White dots caused by hairbands maybe?

[sazzie88]

I would really like some advice.

I have been regularly S&Ding for the last 5 months since finding out about LHC. I also converted to only CO washing at the same time. Iam having a big problem recentley with white dots a short way from the tip, there are no split ends just white dots. I think this migt be caused by having my hair up most of the time. Can anyone confirm this and also offer a solution because i do not want to loose my lovely hair.

Thank you

[white.chocolate]

These "white dots" sound like they are the bits of unhealthy, weak hair that are homologous to split ends. If you don't have split ends but have these somewhere along the hair strands, it could be the way you are tying or applying pressure on those particular areas of your hair. What kind of updos have you been doing, and what kind of hair toys have you been using?

[Madora]

Those white dots are areas that will eventually break.

Updos do not cause damage, provided you use hair friendly elastics/fasteners and do NOT pull your hair tightly.

If you find that the white dots seem to be located in a certain area, then it would be best to remove all of them by trimming, then S and D your ends on a regular basis to keep damage to a minimum.

White dots will break and split, and once the hair is split, it will continue to split up the undamaged hair.

[lapushka]

Have you heat styled previously? Could be remaining damage from that as white dots are very common with heat styling.

[sazzie88]

thank you for your replies. I very rarely use heat ( once a Month maybe). I have been mainly doing french braids as these are dots/bends are at the end it could very well be the hairbands that i use near the ends causing this. I also do alot of buns and tuck the hair underneath the hairband.

Is the only option to trim? It seems frustrating to cut when growing I feel like Im going backwards!

I have recently bought some more hair sticks so I will try and stick to using these, If they could only stay in my hair!

[white.chocolate]

thank you for your replies. I very rarely use heat ( once a Month maybe). I have been mainly doing french braids as these are dots/bends are at the end it could very well be the hairbands that i use near the ends causing this. I also do alot of buns and tuck the hair underneath the hairband.

Is the only option to trim? It seems frustrating to cut when growing I feel like Im going backwards!

I have recently bought some more hair sticks so I will try and stick to using these, If they could only stay in my hair!

If they aren't too plenty, you could continue doing s&d, but if they are too plenty to manage then it is healthier to trim. But it's your choice, as Madora had said they can break off and become split ends. You should also change the kind of elastic bands you are using if you think they severely cause damage, and try not to tie your hair at the same place constantly.

[sazzie88]

A few Months have passed and I have been regularly trimming and s&Ding without any joy.

This morning I finished washing my hair and to my horror my hair was like soggy gum! It would stretch an additional 4 inches, then slowly take shape again. I have also for weeks been having a ridiculous amount of flyaways. ( an extremly bad amount)

After lookingh into it I believe that it is probably due to the fact that for 6 + months I have been using ONLY moisturising conditioners and deep treatments. I always use these intensive miostures masks on every wash and use these only.

I think I am lacking protien. Can anyone with more knowledge on this confirm it?

[Kiwiwi]

I would say so, very much indeed.
You need a good protein treatment (maybe multiple). Make sure to condition well after the treatment!

Good luck!

[sazzie88]

I would say so, very much indeed.
You need a good protein treatment (maybe multiple). Make sure to condition well after the treatment!

Good luck!


Thank you I have been at my witts end for months with constant breakage and white dots. Now it seems obvious.

Can you suggest any good ones? I have just bought these two from the shop next to my office. They probably are not the right thing. Would you mind taking a look to confirm?

http://www.capitalhairandbeauty.co.uk/hairdressing/hair-care/treatment/marrakesh-kahm-daily-smoothing-treatment-with-keratin-argan-oil-60ml.html

http://www.capitalhairandbeauty.co.uk/hairdressing/hair-care/treatment/goldwell-dualsenses-rich-repair-60-second-treatment-200ml.html

The goldwell one contains hydrolized keratin which i why i got it. unfortuantly I could not find anykind of good protien

[Anje]

Soggy gum definitely sounds like a case of hair desperately needing protein.

I've heard good things about the commercial protein treatments made by Aphogee and by Joico. If you want a quick, homemade alternative, Flaxen has suggested a Tablespoon (~15mL) of low-sodium soy sauce in a cup (~250mL) of water, poured through the hair and left to sit for a while, then rinsed and the hair conditioned. I suspect that it's less potent than some of the hard-core protein treatments that Aphogee makes, but it may be a good stop-gap measure, and it contains hydrolyzed protein which hopefully should be the correct size for optimal hair-fixing.

ETA: Found an ingredients list on the Goldwell stuff. It's got some proteins in there, but I expect it's biased toward moisturizing.
Goldwell Dual Senses Rich Repair 60sec Treatment Hair And Scalp Treatments
Water (Aqua), Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Chloride, Myristyl Myristate, Amodimethicone, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Silk, Isopropyl Alcohol, Trideceth 5, Sodium PCA, Phenyl Trimethicone, Octyldodecyl PCA, Panthenol, Lactic Acid, Trideceth 10, Quaternium 80, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denatured, Glycoprotein, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Butylphenyl Methlyproprional, Limonene, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Orange 4 (CI 15510), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Red 33 (CI 17200)

[sazzie88]

Thanks Anje, I thought it would be more suited for moisturising purposes.

Its a large store ( capital hair and beauty) But they do not do anything for protein, i suppose i shall stop and get some soy. Thank you :)

[heidi w.]

I would really like some advice.

I have been regularly S&Ding for the last 5 months since finding out about LHC. I also converted to only CO washing at the same time. Iam having a big problem recentley with white dots a short way from the tip, there are no split ends just white dots. I think this migt be caused by having my hair up most of the time. Can anyone confirm this and also offer a solution because i do not want to loose my lovely hair.

Thank you

White dots represent a burst in the hair. This is more likely related to some previous procedure done, perhaps, such as heat, or flat ironing, something along those lines. White dots do not usually occur in response to putting hair up. It's just a trueism that uber long hair does a whole lot better when protected in some kind of updo, than in just about any other kind of format, even braiding.

When you get good at updos, you will not need to use elastics at all, for tying off braids or for forming a ponytails before forming the updo. For example a braided updo, you can braid and just tuck and pin the ends under the bun.

heidi w.

[Avital88]

hair dye and heat always cause white dots, for me, even after a while, when i heatstyled once a month i had a lot of white dots too.. i really think its that

[sazzie88]

White dots represent a burst in the hair. This is more likely related to some previous procedure done, perhaps, such as heat, or flat ironing, something along those lines. White dots do not usually occur in response to putting hair up. It's just a trueism that uber long hair does a whole lot better when protected in some kind of updo, than in just about any other kind of format, even braiding.

When you get good at updos, you will not need to use elastics at all, for tying off braids or for forming a ponytails before forming the updo. For example a braided updo, you can braid and just tuck and pin the ends under the bun.

heidi w.




hair dye and heat always cause white dots, for me, even after a while, when i heatstyled once a month i had a lot of white dots too.. i really think its that

Thank you both of you

What is annoying is I havent used straighteners in well over 2 years and very very rarely use heat.

The white dots are only at the front not the back I have cut over the last year almost 3 inches off of the front as I had an angled cut.

When I s&d now the white dots come back straight away. If tried with several different types of scissors and if tried getting it cut at the salon and there is no difference.

I'm at a complete loss as the damage surely can't be so far up my hair, and like I said why is it only at the front?

That's whyi came to the conclusion I must be lacking protein as its now very gummy :(

[cfreya]

Aphogee two step treatment is the best I have tried for protein, from other reviews it will definitely save your hair as long as you do it right. I have a capital near me but I don't think they have it, if you have any independent ethnic hair shops near you thats where I always get mine, if not I have seen it on amazon

You wash your hair, cover it in the treatment (it does smell a bit but sooo worth it), use a hairdryer/heat cap to heat it until the entire mixture becomes hard on your hair and then rinse it very well, before using a good moisturising treatment

My hair was similar to yours after too much bleaching and this really did save it

[heidi w.]

A few Months have passed and I have been regularly trimming and s&Ding without any joy.

This morning I finished washing my hair and to my horror my hair was like soggy gum! It would stretch an additional 4 inches, then slowly take shape again. I have also for weeks been having a ridiculous amount of flyaways. ( an extremly bad amount)

After lookingh into it I believe that it is probably due to the fact that for 6 + months I have been using ONLY moisturising conditioners and deep treatments. I always use these intensive miostures masks on every wash and use these only.

I think I am lacking protien. Can anyone with more knowledge on this confirm it?

If you think you have a protein issue, go to a licensed cosmetologist and ask them to perform a strand test. You don't want to fool around with applying protein when you don't need it, or having too little. Chances are, you have no issues at all with protein. What is leading you to this idea. What is your hair doing, specifically. I do not suggest making stuff up and not collecting facts. You can get into a lot of trouble if you handle protein in hair inaccurately.

A lack in protein would be possible if your hair is breaking off, and in droves. Lots of it. This is a signal that one either has too much or too little protein. However, in hypothyroidism, hair can become weak and brittle and ALSO break off a lot, and easily. See? That's an example of possibly arriving at the wrong conclusion based on weak evidence. Get a strand test and collect the real facts of your hair. It's relatively unusual to have a protein problem with hair in the U.S. Generally speaking.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Thank you both of you

What is annoying is I havent used straighteners in well over 2 years and very very rarely use heat.

The white dots are only at the front not the back I have cut over the last year almost 3 inches off of the front as I had an angled cut.

When I s&d now the white dots come back straight away. If tried with several different types of scissors and if tried getting it cut at the salon and there is no difference.

I'm at a complete loss as the damage surely can't be so far up my hair, and like I said why is it only at the front?

That's whyi came to the conclusion I must be lacking protein as its now very gummy :(

It actually sounds to me that you may not have the best blade on those scissors that you're S&Ding with? Cut a piece of tissue paper, like toilet paper, and if it's a clean cut, then good. But if it looks a bit shredded, then Houston, you have a problem. Just in that case, go buy a new pair of scissors! That's the easiest and cheapest solution.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

The white dots are only at the front not the back I have cut over the last year almost 3 inches off of the front as I had an angled cut.

When I s&d now the white dots come back straight away. If tried with several different types of scissors and if tried getting it cut at the salon and there is no difference.

I'm at a complete loss as the damage surely can't be so far up my hair, and like I said why is it only at the front?

That's whyi came to the conclusion I must be lacking protein as its now very gummy :(

Underscore added by heidi w. so folks know what I am referring to.

This is just to show what I'm picking up on and why I'm now suggesting it's your scissor blades. That if you're S&Ding and the white dots out and then you turn around and they're right back, AND you haven't used heat anything for 2 or more years, then there's a good chance that your scissor blades are somewhat dull.

Allow me to explain a few things.

I purchase 5-1/2 barber scissors.
I unpack them and try them BUT NOT on hair. I make sure FIRST that the cut or downstroke is as smooth as I want it to be . No hiccups.

THEN I also check that the scissors are well-oiled at the screw that puts the two blades together. You can squeeze on some oil as close as is possible to the interior of that screw, then work the blades/scissors a whole bunch, and then swipe the blade clean of excess oil.

I do not take my scissor blades anywhere to be sharpened. If I need better blades, I buy new scissors. HOWEVER, a number of years ago someone gave me a spectacular pair of scissors that hair stylists use. And I use them ONLY on hair. Never paper, string, cloth, nothing else except hair. And I store them in a place that is clean.

Most such scissors that one purchases has a little curly cue on one of the rings for holding the scissors. This is so one can hold the scissors in a controllable and balanced way to form say, a line that is actually straight, for example.

One HOLDS the scissors with the thumb through one hole and the ring finger, the third FINGER through the other hole with the curly cue. And then the pinky goes under the little stick sticking out from one of the rings. This pinky hold thingy allows for maximum control of the scissors, and helps prevent cutting at an angle, even a single hair, unless one wants to.

And when you cut, you have to imagine that the hair strand is round, so therefore one must be mindful of a bend in the wrist or a lean in the hand that can lead to cutting angles into a hair. You want to cut straight down and straight across. Think beginning Geometry here.

I hope this helps somehow.
heidi w.

[sazzie88]

If you think you have a protein issue, go to a licensed cosmetologist and ask them to perform a strand test. You don't want to fool around with applying protein when you don't need it, or having too little. Chances are, you have no issues at all with protein. What is leading you to this idea. What is your hair doing, specifically. I do not suggest making stuff up and not collecting facts. You can get into a lot of trouble if you handle protein in hair inaccurately.

A lack in protein would be possible if your hair is breaking off, and in droves. Lots of it. This is a signal that one either has too much or too little protein. However, in hypothyroidism, hair can become weak and brittle and ALSO break off a lot, and easily. See? That's an example of possibly arriving at the wrong conclusion based on weak evidence. Get a strand test and collect the real facts of your hair. It's relatively unusual to have a protein problem with hair in the U.S. Generally speaking.

heidi w.


The only reason I came to conclusion of protein is, when I finished washing this morning, my hair was like stringy gum. It was stretching a lot ( not snapping) and then slowly returning to its normal length. A few hairs ( not many but more than usual) came out while I was examining the gummyness. I then French braided it and have left it all day.

I only co wash every 3 days and when I do it is always moisture masks/ moisture intense repairs, I leave it on for around an hour.

[sazzie88]

I did purchase these new scissors a little while back from a large hairdressing supplier. They seem in very goo recondition an do havent been usin them for too long.

I will try the toilet paper test and see if it is a neat cut.

What makes me dubious as to whether it is due to the scissors is that there are no white dots at the back of my hair.

[Talula]

I wanted to chime in since I've had those white dots for many years... I'm sure I've noticed them for at least 15 or 20 years when I hunt for split ends, and I haven't used any heat in my hair for probably 25 years. So it's definitely not heat that causes mine! Also, I never used to braid my hair until very recently, so my ponytails weren't at the bottom, but I still got the white dots at the bottom couple inches of hair. No one's ever suggested to me that it could be a need for protein treatments... hmmm....

Note that I haven't eaten any meat in over 20 years & am not great about replacing it..... maybe it's my diet? Don't know. :confused: Hoping more white-dot-victims will tell us their hair and/or diet habits so we can find a common theme...

[sazzie88]

I wanted to chime in since I've had those white dots for many years... I'm sure I've noticed them for at least 15 or 20 years when I hunt for split ends, and I haven't used any heat in my hair for probably 25 years. So it's definitely not heat that causes mine! Also, I never used to braid my hair until very recently, so my ponytails weren't at the bottom, but I still got the white dots at the bottom couple inches of hair. No one's ever suggested to me that it could be a need for protein treatments... hmmm....

Note that I haven't eaten any meat in over 20 years & am not great about replacing it..... maybe it's my diet? Don't know. :confused: Hoping more white-dot-victims will tell us their hair and/or diet habits so we can find a common theme...

It drives me mad I cut and cut yet they are still there.

[sazzie88]

I wanted to chime in since I've had those white dots for many years... I'm sure I've noticed them for at least 15 or 20 years when I hunt for split ends, and I haven't used any heat in my hair for probably 25 years. So it's definitely not heat that causes mine! Also, I never used to braid my hair until very recently, so my ponytails weren't at the bottom, but I still got the white dots at the bottom couple inches of hair. No one's ever suggested to me that it could be a need for protein treatments... hmmm....

Note that I haven't eaten any meat in over 20 years & am not great about replacing it..... maybe it's my diet? Don't know. :confused: Hoping more white-dot-victims will tell us their hair and/or diet habits so we can find a common theme...

It drives me mad I cut and cut yet they are still there.

I'm just thankful its at the front not all over. I think it is protein or lack of that could have caused it. But I am by far an expert and will await confirmation.

Heidi has been very helpful in this and a lot of other issues. She is very helpful, kind and I trust her judgement :)

[heidi w.]

I did purchase these new scissors a little while back from a large hairdressing supplier. They seem in very goo recondition an do havent been usin them for too long.

I will try the toilet paper test and see if it is a neat cut.

What makes me dubious as to whether it is due to the scissors is that there are no white dots at the back of my hair.

I am going to suggest clarifying the hair then. FIRST..after testing your scissors.
gumminess in the hair after a hair wash usually indicates a problem with buildup. And clarifying should take care of that, but be sure to replace what's been removed or the hair will behave oddly. Do condition as part of a clarifying hair wash.

I wonder that you may benefit from an ACV or vinegar rinse? (IF you do this, rinse it out of the hair, do not leave it in. There is no need to keep this in the hair. It offers no benefit that I know of to leave it in the hair.) It will contribute to a slight bit more softness to the hair.

You, if I am recalling correctly, started that you band your hair with elastics? Do I have this correct? It might be that you're applying them a bit too tightly and bit too often in around the same locale of the hair. Have you ever considered weaving a ribbon into a 3 strand braid and tying off with a satin ribbon instead?

And of course, I advocate conditioning the hair.

Gosh, I've read so many threads today AND am going back and forth between PMs, I get different OPs mixed up with one another, so I apologize if I have things wrong about the hair elastic bit.

heidi w.

[sazzie88]

I will try the acv rinse I haven't done one for a month or so. How regularly do you think they should be done if one were to wash every three days?

My hair has also had sooo many fly always, I though it was new growth but my partner highlighted how straw like and messy my hair looked after styling :( I have what looks like new growth ALL over but it sticks out and is very course and brittle when dry. :(

I do you hair bands but try to shift the position of where these are every time I use them

[heidi w.]

Yep, I got OPs mixed up. It wasn't you who braided her hair with elastics and was concerned about damage.

Hmmm. Still thinking about this.

I appreciate your confidence in me. And as always, I wish I was there and could SEE what your concern is. It'd be a whole lot easier than advice on a board. More reliabe.

I would also suggest, however, to simply aim to manage the evidence and not necessarily go cutting off your hair or keep cutting it in endless pursuit of perfect hair. Even I don't have perfect hair. A split can be found, even, GASP, a white dot. There comes a point where one is just cutting and cutting and it's exasperating. So you just have to manage things. Like you have an employee that just needs management, oversight, and you just learn to accept a little bit of unpleasantness because if you keep cutting you don't have much.

I would advocate that you find a really experienced yet licensed cosmetologist to analyze the protein balance of your hair and porosity, since you're there and since you're interested in exploring this possibility.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I will try the acv rinse I haven't done one for a month or so. How regularly do you think they should be done if one were to wash every three days?

My hair has also had sooo many fly always, I though it was new growth but my partner highlighted how straw like and messy my hair looked after styling :( I have what looks like new growth ALL over but it sticks out and is very course and brittle when dry. :(

I do you hair bands but try to shift the position of where these are every time I use them

In the winter when the ambient air is drier (I live in snow country so it gets pretty dry in the winter indoors (and outdoors too). We run the heat and it sucks moisture out the air; and cooking in the kitchen in winter can definitely mean less moisture in the air.

A friend, Lady Grace, taught me this one, and I use it just about every winter, now. I run a humidifer next to my bed at night in the winter. She lives in a somewhat humid, tropical climate, and she still runs her humidifier at night in summer. At her place the air could be a bit dry in summer for the running of A/C indoors.

Try a humidifer to handle offsetting the poof and frizz factor.

Also, a lot of people use Aloe Vera Gel to smooth hair, but I have no idea how they do this, as I do not have this specific issue.

At most, my hair sometimes becomes flyaway, but fairly rarely.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I will try the acv rinse I haven't done one for a month or so. How regularly do you think they should be done if one were to wash every three days?

My hair has also had sooo many fly always, I though it was new growth but my partner highlighted how straw like and messy my hair looked after styling :( I have what looks like new growth ALL over but it sticks out and is very course and brittle when dry. :(

I do you hair bands but try to shift the position of where these are every time I use them

I used to do an ACV rinse everytime I washed my hair. Now I hardly ever do it. I did it as a way to help me with my Seborrheic Dermatitus which is fairly nasty version of dandruff, as I understand it.

If you wash once a week, or wash every third day, do a vinegar rinse. If you're a blonde use lemon or white distilled vinegar as ACV can tinge the hair reddish if used for a long time. It happened to me a little bit.

heidi w.

[Maktub]

What is annoying is I havent used straighteners in well over 2 years and very very rarely use heat.

Didn't read everything but I wanted to bounce back on this.

I see from your signature that your hair is more than 12 inches long. Most probably, you still have hair on your head that is more than 2 years old and that has been straightened in the past. This leads to weak ends and you might now be seeing the damage it caused internally in the hair structure back then, if the dots are mostly in the lower 6 inches of your hair.

Just a thought !

[sazzie88]

Thank you for everyone's advice. I think I might of solved the issue! But only time will tell


I did a co wash with the gold well protein I bought yesterday, I left it on for 15 minutes.i then did an acv rinse and finished off with the khams treatment ( leave in).

These are in an earlier post.

So far so good. My hair feels abit more balenced out and there are hardly any white dots. Not even a quarter as much. Where they have gone, or if they have been repaired I'm not sure.

Time will tell :)