StephanieB
April 7th, 2010, 11:32 AM
Okay, [former industrial water treatment plant chemist] hubby just suggested that he knows the problem I've been having with the damaged dry cruchy ends of my hair.
I have extremely oily hair. (if I don't wash every other day it's disgustingly greasy, although I often push washing off another few days for the sake of my ends, of my time, and of my sanity) My hair is super-baby-fine, pretty thin, and breaks easily. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and that affects my hair (and my nails and my skin).
But the last inch or so of my hair (a few long layers) is rather dry and crunchy and there is some damage (splits) - even though I do nothing which should be damaging my hair and bit the bullet nearly two months ago and had a 2 1/2-inch trim to remove old chemical damage from former perming and stripping and coloring.
I use a Diva Darling towel... I own several. I pat gently, putting the DD microfiber up to my hair; I don't rub at all. Nor do I twist my length up in it. Plop and pat, or pat only, or loosely drape the towel over my head.
I often wash with my hair upside-down in a over-large sink bowl... I must do water-only quick-in/quick-out cool water showers, especially in warm weather months, daily, and use soap (even gentle soaps for sensitive skin) only once or twice a week. Issues due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. But I never comb out my wet hair roughly - only the minimal amount to detangle, an that extremely slowly/gently/carefully.
I use only my own fingers (weak grip, thanks to EDS), and massage my scalp carefully so as not to tangle my wet hair, when washing it. When I rinse, I don't rub, I just let the water run through it for a long time, only repeatedly separating sections of my hair with my fingers under the running water.
I never use heat to dry my hair; it always drips dry in natural air. After blotting excess water out with the DD, I just air dry it.
I don't use hot rollers, curlers, pins, or any other styling tools. I rarely use a BBB, and only when I need to distribute the oiliness throughout my hairr ather than wash it. I use my BBB very gently and carefully, the rare occasion when I do use it. I use my brush so infrequently that I always have to wash it before using it, to wash out the inch of dust accumulated on it.
All of the hair toys I have are hair-friendly, and I'm careful with them. Hair sticks (wooden and plastic), hair forks (wooden, plasticc, metal - but with no seams or points and no roughness), claw clips (but never too close to my scalp), elastic with no metal, scrunchies, Amish hair pins, and Ficcare and Fakkare clips and other jaw clips that don't pull... Sock 'rat' for buns, and other rats of hair or of foam, occasionally.
I keep my hair up in protective styles (which I change often) almost all the time. And I keep changing where my hair is bunches, clipped, pinned, twisted, etc - to avoid breakage in one place. I never go out with my hair loose, and usually only wear it completely down when letting it dry or when sleeping. Sometimes I can wear a silky pocket bonnet for long hair length to sleep - but 8 times out of 10, I hate it so much that I apparently take it off in my sleep..... and I even obssessively fold it up neatly and place it on my nightstand - in my sleep! (talk about my OCD! lol) <--- I am compelled to that point... so I must really have a deep-seated dislike (hatred?) of having any kind of bonnet or scarf or cap on my head!
I sleep on a satin-pillowcased buckwheat hull pillow.
I use only one main shampoo and conditioner (and very few back-up 'poos and condishs for occasionaly switches) that my hair likes: Verseo Hair Plus / back-up Organix in a few 'flavors'.
I use ACV rinses (distilled white vinegar in a pinch) every couple to few washes, which my hair also really likes. My scalp also really likes the vinegar - stops scalp itching. (damn EDS again)
I only put a dab of clear silicone product - a gel - into the very ends... and only occasionally, when I can't otherwise control the dry frizzy flyaways and splits any other way. My hair likes 'cones - so that's not the problem. (I've tried going cone-free, once, for months and months - and my hair hated every day of being 'cone-free, hated it terribly!)
My hair is silky-smooth and whisper-soft like a baby's, from roots all the way down my length, until just the last inch of ends. That last inch of ends is rougher... although still feels pretty soft when compared to most people's hair... but the splits show, and it's always frizzy, and it's very dry - and a bit crunchy to the feel.
So, given that I'm so obsessively/compulsively careful to take such good care of my hair, given that I'm insane (literally) about this -- WHY are mu ends so darn dry?!
And what can I do about it?
I don't want to just cut another inch off... If I keep on cutting my hair, I will be cutting it at a rate roughly 5 or 6 times faster than it grows!!
After I cut the last time (to remove the 2 inches of dead, damaged hair from old abuse - perms, stripping, dying, blow-frying), my hair ends were nice, felt sfot, and were not dry or split. Now, I realize that one might expect to incur some splits - and I haven't got a lot of splits - but why are my ends so dry again so soon after a blunt cut???
Hubby's suggestion (remember the first line of this post): Vinegar is acidic enough that I may be removing natural protein from my ends with the ACV rinses. He suggested that, while my scalp and roots might need the vinegar's acid (and maybe even the top few inches of my hair) - that the ends might be getting too much of it. He suggests that I should try coating my hair's length (or the last several inches of it, at least) with something protective against the vinegar... like extra conditioner... or, he suggested, lanolin. Something I can rinse out after the vinegar is already rinsed out. Kinda like a CWC, only this being a WCCV (wash|condition|rinse-and-more-conditioner-left-in-the-ends|vinegar|rinse).
What do you all think? Help!
I have extremely oily hair. (if I don't wash every other day it's disgustingly greasy, although I often push washing off another few days for the sake of my ends, of my time, and of my sanity) My hair is super-baby-fine, pretty thin, and breaks easily. I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and that affects my hair (and my nails and my skin).
But the last inch or so of my hair (a few long layers) is rather dry and crunchy and there is some damage (splits) - even though I do nothing which should be damaging my hair and bit the bullet nearly two months ago and had a 2 1/2-inch trim to remove old chemical damage from former perming and stripping and coloring.
I use a Diva Darling towel... I own several. I pat gently, putting the DD microfiber up to my hair; I don't rub at all. Nor do I twist my length up in it. Plop and pat, or pat only, or loosely drape the towel over my head.
I often wash with my hair upside-down in a over-large sink bowl... I must do water-only quick-in/quick-out cool water showers, especially in warm weather months, daily, and use soap (even gentle soaps for sensitive skin) only once or twice a week. Issues due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. But I never comb out my wet hair roughly - only the minimal amount to detangle, an that extremely slowly/gently/carefully.
I use only my own fingers (weak grip, thanks to EDS), and massage my scalp carefully so as not to tangle my wet hair, when washing it. When I rinse, I don't rub, I just let the water run through it for a long time, only repeatedly separating sections of my hair with my fingers under the running water.
I never use heat to dry my hair; it always drips dry in natural air. After blotting excess water out with the DD, I just air dry it.
I don't use hot rollers, curlers, pins, or any other styling tools. I rarely use a BBB, and only when I need to distribute the oiliness throughout my hairr ather than wash it. I use my BBB very gently and carefully, the rare occasion when I do use it. I use my brush so infrequently that I always have to wash it before using it, to wash out the inch of dust accumulated on it.
All of the hair toys I have are hair-friendly, and I'm careful with them. Hair sticks (wooden and plastic), hair forks (wooden, plasticc, metal - but with no seams or points and no roughness), claw clips (but never too close to my scalp), elastic with no metal, scrunchies, Amish hair pins, and Ficcare and Fakkare clips and other jaw clips that don't pull... Sock 'rat' for buns, and other rats of hair or of foam, occasionally.
I keep my hair up in protective styles (which I change often) almost all the time. And I keep changing where my hair is bunches, clipped, pinned, twisted, etc - to avoid breakage in one place. I never go out with my hair loose, and usually only wear it completely down when letting it dry or when sleeping. Sometimes I can wear a silky pocket bonnet for long hair length to sleep - but 8 times out of 10, I hate it so much that I apparently take it off in my sleep..... and I even obssessively fold it up neatly and place it on my nightstand - in my sleep! (talk about my OCD! lol) <--- I am compelled to that point... so I must really have a deep-seated dislike (hatred?) of having any kind of bonnet or scarf or cap on my head!
I sleep on a satin-pillowcased buckwheat hull pillow.
I use only one main shampoo and conditioner (and very few back-up 'poos and condishs for occasionaly switches) that my hair likes: Verseo Hair Plus / back-up Organix in a few 'flavors'.
I use ACV rinses (distilled white vinegar in a pinch) every couple to few washes, which my hair also really likes. My scalp also really likes the vinegar - stops scalp itching. (damn EDS again)
I only put a dab of clear silicone product - a gel - into the very ends... and only occasionally, when I can't otherwise control the dry frizzy flyaways and splits any other way. My hair likes 'cones - so that's not the problem. (I've tried going cone-free, once, for months and months - and my hair hated every day of being 'cone-free, hated it terribly!)
My hair is silky-smooth and whisper-soft like a baby's, from roots all the way down my length, until just the last inch of ends. That last inch of ends is rougher... although still feels pretty soft when compared to most people's hair... but the splits show, and it's always frizzy, and it's very dry - and a bit crunchy to the feel.
So, given that I'm so obsessively/compulsively careful to take such good care of my hair, given that I'm insane (literally) about this -- WHY are mu ends so darn dry?!
And what can I do about it?
I don't want to just cut another inch off... If I keep on cutting my hair, I will be cutting it at a rate roughly 5 or 6 times faster than it grows!!
After I cut the last time (to remove the 2 inches of dead, damaged hair from old abuse - perms, stripping, dying, blow-frying), my hair ends were nice, felt sfot, and were not dry or split. Now, I realize that one might expect to incur some splits - and I haven't got a lot of splits - but why are my ends so dry again so soon after a blunt cut???
Hubby's suggestion (remember the first line of this post): Vinegar is acidic enough that I may be removing natural protein from my ends with the ACV rinses. He suggested that, while my scalp and roots might need the vinegar's acid (and maybe even the top few inches of my hair) - that the ends might be getting too much of it. He suggests that I should try coating my hair's length (or the last several inches of it, at least) with something protective against the vinegar... like extra conditioner... or, he suggested, lanolin. Something I can rinse out after the vinegar is already rinsed out. Kinda like a CWC, only this being a WCCV (wash|condition|rinse-and-more-conditioner-left-in-the-ends|vinegar|rinse).
What do you all think? Help!