hair breaking question

[princesitamaria]

hey so here is my dilemna, my hair is bsl,and I am am growing it to waist- after I wash it it is healthy and the ends are fine, my hair is curly so the next day when I brush it or after I go to sleep the ends start breaking, I used to bleach my hair and I stopped a year ago and dont blowdry or flat iron anymore, but everytime I get it trimmed after a few weeks this happens, so I dont know if I should just trim it once a year or trim it reg. which is way too expensive for me right now cause I am pregnant and at home, there arent any split ends, just the ends break off like less the amount of this -- so I dunno wat to do ;(

[longcurlygirl<3]

You should try a protein treatment. Maybe your hair is fine and needs it. Why don't you try S&D your ends or maybe you are doing a repetitive hairstyle which weakens the hair

[princesitamaria]

wat is S&D?

[spidermom]

You could learn to give yourself little self-trims on a regular basis, from once a month to every three months, until the weak hair that keeps breaking off has been trimmed away. Also give your hair regular deep conditioning treatments. There are things you can use from your kitchen, like mayonnaise and eggs, but I prefer to buy treatments or have my stylist apply them (because they smell better).

[Amber_Maiden]

wat is S&D?

Search and Destroy. You look for split ends and snip them off.

[jesis]

I agree that an S&D is in order. It's free- you do it at home. you just find all of the splits in your hair and trim them. Granted, it takes a while, but it's worth it if you really want your hair to grow.

I would also recommend a clarifying treatment.

[jojo]

I agree with the others and highly recommend Faye's cutting technique to trim tiny amounts off and I am talking this ---> -- much maybe monthly until your ends are healthier. We refer to this as dusting or micro-trimming on here. Id also say try a protein treatment, this doesn't have to be expensive mayo is good or if you don't like the smell try a cheap protein conditioner such as VO5 strawberry and cream, try leaving a little of the conditioner on the ends as a leave in and also oiling those ends daily and keeping those ends hidden in a bun will help.

Heres a link to Faye's cutting technique http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/2389.html#cutid1

[princesitamaria]

Okay great, I made a homemade conditioner yesterday and put it in a bun last night and my ends are fine, so I gonna keep doing this cause there is no reason to trim it if I can mosturize and put it up better when I sleep! Thanks so much ;) but if I gotta trim it later on I will go buy hair shears and do it myself

[Rybe]

If you only stopped bleaching/ironing a year ago some of the damage is still growing out and probably will continue to break. Combs are the bane of MY existence, but I've heard rave reviews from curlies for them, might cause less friction and less breakage? Though if it's any consolation, from your icon I think your hair looks GORGEOUS!

[heidi w.]

Are you using protein applications in any of your hair care products? If you have too much protein, the hair will break off in droves and rapidly. If you stop using the offending product, the breaking stops fairly rapidly.

You state you don't flat iron. Are you using any other form of heat? If yes, you could be causing bursts in the cuticle that produce white dots, and these are more easily broken off at these points.

Do you sleep on a slippery fabric'd pillowcase? If not, I recommend it.

Shampoos and conditioners in a given brand have the protein balanced out between the two. However, if you're mixing and matching between brand lines, you can more easily throw off protein balances, and end up with hair breaking off. Also if you're using a leave-in conditioner of some type, it may be causing or contributing to a protein overload. I recommend try foregoing a leave-in that you apply from a specific product, and see if things improve.

I hope this is helpful news, somehow. The goal is to discover the cause of breakage, not to go snipping off offending hair bits and never finding the source of the problem.

The reason this could be happening in the wake of a salon visit is that they're using a product on your longer tresses that may add more protein to the hair, and perhaps helps with detangling or is a leave-in, that you don't normally use in your own routine at home. This is one possible reason the breakage could be occuring in the wake of a salon visit and never at any other time. Just FYI.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I agree that an S&D is in order. It's free- you do it at home. you just find all of the splits in your hair and trim them. Granted, it takes a while, but it's worth it if you really want your hair to grow.

I would also recommend a clarifying treatment.

The clarifying may help because it should remove whatever the product is that is causing the breakage itself. Just be sure to condition as part of a clarify hair wash. One must replace what is otherwise removed.

heidi w.