I don't know how it manages!

[Lacus Autumni]

How does hair manage defy gravity and tie a knot on itself? I don't mean a bunch of hairs all together, but rather a single strand with a knot the shape of a pretzel. So strange. They're all over the underneath of my hair, and it's getting so bad I was considering a (very minor) undercut to get rid of the obvious damage.

Has anybody had an undrcut here (and a story to go with it), or a solution to the teeny knot problem? Bunning and deep conditioning are really helping right now, but other suggestions would be interesting.

[FrannyG]

No, I've never gotten an undercut, but yes, I do get knots, especially at the nape of the neck. It really is a mystery sometimes how they get there.

The best thing I've found that helps is braiding or bunning my hair at night, and not going to bed with damp hair.

Wish I had a good story for you. Perhaps someone will come along with one. :)

[Lacus Autumni]

Thanks for the reply! I normally have a shower before I go to sleep, so maybe that's part of the problem. I'll try going to bed with dry hair for the course of the week and see how that goes.

Also, you have very pretty hair, as I'm sure you well know. But I wanted to tell you anyway. :)

[Speedbump]

I often get undercuts because the hair at my nape is definitely 3B-3C while the rest is (at this length) low-level 3A or a tight 2C. I get lots of knots and splits in that nape hair, and I have to get it trimmed separately because it is shorter than the rest of it.

To prepare for the undercut, my mom will separate the nape hair out from the rest of it. Then I pull the non-nape hair up to keep it away from the scissors, and she combs it out what's left. Last time she did an undercut for me, it was really uneven and approaching BSL when completely wet and combed out. I asked her to even it out, regardless of length cut, and it behaved much better for quite a long time.

On me, undercuts don't affect how it looks at all when it's down and it greatly increases the good behavior of it and greatly reduces knots and splits. It also increases my braid thickness, because the nape hairs have a chance to actually *grow* without all that damage. Since doing annual undercuts, my nape hair is the longest it's ever been in my life and you can actually tell where it stops in my braid nowadays.

If you think an undercut might work on you, then go ahead and get it done. If it doesn't work out, then you don't have to do it again and it will grow out. If it does work, then getting it done once or twice a year will allow you to keep growing, but to do it with a lot fewer headaches. The only thing is, treat it like the rest of your hair: If you are unsure, get very little cut off, maybe an inch at most. I know undercuts work for me so I am less conservative at times, but there is no sense in doing something you will really regret when you can just get a trusted friend to cut "straight across" more than once in little increments instead of one big chop under there.

HTH!

Speedy

[Saranne772]

Its a nightmare!

[spidermom]

I just S&D the knots and splits away from time to time. I won't even consider an under-cut.

[snowbird]

It is perhaps not much of a mystery as to why single-strand 'fairy knots' happen chronically in my hair, but I just leave them alone.
I've never had an undercut, but I imagine it would be a bit tough to grow out, and the same problem might reoccur on the 'new' underlayer after the cut?

[Kirin]

as soon as my hair got just past shoulder length, the nape fairy knots were driving me crazy. In my case I found the culprit, wearing hoodies and collared shirts and jackets. My hair would consistently rub on them and work themselves into these knots. I now no longer wear anything with a raised collar or a hood.

[Lacus Autumni]

(a little cut up for directness)

To prepare for the undercut, my mom will separate the nape hair out from the rest of it. Then I pull the non-nape hair up to keep it away from the scissors, and she combs it out what's left. Last time she did an undercut for me, it was really uneven and approaching BSL when completely wet and combed out. I asked her to even it out, regardless of length cut, and it behaved much better for quite a long time.

On me, undercuts don't affect how it looks at all when it's down and it greatly increases the good behavior of it and greatly reduces knots and splits. It also increases my braid thickness, because the nape hairs have a chance to actually *grow* without all that damage. Since doing annual undercuts, my nape hair is the longest it's ever been in my life and you can actually tell where it stops in my braid nowadays.

Speedy


Thanks, Speedbump! I'm glad you have good luck with this. I'm becoming ever more interested in an undercut, because I don't think it'll change the look of my hair that much, either. It might be better than the alternative, which is constant splits and damage. Thanks for the good story! :) PS: sorry it took me a while to reply. We don't have the Internet at our house.

[Lacus Autumni]

I just S&D the knots and splits away from time to time. I won't even consider an under-cut.

I did that for a time too, but now the underneath of my hair is getting a little sparse!

[Lacus Autumni]

as soon as my hair got just past shoulder length, the nape fairy knots were driving me crazy. In my case I found the culprit, wearing hoodies and collared shirts and jackets. My hair would consistently rub on them and work themselves into these knots. I now no longer wear anything with a raised collar or a hood.

Does that cut down on a lot of the damage? I don't wear hoodies very often, but I always, ALWAYS wear a suede jacket wherever I go (I fancy myself a greaser :P). It has a slightly raised collar... maybe I'll have to stop popping it. I kid, I don't pop my collar. But a leather coat, maybe...


fairy knots I rather like that.

[AnimaSola3o4]

I just found two of these weird single knots in my own hair! Both at the nape of my neck. I have my hair up, and have little wispies hanging down in the back and i was running my fingers over them and kept feeling the little knots! So I singled them out and snipped them to examine them. Sure enough, one perfect little knot in a solitary hair. Twice.

No wonder my nape hair is such a PITA!!!