Weird question

[juliaxena]

This may sound like a strange question, but how do you know if your hair is damaged? What is the real condition of your hair? Is it when your hair is clarified? I think that stripping your hair of all moisture does not show the real state of it. But also, conditioned hair is not your "real" hair either is it? So, how do I know what state my hair is really in?

[hmmm]

This has occurred to me too, good thing I found this thread. -waits for replies-

[SimplyLonghair]

My opinion is this, The condition of your hair is what your hair looks like over a period of of time. After you have deep conditioned and but then do what you normally would do over time.

It is how your hair looks from day to day.

[Arctic]

While clarifying tends to be drying, it's purpose is not to remove moisture from the hair, but to remove build-up of products, sweat, oils, minerals, and other impurities.

Damaged hair is often rought (though I have some rought hairs that grow that way naturally), brittle, breaks easily and spits, tangles easily... often is not shiny, bouncy, doesn't hang well... It's really hard to give universal signs.

[Katze]

I only discovered the 'real' condition of my hair after a while at LHC. I had bleached for years, heat styled and heat dried. I was used to my hair being poofy and dry.

After doing SMTs with every wash for a while, then experimenting with using less shampoo, I found out that my 'real' hair - even then, several years ago - was actually much softer than it had been. I started noticing the damage - broken hairs, split ends - as well as the parts of my hair (the coarser, wavier underlayer) which were crying for more moisture.

I find my hair is 'its true self' several days after a wash - 1 day after WO, 2-3 days after a wash with sulfates.

Now I can say that my hair is mostly virgin, so its 'real' condition seems to be fairly good. Unfortunately since I have shed a lot, it does not 'look' like it is in real condition...

[juliaxena]

So you guys are saying, wash your hair, use conditioner and then wait a few days and see?

[Redheaded Raven]

That would be my take on things. :D

[bttrfly857]

Also cones will hide damage, so you'd probably want to use a conditioner without them for a little while if you want to see it's "real" condition

[spidermom]

I take a pinch of hair at my scalp and slide my fingers down. If I feel a change in texture/roughness near the ends, I know they're damaged or coated with buildup. So I do a clarifying wash and try again. Damage also appears to be lighter in color and fluffier than the rest.

[hmmm]

I take a pinch of hair at my scalp and slide my fingers down. If I feel a change in texture/roughness near the ends, I know they're damaged or coated with buildup. So I do a clarifying wash and try again. Damage also appears to be lighter in color and fluffier than the rest.

Isn't a slight change in texture normal? I would imagine that fairytale ends would have a different texture and still not necessarily be damaged. Yes/no?

[emmebean]

[quote=Katze;841018]

After doing SMTs with every wash for a while, then experimenting with using less shampoo




what's SMT? please:):confused:

[Heidi_234]

If your hair is damaged (or feel like it is) in any way you'll know that. Trust me. If you don't know how damaged hair feels, then you don't have it.

[enfys]

Isn't a slight change in texture normal? I would imagine that fairytale ends would have a different texture and still not necessarily be damaged. Yes/no?

The texture wouldn't really be different, you'd just feel less and less strands of hair. It still shouldn't feel tangly or rough or frizzy or however your hair reacts to damage.

[Amara]

Isn't a slight change in texture normal? I would imagine that fairytale ends would have a different texture and still not necessarily be damaged. Yes/no?

Fairy tale ends shouldn't have any different texture than other kinds of ends - it doesn't refer to the individual hairs but rather how the hemline as a whole is shaped (or unshaped). I think ends might naturally have a slightly different texture than hair very close to the head, since some damage is inevitable, but I would think the less difference, the better.

[Hiriel]

what's SMT? please:):confused:

It's Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128)


Damage also appears to be lighter in color and fluffier than the rest.
All ends will be slightly lighter in colour won't they? My hair is quite easily lightened by the summer sun, and the older the hair, the more sun it has been exposed to.

[shadowclaw]

I personally define the real condition of my hair as the condition of my first 12 inches the day after a wash. I know that a lot of my length is damaged from dying my hair and from handling it roughly (I was one of those people who brushed and brushed at big tangles and watched a rainfall of my ends float down to the floor). Those first 12 inches are not virgin, but they are in good condition... smooth, shiny, pin-straight, and tangle-free. My length tends to get dry and fluffy in no time, plus I get split ends really easily.

[Curlsgirl]

Actually this is not really a weird question. I have often wondered it myself. I think everyone is going to have a little damage just from everyday handling no matter HOW much you try to prevent it. Aside from that, anything we might do to it like heat or chemical treatments is going to damage it somewhat. Some kinds of hair can take more of those things than others can. Mine thankfully can take quite a bit which is why I feel I can "get away" with highlights and still have fairly healthy waist length hair. If I look closely at it however, I see damage. To me, it's okay as long as it looks fairly healthy to average people (not LHC people ha ha) when they see it fairly close.

I am rambling and I think this makes no sense LOL. Carry on!

[RocketDog]

With my hair, damage is not only tangible, but visible. The curls won't shape well, the ends tangle up easier, and before henna the color of the ends wasn't quite as 'shimmery' as the healthier roots if that makes sense. I know I need a trim when my ends look like that, and when I can feel a particular 'grabbiness' on the ends - it's almost a crunchy feeling, where no matter what fancy treatments and oiling and gentle handling I offer it it still feels harsh to my fingertips.

Back in the day I used to WANT my hair a little damaged and dry - it would get super-poofy and I liked that when it was cut into a bob. If I had properly moisturized hair back then my hair would have had almost no body at all!

[Elenna]

Before LHC, my dyed, fried, brushed and ironed hair felt really rough and was difficult to manage because of the bad condition.

Two years later, hair is much better behaved and feels very soft.

One of my pet peeves is colored hair with poor texture because my hair used to be that way.

[Flynn]

Also cones will hide damage, so you'd probably want to use a conditioner without them for a little while if you want to see it's "real" condition

This is very true! I was so surprised when I went no-cone!

Do note that going no-cone initially makes most people's hair go psycho, and the mess of the transition period can make it seem far worse than it is.

[hmmm]

Fairy tale ends shouldn't have any different texture than other kinds of ends - it doesn't refer to the individual hairs but rather how the hemline as a whole is shaped (or unshaped). I think ends might naturally have a slightly different texture than hair very close to the head, since some damage is inevitable, but I would think the less difference, the better.

Okay, sorry for being obsessive about it, but when you say 'some damage is inevitable', does that mean that its reversible to an extent also? What do people who trim their hair only once a year do? I don't really know how long it takes for hair to get 'damaged' (as opposed to feeling dry) when it's subjected to no heat or mechanical damage.

[Roseate]

Okay, sorry for being obsessive about it, but when you say 'some damage is inevitable', does that mean that its reversible to an extent also? What do people who trim their hair only once a year do? I don't really know how long it takes for hair to get 'damaged' (as opposed to feeling dry) when it's subjected to no heat or mechanical damage.

Just by existing for years, your hair will get some mechanical damage no matter how nice you are to it. By the time your hair is classic length, the ends of the hair will be several years old (about six years for me)- so even with the most gentle handling, those ends have been detangled, put up and down, slept on, thousands of times.

It depends on your individual hair, and how you treat it, how long it will take for you to see damage. I start to see splits around waist length, so my hair can stand up to the handling I give it for about 3 years before it starts to split and break a noticeable amount.