dye, sometimes even very often done on whole lenght :stupid me: and now it"s been deposit again for few months. But I'm afraid I didn't understand well - what do you suggest as worth consideration?

[Eirinn]

Kirin: Your idea is really great but every time I do it my hair is a static straw:( Now I remember one more thing - before this I've used to use some oils and serums on my ends every single day. Then I tried to go coneless so I decided to use it only sometimes... Could that be a reason?

[Eirinn]

Oh, and as for protein I'm so confused - some of my shampoos and conditioners which contain it leaves my hair dry and horrible and some just the opposite:confused:

[birthmarkie]

I see you have layers. I know from personal experience that the way some stylists layer is not anti-split. If you want to cut and keep hair from splitting, it needs to be done more carefully. How many split hairs do you have, exactly? Is it over 50?

[Eirinn]

birthmarkie: layers on thin hair mean splits down the whole length! (or at least for me). It's for sure much less then 50... so far

[birthmarkie]

birthmarkie: layers on thin hair mean splits down the whole length! (or at least for me). It's for sure much less then 50... so far

I'm not sure what the problem is then. You have over a thousand hairs on your head. Maybe try to S&D or just forget about them? :shrug:

[spidermom]

It could be the dye. It's almost impossible to do just the roots; there will always be some overlap. Some hair is far less tolerant of chemical color, like mine. I've done semi-permanent dye (washes out by the end of 28 shampooings) a couple of times in the past, and by the time the color was out, my hair felt like straw. My hair didn't like henna, either.

But of course my hair is not your hair so maybe my experience has nothing to do with you.

Stick with the products that make your hair feel/behave the best. After reading all the posts, I forget what you said about your routine, but if you're not washing CWC style with diluted shampoo, give it a try. It has really helped to keep my ends supple and moist, along with coconut or olive oil and occasional deep conditioning treatments. Lately I'm using the Nature's Gate Deep Conditioning Mask for aging hair - very nice. They make one for color-treated hair, too.

[Eirinn]

I'm not sure what the problem is then. You have over a thousand hairs on your head. Maybe try to S&D or just forget about them? :shrug:

You mean I'm over reacting..? I simply thought that it's just a beginning... but now I don't know:shrug:

[birthmarkie]

I'd also add oiling as I'm not sure it has been suggested. Taking a deep breath never hurts :) I have phases where I find several splits and then things calm down. Those phases when I do find several splits often correlate to times when I spend lots of time looking.

[Eirinn]

It could be the dye. It's almost impossible to do just the roots; there will always be some overlap. Some hair is far less tolerant of chemical color, like mine. I've done semi-permanent dye (washes out by the end of 28 shampooings) a couple of times in the past, and by the time the color was out, my hair felt like straw. My hair didn't like henna, either.

But of course my hair is not your hair so maybe my experience has nothing to do with you.

Stick with the products that make your hair feel/behave the best. After reading all the posts, I forget what you said about your routine, but if you're not washing CWC style with diluted shampoo, give it a try. It has really helped to keep my ends supple and moist, along with coconut or olive oil and occasional deep conditioning treatments. Lately I'm using the Nature's Gate Deep Conditioning Mask for aging hair - very nice. They make one for color-treated hair, too.


Well I really don't know but it never felt like straw... I do CWC, my hair has improved a lot thanks to it:) And we don't have Nature's Gate here:( But your hair doesn't seem to aging at all:wink:

[Isilme]

so, if I got it right you have coloured your whole head of hair with a permanent dye at least once? Even if it was some years ago. I'm sure at least some of that hair is still around and what you see now is the damage catching up. That could at least be part of the problem.

[Kirin]

Kirin: Your idea is really great but every time I do it my hair is a static straw:( Now I remember one more thing - before this I've used to use some oils and serums on my ends every single day. Then I tried to go coneless so I decided to use it only sometimes... Could that be a reason?

If your hair is static/straw after washing and air drying, its screaming for some moisture! Simply re-wet hair (no need to shampoo again) and condition well.

[spidermom]

I'm not sure what the problem is then. You have over a thousand hairs on your head. Maybe try to S&D or just forget about them? :shrug:

In fact, you have at least 80,000 hairs on your head. The iii types have more than 100,000.

[lora410]

I dyed my hair once and omg the split and the breakage was horrible. Don't forget you are putting chemical directly onto your scalp and that will affect your hair follicles as well as the rest of your hair. I really want to say get off the dye and maybe try henna. The dye sounds like the culprit to me esp if they changed their formula (and most companies don't tell you when they do) Just like pantene worked great they went and changed their forulam and bam i was sheeding and my hair just got sooo dry.

[birthmarkie]

In fact, you have at least 80,000 hairs on your head. The iii types have more than 100,000. Thanks for your knowledge, spidermom. I didn't look it up but I'm sure glad you had the real numbers. :rockerdud

[Riot Crrl]

Well, Riot Crrl, it hasn"t been. At first it was, than it was a regular dye, sometimes even very often done on whole lenght :stupid me: and now it"s been deposit again for few months. But I'm afraid I didn't understand well - what do you suggest as worth consideration?

What I meant was, if the ends now consist of the hair that was processed the most times with the harshest dye (which seems plausible considering that the most-processed hair with harshest dye is 2.5 years of age, and you are at BSL or a little longer) then that may be why it's splitting now.

There are three factors to consider basically:

- number of times a given stretch of hair has been processed, and what with
- ends have been on your hair a certain number of years and thus subject to everyday wear and tear
- the simple state of being ends leaves them more vulnerable to splits

So considering the age of the hair and the processing history, it is possible these factors are now convening to result in splits. Does that make sense?

[Blueglass]

I know I have said this before- maybe a thyroid issue? Though looking at your age, you seem too young for that. But what your saying reminds me of whats been happening around my crown area, and last October, I found out I had hypothyroid after my Dr. prescribed a series of blood tests.

[Eirinn]

I have phases where I find several splits and then things calm down. Those phases when I do find several splits often correlate to times when I spend lots of time looking.

There's something about it:D

[spidermom]

Here's something else that hair doesn't like - hot water. Do you ever take steamy baths and let your hair soak in the water? I've decided to make more of an effort to be sure my water is closer to tepid when I wash my hair as in general I like it on the hot side of warm and wonder if this is what causes my splits. Every time I look, I find more! It makes me crazy.

[Eirinn]

Here's something else that hair doesn't like - hot water. Do you ever take steamy baths and let your hair soak in the water? I've decided to make more of an effort to be sure my water is closer to tepid when I wash my hair as in general I like it on the hot side of warm and wonder if this is what causes my splits. Every time I look, I find more! It makes me crazy.

It never soaks in water - I put it in a tight bun. But I've noticed that it hates seam, it's always coarse and has a lot of flyaways after a hot bath:confused:

[Riot Crrl]

Heat opens scales, which isn't necessarily unhealthy in itself. It's often used with things like oil treatments to "help them penetrate" which means, opening the scales. If it's followed with cold and/or acid, they oughta close back up. Bleach, peroxide, perm, etc. can make them stick out permanently, but heat should only be temporary unless it's extreme enough to cause heat damage.