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View Full Version : White dots/split ends EVERYWHERE!



Orangerthanred
October 20th, 2011, 08:24 PM
As you probably don't know, I had two relaxers done on my hair quite a while ago. My hair's damaged.

But I was S&Ding a little while ago and freaking out- there are split ends and little white dots all over my hair! Now my hair is short in a ton of spots and longer in others from snipping, and there's still a ton of split ends and white dot-things everywhere. If I cut them all off, I'd be at chin length- and I look absolutely horrid with short hair. :(

Advice?

Rebeccalaurenxx
October 20th, 2011, 08:29 PM
Well, I would i guess baby your hair? But if your hair is breaking off THAT badly from damage, wouldnt it be better to just cut all the damage off and start anew? I know its probably not what you want to hear but you may want to just bit the bullet and cut the damage off.

Maktub
October 20th, 2011, 08:30 PM
Well, you can't repair damage... I guess patience is really what is key in those moments :flower:

A good cut could do wonders, or regular trimms for all the time needed to grow the damage out...
On the positive side, new virgin very healthy hair is growing right this moment and if you baby your hair, soon the damage will be gone !

Best of luck and happy growing

coffinhert
October 20th, 2011, 08:33 PM
I've heard that coconut oil can be really good to strengthn hair that is damaged. If you hair is dark and you are ok with henna color, you could do tons of henna treatments on the last few inches of your hair to strengthen it. Whatever you do, your hair is obv really damaged from being relaxed, that's why it's breaking off. You will have to baby it until the virgin grows out. There is a whole thread on that i think it's called "giving up dye and growing out natural" or something.

Mairéad
October 20th, 2011, 08:34 PM
If it were me I'd just put it up and forget about it, but I know you have expressed some concern with up-dos you like. But, my honest advice would be to deep treat once in awhile, oil the lengths (this can not only help with softness but can help prevent the split from traveling), keep it up and protected, and pick up a trimming and S&D schedule to slowly but surely cut back the splits.

Try not to go too nuts. Everyone has some amount of split ends and your hair is damaged so unless you want a chop (and you don't) there's nothing to do other than get a great hair routine in order (so you can stop worrying about your hair needs) as well get into a trim routine that will slowly get rid of the relaxed parts of your hair.

Also, I don't know what relaxers do to the hair but would you describe it as stretchy or extremely stiff when wet? This could indicate what ratio of protein to moisture your hair needs. You're listed as a curly which usually indicates a preference for moisture but I can only imagine what relaxing might do to your hair's protein needs. So, I'd also suggest a hair diagnosis to see what it needs. There are links on here about how to do proper hair diagnosis.

If you're in it for the long hull you're going to have to appreciate some benign neglect. When I thought too much about my hair I ended up lopping it all off, and I had just gotten past shoulder. I can't say I'm too saddened by my decision because now I have all unprocessed/never been heat styled hair, but I can understand not wanting to do what I did.

Orangerthanred
October 20th, 2011, 08:41 PM
Well, I would i guess baby your hair? But if your hair is breaking off THAT badly from damage, wouldnt it be better to just cut all the damage off and start anew? I know its probably not what you want to hear but you may want to just bit the bullet and cut the damage off.

I can't cut it all off. If I did, my hair would be thicker than 4 heads of hair. My hair already super thick when it's long, but when it's short it volumizes even more! Plus, my face is round - short, curly hair does NOT go with round faces. I remember getting a chinlength cut a long time ago- my head looked really small and my face looked freakishly wide.

Orangerthanred
October 20th, 2011, 08:44 PM
I've heard that coconut oil can be really good to strengthn hair that is damaged. If you hair is dark and you are ok with henna color, you could do tons of henna treatments on the last few inches of your hair to strengthen it. Whatever you do, your hair is obv really damaged from being relaxed, that's why it's breaking off. You will have to baby it until the virgin grows out. There is a whole thread on that i think it's called "giving up dye and growing out natural" or something.

My virgin hair is already 3 or 4 inches in.

I'm allergic to henna [I got a tatoo once and I itched so much I bled]. Are there alternatives to henna that can strengthen hair?

Mairéad
October 20th, 2011, 08:47 PM
My virgin hair is already 3 or 4 inches in.

I'm allergic to henna [I got a tatoo once and I itched so much I bled]. Are there alternatives to henna that can strengthen hair?

Cassia has the same properties as henna without the color. Cassia needs to be done every month or so as it is not permanent. Also, was it "black" henna? Allergies to pure henna are not unheard of but extremely rare. More commonly, many people experience allergy to PPD, a common ingredient in dark hair dyes, that is also used in some tattoo hennas.

Maktub
October 20th, 2011, 08:51 PM
The allergy you had to henna was **probably** because of the quality used (most henna sold today is not pure and can cause allergic reactions, burns, etc.). There are only a few reputable sellers that I know of, that's why I always buy my henna online somewhere I 100 % trust).

Of course, not saying you are not allergic to henna. It was simply to mention that most "henna allergies" and skin reactions are actually due to (dangerous) additives they add into commercialized henna.

Maktub
October 20th, 2011, 08:52 PM
oups, Mairéad had already said that :o:o

Orangerthanred
October 20th, 2011, 08:53 PM
Cassia has the same properties as henna without the color. Cassia needs to be done every month or so as it is not permanent. Also, was it "black" henna? Allergies to pure henna are not unheard of but extremely rare. More commonly, many people experience allergy to PPD, a common ingredient in dark hair dyes, that is also used in some tattoo hennas.

I'll look up Cassia!

I don't know if it was black henna.

growingpains
October 20th, 2011, 09:52 PM
I relaxed my hair summer 2009. The last couple inches are still relaxed. They are definitely thinner and more frail than the rest of my hair, but the good news is, I managed to grow my hair, ends relaxed and all, almost to my waist. Back in fall 2009 I had the same issue as you. Lots of white dots and breakage. I just s&d'd a bunch (bi-weekly) and trimmed every two months or so. I also had one big cut in summer 2010 from BSL to APL+ which helped SOO much. Now I am finally happy to report that my hair is not breaking off much anymore and it's actually hard to find parts that are damaged. So, my advice to you is baby it, NEVER use heat on it, and trim the heck out of it as often as you can and still manage to either maintain or grow.

Elph
October 20th, 2011, 09:54 PM
Hi I feel your pain. In april I had a perm - I want to enoy my hair am was willing to have some damage. I looked at the ends the other day and ust about fell over - the amount of damage was amazing - normally I have fairly nonsplit hair and am lucky to find half a dozen splits accross the whole of my head. Now it is 4 or 5 splits in each curl. I ended up cutting about 2 inches off it - about the amount it had grown since I had the perm.

My idea is just to enjoy it and go from there. I will trim and ignore untill I grow the perm out and then decide what I will do. I must say I did enoy the body the perm gave me though.

lacefrost
October 20th, 2011, 11:17 PM
When I had permed hair, I use Keraphix which is a protein treatment. You could make your own with eggs and mayo. But then you want to follow up with a moisturizing treatment like an SMT.

How long is your hair now? I would advise you bite the bullet and chop because your hair is going to break off anyway. Maybe not chop to chin but just 2 or 3 inches. That way there's less breakage and it's easier to handle.

Toadstool
October 21st, 2011, 01:35 AM
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

isabelx
October 21st, 2011, 03:29 AM
I know how you feel, I've been trying to grow my hair for 3 months now, my hair was extremely damaged, literally every end was split. I thought I could survive off just S&Ding but I eventually realised it was hopeless. I really didn't want to do it but I cut an inch off around a fortnight ago. My ends now feel a lot better, I believe I'm still growing out damaged and weak hair so I probably won't see any real length for a while but it was worth it. I know it's horrible but you'll be thankful you did it after!

spidermom
October 21st, 2011, 06:37 AM
Regular teeny-tiny trims and good care.

Orangerthanred
October 21st, 2011, 12:44 PM
I relaxed my hair summer 2009. The last couple inches are still relaxed. They are definitely thinner and more frail than the rest of my hair, but the good news is, I managed to grow my hair, ends relaxed and all, almost to my waist. Back in fall 2009 I had the same issue as you. Lots of white dots and breakage. I just s&d'd a bunch (bi-weekly) and trimmed every two months or so. I also had one big cut in summer 2010 from BSL to APL+ which helped SOO much. Now I am finally happy to report that my hair is not breaking off much anymore and it's actually hard to find parts that are damaged. So, my advice to you is baby it, NEVER use heat on it, and trim the heck out of it as often as you can and still manage to either maintain or grow.

Thank you!!

Orangerthanred
October 21st, 2011, 12:48 PM
When I had permed hair, I use Keraphix which is a protein treatment. You could make your own with eggs and mayo. But then you want to follow up with a moisturizing treatment like an SMT.

How long is your hair now? I would advise you bite the bullet and chop because your hair is going to break off anyway. Maybe not chop to chin but just 2 or 3 inches. That way there's less breakage and it's easier to handle.

My hair's somewhere in between APL and shoulder length, with a lot of uneven layers. I'll look up the egg and mayo hair treatment. :)

Orangerthanred
October 21st, 2011, 12:49 PM
I've decided I'll cut off an inch of hair today. I don't really know how I'll manage my hair, because any loss of length means my hair poofs up alot.

Safira
October 21st, 2011, 01:09 PM
I've decided I'll cut off an inch of hair today. I don't really know how I'll manage my hair, because any loss of length means my hair poofs up alot.


I think that´s a good idea. When I started to grow my hair, I had to cut inch/2 months. I used heat every day to straighten my hair.

Now I have hair I like. It took time and many deep treatments, oils and patience. But it was worth it.

Noreth
October 21st, 2011, 02:48 PM
We're in the same boat. :) I just cut off an inch or so and my hair's a lot better, but, just like yours, it poofs up crazily. I'm crocheting a hat with a whole bunch of room for hair, so I won't be tempted to just put it up in a ponytail, since I can't do much with it. :rolleyes:

coffinhert
October 21st, 2011, 04:23 PM
Hey, if there were metallic salts in the henna you got a tattoo with, your allergy definitely could ahve been to metals. Do you ahve metal allergies to jewelry? If I wear any cheaper metals it is sooo itchy and my skin kind of opens up and bleeds. It sounds like what you're describing.