View Full Version : Very damaged hair... what's the problem?
frogette
December 13th, 2009, 03:35 AM
So... I have antlers on my ends, and a lot of white spots and breakage all over my head of hair, not just on the hemline (I have heavy layers, which I hate). My hair was in relatively good condition one year ago, so obviously I'm doing something wrong.
I'm not doing anything blatantly objectionable. I don't color my hair (except from one try with henna last year) , I don't bleach it; blow dryers give me headaches so I always air-dry it, and since I joined LHC I've gotten the habit of systematically conditioning it, which I normally didn't.
The problems I suspect are:
Perhaps cone-free isn't the way to go for me. I've been cone-free for a year or so, and while I like how my hair looks fuller, it's also more tangle-prone. Perhaps going back to cones would help preventing further damage.
I try to wear my hair up as often as possible, but I'm so "updo-challenged" that I end up keeping it down most of the time and it gets caught in my zippers, my bag straps etc... When I wear my hair up I generally do a (messy) cinnamon bun but it's never properly centered so it looks really silly; my english braids look very messy etc... I'm just extremely clumsy.
Any other cause for heavy damage that you can think of?
florenonite
December 13th, 2009, 06:05 AM
How are you detangling it? You say 'cone-free makes it more tangly, so you need to make sure you're detangling very gently. Using a comb/fingers, detangle the bottom couple inches, then move up a couple inches and detangle. If you encounter resistance, gently work at the knot rather than ripping through it.
Are you towel-drying your hair? Rubbing your hair vigorously, particularly when it's wet, will break hairs.
The lack of updos could easily cause damage, so I highly recommend finding ways to wear it up. Practice your English braids by wearing them to bed when it doesn't matter how they look. If you get flyaways with them, try lightly oiling your hair before braiding or doing them on slightly damp hair. What about other buns? I wore a cinnabun for ages, but then when I branched out into other buns I stopped and never looked back because I could never get cinnabuns to sit right. I'd suggest French Twists, but as you're a bit updo-challenged I don't know if you've got a very good chance of succeeding at that (I never managed it!). You can always try them, though.
When you do wear your hair down, just be very careful about where it is. Lift it up before you put your bag on your shoulder, move it out of the way before zipping up your jacket, etc.
sedonia
December 13th, 2009, 06:23 AM
My hair breaks alot more when I go cone-free, so I embrace the cones.
Also, did you change your trimming regime in the last year? Maybe you are accruing damage at the same rate as last year but you are not trimming it off at the same rate.
Melisande
December 13th, 2009, 06:51 AM
I would recommend learning new updos, too. With video tutorials, it's easier. Just take your time. Ann Akers Johnson's book is very good for basic hairstyles and learning to braid. She recommends: give it three good tries and then - stop. Try again next day. After a while, you will find yourself French braiding and reverse French braiding and wearing herringbone braids etc - very good feeling.
French twist is beautiful and easy if you do it the way it is shown on the Ficcare homepage. It never worked for me any other way.
Do you own good hair jewellery? With the right hairtoy, you might be able to put your hair up and feel much better with it. My updo career took off when I bought Flexi 8s and some scroos. All of a sudden even a simple cinnabun looked nice and impressive. By now, I use hairsticks, forks, Ficcares, flexis and scroos on a daily basis. It took me a while to perfect my updo abilities but it was definitely worth it. So keep trying - the victory will be all the sweeter....
You may not have to go 100% coney or cone free. You may wish to experiment with a cone product from time to time, let's say, every 3rd wash.
I recommend for easier detangling my own beloved mixture: mix water, conditioner, honey and citric acid and pour it over your hair towards the end of the washing session. Let it sit in your hair for a while. Rinse out. This mixture leaves my hair very very soft and easy to detangle, but not limp.
Another good practice is catnip rinses. It also strengthens hair.
Keep your ends moisturized and protected at all times. This is one of the most important things I learnt here. I use Fox' sheabutter mixture because it's an emulsion - there are watery and oily parts in this mixture. I find that my hair likes to have both, oil alone doesn't do the trick, and water alone evaporates in no time. Putting the shea mix on my ends before I bun keeps my ends really healthy over time.
If you use cones from time to time, treat your hair very gently, keep it contained at night and increasingly also in the daytime (don't go for 100% of the time, two or three times a week is great already!), keep the ends moisturized and use only very gentle combs on your hair.
Do you brush? My hair breaks when I brush it. Only the Tangle Teezer doesn't cause breakage. I use it only before I wash, for the rest of the time, I detangle gently with my horn comb and my breakage has decreased.
What about your pillow? Putting a silk shawl over your pillow is an easy and inexpensive way of trying whether your hair is smoother in the mornings. I sleep on a very soft old silk shawl for two years now and won't go back to my usual cotton pillowcases.
Layers can cause breakage because all over the length of the layered hair you have exposed and vulnerable ends. When they split, the may tangle with other hairs and cause more tangles. Nothing but S&Ds and lots of patience will help. One day they will be grown out. Often layers grow out by themselves because the natural growing pattern "destroys" the artificial pattern cut in by the hairdresser. Only a little V or U shape in the hemline may be left after a while. So don't despair, your layers will disappear and your hair will be in a better shape.
Did you try cassia? It makes my hair stronger. I also use henna but your natural color is beautiful and I wouldn't change it.
(Sorry for mentioning my own precious hair so much but... it's only my own experiences I can tell you, and I had very similiar problems two years ago... )
Lamb
December 13th, 2009, 06:51 AM
Could the stylist have used blunt scissors, or, heaven forbid, a razor when she cut layers?
jojo
December 13th, 2009, 04:52 PM
Or how about putting cone conditioners on the last few inches and not rinsing it out?
When its dry put a little coconut oil on the ends, this helped me.
ArienEllariel
December 13th, 2009, 05:56 PM
I know for me, the fact that I used to have mad scientist hair every morning from sleeping on something other than satin had a lot to do with how much breakage I had. I'm still dealing with the breakage and slowly cutting it out via S&D and micro trims. What made me think it had to do with my pillow was that all my breakage is concentrated at my crown- really only the top layer (which is exactly where it would tangle up and get ratty looking after sleeping).
I've also been bunning or braiding for bed, which helps.
maxzeen
December 13th, 2009, 06:47 PM
Hmmm.. I switch back and forth between cone free conditioners and coney conditioners. I had the same problem as you - the cone free conditioners resulted in too many tangles. But I noticed when I switch back and forth that my hair is a little bit happier.
HTH!
Anje
December 13th, 2009, 08:51 PM
One change I made early on that has helped is to comb more slowly, so that when I encounter a tangle I can stop and sort of untie it, rather than breaking the hairs before I can react.
Preventing tangles by wearing hair up and protecting it from friction (from shoulder straps to pillows) can also help.
To some extent though, you do have to accept that some people will have some splits with long hair. I'm one of them. I S&D, generally wear my hair up, moisturize it, wear a sleep cap, comb carefully (though maybe not carefully enough), and I still get them. Some hair's a bit fragile, but with some work, you can get it down to a small percentage.
alys
December 14th, 2009, 11:55 AM
Why not try some cones, my friend. Worse that can happen is they dont help and need to do a clarifying wash...
heidi w.
December 14th, 2009, 12:27 PM
I'm at work and there's a volume of possibilities based on what the OP offers here, all of which I'll try to cover later today or possibly even tomorrow. Some of the potential causes have been covered, such as how you are detangling, but I have some details that may help you sort out the possibilites, and my guess is it's not any one thing, but perhaps 2-3 things you could do a bit differently for better effects.
heidi w.
Dolly
December 14th, 2009, 01:25 PM
So... I have antlers on my ends, and a lot of white spots and breakage all over my head of hair, not just on the hemline (I have heavy layers, which I hate). My hair was in relatively good condition one year ago, so obviously I'm doing something wrong.
I'm not doing anything blatantly objectionable. I don't color my hair (except from one try with henna last year) , I don't bleach it; blow dryers give me headaches so I always air-dry it, and since I joined LHC I've gotten the habit of systematically conditioning it, which I normally didn't.
The problems I suspect are:
Perhaps cone-free isn't the way to go for me. I've been cone-free for a year or so, and while I like how my hair looks fuller, it's also more tangle-prone. Perhaps going back to cones would help preventing further damage.
I try to wear my hair up as often as possible, but I'm so "updo-challenged" that I end up keeping it down most of the time and it gets caught in my zippers, my bag straps etc... When I wear my hair up I generally do a (messy) cinnamon bun but it's never properly centered so it looks really silly; my english braids look very messy etc... I'm just extremely clumsy.Any other cause for heavy damage that you can think of?
I know that many of the lovely ladies here think that cones are evil, but I am much like you in that I am not very good at updos, and I LIKE the way my hair looks when it's down.....
My hair is very thin and fine......after I came to LHC, I did a thorough clarify, had a trim at my local salon, and checked it completely to make sure there were no hidden splits. I then went cone-free for a while.....the elimination of cones were the only change in my routine. I detangle gently, do not use sulfates, no heat styling, and I oil 2-3 nights a week (a heavy oiling overnight). I also do a DC treatment about twice a month.
After a relatively short while, my hair was split and ragged, no matter WHICH cone free conditioner I tried (and I tried several, both inexpensive and high-end). My hair was in horrible shape! I had to go get a serious trim, and went RUNNING back to cones! My hair has never been happier!
heidi w.
December 14th, 2009, 04:29 PM
So... I have antlers on my ends, and a lot of white spots and breakage all over my head of hair, not just on the hemline (I have heavy layers, which I hate). My hair was in relatively good condition one year ago, so obviously I'm doing something wrong.
I'm not doing anything blatantly objectionable. I don't color my hair (except from one try with henna last year) , I don't bleach it; blow dryers give me headaches so I always air-dry it, and since I joined LHC I've gotten the habit of systematically conditioning it, which I normally didn't.
1. When recovering from layers, it will likely take more than a year to get out all damage points. Layering often involves thinning hair (or even razoring hair) which essentially means shaving off the cuticle layer to achieve a look, how the hair lays, and those blended ends into the next layer.
A. However you claim a year ago things looked good but not so much now. Maybe a year ago is when you had a fresh layering done? (not sure about the timing of things) which would mean, yeah, sure, hair's health looks good, but now the signs of that action are showing when you're now growing out.
B. You can consider microtrims along the way and of course what folks here call S&D to slowly remove damage while length is being gained.
2. Cones aren't bad for everyone, as already mentioned.
3. My big question is basic technique. How are you washing your hair? Piling it and scrubbing. Don't. Let it hang and squeeze and gently fold hair up to work through shampoo and/or conditioner.
A. Are you drying the hair by rubbing all your hair? IF yes, stop. You don't want to luff the cuticle, that is agitate it so it's more open.
B. Do you detangle, essentially from the bottom, and taking your time? If not, make the change. This will be a big boon to your hair's health. I find I have to also detangle from the outside in, that is align hairs on the surface, and slowly dig my way into the thickness before being able to get all tangles out. Remember detangling is simply a method of aligning the hairs all in the same direction.
C. Do you detangle while sopping wet? Maybe better to wait until damp only? If you detangle while sopping wet, then the hair is fully engorged with water, both in diameter and in length. IF you then detangle you can be stretching the hair beyond its normal capacity to stretch causing damage from stress and even snapping. Instead, wait til damp.
D. You might be a curly person in which case detangling can be completed in the shower with the hair fully coated with conditioner and using a VERY wide tooth comb (more like a pick perhaps), keep re-coating the comb with conditioner, and using the power of the water, work through the hair.
E. If you are a curly person and detangling, this could be an issue to some extent. If curly enough, you probably shouldn't be detangling once the hair is dry as even with a comb, you can uncoil coiled locks of hair causing frizz.
F. If you detangle with a brush, consider switching to a wide tooth comb. The thicker volume of hair you have, the wider tooth comb you will need for initially detangling. And consider detangling when the hair is nearly dry or completely dry. This depends on hair type. The only time I brush is when I BBB (Boar Bristle Brush).
G. If you come across a bit of a knot, use the fingers to get this out. Do not continue to push down on the tangle bit thereby really tightening the noose. Instead, find the knot, and lift up towards the sky and out to the side, thereby, loosening hairs involved in the knot. This way you don't have to pull out knots by forcing them down and out of the hair, which is essentially a way of breaking off hair.
4. Is your conditioner doing a good job of assisting with detangling? If not, you might need to find a better conditioner. If you have to choose between spending bucks on a good shampoo versus conditioner, choose to spend bucks on the conditioner. If you have a lot of issues with tangles, consider some of the products that are detangling sprays, commonly used on kids.
5. Ok, so you declare yourself not so good at the updo business. Well, this simply takes practice. It's ok to have a messy thing going on, too. It's generally STILL better than hair completely loose and susceptible to jewel hooks, zippers, seatbelts, windows, doorknobs.....and my personal nemesis: wind! In winter, we don our heavy duty stuff, including knits and fleece which can really do a number on hair! At least braid the length. It's still rubbing against clothing, but at least it isn't completely loose requiring, as it gains length, more frequent detangling throughout the day. The more you can prep the hair to be left alone from tangles, the better. Consider having a looksee at another fave website of mine, Long Hair Loom, the section known as the Styling Station. It's free, and really nice women over there. The Styling Station has many inputs that include nearly step-by-step, how-to photos which is very helpful.
6. At night sleep on a slippery pillowcase surface, allowing the hair to slide. Satin, sateen. Winter we like to drag out warm sheets, including fleece type of sheets. At least use that slippery fabric year round, including in the winter, even if it doesn't match the sheets. I personally purchased a regular pillow size yet covered with a KING SIZED satin pillowcase, so the excess fabric I fan out and this is where I coil my hair length, braid or loose for sliding throughout the night. IF uber long, you can drape the hair over a satin covered pillowcase and down the back or side of the bed, and tuck in an old silk or slippery fabric (even some of those kind of nylon fabrics are slippery enough) under the pillow or between mattress and box springs or frame and hair can slide all night down the side too.
A. Sleep with hair length braided loosely (from the head and the hair still lies in its natural state, not pulled back, especially not tightly). This can reduce time spent in the morning on detangling, and minimize damage.
7. If some of those hairs sticking out and about are NOT damaged, then this could very likely be a sign of new growth. When these growth bits gain length, they'll get heavier and lay down.
8 You might be in need of a small trim if having a lot of tangle issues in the very ends of hair, mostly, too.
I hope this helps a bit.
heidi w.
pinchbeck
December 15th, 2009, 09:06 AM
Some people's hair are more prone to breakage, dryness, and split ends than others. I am one of them. I have snarly difficult hair and like you it is unprocessed and allowed to air dry. One method that kind of works is applying a light coating of jojoba oil on my hair which assists in detangling and smoothing. Hair like ours must be treated with kindness because it is so fragile.
Updo's are not my forte either and they are uncomfortable. To remedy this I wear my hair in a simple braid daily.
You may want to get a trim and have your layers 'cleaned' up so they cause less tangling. Your hair will be in better condition and easier to comb through with a seamless wide toothed comb!
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