My ends need.....something??

[whiteisle]

I do a mix of CO, WO, and NW through the week. I then use aloe gel or oil afterwards on damp hair and then a little oil each night before bed. But my ends need something else. To touch them they don't feel overly dry or crunchy but they are snarly and tangle and catch easily.

I've tried using a cone conditioner after CO which does help the ends not be so tangled BUT it makes the rest of my hair feel yucky and then I have worry about clarifying eventually. So I don't think that's the answer. And I don't have build up as I just shampooed yesterday (which didn't help but it got the cones out).

And it doesn't look all that great. It looks dry and fluffy and just...blah. I thought CO was supposed to help with all that but perhaps I'm doing it incorrectly. And I've tried SMTs but they really don't give much improvment.

So I'm open to your suggestions and thoughts. :)

eta: I just took a close look at a tangle and some of the ends are actually turned up at a 90 degree angle and other have kinks in them. What's going on here????

[jivete]

I don't like aloe gel myself. I think it makes my hair dry.

It might just be the dry, winter air. Do you notice the kinks after you get out of the shower, or after you've put your hair up?

[Pierre]

If your ends tangle, they most likely need to be cut off. I've seen a micrograph of a tangle of mine; the cuticle was studded with bumps. I take scissors to the shower, and when I find a tangle at the end with the comb, I cut it off.

[amaiaisabella]

Aloe snarled my hair. Never again! I had to do a severe S&D, and even then I kept finding those 90 degree angled ends weeks later.

What about a homemade hot oil treatment, or a SMT without aloe? I use honey, conditioner, and oil and mine works pretty good :)

[GlassEyes]

Well, since it's geting colder, it might be dry winter air. You might need a heavier CO conditioner, or you might need to follow a CO wash with a heavier one--or you could start using some of you CO conditioner as a leave in.

[spidermom]

To keep my ends as snarl-free and moisturized as possible, I've been using a combination of massaging in some of my regular conditioner as a leave-in after CWC with diluted shampoo and blotting the extra water out, a little oil over that to the bottom half of my length, and topped about once per week by my favorite coney serum CHI Silk Infusion to seal it all in.

[Katze]

what strikes me is that your hair might not be getting clean. My ends do this if I go too long without sulfates, but my ends are damaged and there is still some color there, and my hair is also fine. Still, that is what really popped out from your post - what if you try a sulfate washing just to get everything really clean, then condition well?

[whiteisle]

hmm..I may ditch the aloe - hadn't thought that would be the culprit.

And I'll also try some leave-in, too. :)

[florenonite]

It sounds to me like your ends need clarified - do you use 'cones?

If they're bent they need cut off but, of course, you need to find the cause of the tangling in order to prevent further damage.

[vamq]

My ends did the same thing when I forgot to clarify for a while.
After clarifying, my ends felt a lot better, but I still had to cut off a tiny bit.

[rogue_psyche]

It sounds to me like whatever conditioner you use to CO isn't moisturizing enough for your ends. Every shampoo you want to make sure you start with as much moisture as possible. Do your wash, condition as normal, and then condition from the bottom of your ears down again. My plan for managing cones (I went back to cones a week ago) is to apply cones as leave-in. If you want to try that, you could probably get away with a dime-sized bit of coney conditioner until you get a coney serum. When you use cones after a CO you might want to apply a really moisturizing cone-free as a leave in just prior to the cones, focusing on the ends.

I find Sally's GVP Conditioning balm to be a good moisturizing conditioner. It may be a bit heavy for CO washes unless you dilute it, but to me it is the epitome of moisturizing as far as conditioners go. If you live near a Trader Joe's, I think their shampoo and conditioner are really great. The conditioner has protein but for me its good lightweight but moisturizing condish for CO washing.

[Aditi]

Its winter so i guess hair starts to act strange. When next time you do Co apply a little bit more on the ends maybe they need some extra moisture and also leave-in. Is still they don't work then maybe you have to trim a little.

[jojo]

Is you hair the same length as your siggi picture?

I am asking as my ends didn't start getting dry or tangly until I got to nearly BSL. It sounds as though you have very dry hair (if your hair is still short) cones may help on the very ends or as SM suggested the CHI serum is excellent, I use it at every wash and my hair has never felt better.

Another suggestion would be to do a light dust or a claryfying treatment.

[teela1978]

I'm with the clarifiers. Sometimes it magically makes your ends better.

[girlcat36]

When my hair acts like that, it means I need to clarify and microtrim.

[piratejenny23]

before conditioning (regular or deep), using a baking soda rinse is supposed to open the cuticles, making it easier for the hair to drink up the moisture (or protein, or whatever you're trying to get into your hair).

after you rinse out your treatment, you can do a vinegar and/or cold water rinse to close the cuticle again.

my ends usually feel like needles, and i recently did a mayo treatment that made them awesome. that is, the last few inches still need regular, major conditioning but the actual tips don't poke & itch as much. i also started using Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner a couple weeks ago, and it is the bestest conditioner i have ever used in my life! :inlove: i like Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition too...of course your hair may have an entirely different opinion...

i'm sitting here right now with my ponytails in sandwich bags full of cherrylola's yogurt treatment. and i've been reading threads on using fabric softener as a conditioner...i'm tempted...lol...

[whiteisle]

I actually just clarified a few days ago so I don't think that was the problem. :)
However, just to see what would happen I washed my hair in a coney shampoo and a coney conditioner yesterday morning. I did this after doing a CO wash and letting my hair dry to a horrible state. My hair is glorious right now!!! It is soft and mostly tangle free and if there is a snag it lets go easily. I guess it's just going to have to have cones right now. I've tried many times to go cone free and to convince myself that it was better for my hair but I think my hair is telling me different. So, it's back to cones. I'll try this for a while and see what happens. :)

[ZenBird07]

I was going to say clarify until you mentioned the aloe thing... and the fact that you just clarified.

If it's aloe and you did an smt with aloe -that could be why the smt just didn't do it for you. What I do for an smt is whip up some flaxseed gel. I can't get the aloe so I did it with the flax and my hair was lovely...The consistency of the smt I'm sure would be quite off-putting for some but you're just going to slap the goop in your hair and wrap your head in plastic anyway...lol...maybe you could try this? Flaxseed gel has been a noted substitute for aloe gel. Maybe it's worth a shot...?...HTH:)

[jojo]

I actually just clarified a few days ago so I don't think that was the problem. :)
However, just to see what would happen I washed my hair in a coney shampoo and a coney conditioner yesterday morning. I did this after doing a CO wash and letting my hair dry to a horrible state. My hair is glorious right now!!! It is soft and mostly tangle free and if there is a snag it lets go easily. I guess it's just going to have to have cones right now. I've tried many times to go cone free and to convince myself that it was better for my hair but I think my hair is telling me different. So, it's back to cones. I'll try this for a while and see what happens. :)

My hair is very much like this too, its all a case of listening to what your hair prefers acording to seasons, my hair loves cones in winter, yet summer prefers coneless.

Glad you found a solution.