is it possible to improve the texture of your ends?

[piratejenny23]

my hair is pretty healthy, a few split ends but not a lot, but it's just not soft...never has been, really, once it gets around BSL. i've never blow-dried on a regular basis, and although water hardness might have something to do with it, i've had this texture all my life, in several different states and countries!

in the past few months i've tried oils, deep conditioning, protein treatments, clarifying, and often my hair feels fantastic for a few days but then if i try the same thing again, my hair hates it...so i clarify again and/or leave it alone for a week before i try something new.

if i could just find something my hair likes i wouldn't mind "softening" it once or twice a week; but is it possible for the hair to soak up enough moisture or whatever it needs and eventually stay soft a little longer? my hair doesn't grow in this rough! for the past 15 years i've been cutting off the last 2 or more inches periodically because of the dryness, but now i haven't trimmed in 8 or 9 months; i just S&D and am clinging to every last crunchy millimeter!!!

TIA

[deko]

Try catnip rinses! I just did my first few and my ends love it! In articles section you'll find info, and you just might read the Catnip thread. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=476).

I have about 10 cm (4") damaged hair on my ends and I just started to soak it witn catnip infusion. They seem a lot better. I grow my own catnip (what a freak...) but you can buy it from a pet store.

[spidermom]

I leave my rinse-out conditioner in my length, only sqeezing out extra water and conditioner but no rinsing. Then I add a little coconut oil to the bottom third of my length plus the canopy. I do this after washing 2-3 times per week. I add coney serum (CHI Silk Infusion) over the coconut oil about once per week. This keeps my ends feeling very well moisturized and cuts down on the tangling as well. My hair LOVES to tangle and knot up.

[thankyousir74]

:lurks for advice:

[bumblebums]

I hear you. Until fairly recently, my hair tips had the consistency of steel wool.

I use acidic rinses (ACV, tea, diluted lemon juice) to smooth the cuticle, which helps, but the one thing that has really made a huge difference is coconut oil.

[deko]

I just might to try some coconut oil to my ends. I don't do coconut, it doesn't suit my hair. But maybe I should try it again for a leave-in and a very very small amount.

[KarpatiiSiv]

I'd also suggest maybe giving Catnip a try. I've been using it now for 7 months, my ends are no longer dry and no tangles. :)

[ravenreed]

I notice a huge difference when I do a final conditioning with a conditioner that has more slip than my regular "cleansing" conditioner. At the moment I use Suave for cleansing and the fake Biolage Matrix (without cones - be careful, there is one that has cones and I bought it recently by accident) for slip and detangling. I have also found that a bit of dilute SLS shampoo, just on the ends helps clarify when I have been using too much of something that make the ends crunchy or grabby.

[jojo]

I leave my rinse-out conditioner in my length, only sqeezing out extra water and conditioner but no rinsing. Then I add a little coconut oil to the bottom third of my length plus the canopy. I do this after washing 2-3 times per week. I add coney serum (CHI Silk Infusion) over the coconut oil about once per week. This keeps my ends feeling very well moisturized and cuts down on the tangling as well. My hair LOVES to tangle and knot up.
My routine too, I do exactly the same even down to the CHI infusion (thanks for the reccomendation SM) and I swear by this. The CHI keeps the frizz at bay and helps with tangles (it is brilliant on tangles) and the coconut oil keeps the moisture in and prevents splits and breakage (I think):cheese:

ETA-I only use a teeny bit of coconut oil which I place on my finger tips and then sort of 'grab and squeeze' the last inch or so. Then I put a teeny bit more rub into my palms and lightly go over the canopy.

CHI infusion is a pea sized blob on damp hair from ears down and again a little over canopy.

[Gvnagitlvgei]

Maybe fish oil supplements or a teaspoon of coconut oil (if you don't have endocrine problems)?

[piratejenny23]

i am such a spaz with oiling...i used to just put handfuls in, until every strand was coated, and tried to moisturize my itchy scalp with it too!!! then i read about using a "fingernailful". :doh:

okay tonight i soaked half my ends in diluted fabric softener, and half in AOHSR. both sides are pretty much dry & feel pretty nice; the FS gave me really nice waves and even a curl or two!

i just put on some coconut oil. i have to wear my hair in a bun or braid at work so if it's a little greasy it won't matter.

i'm going to get some catnip ASAP and try that. then i will try the leaving-in of the non-leave-in conditioner :) in the past, leaving in products has made my hair kind of sticky & clumpy...as much as i want the extra moisture i just usually end up leaving my hair alone. but i don't learn...i have 2 boxes of assorted leave-ins & hair lotions!!!

i do take fish oil but i don't think it's going to soften hair that grew out of my head 2 or 3 years ago!

thanks for all the help so far!

[Sherri]

I am trying vitamin E oil mixed in with coconut oil concentrating mainly on the ends. I have only tried this once but my hair just soaked it in. :)

[Ursula]

I find that a very heavy pre-wash oiling can sometimes help with rough ends. I oily my hair as heavily as possible, so that it is wet with oil, at night, then put it in two braids to sleep in. If it is very bad I may dip the ends of the braids into the liquid oil. Then the next night I CO wash the oil out of my hair.

This does a lot to help.

I also, this past year or so, reached a state where my ends were not only dry but quite faded, almost yellow in tone compared to my very dark brown hair. (Probably a medium-brown if it was someone's hair color all over, but it seemed light to me.) I wound up hennaing, just to darken up the ends, and it also made it much smoother after the second or third henna application.

[Emerson]

I have been wondering this as well. I started using a leave in conditioner and have noticed some improvement. Going to look into some of the suggestions here :) Thanks for posting this!

[Sheltie_Momma]

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle rose conditioner has done wonders on my ends. I have also had luck with heavy pre-conditioning on DRY hair. I think my hair is so porous that it doesn't absorb other things well once it is wet, this is purely speculation on my part.

[melikai]

I'd check for proteins in the products I'm using. As well, which oils have you tried? I've found a drastic difference between different oils.
Some people have had success with citric acid and/or L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) rinses, too.

[Sweetness]

I had always been really uncaring with my hair all my life... just assuming that being curly meant having unlucky ugly hair, and that I was doomed.

People LOVED my curls when I was a child, but I HATED them to death and dreamt of having Asian silky long black soft beautiful locks... I would have paid a fortune to change my hair. Actually tried in many ways, but it just got worst.

Anyway, I was the worst with my hair : I pulled, burned, brushed roughly, did tight updo's with the worst small rubber bands and just pulled out angrily taking half away with it. I colored it, used bad commercial products and maybe had a trim every year ... of course I had major dry & split ends split, general breakage ( ... who would have thought, right :lol:) and all of this just led to wearing it in a tight bun all the time (and sort of trying to forget it existed).

Anyways, a couple months ago I decided to take care of myself, globally... and thought that maybe I'll always have my bad curly hair, but maybe it could get a little better ... maybe a little softer... prettier... maybe I could be nice with it and, who knows... mayyybe I could learn to love my hair.

I'm not at the love stage yet (at all) but I did master the "I respect and accept my hair" stage.

Since I started to take care of it (and having a little more knowledge each day), it's life and day, and not only new hair but also my dry ends don't look at all like they did a few months ago !

I moisturize and nourish it a maximum, always handle it carefully, use good (and gigantic amounts of) conditioner, mostly stopped all shampoo, traded my evil destructive hair tools for a very large comb, hair sticks and forks, started having regular trims every couple weeks, stopped blow drying and ironing, switched for all natural products without all the bad stuff....

actually I sometimes sit and enjoy cutting one by one the hair that I find still damaged and can do this for an hour (my new crazy relaxing hobby :lol:). I started learning lots and lots (and I am REALLY enjoying taking care of my hair too ! )

Anyways, I think I'm addicted to taking care of my hair now (very strange for someone who's been really "mad at it" for over 20 years...)

And I can assure you that lengths can immensely improve !! Probably never as much as new hair taken care of from the start, but actual unhealthy lengths can become MUCH more soft, healthy looking, shining, etc.

Then I think the rest is patience, increasing knowledge and ideas, and conscientiously keeping taking care of it. But it does have to be a fun adventure to be worthwhile (:

[In2JC724]

I agree with Spidermom. I use conditioner on my hair in the shower, rinse it out, then put about a quarter size spot of it in my hand and smooth that over the length, especially the ends. Then if on the next day or two between washes my ends are looking a little crunchy, I put about a dime size spot on my ends and comb it through. Let it dry and voila! They're smooth and soft again. I've noticed it has made a long lasting improvement also, as I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now. Oh, it's a cone free condish. Hope this helps :) Good Luck!!

[walkinglady]

You could try adding this to your daily routine....

Braid your hair then soak the last few inches in water. Do not blot the water out. Apply a few drops of oil over the saturated ends. I like to do this at bedtime, by the morning the oil has soaked in.

[Coriander]

I do the same as above... wet the ends at night and oil them with jojoba oil.

[serious]

My ends used to be very dry and crunchy and what has helped was the mixture of cocoa butter and conditioner, used as a pre wash treatment.

I put the mixture on dry hair ( from the ears down, but mostly on the ends) and leave it for an hour or even longer. Than I wash my hair as usual, and put a drop of jojoba oil on my wet ends.

I do this once a week and my ends are soft and happy again!

[Captain Nikki]

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle rose conditioner has done wonders on my ends. I have also had luck with heavy pre-conditioning on DRY hair. I think my hair is so porous that it doesn't absorb other things well once it is wet, this is purely speculation on my part.

I've been pre conditioning on dry hair too the last couple of mornings. I've slathered on a cone free Alberto conditioner, donned my hat & gone for my morning run. When i get back i jump in the shower, add a bit more conditioner, leave for a couple of minutes, then rinse. This has made my ends soft & smooth whereas before they always felt a bit dry & crunchy despite using oils as leave in & deep conditioning treatments.

[piratejenny23]

i left in conditioner as suggested by spidermom, but only on half my hair, and did catnip on the other.

omg the conditioner left my hair SO dull!!!
i must have a very different hair type :(
the catnip side was nice and shiny. both sides were pretty soft.

yesterday at work i bought a tube of Giovanni's Smooth as Silk Xtreme Repair. i put some right into the ends of my dry hair because the ends felt horrible; right before work i had poured green tea over my scalp, because i read that it is good for dandruff & other scalp conditions. and, messing around like i always do, i put a spoonful of matcha into the very strong infusion i had made. that made my hair very stiff, and today turned the bristles of my brush green!

my ends felt pretty smooth, but i want to see how good the SaS is on wet hair, so i just put some more on my ends after wetting them with warm water. next i am going to soak them in catnip, then put on a bit of avocado and/or coconut oil. trying to use everyone's advice! :)

ooops i got a bit carried away with details; i think i was thinking about writing in my blog!

[ericthegreat]

Whenever my ends become beyond repair, for me personally its time for an immediate S&D. I know that sounds harsh, but its the only surefire way to rid myself of damaged ends.

If my ends aren't totally trashed, then what I will do is avoid any shampooing for up to a month and stick to straight COing, stop any blowdrying or flat ironing or curling iron that I occasionally do to fancy up my hair, apply coconut oil directly to the last 2 inches of my hair and leave it in. I'll also wear my hair up in a casual bun. These are of course only temporary steps. When my ends do get to the point where I can't stand them, its time for an official trip to my hair salon for a haircut!

[teela1978]

I'm with Eric. Sometimes a tiny trim (or S&D mission) make all the difference. I'm not much into S&D (don't often find splits), but I self-trim, and its always amazing to me how a tiny dusting off the ends (a few millimeters maybe) makes my hair feel so much better and cuts back on tangling.

[cardamom]

apply a drop or 2 of virgin coconut oil to the ends when it is wet.wrap the in silk cloth to prevent friction.i've seen my cousin doing that!:D

[cardamom]

i mean u need to wrap it into a small ball when u sleep.:)

[Arctic]

My hair softened with one use of ascorbic acid rinse. Apparently I had some mineral buildup that it helped to get rid of.