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jera
May 7th, 2010, 03:04 PM
I haven't had a split end in months, but I'm getting more faery knots than I used to. This could be because I thrash around in my sleep. Perhaps my hair gets knotted. I hate this because when it happens I have to trim the hair above the knot. Anyone else have this problem or any advice on how to prevent it? :patrol:

Copasetic
May 7th, 2010, 03:11 PM
I have a ton of fairy knots. They drive me insane. I don't get very many splits, though which is nice. I have heard that keeping your hair up can help keep knots away. I've never tried it though :p

serious
May 7th, 2010, 03:12 PM
I'm getting lots of knots these days, and I really don't know why is this happening, haven't changed anything in my routine and my hair is always up...it's pretty annoying!

cmnt831
May 7th, 2010, 03:21 PM
I get faery knots, too. Doesn't matter if my hair is up or down, in a sleep bonnet or not.

I wish I knew what causes them. Well, I have my suspicions....;)

eiwonob
May 7th, 2010, 03:47 PM
I get a lot of them! I have almost no split ends, but oh fairy knots - too much. They make my hair feel weird when I touch... I always cut when I find one. I'm looking for ways to prevent then too. ^^

Capybara
May 7th, 2010, 04:23 PM
I'm sorry I don't have an answer to your question, but I get faery knots often! :(
Sometimes they are regular granny knots, but other times they are figure eight knots. Awful!

Kathie
May 7th, 2010, 04:27 PM
Its great to actually find out what they are called...I get them too.
I’ve had a few over the years involving a couple of hairs knotting together- the strange thing is I would discover them when one hair had shed... I would run my hands down my hair and find what appeared to be a very long hair still attached to my head. It seemed that it had magically avoided hair cuts... upon closer inspection I found it was two hairs knotted together creating one long strand

minkstole
May 7th, 2010, 04:41 PM
I get them in the hairs at the nape of my neck. The hair there is so wooly. I suspect this is the reason why the hair I have there will only ever grow to be 3-4 cms.

Cupofmilk
May 8th, 2010, 02:19 AM
I get these too at the nape of my neck - for some reason my hair won't grow there either.

rapunzhell13
May 8th, 2010, 02:27 AM
Now that my hair is finally getting long, I'm getting a ton of fairy knots as well. I'm a sleep thrasher too, so that could be it. When I find one I cut just above it. I'm not sure if they're 100% avoidable, but I'm sure if I used a silk pillowcase/bonnet that it would probably help. I like cotton pillowcases best though and I've never liked having stuff on my head. One good thing is that I tend to get them close to the ends anyway, so I'm not chopping off a whole lot of length... but still. It sucks. :flower:

julliams
May 8th, 2010, 02:27 AM
I have had some success with undoing them with a pin. It only works on the more course hairs - the very fine ones are just too tight for me. If I can't undo them, I just snip them. It's annoying but hey - what can you do?

jera
May 8th, 2010, 02:18 PM
I have had some success with undoing them with a pin. It only works on the more course hairs - the very fine ones are just too tight for me. If I can't undo them, I just snip them. It's annoying but hey - what can you do?

I envy your patience. The only way I can get rid of them is to cut them and that has me concerned since my goal is knee and I'm just at tailbone. :rolleyes:

julliams
May 8th, 2010, 11:45 PM
It's just that I use my laptop when I'm watching TV (ultimate multitasking) so I often S&D because the light from the monitor is good. On my lounge arms are always a couple of pins because I sew, so if I'm there and they're there, I just reach over and attempt to unpick the knot. Now, I would only have around 5 in my hair at any one time (that I'm aware of) so we aren't talking about anything that takes me alot of time.

Arctic_Mama
May 9th, 2010, 01:42 AM
I've found a few towards my ends, no reason why, and I don't know how old they are (if I got them before my hair care improved and I started wearing more updos). I just snip them if I find them, and wear my hair confined frequently to reduce the likelihood of getting more.

virgo75
May 9th, 2010, 08:08 AM
I've been getting TONS of them for the past 6 months to a year.
In that time, the main thing I had changed was using a wide tooth comb to detangle instead of a brush.

After reading the thread "Brushers' Rebellion" lol, I'm thinking if some people can get more splits from using a comb instead of a brush, then maybe I'm getting more fairy knots from it?

I always used to use either a nylon brush or a Goody imitation Denman and never had fairy knots. Now everytime I touch my hair there are 3-4 daily. :(

And like others, I wear my hair up constantly in braids or a bun and only take it down to wash or re-do it. My hair is only a little past shoulders, almost apl. With me wearing it up constantly, I shouldn't have any. :mad: But I'm thinking the comb isn't getting all of the tangles out and they're turning into knots.

Probably going back to a brush to see if it helps....

vidgrl007
May 9th, 2010, 08:20 AM
Hate to sound ignorant but what are faery knots?

virgo75
May 9th, 2010, 10:00 AM
Hate to sound ignorant but what are faery knots?


Single strand knots.
When you have a knot in a single strand of hair.
They look like they must have been tied by a fairy because how else would you have a knot on a single strand of hair? :p

rapunzhell13
May 9th, 2010, 10:02 AM
Hate to sound ignorant but what are faery knots?

When a single strand of hair wraps around itself and forms a knot. They're called faery knots because it's as if a little faery in your hair has tied the strand into a knot. HTH. :)

vidgrl007
May 9th, 2010, 06:20 PM
When a single strand of hair wraps around itself and forms a knot. They're called faery knots because it's as if a little faery in your hair has tied the strand into a knot. HTH. :)
ahh,ty very much :D.I thought that's what they were but just wanted to ask:eek:.

vidgrl007
May 9th, 2010, 06:22 PM
Single strand knots.
When you have a knot in a single strand of hair.
They look like they must have been tied by a fairy because how else would you have a knot on a single strand of hair? :p
ty,also :eek:lol

Beets
May 9th, 2010, 08:30 PM
I get them, too, and especially in the hairs that get the most chaffing, i.e. at the back of my neck and around my face. I've noticed that there are fewer when I build a few brushing or detangling sessions into my day; you know, just walking past the bathroom, think I'll duck in for a quick brushing! That's not my habit, though.

jera
May 10th, 2010, 01:07 AM
I've found a few towards my ends, no reason why, and I don't know how old they are (if I got them before my hair care improved and I started wearing more updos). I just snip them if I find them, and wear my hair confined frequently to reduce the likelihood of getting more.

That's where I get mine. In the middle of the shaft or close to the ends. My hair care routine is so healthy now I can't figure out why I'm getting them.

I hope one of LHC's Gurus reads this and gives us all a potential solution to this annoying problem. :rolleyes:

GRU
June 24th, 2010, 07:41 PM
I have a theory on this phenomenon.

Like virgo75, I started really noticing fairy / faerie / faery knots in my hand since I stopped brushing my hair. I'm a Curly Girl, so I haven't brushed my hair for styling purposes in three decades, but I did brush the tangles out of my hair before getting into the shower every morning. I thought I was doing a GOOD thing, because I knew that wet hair is weaker hair, so I thought it was better to detangle while my hair was dry. (Now I soak my hair with conditioner and work out the tangles in the shower, first with my fingers, then with a wide-toothed comb.)

Funny thing happened when I stopped brushing my hair every morning... my hair started growing! :cheer:

Wait a minute, we know that hair is always growing... so why did I just now start gaining length? I haven't had a haircut in over two years now, but my hair just wasn't getting any longer -- I figured I must have a REALLY short terminal length?

I have figured out that my hair WAS growing all that time... it's just that I was RIPPING THE ENDS OFF when I brushed the tangles out every morning! (Hey virgo75, have you noticed that you don't get as many "hair tumbleweeds" around the edges of your bathroom floor since you stopped brushing?)

So, I figured the "not growing" thing out, and I'm gaining length again. But WTF is up with all these friggin' fairy knots??? I never used to have this many, and now they're all around my head, usually within 3cm from the end!!!

My theory is that they are formed when I detangle gently. You know how you can make a slipknot, where the "loose string" will slide through the knot without tightening, and the knotted side stays where it is? When I'm gently pulling hair strands out of snarls, I'm basically pulling the "loose strings" out of the slipknot. The loose strands are completely normal when I get them free, but the knot remains in the knotted side -- fairy knot created!

I'm going to try oiling my ends several times a week to see if this helps, and I'm also going to try to be on the lookout for the "slipknot strand" when I'm removing a snarl; if I catch it before the knot gets pulled tight, I should be able to untie it and save that strand.

And I'm currently trying to S&D all my existing fairy knots, because I know that just having a knot present increases the snarl factor for the other hairs in that area.

Yozhik
June 24th, 2010, 07:52 PM
What a great name for this phenomenon! I didn't realize what they were called until this thread, but I have been encountering a fair amount of them recently, myself.

Thanks GRU for the speculation on gentle detangling -- I find myself doing that a lot more often, and that must be where my faery knots are coming from. For the most part, I get them right at the ends of my hair.

That's also, not to be OT, where I get "bent" hairs or ones that have white dots :( I figure this is just accumulated damage from pre-LHC.

Anje
June 24th, 2010, 08:06 PM
I found that I get more faery knots when I'm using silicones, particularly if I put serum in my hair. I've since decided that my hair doesn't like the silicone/sulfate routine much even if I don't count the knots, so avoid it is no great loss.

I get white dots and bent hairs too... I think in my case they're from the small tangles of a few hairs that get tightened during combing until the hair is permanently deformed. If I could absolutely prevent all tangles, my hair have so much less damage!

lastnite
June 24th, 2010, 08:10 PM
does anyone just leave them and not cut them? or are they likely just to break off? I usually cut mines, but I was thinking of *trying* to leave them alone (they are hard to resist cutting).

GRU
June 24th, 2010, 09:23 PM
does anyone just leave them and not cut them? or are they likely just to break off? I usually cut mines, but I was thinking of *trying* to leave them alone (they are hard to resist cutting).

I think they multiply like bunny rabbits! :bunny::bunny::bunny::bunny::bunny:

Seriously, whenever I find a tangle/snarl, about 95% of the time I'll find a knot already involved, even before I've pulled the loose hairs free. I think that the friction of the knot encourages more snarling, because instead of a loose hair just "falling off" that strand, it can get hung up on the knot, which turns it sideways, which then causes other hairs to get caught up on the sideways hair, and next thing you know you've got a mess.

I'm going to try to get ALL of them out at the same time, and see if that reduces the amount of tangling from that point forward. With my 3b/3c hair, I know I'm ALWAYS going to have tangles, but if I could reduce them even a little, it would be a nice bonus!

HintOfMint
June 24th, 2010, 11:46 PM
I think they multiply like bunny rabbits! :bunny::bunny::bunny::bunny::bunny:

Thanks for the rather funny image that I now can't get out of my head!
As far as the silicone experience that Anje described, I too found that to be the case. However, with silicones, I found far fewer clumpy tangles. Ah well, such is life.

Loreley
June 25th, 2010, 01:30 AM
I get them, too. They are mostly at the back of my neck but sometimes I find a few at the ends. It's annoying. :horse:

ale
June 25th, 2010, 02:14 AM
I never found faery knots in my hair, but I do find them in my beard! This happens if I don't brush it often. Usually I try to undo them with a needle, otherwise I snip the hair just before the knot.

dfotw
June 25th, 2010, 02:28 AM
GRU, I love that explanation. It does make sense, I've been 'gently detangling' my hair for years (after I got over my 'ripping the brush/comb through it' phase shudder:) and though I get very few split ends (more since I've gone cone-free, but still few), I get rabbit-loads of fairy knots! It makes me mad because I usually get them one or two inches from the tip, so I have to cut all that and I feel it makes me lose length! :mad:

I do have found that oiling the ends helps. When I do a heavy oiling with coconut oil, I can go with a comb or a brush (gently!) through my hair, and when I find a knot, sometimes I can take it between my fingers and untie it, thanks to the oil... it takes a lot of patience, though!

GRU
June 25th, 2010, 06:53 AM
Thanks for the rather funny image that I now can't get out of my head!

You're welcome! :D Maybe from now on, when we snip out a knot, we can give it a bunny name (Bugs, Foo-Foo, Thumper, etc.) and then tell it we're setting it free! :p


As far as the silicone experience that Anje described, I too found that to be the case. However, with silicones, I found far fewer clumpy tangles. Ah well, such is life.

I'm *hoping* that oiling more regularly will give me the same slip-factor as silicones, without the buildup situation. Stay tuned for further information. ;)



GRU, I love that explanation. It does make sense, I've been 'gently detangling' my hair for years (after I got over my 'ripping the brush/comb through it' phase shudder:) and though I get very few split ends (more since I've gone cone-free, but still few), I get rabbit-loads of fairy knots! It makes me mad because I usually get them one or two inches from the tip, so I have to cut all that and I feel it makes me lose length! :mad:

The phrase "rabbit-loads of fairy knots" made me chuckle. :D

Some of mine are kind of far up like that, but instead of bemoaning the length that I have to cut off, I try to tell myself how many OTHER hairs (hares... get it? Man, I am SO funny today!!!) I am saving from a similar fate by sacrificing the one single bunny... er, hare... er, hair. :eyebrows:



I do have found that oiling the ends helps. When I do a heavy oiling with coconut oil, I can go with a comb or a brush (gently!) through my hair, and when I find a knot, sometimes I can take it between my fingers and untie it, thanks to the oil... it takes a lot of patience, though!

I'm *really* hopeful that this will make a big difference for me as well. *fingers crossed*

Kome
June 25th, 2010, 06:56 AM
When I start getting knots, I trim, even if it's a really small amount. For me, when I start getting knots and then I trim, the knots stop. I know a lot of people here don't trim, but I really can't stand not being able to brush my fingers through my hair and it knotting up all the time. Drives me crazy!

Chrissy
June 25th, 2010, 07:49 AM
I think fairy's and leprechauns are related. Both cute and mischievous!! :) Just thought I'd throw that random thought out there.

dfotw
June 25th, 2010, 08:54 AM
The phrase "rabbit-loads of fairy knots" made me chuckle. :D



I'll have you know Rabbit-Loads of Fairy Knots is going to be the name of my band! :rockerdud




Some of mine are kind of far up like that, but instead of bemoaning the length that I have to cut off, I try to tell myself how many OTHER hairs (hares... get it? Man, I am SO funny today!!!) I am saving from a similar fate by sacrificing the one single bunny... er, hare... er, hair. :eyebrows:


You are SO funny today! Or at least, funny enough to get me to choke on my drink... :spitting:Oh man, I'm going hare-hunting now... it's for the bunnies!!! :beercheer:

Nae
June 25th, 2010, 09:10 AM
shudder:I found some this week!!!! ACK!!!!

:run: That means there are faeries!!!! FAERIES in my bed all messing with my HAIR!!!!!! As if I don't have enough problems.:mad: I wonder if I could find some faery repellent somewhere? You would think my cat would be on the lookout for this kind of thing but NOOOOOOOO. He is just getting all the noms for no work whatsoever.:rolleyes:

At any rate I don't know exactly what to do about them. I found myself seriously considering trying to find a very tiny needle to try and loosen the knot. But then I realized that that might actually take me over the edge into the territory of the completely hair obsessed. (who are all lovely people I might add;)) So I just got out my professional hair cutting scissors and snipped it right above the knot.

dropinthebucket
June 25th, 2010, 09:43 AM
My hair is fine and thin, almost wiry, so no splits, but lots of these knots. They seem to be a lot worse if i've been twirling my hair (as in, trying to braid! my fingers twirl the hair while i'm trying to get hold of it and it keeps slipping away). The less i touch it, the fewer knots.

GRU
June 25th, 2010, 09:44 AM
I'll have you know Rabbit-Loads of Fairy Knots is going to be the name of my band! :rockerdud

Rock on with your bad self! :cheese:


You are SO funny today! Or at least, funny enough to get me to choke on my drink... :spitting: Oh man, I'm going hare-hunting now... it's for the bunnies!!!

Maybe we could get bumperstickers printed up:
:bunny: Free the Bunnies! :bunny:


I wonder if I could find some faery repellent somewhere?

I wonder if Terminix™ offers Fairy Extermination Services? :confused:



You would think my cat would be on the lookout for this kind of thing but NOOOOOOOO. He is just getting all the noms for no work whatsoever.:rolleyes:
This is why I'm more of a dog person... dogs will eat ANYTHING! :p


But then I realized that that might actually take me over the edge into the territory of the completely hair obsessed.

Nae, you're already a member at LHC.... I think you're already not only in the territory, you're ready to apply to become a naturalized citizen!
http://www.emofaces.com/en/emoticons/b/benin-flag-waving-emoticon-animated.gif

Idun
June 25th, 2010, 10:05 AM
I never had a faery knot till I joined LHC! Now I get them occasionally, and I think it is; 1. no cones anymore and 2. because of the oil I put in. Some of the oils I have tried seem to function like glue on the tangles, sealing the knots! I´m going to try broccoli oil next as leave in to see if it really works similar to cones.

In my language they are called "troll knots".

tofuowl
June 25th, 2010, 01:17 PM
I always try to avoid cutting mine out unless they're *terrible.* Usually, a lot of patience and a fine toothed comb/pin can work miracles.

I've been braiding my hair more lately, so I haven't had many issues with knotting. When I did wear my hair down a lot, it could get awful. I really think it was directly related to split ends--I imagine the rough edges of the split ends somehow tangled up together, or caught other innocent hairs in their quest for destruction :P

Most of my knots were all in the last couple of inches of hair. When it got bad, I'd give myself a bit of a trim, and the problem would go away for quite a while :)

tofuowl
June 25th, 2010, 01:19 PM
I never had a faery knot till I joined LHC! Now I get them occasionally, and I think it is; 1. no cones anymore and 2. because of the oil I put in. Some of the oils I have tried seem to function like glue on the tangles, sealing the knots! I´m going to try broccoli oil next as leave in to see if it really works similar to cones.

In my language they are called "troll knots".

I love all of these cute names for such an annoying thing XD I hate knots, but somehow I can't bring myself to hate something called a "faery knot" or a "troll knot."

Have you tried virgin coconut oil? My hair hated jojoba oil, but coconut oil is pretty much the best thing in the world, in my hair's humble opinion.

abbatabba1137
June 25th, 2010, 01:58 PM
I always thought I got these because of my bleached hair catching on my virgin hair.... guess thats not always the case. I switched back to a hair brush and they have all but disappeared!

Nae
June 25th, 2010, 02:03 PM
Nae, you're already a member at LHC.... I think you're already not only in the territory, you're ready to apply to become a naturalized citizen!
http://www.emofaces.com/en/emoticons/b/benin-flag-waving-emoticon-animated.gif

Obsessed? Me? What? No way! Okay, maybe a little......and is that the official LHC flag? And where do I put in to become a citizen?;)

GRU
June 25th, 2010, 06:25 PM
Obsessed? Me? What? No way! Okay, maybe a little......
Just a little... riiiiggghhhhttt!!!!!


and is that the official LHC flag?
I honestly don't remember what obscure country it's from, although it really is from an actual country. I just picked the first one that caught my eye as not being related to any particular country often represented here -- we are such an awesome mix of nationalities from all the continents (well, maybe not Antarctica, although I did see a longhair on a boat there in that Whale Wars show, so maybe that counts?) that it didn't seem right to use any particular country's flag!


And where do I put in to become a citizen?;)
I think you'd have to check with the ambassadors in the embassy (the mod team)?


:cheese::cheese::cheese:

jane53
June 25th, 2010, 06:28 PM
If oils cause tangles, what's the sense in using oils?

ShadowSwallow
June 25th, 2010, 06:46 PM
I had this problem a few months ago and did about a 1/4in trim, which solved the problem. I had tried oiling and when I tried to S&D I couldn't find any knots. My hair is henna'd, I've rarely used heat styling, and I've never used a hair dye.

My ends *were* brittle, but no amount of oiling or conditioning would fix that. :shrug:

CherrySilver
June 25th, 2010, 07:39 PM
I love all of these cute names for such an annoying thing XD I hate knots, but somehow I can't bring myself to hate something called a "faery knot" or a "troll knot."

I've been calling them "spiders" for years -- can't stand when I get them in my hair, but at least they don't leave webs! :-P

bugeyedmonster2
June 25th, 2010, 11:43 PM
I have a ton of fairy knots. They drive me insane. I don't get very many splits, though which is nice. I have heard that keeping your hair up can help keep knots away. I've never tried it though :p

I get fairy knots even when I put my hair up.

Idun
June 26th, 2010, 01:05 AM
If oils cause tangles, what's the sense in using oils?

I don´t think oils cause tangles, usually they prevent them. Still, it seems to me that some oils sort of seal the faery knots. I guess it has something to do with stickiness and drying time. I might add it has happened maybe 5-6 times.

I use oils as pretreatment before washing. Still I have not yet found the right oil to use daily on ends and such. The wrong oil on my ends seems to be the culprit in my case. And once I used a too drying poo-bar and I got knots.

Idun
June 26th, 2010, 01:11 AM
Have you tried virgin coconut oil? My hair hated jojoba oil, but coconut oil is pretty much the best thing in the world, in my hair's humble opinion.

I have never tried coconut oil as leave-in, only as prewash treatment. I don´t like the smell much so I´m not keen on having it around my face daily. :)

Coffeebug
June 26th, 2010, 12:23 PM
I don't know what causes them either, but I don't use oil and I've always had them. I tend to get them out using pins too. It's a bit fiddly though!