breakage!!! HELP!

[WillowHair87]

This is my first post after lurking for some time. hello all.

k. my hair is like bra strap length. It's wavyish/curlyish. I straighten it a lot. :o I have been since I was a teen. (24 now) I have been trying to cut back. it's just so hard to stop cold turkey. Going to try to do it just once a week. I'm also going to start wrapping it around my head when I sleep. I do use heat protection.

Here is my hair routine:

I use Ojon hair treatment once a week. Lately I leave it for under an hour. Then I shampoo in rotation withTresemme Moisture Rich, Aussi miracle moist or Herbal essences smooth. I then deep condition with dead sea mask hair magic serum. I leave it for 10 minutes and then rinse and condition with tresemme moisture rich condish or tigi moisture maniac conditioner.

I then air dry.

My comes out soft. Which is nice but it breaks sooo easily. I even have a tedency of pulling out my split ends without even noticing it. :/

bahhhh it doesn't look terrible. but I notice and I hate it. I want my hair to grow. My ends just always split and break.

There is sooooooo much information here but all a lil overwhelming. OH I also use sweet almond oil on my ends before shampooing.

I've heard good things about henna. but I don't really want my hair to change colors. lol.

any advice would be great

I know the first one is to STOP STRAIGHTENING IT.

hahaha. I am trying!

thank you.

[WillowHair87]

I don't know if my hair needs more moisture or protein.

I pulled one of my fallen strands and it snapped.

not much of a stretch to it.

[julierockhead]

Great article on breakage and whether you need protein or moisture -
http://blackbeautyblackhair86911.yuku.com/topic/511/t/Hair-Breakage-and-Shedding-101.html#.TnY1-K5biRm

Ojon is very nice, I have some myself, but it is ridiculously expensive - it's just palm oil with perfume. Buy some virgin coconut oil or palm oil, does the same thing.

Um, stop straightening your lovely curls and waves, or at least give them to me.

There are many threads here for the curly ladies, start reading and reading. Don't try too much at once. As long as you have the ojon, try keeping it in overnight under a shower cap and a hat, works wonders, much better than a quickie 30-minute deep condition. Put the blow fryer and the straightener AWAY. FAR AWAY.:p

[danacc]

The biggest culprit from what you describe is the heat. Hair is dead, so once it is damaged, it is damaged. There is nothing that actually "repairs" it. Products can help protect it and keep it from being damaged further, but they won't undo what has been done. (Henna may do some repairing since it permanently binds itself to the hair, but conditioners, masks, protein, and oils are for protection.)

So, yes, you already know what to do--stop with the heat.

Other than that, you may want to try CO or CWC washes which are gentler on the length.

[GRU]

Brittle can mean protein overload.

I would stop shampooing and start CO-washing with a cheap / runny conditioner, and do SMTs at least once a week.

And NO heat -- and the "heat protectant" is a bunch of BS.... if it really protected against heat damage, why don't firefighters bathe in it before going to a fire?

[celebriangel]

Yes...I know about the horrible straightening rut. When I was a teenager, I thought I had the wildest, bushiest most irritating hair ever. I only really liked it when it was straightened, but thankfully I couldn't be arsed to do it that often.

However, with correct treatment, it turns out that I have wurls and curls! And they are quite pretty, if I do say so myself. No bushiness these days! Straightening damage, however, has the power to make curls even unrulier than they would normally be - thus forcing you to do more straightening to keep it looking okay. You need to get off the bandwagon, start wearing your hair up until you can grow out the damage, and learn how to treat your curls correctly. Then, your hair will be beautiful, I'm certain.

I would say that almost no one who has curly hair which they straighten regularly can grow their hair long and healthy. (I know some people with really tough hair, which is wavy, on here who can straighten sometimes and be fine. They are the exception, and with curls I don't think this is going to be you. Curly hair is a bit more fragile than straight hair).

Also, products are not the answer. You need to switch to a gentler wash routine (shampoo only the scalp with dilute shampoo, or go Conditioner Only which is excellent for curls), start combing your hair gently from the bottom up, putting it up as often as possible with hair-friendly accessories to protect it, and doing regular deep treatments.

For straightening damaged hair, I'd go for both protein and moisture treatments. I, personally, have always had more success with homemade treatments than with shop-bought ones, which are often full of cones which make hair look good rather than helping the health. To prevent protein loss during washes, apply a layer of coconut oil to your hair for at least an hour before washing. Keep it under some cling film and a towel to keep your hair warm, or maybe do it overnight.

SMTs are good (look it up in the SMT thread in the herbal haircare section of here) and treatments invoving yoghurt, mayonnaise and egg yolk will be good for protein. Full cream coconut milk - the kind you get in cans - is also excellent as a deep treatment.

[Pierre]

Welcome to LHC!

I'm a curly-wurly too. I have never straightened. I love my hair to the curly tips, though I rarely wear it loose to show off the curls. I braid it and keep it up, and it stays that way for days, because the braids match the curls. So try that. You might find, as I did, that split ends practically disappear.

[WillowHair87]

thanks guys. I will start with the co washing. what exactly do apple cider rinses do? *curious*

I'm going to try to just straighten once a week.

I actually wore my hair natural for a few days!

it's just a bit temperemental as my hair isn't very curly. i think all the straightening has made my hair less curly and more wavy.

cebriangel, My hair used to be like down to my waist. I used to straighten it all the time back then aswell. Grew very fast. but I think the fact that I used to use this shine wax stuff on my hair before straightening helped protect my hair.

i def want to break this habit though.

what about cassia treatments? I would love to do henna but I rather keep my hair brown. lol.

smt's.

is that the conditioner, aloe vera and shea butter?

[GRU]

SMTs are in this thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128

Apple Cider Vinegar or any acidic rinse (white vinegar, citric acid, lemon juice) returns the scalp and hair to its desired slightly acidic environment. This reduces scalp irritation (for those with scalp issues) and allows the hair's cuticles to lie down flat again, making the hair smoother, less prone to tangles, shinier, and more protected from moisture loss. You don't need much of the acidic component -- I use about a tablespoon of ACV in a liter of water.

As your hair recovers from its straightener abuse and regains some of its moisture, you may find that it becomes wavier/curlier again. Or you may have to wait until all the damage has grown out. Everyone's head is different.

[Henrietta]

About cassia: you can safely try this. With a strand test before, but if your hair is brown than it won't change colour and cassia will give you all benefits of henna :)

[danacc]

Cassia could be a great option for you. Note that you will need to repeat it about once a month, and that many don't see the results in shine and strength until the second and later applications (the effect builds). There is a FAQ on Cassia here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=42754

From the FAQ:

As far a henna vs cassia goes: Henna has a permanent effect on your hair. It helps smooth the cuticle of the hair and the lawsone molecule (red dye) binds to the center of the hair. It physically makes it stronger. Cassia has *some* of these properties, but they aren't as strong and are not permanent.

...

Color from Cassia dye will only show on very light blond, white or gray hair. It contains no bleach/etc that would lighten hair.