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mintyhot
May 6th, 2010, 08:49 PM
Okay, so my hair has been looking odd lately. When i try and separate my hair all the little strands stick together, it sorta looks stringy. It's hard to explain but it seems as though every single strand of hair its attached. It was never like this before, please help:o

GoddesJourney
May 6th, 2010, 09:35 PM
We call those "velcro ends". Normally, velcro ends indicate either buildup or damage. If it's just buildup, you can clarify with a good shampoo, condition/oil well, and have no more problems. If it's damage, a good, thorough S&D should do the trick. Damaged ends can be rough, so there will be friction and "grabbing". Splits tend to grab like velcro. When my hair gets difficult to comb, I go through and S&D. After that, it seems pretty happy. If it's still bad after that, I very small trim should fix it.

mintyhot
May 6th, 2010, 09:40 PM
THANK YOU!! :) it's not damage it is probably just heavy buildup, i just trimmed my hair. Would african black soap be considered a clarifying shampoo?

Cholera
May 6th, 2010, 10:19 PM
I'm not sure about your african black soap, but most people I see here clarify with an SLS shampoo, or baking soda.

countryhopper
May 7th, 2010, 03:27 AM
My hair gets stringy when I wear it loose. I think that's part of having 1b hair for me.

emmabovary
May 7th, 2010, 04:11 AM
Oh so THIS is what's up with my hair! Hopefully shikakai and aritha will take care of it. Last time I used an SLS shampoo my hair looked quite pitiful.

manderly
May 7th, 2010, 04:19 AM
Velcro ends and stringy hair are 2 different things :confused:

Stringy hair is usually clumpy looking and starts close to the root. It's generally caused by excess oil or product buildup. Combing through stringy hair is usually not a problem, but the stringiness returns fairly quickly after a fresh combing. If it's caused by excess sebum, brushing with a BBB (boar bristle brush) may help to better distribute the oils and get rid of the stringies. Usually washing with a regular SLS shampoo is sufficient to treating this. It's commonly experienced by fine haired straighties.

Velcro ends are when your ends are dry or damaged and they catch onto eachother (like velcro) and tangle. Usually you can run a comb through your hair with ease until you reach near the end, where you will encounter the "velcro". This can usually be resolved by deep treatments, S&Ds, or trimming.


ETA: African black soap may be contributing to stringiness. Soap-based shampoos tend to cause clumping and stringiness for some people based on hair and water type. You can try to do a vinegar rinse after using the soap on your hair to remove soap buildup (which makes hair look stringy). If you are not able to fix it with a vinegar rinse, you may be better off with a traditional SLS shampoo or some other hair washing method.

FrannyG
May 7th, 2010, 05:37 AM
I agree with Manderly. Velcro ends and stringy hair are two different things. I experience both. My hair gets stringy (or piece-y) often, and I get velcro ends only rarely when I need to clarify. That's when the ends feel rough and stick together from buildup.

My hair is 1a, and it does tend to get very piece-y when I wear it down. It doesn't keep that freshly brushed look for too long. I have found ways to improve that though.

You may be using too rich a conditioner. Sometimes that tends to add to the piece-y-ness of my hair.

Make sure that when you rinse out your conditioner, you rinse it for about a minute longer than you think necessary. I also suggest finishing off with a mild apple cider vinegar rinse to get rid of any excess conditioner.

Good luck, and I hope that this will pass. :blossom:

mintyhot
May 7th, 2010, 06:41 AM
i haven't tried african black soap yet, but it does start from the root. And it's not really piece-y, my hair has never been like this before so it's not because my hair is straight (my hair isn't fine) and i was wearing it up the whole time. It's more like every single strand is connected to each other and when i try and pull it apart it makes this thin layer of hair. Then i have to keep parting it. It has a little static.

jivete
May 7th, 2010, 08:23 AM
My hair is stringy on the ends but not the roots. I guess piece-y is an apt term. I haven't found a perfect solution yet, but ACV aggravates it as do oils and dirty hair. Only fluffy, freshed washed and combed hair doesn't get stringy on me.

FrannyG
May 7th, 2010, 01:01 PM
i haven't tried african black soap yet, but it does start from the root. And it's not really piece-y, my hair has never been like this before so it's not because my hair is straight (my hair isn't fine) and i was wearing it up the whole time. It's more like every single strand is connected to each other and when i try and pull it apart it makes this thin layer of hair. Then i have to keep parting it. It has a little static.

Then it does sound as though you need some clarifying and a good moisture treatment like an SMT.

Let us know what happens.

oceanwoman111
May 7th, 2010, 08:02 PM
Only fluffy, freshed washed and combed hair doesn't get stringy on me.

Same here. :) Haven't found a way around it.