Canopy...UGH!!

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Ok , i know we all have this issue with the awful canopy texture. I was twirling a curl today and I always grab from underneath cause they feel so nice, like silk. I recently looked at some pictures of me when I was a kid and my whole head was like the underneath part way back before I excepted my curls but before I started relaxing. The only thing I notice is that the underneath part that is all one length is what feels silky while all of the shorter bits feel awful and I also notice that when I do trim splits I find most of them in this part. There is also this one part that I can comb for ever but as soon as I let go it is tangled...it's like velcro! I either still have some relaxer on the ends (which I thought I got all off, but this part is shorter than the rest) or else the fact that the damaged ends are different lengths and shorter so the damage is more spread out, making the whole area of the canopy seem way rougher than the part that is all one length. So of course this had me hopeful that as I grow out my hair and cut off the layers, I will also be able to make the top part more like the underneath part...I mean that part is perfect.

So what do y'all think of my theories?

[JaneinMarch]

My canopy was quite rough and didn't grow well when I was a teen. Probably because it wasn't getting enough moisture then and I was using all mineral oil based leave-ins. It can still be tempermental now but is usually fine if I wet it daily and use shea butter and coconut oil.

My underneath layers are very fine and fluffy, almost feathery. They are a completely different type of hair than my canopy though. I figure the topmost layer is fortunately more "tough" because it receives so much manipulation from the shower head and rubbing in oils.

There is also the idea of "scab hair" which doesn't grow normally because the follicle was affected by the chemical relaxer. I think this is so, someone please correct me if this isn't exactly true.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

My canopy was quite rough and didn't grow well when I was a teen. Probably because it wasn't getting enough moisture then and I was using all mineral oil based leave-ins. It can still be tempermental now but is usually fine if I wet it daily and use shea butter and coconut oil.

My underneath layers are very fine and fluffy, almost feathery. They are a completely different type of hair than my canopy though. I figure the topmost layer is fortunately more "tough" because it receives so much manipulation from the shower head and rubbing in oils.

There is also the idea of "scab hair" which doesn't grow normally because the follicle was affected by the chemical relaxer. I think this is so, someone please correct me if this isn't exactly true.

Oh god...I hope it's not scab hair! I guess I'll have to see once I am able to get it all one length but this just strengthens my resolve. The shorter ends kinda stick out a bit ans if they are rough dry and/or split than it makes more of the length feel damaged. Also kinda like the moisture from my scalp is getting further down the length of the hair that is all one length but it's going no where on the layers.

[heatherdazy]

If only we could rotate sections of our hair like rotating tires, huh?

[meowmeow]

Hmm.. I don't know if the top will ever be like the bottom. I might just be a natural variation. For me, my hair is coarser on top (I guess it's called the canopy) and finer and softer in the "undercoat".

[Amara]

If only we could rotate sections of our hair like rotating tires, huh?

No kidding about rotating the hair-tires! That'd be nice.

My canopy all over is not too bad, it's really just the front canopy bits. I have cut a lot of front layers into those bits and all the different lengths are impossible to trim and S&D... they just tangle and tear. Hopefully with good care one day I'll get all those layers grown out and at least that problem will be solved. That being said, the whole canopy is definitely bit frazzier than the underneath bits.

No matter if your hair is up or anything, the canopy gets sun, wind, handling, etc more than any other part of your hair. I think that's just the way it is. Can't solve it completely... and there might be some different in the way the hair grows naturally, too, at least on some people...

[PhillyGirl1978@]

It seems like the canopy is wiry and brittle and way drier. I separated everything in the shower I mean all the layers. I separated horizontally and combed the part that was down, this was after I conditioner and rinsed, most of the bottom felt like silk...it's that awful..tiny, smallest bit of hair on top is so velvro-ie! I have to figure out a solution to this...it'll drive me crazy. Also with my thick hair, it is the canopy that gets most of the conditioning, so even though it gets the elements is should get moisture. The conditioner barely reaches the under layers. I'm gonna need to concentrate all my conditioning efforts on doing dt's and stuff on this part, like every weekend. My friends with straight hair still have silky canopies....UGH!!

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Oh yeah...the canopy should include the bits around my face as long as they are on top right? Do you guys have the same canopy problems right there? Cause my major tangles do seem to affect that part. I don't have bangs and so my hair is usually combed back off my face, that part is just as silky as the underneath part, the tangles don't start until like the back of the top of my head and they get really bad at about neck level which isn't too far from the end of the shortest layer.

Hmmmm....the plot thickens!!!

[SimplyViki]

Nothing really worthwhile to add, except that I'm currently frustrated with a tangling, fragile canopy myself. I was thinking adding some bangs might fix things, but I recently tried to separate out the section that seemed to have issues, and it includes more than just the section I'd be willing to cut in as bangs.

It feels like I need a trim, but then, the longest bits of my hair don't need a trim, it's the shorter layers that do. But then, I want to grow out the layers, so I can't very well trim them, can I? :justy:

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Yeah, mine go back too far to be bangs, not to mention I have curly hair and I also have the kind that gets straighter the shorter it gets so I'd have wavy, floofy bangs with a bunch of curls. Hoping my current theory has some merits and t will feel better with some length.

[mellie89]

It feels like I need a trim, but then, the longest bits of my hair don't need a trim, it's the shorter layers that do. But then, I want to grow out the layers, so I can't very well trim them, can I?

My dilemma exactly. I need a trim, but I don't want to lose the healthy length underneath. I want to grow out my layers, but my canopy is icky and needs the most trimming. :rolleyes:

[camirra555]

My canopy is also more damaged than the under part. I just chalked it up to the fact that that part of my hair is always the most exposed to the elements even when it's in a bun. In the bun the under part still gets to hide from exposure damage

[xkmx]

Before I hennaed my hair I noticed that all my face framing layers and my canopy was lighter than the underneath side because of natural lightening from the sun, so I think it's safe to say canopies will feel a bit rougher from exposure to every day handling and natural elements.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

These tangles are killing me. It's just so icky! I am going out for Halloween, so I will be having a day of beauty during the day on Saturday. I think I will was with sulphates to get rid of build up, condition like normal with my Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition, then I think I will detangle completely and put some more conditioner in the canopy and put it in a bun while I go about my day. After a few hours I'll rinse that and use my Aussie moist in the canopy only to seal in the moisture (hopefully). I do seem to get through the tangles way better with the cones.

I have to ffigure out a way to live with it, until it is long enough to cut all even.