Canopy care

[Theobroma]

Hi all,

I've been noticing lately that while my hair is generally in pretty good condition -- I have hardly any split ends and really need to look quite carefully to find anything to snip during an S&D session -- what damage I do have seems to be concentrated in the canopy hair. Specifically, the front part, where my fringe would be if I had a fringe. Here the hair tends to be dry and rather wiry and grabby, most of the splits I find seem to be here, and only about 20% of the ends in this section seem to be making it all the way down to my current BSL+ length.

I've been using coconut oil liberally since early this year, and before that I used jojoba oil for about five years, which is largely responsible for the absence of splits (my hair was a dry, shredded mess before I started oiling) , but which doesn't seem to have had as dramatic an effect on the front canopy section than on other parts of my hair. Is it possible that what I'm seeing here could be blowdrying damage? Until just a few months ago I was blowdrying with rather more heat than I'm now using, and because of the way I held the dryer I think it's precisely my front canopy hair that would have taken the brunt of the heat. I have since changed my drying strategy a bit; I can't give up the blowdryer entirely because I get too cold with my hair completely wet even in summer, but what I can do is clip up the canopy section and only blowdry the back of my head (with the dryer set so cool that I can keep my fingers right in the path of the warm air it for as long as I'm aiming it at my hair), and once that's mostly dry I can take down the rest and braid and leave it to dry on its own without starting to shiver uncontrollably.

I'm really hoping that by keeping artificial heat completely off this part of my hair, and by applying extra coconut oil, I can help it to become healthier. What do people think -- is this a strategy that's likely to work?

[julliams]

I think the canopy is highly susceptible to damage simply because it's at the top. It gets the wind, sun etc first.

I have begun "babying" my hair since September last year and whilst I did notice that my hair was improving along the way, I'm finally now reaping the benefits of all the extra "work". I rarely have dry looking hair now where I was being continually told my hair was dry prior.

You do say that you have been using jojoba oil for many years so perhaps it is simply that the hair in your canopy is more wirey in texture? I also have this. I have many coarse wirey hairs in my canopy (which seem to come in more and more as I'm getting older) whereas underneath I have some completely straight and fine hairs.

I wonder if it would be worth hairtyping yourself again and seeing if it happens that you have more textured hair naturally in your canopy and softer hair (the hair that you remember having in your canopy) now only underneath. What is the hair like at your roots? Is it only something that occurs at the ends?

Hope you can find something that helps.

[Theobroma]

julliams, you may be right that I have a greater concentration of wiry hair in my canopy than elsewhere. That still leaves me with the fact that the canopy is more damaged and the hair seems to be a lot less willing to grow long there than elsewhere. I wonder if wiry (and/or coarse) hair is more vulnerable than softer hair?

I think that what my initial post boils down to is that I'm hoping for some reassurance that the canopy issue can be fixed by something as simple as not blowdrying it at all. I'm already CO-washing (albeit only as of two months ago) and wearing my hair up all the time, so I don't really know what else I could be doing to protect the canopy...

[julliams]

Is it layered? Perhaps it just needs a small trim but I just noticed you are not trimming till your goal. I just mentioned the texture because I thought I had damaged hair until I understood that some of my hair was just different.

I guess not blowdrying can only help but you might need a few months before you see a change.

It sounds like you are taking really good care of your hair.

[Theobroma]

It isn't layered, but the front section of the canopy does exhibit a very, very extreme case of the fairytale end phenomenon. A chunk of it that has a circumference of about 3cm at the root tapers down to something like 50 hairs at BSL level. This is actually the main issue I'd like to sort out -- and this is where my canopy hair differs most dramatically from the rest of my hair. I have fairytale ends in general, but nowhere else are they anywhere near as pronounced as in that section.

And yes, I'm aware that any good I'm doing with updos, keeping artificial heat off it, and pampering it with extra oil won't be showing any visible results for quite some time. *sigh* Hair growing being the long-term project that it is...

[mneh]

Hi all,

I've been noticing lately that while my hair is generally in pretty good condition -- I have hardly any split ends and really need to look quite carefully to find anything to snip during an S&D session -- what damage I do have seems to be concentrated in the canopy hair. Specifically, the front part, where my fringe would be if I had a fringe. Here the hair tends to be dry and rather wiry and grabby, most of the splits I find seem to be here, and only about 20% of the ends in this section seem to be making it all the way down to my current BSL+ length.

I've been using coconut oil liberally since early this year, and before that I used jojoba oil for about five years, which is largely responsible for the absence of splits (my hair was a dry, shredded mess before I started oiling) , but which doesn't seem to have had as dramatic an effect on the front canopy section than on other parts of my hair. Is it possible that what I'm seeing here could be blowdrying damage? Until just a few months ago I was blowdrying with rather more heat than I'm now using, and because of the way I held the dryer I think it's precisely my front canopy hair that would have taken the brunt of the heat. I have since changed my drying strategy a bit; I can't give up the blowdryer entirely because I get too cold with my hair completely wet even in summer, but what I can do is clip up the canopy section and only blowdry the back of my head (with the dryer set so cool that I can keep my fingers right in the path of the warm air it for as long as I'm aiming it at my hair), and once that's mostly dry I can take down the rest and braid and leave it to dry on its own without starting to shiver uncontrollably.

I'm really hoping that by keeping artificial heat completely off this part of my hair, and by applying extra coconut oil, I can help it to become healthier. What do people think -- is this a strategy that's likely to work?

Hello

As someone who straightened and blow-dried her hair almost every day for 15 years I'm in a similar situation to you. I have a canopy that hates me and refuses to co-operate. It tends towards the frizzy, sometimes it won't hold a style or has rat-tail, fluffy ends, and can be a complete pain in the bee-hind.

I'm going to try your clever suggestion for blow-drying. I can't avoid heat altogether because I have very thick hair that takes hours to air-dry and I don't always have the time to allow it to air-dry, plus the weather in Ireland is not conducive to damp hair outdoors. But I see your point that heat damage got me into this mess in the first place, so I should try to avoid heat where possible.

About 5 months ago I found out that I have wavy/curly hair (I managed to live for 36 years thinking I just had bushy, straight hair lol) and I've been washing/styling my hair with organic products which I find has really helped the condition of my canopy. I'm also co-washing, avoiding shampoo as much as possible, doing ACV rinses, and doing weekly SMTs - the ACV and extra moisture does seem to be helping to calm my frizzy, shapeless top layer, it definitely makes it shinier.

I think that ultimately I'll have to wait till the hair grows longer (I am growing out very short, very razor cut canopy layers), I'm hoping by the time that it's chin-length I can maintain that length for a while and start to trim off the damaged bits to allow my new, better-treated growth to shine (oh, I hope this plan works, I really don't want to think of being someone with a un-co-operative canopy for the rest of my life :confused:)

I haven't tried coconut oil yet, as I have been avoiding oil on my canopy until it got longer - the hair near my scalp doesn't seem to like oils, but I'd be interested to hear if you have any success with it :) I also really like jojoba oil, my hair from about my ears downwards really seems to like it and it makes it less bushy.

[x0h_bother]

I also have a damaged, coarse canopy and have canopy dryness issues. To remedy, I CWC and my first C is truely for my canopy to protect it from the shampoo wash.
The other thing that I do is gently twist my canopy clumps of hair into ringlets, sort of difining the curl that they already want to form. I think this has somewhat protected my hair up there and makes it less frizzy and more happy.
I'm not sure if I have any fairytale ends there, I do have layers, but I can say that perhaps the fairytale ends are from breakage and could get thicker with time and care.
Another issue you mention is oiling. There is such thing as oiling too much preventing moisture, when that happens I lay off the oil and my ends get more moisturized from the conditioners I use. You might want to consider trying to lay off the oil for your canopy. GL!

[Carolyn]

I have the same issue. I've been told by 3 different stylists that the hair along the front hairline is the most fragile for a lot of people. I'm sure one of them. I get a few highlights in that area and it doesn't help the breakage problem. I had to decide whether to keep highlighting or to give it up. I decided to cut down on the number of highlights and to really baby that part of my hair. I've also given up on it ever growing down to meet the rest of my hair. I do lots of S & D and treat it like I wanted it that way. I call those strands my "face framing layers". They are about collar bone and length and will work into a bun or braid. They come free when it's a windy day or on a rare occasion that I style them down next to my face. I had to make what I considered to be a hard choice and to suck it up and deal with it the best I could.

[little_cherry]

My canopy was feeling very rough for a couple of months....I was rather disappointed because I take such great care of my hair. After doing much research and not fitting into those damage criterion, I came to the conclusion that build up from my water supply and oiling was making my canopy feel awful- I was right. After a thorough clarifying, deep conditioning and an acidic rinse (I used vitamin c, but citric acid, ACV, or lemon/lime juice diluted will work the same), my canopy feels just like the rest of my hair.. I still baby my hair, but that's a hobby for me. ;)


Update: My hair still feels smooth weeks later. before you write this off as damage (it sure felt like damage to me), clarify, DT and do an acidic rinse. Your water supply or excessive buildup may be to blame. Oils will only mask the roughness..

[Theobroma]

I'm also co-washing, avoiding shampoo as much as possible, [...]

I haven't tried coconut oil yet, as I have been avoiding oil on my canopy until it got longer - the hair near my scalp doesn't seem to like oils, but I'd be interested to hear if you have any success with it :) I also really like jojoba oil, my hair from about my ears downwards really seems to like it and it makes it less bushy.

Hello mneh, and welcome to LHC! I don't know if you noticed my follow-up post in this thread, but I'm CO-washing too. I started about two months ago, largely because I was unable to get hold of any SLeS-free shampoos at short notice, and my hair and scalp have responded so well that I haven't touched shampoos at all since then and really have no intention of doing so again unless something unexpected happens. I'm using fairly heavy conditioners for the purpose and my hair LOVES it -- with shampoo my canopy was annoyingly frizzy in addition to all the other issues, and the CO routine has pretty much killed the frizz stone dead. (It's also stopped my scalp from flaking, but that's another matter for another thread.)

As for the coconut oil, it's definitely a success. My hair is much shinier, softer, and smoother than it was with jojoba, and when freshly oiled, the ends of my canopy hair are much less grabby too. I typically oil my hair when it's still damp after washing, hoping to seal in some moisture, and then re-oil the ends dry several times between washes (I was about every five or six days) because my hair adores the stuff and seems to be willing to soak up vast quantities of it without looking greasy.

[mneh]

I also have a damaged, coarse canopy and have canopy dryness issues. To remedy, I CWC and my first C is truely for my canopy to protect it from the shampoo wash.
The other thing that I do is gently twist my canopy clumps of hair into ringlets, sort of difining the curl that they already want to form. I think this has somewhat protected my hair up there and makes it less frizzy and more happy.
I'm not sure if I have any fairytale ends there, I do have layers, but I can say that perhaps the fairytale ends are from breakage and could get thicker with time and care.
Another issue you mention is oiling. There is such thing as oiling too much preventing moisture, when that happens I lay off the oil and my ends get more moisturized from the conditioners I use. You might want to consider trying to lay off the oil for your canopy. GL!

Last night, after co-washing, I tried gently twisting my canopy clumps to form ringlets. At first, I wasn't sure it was going to work because they looked stubbornly shapeless and I can be very clumsy at hair styling, but this morning, after sleeping last night with my hair in a pineapple and wearing a Pretty-Wrap , my canopy hair had more shape and bounce than it usually does :cheese:



Hello mneh, and welcome to LHC! I don't know if you noticed my follow-up post in this thread, but I'm CO-washing too. I started about two months ago, largely because I was unable to get hold of any SLeS-free shampoos at short notice, and my hair and scalp have responded so well that I haven't touched shampoos at all since then and really have no intention of doing so again unless something unexpected happens. I'm using fairly heavy conditioners for the purpose and my hair LOVES it -- with shampoo my canopy was annoyingly frizzy in addition to all the other issues, and the CO routine has pretty much killed the frizz stone dead. (It's also stopped my scalp from flaking, but that's another matter for another thread.)

As for the coconut oil, it's definitely a success. My hair is much shinier, softer, and smoother than it was with jojoba, and when freshly oiled, the ends of my canopy hair are much less grabby too. I typically oil my hair when it's still damp after washing, hoping to seal in some moisture, and then re-oil the ends dry several times between washes (I was about every five or six days) because my hair adores the stuff and seems to be willing to soak up vast quantities of it without looking greasy.


Theobroma, thank you for the welcome, your post yesterday inspired me to be brave and say hello.

I'm glad to hear that CO-washing has had such beneficial effects for you. I'm hoping that it will do the same for me, although, I am having to mentally adjust to not using shampoo. I have always had a very oily scalp and shampooing daily used to be the only thing that stopped the oil. It felt counter-inuitive, at first, to use conditioner for washing, after faithfully avoiding it for so long in an effort to stop my scalp being oily, but CO is something that my hair and scalp really like. At first I wasn't that impressed with CO but after reading my way through quite a lot of the CO-washing thread here on LHC over the weekend, I feel I have a better idea of where I was going wrong and have adjusted my washing routine accordingly. I haven't got to the stage where I can have more than about two sleeps out of my hair before needing to wash it, but I'm hoping that will come with time, when my scalp adjusts to the moisture and stops over-producing oil. I recently bought some Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner, which seems very heavy, so I will try using that for my canopy during CO-wash and see if using heavier conditioner works for me too :)

When I dried my hair last night, before bed, I took your advice and put my canopy hair out of the way of the diffuser. It does seem much happier this morning :bluesmile

When my jojoba oil bottle runs out I shall invest in some coconut oil and, in addition to using it when the hair is dry, I will try using some on my ends while the hair is still wet. In fact, I might try that with the jojoba oil before it runs out, just to see if anything happens. Given that I need to apply gel to my hair when it's damp, to encourage and preserve what curl/wave there is :wink:, can I ask if oil is applied before or after styling products are applied to washed hair?

I think moisture, moisture, moisture is the best course of action for my hair, given that I've treated it so badly for most of my life. I think I have about two and a bit inches of new hair, since I started deliberately growing my hair in May, and last night I promised them that I'd be very good to them if they would be good to me :lol: I'm hoping that babying and pampering my canopy will produce even better results than just refraining from heat styling.

[Theobroma]

I haven't got to the stage where I can have more than about two sleeps out of my hair before needing to wash it, but I'm hoping that will come with time, when my scalp adjusts to the moisture and stops over-producing oil. I recently bought some Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner, which seems very heavy, so I will try using that for my canopy during CO-wash and see if using heavier conditioner works for me too :)

[...]

Given that I need to apply gel to my hair when it's damp, to encourage and preserve what curl/wave there is :wink:, can I ask if oil is applied before or after styling products are applied to washed hair?

I think moisture, moisture, moisture is the best course of action for my hair, given that I've treated it so badly for most of my life. I think I have about two and a bit inches of new hair, since I started deliberately growing my hair in May, and last night I promised them that I'd be very good to them if they would be good to me :lol: I'm hoping that babying and pampering my canopy will produce even better results than just refraining from heat styling.

Hi again,

From what I've read in the CO-washing thread your experience with greasiness is something quite a lot of people get when they first make the change. In my case, it hasn't been an issue, but then my scalp is not even remotely greasy. I can go a week without washing it still not get that greasy look, and in retrospect I know that shampoos were terribly drying to my hair, even when they were advertised as being specifically for dry hair! When I made the change to CO I simply replaced the shampoo bottle with a bottle of the heaviest cone-free conditioner I could lay my hands on, and used it exactly the way I'd previously used shampoo (except for making a point of working it into my length as well as my scalp). The only difference I noticed was absence of frizz and presence of extra shine and softness; my scalp is no oilier now than it was before. So I guess I was just predestined to switch to CO, or something!

I'm afraid I'm no help with the styling gel question, because I don't use gel myself. I just braid my hair damp, leave it that way overnight, and then in the morning I put it up, so the issue of styling gels doesn't arise. I do agree about the moisture, though. A few days ago I found my canopy was becoming a bit frizzy in between washes. I ran my hands over my head twice, once damp and once lightly coated in coconut oil, and the frizz immediately calmed down as though I'd just finished CO-washing! I still plan to try some aloe vera gel if I can find it locally, but just water and oil seems to be having a very nice moisturising effect all on its own.

Of course, like you, I haven't been doing this long enough to know for certain whether it'll help my canopy hair to grow a bit longer. But I'm hopeful; my new routine definitely gives it much more protection AND nourishment than it used to get. Also, it's fairly low-maintenance and I'm really enjoying all the updos, so none of what I'm doing is exactly a chore or an inconvenience!

[x0h_bother]

Last night, after co-washing, I tried gently twisting my canopy clumps to form ringlets. At first, I wasn't sure it was going to work because they looked stubbornly shapeless and I can be very clumsy at hair styling, but this morning, after sleeping last night with my hair in a pineapple and wearing a Pretty-Wrap , my canopy hair had more shape and bounce than it usually does :cheese:

I'm glad you had a good experience with twisting! Pineappling has not worked for my hair, but I hear it really works for some people. Yay for finding things that help :blossom:

[Zenity]

My canopy is fragile, prone to breakage, dry, dull, frizzy, wavy... a nightmare!
What I hate is the fact that the underlayer is entirely different, silky, straight, shiny, healthy....

I do the same treatments, wear the same updos etc, and I simply don't get why is so different!

Oils help with the frizz, so do intense hydration masks as SMT, yet I am sick of it.

Air dry and twist is something I've been doing for ages and it does give my top layer a nice wavy and frizz-less look, kind of more uniform with underlayer. So yeah, that is a good way to control it, but it doesn't last... if there is any humidity at the hair crazy frizz shows again, so does the feeling of dryness and dull hair.

Is there any half updo to help hiding the canopy while preserving it from exposure to sun, wind and ambiental damage?

I've been dealing with this most of my life and I guess there is not much I can do about it... Maybe I will try CO for a while and see how my hair likes it.

[mira-chan]

I have canopy issues too and I've never blow dried my hair in my life, so that's not the only cause.

Coconut oil helps a bit for me, but not as much as I'd like. Lately I've been wearing scarves or hats over my hair outside and it's making the canopy much nicer. Wind and sun do have an affect on the canopy.

[Zenity]

Bumping this thread as I am curious to see if anyone else is having issues/success on this subject.

So far the only way I've found to kind of control my canopy nightmare has been wearing my hair in updos for few years and having one of those keratin treatments. But that was a temporary fix.

[Theobroma]

Well, it's been over a year since I started/posted to this thread, and I can report some significant progress. I've been CO washing for over a year now, which means that I have about four or five inches of new growth that has never been exposed to SLeS or heat. It's definitely made a difference; the top part of my canopy length is softer and in better condition than it's ever been. Lower down it's a different story; I'm seeing fewer splits overall, but the parts of my canopy length that used to get the SLeS and blowdryer treatment are still rougher and more tangly than the rest, no matter how much coconut oil I put on them.

I'm getting good results from using a mixture of aloe vera gel and coconut oil as a curl cream after washing; the AVG does provide extra moisture and, as long as I mix it with coconut oil, doesn't leave a hard-gel cast in my hair that only makes the rough parts extra tangly and grabby. Also, I'm getting SPECTACULAR results from putting pure shea butter on my ends and canopy; the stuff seems to coat the surface of the hair and smooth it down, greatly reducing tangliness and grabbiness while not making my hair look greasy and stringy. I also smooth the shea butter on my entire canopy from the scalp down, putting a bit extra on the lower two-thirds of the canopy length. It helps a lot; the older parts of the length are much more manageable and as a result I'm much less frustrated while I wait to grow out and eventually trim off the SLeS-fried sections.

[Cathyish]

Thanks for the update. I am currently struggling with the same issues with my hair. I've been doing half-up buns and heavy oiling on my canopy (currently using coconut oil). hearing about your results, I may give shea butter a try.

[spidermom]

One thing that helps my canopy is to condition my hair with it hanging in front of me as I bend forward. I can get conditioner on more of the canopy in that position and still keep conditioner away from my scalp.

[SallyCinnamon]

I have the same problem as the OP. My canopy is a little frizzier and breaks easier than my other hair. I believe many of my issues are from past damage, so I can only try to improve going forward. I've eliminated the usual culprits, blow-drying (except on warm or cool settings), any sort of heat styling like curling irons or straightening irons, and the type of hair products that made my hair crunchy and sticky because I believe that they really damaged my hair.

I do have a suggestion though. It won't fix the problem but it's sort of a work-around. When my canopy is driving me crazy, I just part my hair in a different place. I usually part it near the center, so to mix it up, I part it on the side. This exposes hair that is usually underneath. It works well because this hair is shiny, not frizzy, and not broken. It looks so smooth and healthy, and the frizzy bits of my canopy are now buried under this much nicer hair! So if you can stand to part your hair in a different place, give it a try!
:)

[Zenity]

I do have a suggestion though. It won't fix the problem but it's sort of a work-around. When my canopy is driving me crazy, I just part my hair in a different place. I usually part it near the center, so to mix it up, I part it on the side. This exposes hair that is usually underneath. It works well because this hair is shiny, not frizzy, and not broken. It looks so smooth and healthy, and the frizzy bits of my canopy are now buried under this much nicer hair! So if you can stand to part your hair in a different place, give it a try!
:)

Yeah, when I do a side part line it helps in covering up the canopy mess and looks a lot better, exposing the healthiest part of my hair shinny and soft and also helps in weighting down the frizz as the layers from the side sitting on top of the frizzy canopy helps to control it somehow.