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infinity_girl
January 4th, 2012, 04:15 AM
Can you guys help me diagnose what is "wrong" with my hair?

I have fairly thick and curly/wavy hair which is very dry, especially on the ends and I get that velcro effect and a lot of frizz. I last used a box dye which lightened my hair about a year and a half ago and the ends are really dry from this. I also get a lot of split ends.

I have hennaed my hair about 3 times in the last 3 months to get some nice colour and to see if it would improve my hair condition at all.

I have tried coconut oil and EVOO on the ends but these just make my hair oily and I then need to use a strong shampoo to wash it out which then leaves my hair really dry again :(.

Now, I am not sure if my hair has too much protein, too little, needs a proper chelating/clarifying or something else.

I would like to have soft, shiny, non-velcro hair as I plan to grow it long (and no, I will not cut even for a trim).

Is it possible to really recondition my hair ladies?

Kiwiwi
January 4th, 2012, 05:48 AM
Ok, you have some dye damage, we can't get out of that so let's make the best of what we have :-)

I have your hair type and coconut oil does not work for me as a leave in. It makes my hair feel scrunchy and it gets too oily too fast. Evoo just makes my hair oily.
What reallllly helped me is argan oil. Just a few drops spread on my hands and then in my hair after every shower. Soft, shiny hair. Love it.

I do want to recommend two things.
You say you don't want a tiny trim but sometimes we just need one. So that the damage won't travel up and do a lot more damage. Or so that the velcro ends don't stick to eachother and cause even more damage. I self trim every 4 months and I only trim about 3 to 5 mm. I hardly notice it lenghtwise but I do notice it in the way my ends feel. A lot less crunchy/velcro-y.

I also use a shampoo with SLS and sometimes even ALS every 3 weeks or something. I feel my hair and scalp need that clarifying every once in a while. It really helps.

And once every month I use a protein conditioner/treatment because I use so much moisturizing stuff all the time for my curly hair. It helps too!

I say, clarify first and then identify if your hair needs protein or moisture.

Good luck!

girlcat36
January 4th, 2012, 05:50 AM
It sounds like you need to clarify. my ends get dry, frizzy, and Velcro-y from build up.

I color my hair with a semi permanent color, but I apply a heavy coconut oiling overnight before I apply color to minimize damage. not sure if you can do that with henna.

EVOO mixed with castor is great for dry ends, but using conditioner rather than shampoo seems to get the oil out better.

Amber_Maiden
January 4th, 2012, 08:08 AM
Sounds like you need to trim, or at least dust your ends.

xoxophelia
January 4th, 2012, 08:25 AM
Girlcat could very likely be right. Even if clarifying only temporarily solves the problem, you can hold off on a trim for awhile. I had velcro ends for about half a year and put off the trim with the aid of ACV. I was happier when I cut the ends off though.

Other ideas:
-wear your hair in protective updos. It is amazing how much more supple ends feel after being up like that all day
-only use 2-3 drops of oil. You can even shake this up with a small amount of water in a spray bottle if you want the most even distribution. Applying by hand works as well.
-Don't shampoo your ends. Leave your conditioner on for 5 minutes and trust that it will get this small amount of oil out. If it ends up not working, you can always wear your hair up and come up with another plan.

Kherome
January 4th, 2012, 08:30 AM
All good advice, but I will repeat the "get a trim" bit. You have damaged hair. If you leave it, the damage can travel higher and higher on the hair shaft and you'll never acheive nice long hair. Try CO too...

holothuroidea
January 4th, 2012, 08:46 AM
If you have not clarified your hair this is always a good first step to diagnosing a problem. Build up causes a lot of the issues you are having, dryness, velcro ends, and problems absorbing oils/product.

If I were you I would clarify and do a moisture treatment and then reassess.

ktani
January 4th, 2012, 09:48 AM
Can you guys help me diagnose what is "wrong" with my hair?

1. I have fairly thick and curly/wavy hair which is very dry, especially on the ends and I get that velcro effect and a lot of frizz.

2. I last used a box dye which lightened my hair about a year and a half ago and the ends are really dry from this. I also get a lot of split ends.

3. I have hennaed my hair about 3 times in the last 3 months to get some nice colour and to see if it would improve my hair condition at all.

4. I have tried coconut oil and EVOO on the ends but these just make my hair oily and I then need to use a strong shampoo to wash it out which then leaves my hair really dry again :(.

Now, I am not sure if my hair has too much protein, too little, needs a proper chelating/clarifying or something else.

I would like to have soft, shiny, non-velcro hair as I plan to grow it long (and no, I will not cut even for a trim).

5. Is it possible to really recondition my hair ladies?

1. This does sound like build-up. Clarifying should help. You can use a clarifying shampoo like Neutogena Anti-Residue or fully dissolved baking soda (not too strong or it can be drying) in water and follow that with a well diluted lemon juice rinse (that also chelates minerals).

2. If you do not want to trim (and I understand that) s&d or just trim the splits so they do not travel up the hair shaft or tangle other hairs.

3. Henna contains mucilage and resin that washes out between applications and can make hair feel even drier.

4. You can conditioner only wash out oils. However if the oils are on top of a lot of conditioner, they can make the hair feel drier too and that is where clarifying helps or use less conditioner and oil.

5. Yes it is possible. You can also try using a few as in 1 or 2 drops of mineral oil/white baby oil on your damaged ends - when they are damp, instead of more conditioner or vegetable oil to help the ends stay moist and tangle free.

Anje
January 4th, 2012, 10:07 AM
Start with clarifying. That alone might fix everything for you.

Given that you're suffering some dye damage and don't want to trim (do try to S&D at least, as that will help with the tangles), I'd suggest that if you still have problems, try a mild protein treatment. Flaxen recommends low-sodium soy sauce for this. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=47142) Follow with some good moisturizing and see if it's any better. (Expect at least a little stiffness immediately following a protein treatment.) If it's vastly worse, you can try cutting out protein and moisturizing repeatedly and heavily, but I suspect it's more likely that you need it than that you're overloaded, unless you're washing with a conditioner that contains lots of protein.

shikara
January 4th, 2012, 07:05 PM
After much ado, I solved the velcro problem, as well as my concern over protein, moisture etc. I was figuring that perhaps my hair didnt really like oils, or cones, or too gentle shampoos - that perhaps without certain precautions, residue of any amount was a real problem. Here is what I did.

I massaged in a thin layer of oil on my scalp so the sls shampoo I was going to use wouldnt dry it out.

I wet my length ( because I didnt want to be standing in the shower for all of what was to come:)!), and swished it around in a bowl with diluted sls shampoo, and rinsed it out, to prepare it for the deep MOISTURIZING conditioner that I applied next, and waited fifteen minutes before hopping in the shower. This deep moisturizing would protect my hair from the sls (well, this is what hair lover, scientist, and world renowed George Michael says!)

Gave my hair a wash with a keratin protein shampoo that has sls. Applied keratin PROTEIN conditioner (btw I was using Mill Creek brand), rinsed it out very well, then followed by pouring a large bowl of diluted lemon juice over my head. My hair doesnt like ACV but YMMV. I thought that using a conditioner with protein might not be as harsh as a full out treatment. Something (protein? sls?) left my hair feeling a tad dryer than usual but it really settled itself down after a bit. At night I just either really dampen my ends and put them in a large roller, or really dampen my length and contain it either with a shower cap, or under a scarf. This gives it all the silkiness and moisturized hair I need.

Hope one of these posts helps solve your problem!

Terra
January 5th, 2012, 04:12 AM
Great to hear, that you solved it!

Did you think about doing CWC? (apply conditioner to the length and shampoo to the scalp, wash both out. Apply conditioner once again to the length and wash it out.)
With that routine you are protecting your length from the shampoo. :)

BTW: Oils only work for me in soaking wet hair. Therefore I apply 2-4 drops of oil to soaking wet hair while I'm still in the shower. Afterwards I squeeze out the water from my hair. Then I apply my leave-in and so on...
Perhaps that works for you, too? :)

Pierre
January 5th, 2012, 06:27 AM
I recommend S&D. It takes persistence, but you will get to the end of it. I hardly need to S&D at all now.

As to oil, I suggest jojoba. I mix a little coconut and andiroba in, but it's still mostly jojoba.

Lamb
January 5th, 2012, 06:38 AM
Can you guys help me diagnose what is "wrong" with my hair?

I have fairly thick and curly/wavy hair which is very dry, especially on the ends and I get that velcro effect and a lot of frizz. I last used a box dye which lightened my hair about a year and a half ago and the ends are really dry from this. I also get a lot of split ends.

I have hennaed my hair about 3 times in the last 3 months to get some nice colour and to see if it would improve my hair condition at all.

I have tried coconut oil and EVOO on the ends but these just make my hair oily and I then need to use a strong shampoo to wash it out which then leaves my hair really dry again :(.

Now, I am not sure if my hair has too much protein, too little, needs a proper chelating/clarifying or something else.

I would like to have soft, shiny, non-velcro hair as I plan to grow it long (and no, I will not cut even for a trim).

Is it possible to really recondition my hair ladies?

I would suggest reading this article:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=44

Also, these:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=224 ("What's wrong with my hair?")

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=194

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=17

(clarifying and protein disaster)

Also, have a good long look at your diet and water intake. Do you eat well (quality and quantity)? Do you drink enough water? Are you under considerable stress now, are you short on sleep? Don't just look at what you are putting on your hair, look at how you live because hair is the quickest body part to raise the alarm when something is wrong.

infinity_girl
January 6th, 2012, 07:50 AM
Thank you all. I did an ACV rinse for the first time after my last shampoo/conditioner and my hair feels so different - much softer and no velcro! I will see how long this lasts but so far it has been 2 days YAY!

the.fee.fairy
January 6th, 2012, 09:35 AM
A very wise person on here told me once to remember how old the ends of your hair are and what they'[ve been through.

Sometimes, they may just give up! If your hair is around BSL, your ends could be 4 or 5 years old depending on how fast it grows, think about all you've put it through in those years, and all you've been through in those years.

Another wise person once said that you should treat your hair like antique lace. Be gentle and be thorough.