Lots of white dots

[ukuleleclaire]

My hair has been going along quite nicely for awhile now (almost to bsl, I need to post some updates one of these days), but lately I've been noticing TONS of white dots and splits in my hair. I often braid during the summer but do wear my hair down some days, not sure where all the damage is coming from though. Anyone have ideas or links to helpful articles? I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Edit: I should note that due to lots of bills, it's been quite awhile since I've had a trim. I do regularly s&d though.

[gthlvrmx]

Im not so sure but this happened to me recently and turned out to be another build-up problem, S&D didn't do the trick anymore and had to get that trim in order to help things.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=194
but i did everything i could and my hair still is a little stretchy...maybe im doing the stretch test wrong. Who knows, just leave it up and forget about it is what's best.

[woolyleprechaun]

God, I hate those white dots! Personaly, I find they occour from stress on the hairshaft. I get em around the ponytail band if I wear them too often...

[jojo]

These are either the start of splits or they can be due to build up. clarify and if there still there a trim is in order. I normally get these is I use heat.

[CurlyMopTop]

I didn't know that build up could cause white dots. I'm soooo glad that I read this thread! Thank you for starting it ukuleleclaire (makes mental note to always clarify before deciding that I need a trim!)! :)

[curlymarcia]

I've never clarified, and I have a lot of white dots (but I almost never have split ends). I'll try to clarify. Wow, I always learn something in these forum.

[jojo]

I never clarified in my life until finding LHC 4 years, im still amazed how nice my hair is after! remember to do a deep conditioning after.

[Tigermama]

Have you been swimming in pools, the ocean, or acidic water? maybe riding rollercoasters in the hot sun? Perhaps riding a motorcycle or bicycle with you hair flowing in the wind? Just a few possibilities. These are things that have brought on the white dots for me. A new oil, shampoo, or conditioner?

[celebriangel]

Were parts of your hair dry/subject to mechanical damage/dyed/heat-styled before joining LHC? If so, those parts of your hair will often just need regular trims.

Also, BSL is the point where your hair, if left down in a braid, will start to rub against the back of your chair, get caught under bags, etc. Sometimes people stall here because of this. I would start wearing your hair bunned if you don't already.

You don't give much extra information - do you, for example, oil your ends regularly to protect them? If not, I would start. I put nightblooming's panacea salve (a blend of oils, shea butter, essential oils and other goodies) throughout my length after each wash, with extra attention on the ends, and then every other day or so, whenever my ends start feeling a bit dry, I wet them a bit with my fingers and put more panacea salve on them. They normaly fel soft and moisturised again, and I have no splits at all despite going 6 months with no trims and no S&D.

I hope clarifying helps. If not, though, this is a sign that you need to treat the ends of your hair more gently than you currently are. What is your wash method? If you can, try to switch to CO, or stop putting shampoo on your ends except for the very occasional clarify.

If it's been a year or more since your last trim, though, a lot of finehairs find that they just need trims more frequently than this or they start to get splits. Now your hair is BSL, you can try Feye's self-trim, which can be used to give a straight-across, u-shaped or v-shaped hemline depending on your preference. This means that you can trim as little as you like - start off with the teensiest dusting - for no cost at all! I know some people are afraid of trimming their hair, but given that going to a hairdresser can be a gamble as to whether they will cut off half a year's growth or not, I would say a self-trim is more reliable than that :)

I would also check how sharp your scissors are. If they are not sharp, your S&Ding could be causing more splits.

Good luck!