About these ends...

[terriej]

I'm wondering about something. I haven't cut or trimmed in about 11 months. I don't have any splits and my ends aren't dry at all. But when I look at the ends of my hair, it's like every hair is a different length, is this what you guys mean by fairytale ends? Not only do they look all different lengths, they want to stick out every which way. I just 'feel' like it makes my ends look dried and split. I don't know if it's because my hair is wavy or what.

I try to oil and gel them, but they usually still get all whisk broomy. Anything I can try?

[mira-chan]

Yes those are fairytale ends. My hair is as wavy as yours and I have very fairytale ends. (My profile picture shows them best.) The waves will settles with length and woun't stick out every which way as much. My hair failytales with very rapid speed so for me the process occurred very fast, I don't know how long it would take for yours to settle.

Question 1 is what is your routine? So you brush or comb? Brushing tends to worsen the wave disruption for wavies. On wavies with fairytales the hemline tends to look most neat when the wave pattern is maintained. When disrupted it puffs out weirdly, most likely what you described as the "whisk broom" effect.

You have fine hair so this may not work for you but If i want my hair not to look broomy and stay in waves I air dry and don't touch it post wash (no combing or brushing, no finger combing either, as in my profile picture). I have coarse non tangly hair so that helps me in this case. I don't wear my hair down much so maybe some one else can advise better beyond this.

[Anje]

Well, fairytale ends are when they're all different lengths. It's the hemline people develop after a year or three of not cutting and is the result of different hairs growing at different rates. It tends to result in tapered ends and kinda "pointy" locks of hair.

My ends get funny and kinky when they're lacking moisture... Clarify + SMT clears that up really well! (Way better than oil, in my case. When my hair is dry, oils don't resolve the problem at all.)

[Paniscus]

Oh my goodness, you mean I have fairytale ends?! Cool! I never really thought about it before, I had a different idea of what fairytale ends looked like. I haven't had my hair cut in over a year and I've noticed the same thing, all these different length hairs and uneveness. It does make your ends *appear* dry and split, even when they're not. At least in my hair it does. I've been contemplating cutting back a bit, but I hate to give up length. It's nice to know this is normal and others experience the same thing. Gives me more reason NOT to cut :)

I know I wasn't any help here, but thanks for posting, my idea of fairytale ends has completely changed!

[terriej]

mira-chan, I don't have a set routine. I usually shampoo and condition or else CO and I oil with coconut oil or poppy seed oil--maybe once a week and I leave the oil in all day until the next day. I don't normally brush, but I do on occasion. I usually comb it with a long pick when I get out of the shower. I'm going to follow your suggestion to just not touch after I get out of the shower and see if that helps.

Anje-they are kind of point and pokey :) I really don't have a moisture problem, but I don't suppose more moisture could hurt.

[terriej]

Paniscus, I thought it meant something else too! It's kind of hard to tell from photos, especially if the person has really straight hair.

[DecafJane]

Neat! I guess I have had them from the start, as the pixie I am growing out from had my hair all at different lengths (up to an inch and a half difference in different hairs in the same strand!) and now the different textured hairs on my head is making it even more pronounced. :cheese: (Or does that just make it messy? ;) )
It is wonderful that you aren't getting any splits. :)
If you want them to behave, as was mentioned earlier, have you tried not brushing at all after a wash?

[Katze]

yep, it's natural.

I've got them too, similar to Mira-Chan's, and as my hair gets longer they are moving down the length, if that makes sense. I guess some peoples' hair just does this - I sure wish mine didn't - but hope to eventually get long and thick enough that I can trim my hemline blunt.

If you saw my braids, you'd see a taper from thumb thickness at the top to knitting-needle if I braid to the end.

The upside of fairy tale ends is that when you are wavy, as we are, and the waves are behaving, it can look sexy and wild to have these piece-y, tapering, spiraled ends. Misting and using leave-in (GR) and hair gel help me keep my hair looking like that as much as possible. ;)

[terriej]

This morning after I got out of the shower, I combed it and put gel on the ends. I also put gel on my hands and smoothed down any fly-aways (very carefully), then I left it alone. It worked out great! My waves even looked a lot more tidy.

I didn't think I was brushing much, but after thinking about it, most mornings when I walk my daughter to school, I don't have time to shower or anything, I have been using my brush to get my hair wet and save time. I'll get a spray bottle and spray it to get it wet and comb (can't skip the combing even if I want to, my hair looks for excuses to tangle), gel, and leave it be.

It's going to take a little work, I guess. I have layers still from my last haircut, so I have at least three inches of unruly fairytale ends and I still don't want to cut it. So, I will put in the effort to tame them.

DecafJane, as long as I'm not rough with my hair and pay good attention to conditioning the ends , I'm not usually prone to splits, but I also have a lot of henna in my hair, I'm sure that contributes largely to the very good condition of them.:cheese: