In need of advice

[MissAlida]

Hi there!:) I have a problem, but can't figure out if it is serious or not.
I ran my fingers across my hair, started to s&d and found some hairs that have little( I don't know what to call it, how to describe it) knots on them. When I pick up one hairstrand and run it between my fingers, it feels like it has 3-4 or even more little knots on it(of course they are not real knots, just little bumps), about an inch apart from each other down the lenght. I am curious, has any of you encountered this before?..I found many hairs like this, and I am afraid that it is breakage. Tough I NEVER use heat on my hair, I air dry, only had my hair flat ironed once in my life couple years ago, I condition every time I wash, and do a treatment once a week. Could it be buildup? I clarified 2 weeks ago with baking soda and plan to do it this week also.If it's damage and it will multiply in time, I might even end up having to cut it short. What do you think?:undecided

[Alaia]

From what you describe it could be "Fairy Knots" (tiny little knots in the hair) and is usually caused by tangling or damage.

White dots (not little knots) ARE damage, and it's where the hair is snapping off. Those can be caused by excessively harsh brushing (or using the wrong implements).

It could also simply be irregularities in the thickness of your hair.

[MissAlida]

I am certain it is not the first, since I can see them, and they are not knots. For the second suggestion...I hope it is not damage. I never brush, I use a wide tooth wooden comb to detangle, since I am a wurly. So the most probable is your third suggestion, which is sad, but it means I can't do anything about it, and should leave my hair alone...Thank you for your tips.:flowers:

[Lianna]

This is a common problem in curly hair. Also called single strand knots (SSK). Some people try to undo them with a needle, but that spot will be weaker nontheless. Others just cut them. Keeping the hair stretched helps minimize them.

[lacefrost]

It sounds like kinks. I think by and large, it's not a result of damage. Curlier hair often has strands that are kinky. I wouldn't worry about it.

[SpinDance]

Hmm, you can see it isn't knotted around itself (fairy knot). If you carefully bend the hair does it bend more at that point? I sometimes get hairs that are damaged that will bend sharply at that point. Can't always see the damage very well, but the bend test tells the story.

If that isn't it, then some hairs can be kinky, and feel thicker due to that. I have a few like that. You are much curlier than I, so I wouldn't be surprised if you have more.

[Anje]

I have hairs that I think are what you're describing -- not knotted, but with uneven thickness or that are flattened and suddenly the flattness twists and sits in a different orientation. Is that the sort of thing you're feeling?

For me, those hairs are in the minority, but I think you can often end up with more as textures go curlier. There isn't really anything wrong with them that I know of, you just have some funky follicles that make somewhat strange hairs. They might be a bit structurally weaker, so you'll want to handle your hair gently, but you want to do that anyway.

[MissAlida]

- not knotted, but with uneven thickness or that are flattened and suddenly the flattness twists and sits in a different orientation.
Yes, that's how they look. So I guess than that it's nothing wrong with them:cheese:. That's a relief. Thank you all for your advice:flowers:. I'll just try and take good care of my hair, and detangle gently. I hope they won't multiply.

[heidi w.]

Doesn't sound like damage, although it can grow and become a bigger knot that needs to come out.

The main reason we detangle our hair is to prevent knots and remove hair that is naturally shedding.

I would recommend what Lady Godiva recommended a long time ago.....trying to unknot these. She pokes a sewing pin or needle into the center to loosen the knot and then sorts it out.

I personally do it differently. I take up the hair strand with the knot, sometimes I catch it in the formation stage, and than pull the hairs apart, gently, and then pull upward and off to the side, mostly upward though, to get the knot loosened enough to really detangle. I also sometimes use my super tight, fine-toothed hair comb to get after these pin knots, as I title them.

I'm fairly certain it's not damage per se and that it has nothing to do with your routine, and more conditioning or washing or clarifying will solve the problem.

I discovered in due time that with greater length gained, that in fact, the detangling process can cause tangles to occur even. Because hair is being drawn in a downward direction, yet meanwhile crossing all the other hair and that sort of thing, and as I go down the length, volume can get balled or knotted....

It's just part of the deal as you acquire length.

IF you haven't done so, consider using an extra wide tooth comb, first, and then a fine-toothed comb for more detailed detangling.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Yes, that's how they look. So I guess than that it's nothing wrong with them:cheese:. That's a relief. Thank you all for your advice:flowers:. I'll just try and take good care of my hair, and detangle gently. I hope they won't multiply.

You may find that you need to begin more truly at the bottom of the hair detangling, and then go up an inch or so, and detangle some more, and so on......

Avoid starting at the top and drawing down......always somewhere near the bottom of the hemline....

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

It sounds like kinks. I think by and large, it's not a result of damage. Curlier hair often has strands that are kinky. I wouldn't worry about it.

Kinks can also occur and appear as damage. Kinks, generally, sort out with wetting.....

heidi w.

[lacefrost]

Kinks can also occur and appear as damage. Kinks, generally, sort out with wetting.....

heidi w.

Hm. Do you know what kind of damage could cause kinks? I know a good majority of my kinks are not damage based but in case any are, I'd be very curious to know how to prevent them!

[growingpains]

I read on here somewhere that protein buildup can create kinks that don't disappear so readily. If you are using a treatment with protein you may want to clarify and ditch that treatment for awhile and stick with something protein free. Just a thought...

[Anje]

I think there are different things that all fall into the "kinks" descriptor. Some are like what I described -- a flattened hair that twists. (This blogger (http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2011/05/curly-vs-kinky-what-is-difference.html) describes that nicely with some nifty diagrams.) I've got some of them, but not tons, while I suspect that they become more numerous for many curlier-haired people.

There are also the kinks that you get when you take a hair, fold it back on itself, and crease it somehow. When I get those, there's usually a knot/tangle involved somehow when causes some stretching at the crease point. And the hair may or may not recover with some moisturizing and conditioning after that treatment. The first isn't damage, the second is. And I get that second type if my hair has gotten tangly, particularly if it's been over-proteined.

[MissAlida]

So now, reading all the information you've posted, I am absolutely sure that I have kinks...that was the word I was looking for, but since I'm not a native english speaker (my mother tongue is hungarian), I couldn't name my problem, just describe it. I am relieved that this is not a big problem, and that it occurs in curly hair. I do have kinky and non kinky curly hairstrands, so I guess I just have to love them all.:)