Ends are STILL crispy?

[Aelith]

I've only just started treating my hair nicely, so I guess I can't expect much right away.

I'm going on three weeks of no heat styling - I've been air drying, no flat iron, really no styling of any sort other than getting it into my current, pinned up look. I CO every other day.

Unfortuantely, it seems my ends are still a little (ok, a lot) dry. I BBB to distribute oils from my scalp at night, and the length of my hair is looking and feeling nice, but those darn ends.

I put in some jojoba oil last night before bed, and just put my hair up this morning, but yeah, still crispy. I don't want to trim right now - my hair's only 17.5 - 18 inches. Any suggestions? Keep jojoba oiling the ends? Anything else? Should I try going another day between COing?

[QueenBea]

Have you tried clarifying? THat has helped my crispy ends a couple times. I just mix 1/2 tsp baking soda into shampoo and wash my hair and condition REALLY well afterwards (it's a little drying).

My ends are really damaged, and I was going cone free, but the past couple of weeks I've been putting a silicone serum on; that's a possibility too, if you're not anti-cone.

Bea


I've only just started treating my hair nicely, so I guess I can't expect much right away.

I'm going on three weeks of no heat styling - I've been air drying, no flat iron, really no styling of any sort other than getting it into my current, pinned up look. I CO every other day.

Unfortuantely, it seems my ends are still a little (ok, a lot) dry. I BBB to distribute oils from my scalp at night, and the length of my hair is looking and feeling nice, but those darn ends.

I put in some jojoba oil last night before bed, and just put my hair up this morning, but yeah, still crispy. I don't want to trim right now - my hair's only 17.5 - 18 inches. Any suggestions? Keep jojoba oiling the ends? Anything else? Should I try going another day between COing?

[Islandgrrl]

Have you tried something like an SMT? It's really helped my damaged parts greatly (fair amount of sun damage in my canopy). That and consistent oiling when my hair is good and damp, wearing it up and tucking those moist ends in where they stay protected.

I'd say it took several treatments and a good couple of months before I started seeing a noticeable difference.

[Siowiel]

I second DMT and claryfiying (especially the last one - I moisturized and moisturized and it got duller and duller.... just needed some baking-soda!).

BUT... you can't expect the sings of bad teatment to go away quickly. Or at all. If the hair is already damaged (i.e. split), you can only make it LOOK good, but it will never be healthy hair again.

[justgreen]

When I discovered LHC and removed the cones, saw how damaged my ends were, I snipped them off and started fresh. That was almost three years ago, I've only had my ends *dusted* (tips cut off ) twice since then, no MAJOR hair trims or cuts. You may just have to go ahead with a light trim to begin with.

ETA: Be careful with baking soda, using it to clarify can do more harm than help if you are not watchful. It's best most times, if you just go buy a decent (not expensive) shampoo that does just that. It will say Clarifying on the label. I've been using a Suave brand.

[pepperedmoth]

Hate to say it, but sometimes the only thing you can do is to snip them right off. I've had the damage problem in the past, and months of oiling, CO, and moisture treatment were NOT enough to reverse the damage. To the chopping block it was- but I was quite satisfied, afterwards. Good luck!

[JessTheMess]

My ends were crispy... here is what I did.
1. clarify - I only needed to clarify once. It depends on how much build up you have.

2. deep condition treatment- I use softee cholesterol conditoner with aloe. It's cheap and it works. I leave it in while I do other shower things and then rinse with cold water.

3. I towel dry my hair and finger comb any tangles and I put coconut oil on my ends.

4. I flip my hair and spray Mane n Tail leave in protein treatment all over the length and ends. It's smell is less than desireable, but it works.

5. After I spray the mane n tail, I spray watered down conditioner over that( just to take the smell from the protein away.

6. I rub olive oil down the length (ears down), and massage the rest(whatever is still on my hands) into my roots...

7. Then I will either put my hair in a braid or a bun.

After a week of this, it made my ends like feathers instead of spikes :)

[Melisande]

My ends love Fox' Sheabutter Balsam. My version:

Fox' Sheabutter balsam for soft ends:

1 part sheabutter, 1 part fave coneless conditioner and 1/2 part jojoba oil - mix and whip (some prefer to melt the sheabutter, I prefer to whip it at room temperature).

I put this stuff into my wet ends after washing and it works like magic. My ends drink it and there is no residue at all. And they turn out nice and soft. (I do have trouble with old chemical dye).

[Aelith]

Thanks for all your replies!

I'm nervous about clarifying - the last time I did it, I had straw hair for about a week. Of course, I probably did not deep condition as well as I should.

The oddest part of the whole thing is I can't see any splits. Maybe I'm missing them, but I haven't found one yet. The wiry ends are an inch or more in length, so I just cannot bring myself to trim right now. I can't :(

I haven't done an SMT in a while (not since the time I had White Rain apple condish in a measuring cup and my husband tasted it because he "thought it was frosting or something!"), so I think I'm due. And the Fox' shea butter balsam sounds awesome. Actually all your ideas are awesome - thank you!

[heidi w.]

The key to CLARIFYING with ANY PURCHASED PRODUCT or HOME RECIPE (such as the Baking Soda blended with shampoo) is to follow up in the same hair wash session with this product by CONDITIONING QUITE WELL.

If one fails to condition, they will end up with a kind of dry, brittley-ish feeling (hair will not break though unless you have other issues such as a porosity issue, such as those who color or perm hair with chemical processes may well experience ... but even then, hair usually doesn't break. It has to be really seriously bad for this to occur.), flyaway and believe it didn't work.

BUT it did.

The point of CLARIFYING is to completely strip the surface of hair strands, whatever is on top of the cuticle layer. (Not bonded to the cortex layer...that's another process known as chelating....and don't ever chelate as a first measure...this is a last resort process)

SO, if you do not condition, then the hair behaves as described BECAUSE there's NOTHING on the hair to lay it down, or make it feel smoother or softer. It's been removed which translates to the clarifying worked!

THUS, you MUST REPLACE WHAT'S BEEN REMOVED. Hence CONDITION WELL.

By this I mean, allow conditioner to remain on longer in a humid environment, and don't allow the conditioner or hair to become cold. Fan the ropey clumps of hair out a little flatter, very gently drawing apart or rather just open and flatter a little bit, and apply conditioner. Wet the hair by dribbling some hot water on it while the conditioner is in the hair length.

You should not need to condition hair close to scalp skin nor apply conditioner to scalp skin per se. Allow one's sebum to do the job up there.

Just making sure you understand what clarifying is and why conditioning after such a hair wash, as part of the process is so IMPORTANT.

ETA:
I like the idea of leaving conditioner in longer. I rarely do this anymore, but you can wrap the hair up in a plastic baggie and leave the conditioner on for 30 minutes (apply to very wet and warm hair, warm the conditioner in your palm and then apply per above), stepping out of the shower. When wrapping the hair up, take care to do so in an orderly fashion. Don't stuff. Then undo in reverse order.

You can use a very wide plastic comb, and while conditioner is in the hair, dip the comb in conditioner, coating it thoroughly, and lightly detangle a bit (more to organize, not really detangle) to help ensure conditioner is everywhere. Keep re-dipping the comb as needed. But work from the bottom up!!!!!

You can, after rinsing conditioner out, and exiting the shower, pat hair dry (remember, no rubbing!) and then when hair is still damp (or done being air dried) ... whichever you prefer .... apply oil of your choice. You can even BBB to distribute said oil more evenly once hair is dry.

You should only need to clarify once.

ANOTHER IDEA:
Just clarify the zonage of hair that's crispy, and not ALL of the hair. It can be done, but it can be tricky to do.



heidi w.

[Kirin]

As per usual, I am the voice of dissent.

If your hair reacted badly to baking soda I warn do not use it again. Damage can, and does happen from the overdryness and tangling that baking soda can cause on some people.

Some have had great results with it, however I have questioned the saftey of baking soda in hair for a long time. For decades Pediatricians perscribe baking soda and water to break up hair in children's stomachs and dissolve it (in children who chew/eat hair). Also, Baking soda + Vinegar has also been used to break down hair in drains and unclog them. (so the idea of washing with baking soda and a vinegar rinse really raises a red flag to me). On already damaged hair I would avoid it, but that is just my personal opinion and experience with baking soda. From my experiences I have found, that if your hair becomes worse after baking soda, avoid it, repeated uses only make it worse.

For damaged fragile hair, if you want to clarify I would recommend a dilluted simple clarifying shampoo. Since it's not your design to clarify daily, a once in a while use should not be detrimental to your hair.

My other recommendation is to check your products for protein, especially the conditioners you use for CO. Though protein is beneficial to hair often too much is very drying I've found limiting my use of protein erradicated my dry / gummy/ tangly ends.

[heidi w.]

Thanks for all your replies!

I'm nervous about clarifying - the last time I did it, I had straw hair for about a week. Of course, I probably did not deep condition as well as I should.

The oddest part of the whole thing is I can't see any splits. Maybe I'm missing them, but I haven't found one yet. The wiry ends are an inch or more in length, so I just cannot bring myself to trim right now. I can't :(

I haven't done an SMT in a while (not since the time I had White Rain apple condish in a measuring cup and my husband tasted it because he "thought it was frosting or something!"), so I think I'm due. And the Fox' shea butter balsam sounds awesome. Actually all your ideas are awesome - thank you!

You don't say HOW or WITH WHAT you clarified last time: store bought, or the baking soda idea (and then, what proportions of baking soda & shampoo or water you used).

If you have a history of applying heat up until recently (only switched your routine 3 weeks ago), such as flat ironing, you may well have a porosity issue and thus applying anything with protein in it can be problematic. ETA: Kirin makes an excellent point here. I'm sorry I missed it, but I kinda thought of it and thought it might be TMI.

At the tippy ends you can request from a qualified person a miniscule trim to remove those itty bits to help improve things. As for no splits, I wonder. Usually flat ironing produces a lot of 'white dots' where the hair bends at 90 degrees and can break off. This is a type of damage that weakens the hair strand all the way through the cortex and out the other side. These are typically covered up well by one's gel or serum that is used in combination with flat ironing.

If you're using any products to 'hold' your hair, this could produce those crispy ends, too, and may be silicone laden. Typically, clarifying in some form gets this stuff off.

As for unclogging drains with baking soda and vinegar that Kirin mentions:

Please note that volume of baking soda and vinegar used, AND that they're used one following the other, but on top of each other to sit and stew (and dry baking soda) ... no diluting, no separation -- basically together ... is pretty different from how we use it in this instance. In washing our hair, we do not blend these 2 things at all (if one does, they should not be doing this), and in both instances, they are used quite separately from the other and not at all in combination. Following the application of each, there is to be a thorough rinse. And in our usage here, for hair, we dilute each quite well.

Folks are still allowed their opinion and of course, I would never deny a person's experience. But I think we should be clear about differentiation when it applies so others reading this thread are fully informed of the relevant parameters when making decisions about hair care versus unclogging a drain.

http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/03/21/naturally-unclog-drain-with-vinegar/
Step 1 - Put the DRY baking soda down the drain. I use about 3/4 of a cup.
Step 2 - Pour 1/2 cup of vinegar down the drain after the baking soda. Be sure to cover the drain immediately afterwards with a rag or plug, filling the hole completely so nothing can escape. This is because the interaction of the two will cause a “mini volcano” that will want to come up and out of the drain..you want to keep it down there.
Step 3 - Leave this concoction in the drain for about 30 minutes. While you are waiting, boil a tea kettle full of water.
Step 4 - After 30 minutes, remove the plug and slowly pour the HOT water down the drain.



http://www.care2.com/greenliving/baking-soda-and-vinegar-together.html
combining baking soda and vinegar together
Yes, children are taught about acids and bases using baking soda and vinegar because they are opposites. They make a fun “volcano” with a heap of baking soda (mountain) and vinegar, which is added in a drizzle down the top, resulting in “lava.” When combined, baking soda and vinegar neutralize each other in a safe bubbly, hissing kind of way.

Baking soda is alkaline, a base, with a pH of around 8.1. Vinegar is acidic, and most commercial distilled white vinegars contain 5 percent acetic acid and has a pH of about 2.4. Neutral is 7.0.

There is one instance when I recommend combining baking soda and vinegar, and that is in the drain. Sometimes the bubbling and hissing in the drain when you combine these two is enough to dislodge hair and gummy buildup. (I recommend a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar.)

Otherwise, readers take note that when you combine baking soda with vinegar you end up with a neutral liquid that isn’t much use for cleaning.


heidi w.

[Ruthless]

When I discovered LHC and removed the cones, saw how damaged my ends were, I snipped them off and started fresh. That was almost three years ago, I've only had my ends *dusted* (tips cut off ) twice since then, no MAJOR hair trims or cuts. You may just have to go ahead with a light trim to begin with.

ETA: Be careful with baking soda, using it to clarify can do more harm than help if you are not watchful. It's best most times, if you just go buy a decent (not expensive) shampoo that does just that. It will say Clarifying on the label. I've been using a Suave brand.

Does your hair naturally taper to the V?? You have perfect hair. That's the hair I want!! Do you have bangs?

[TheSpottedCow]

When my hair was very damaged nothing I did to the ends (and I was constantly vigilant about protecting them and being gentle and using the right products) helped. My hair was also bleached MANY times and dyed many times and flatironed and all that, so it was very bad. They improved a tiny bit at first but kindof hit a wall. I trimmed off gradually. I'm not trying to scare you, but sometimes they just can't be helped. Certain products can cover damage, like cones, for example. I am cone free now but used to use them all the time to cover the damage.

[peachy.pudding]

I would say SMT, also do s&d and oil overnight, not to mention lots of deep treats with conditioner

[FlipHunny]

Maybe your hair doesn't like jojoba oil? Some people here find that certain oils make their hair crunchy.

In my case I found out my hair needed protein. When I got the protein back into my hair its texture changed dramatically. Usually if your hair needs protein, it will be very stretchy and very squishy or "gummy" when its wet.

[Aelith]

To answer a few questions

I clarified with Nexxus' clarifying shampoo (can't remember its name).
I have also clarified with baking soda and water (don't remember the ratio).
I really do not have any splits. I have breakage, yes - esp. in the front.
I like SMTs, just haven't had time to do one in a while. That's my next thing...