Dilemma!

[Humbug454]

Hi there!

I've been growing my hair for about 2 and a half years now, I'd say its around 14" now. In those two years I've had two trims, one at the beginning of September, and one at the beginning of January this year.

So my hair had grown for about 2 years without any trims, and I was not taking good care of it at all! Using a hair-dryer to dry my hair every couple of days after I washed it, and the ends got into a pretty bad state.

However, I've had those two trims now, and for some reason the hair on the left side of my head is fine, but the hair on the right side of my head is still damaged at the ends! There aren't many split ends, but my hair feels very dry and damaged! Before I had the trim it seemed like the left side of my hair was growing faster too, I think because the right side was damaged and the ends were breaking off faster than it was growing!!

So I have this dilemma....I really want to keep my hair long, I can't bring myself to chop loads off. But how can I get both sides of my hair equal? If I leave my hair to grow then I don't think it will be growing as fast as it could - my hair seems to grow slowly anyway :(
But if I get all the damage cut off then it will be very short!

I'm taking Biotin daily, and also try scalp massages to try and increase the hair growth so that I can grow my hair faster and then get small trims to try and keep the damage away.

Has anyone got any suggestions? This is driving me mad!

[Madora]

Hair grows at different rates on the head so one side might grow faster than the other.

As far as the damage is concerned, how are you caring for your hair? Do you wear it up or confine it at night?

Do you blow fry/straighten/bleach it?

Are you using hair friendly products and elastics?

Do you wear ponytails?

Do you wash it more than once a week?

Since you've recently had it trimmed, I would just Search and Destroy the ends and get rid of any split ends/white dots you find.

Just continue to baby it along and give it another trim in 3 to 4 months.

If you notice the ends are dry, you might wish to consider a tiny bit of coconut oil on the last inch or so of your hair.

Good luck!

[spidermom]

Maybe you sleep on the more damaged side most often? I'd try to figure out why the damage is worse on the one side and correct that.

[Merkaba]

Do you carry a purse or bag that is breaking the hair on that side?

[Amber_Maiden]

Do you carry a purse or bag that is breaking the hair on that side?

This would be my guess. Or a seatbelt?

[owlathena]

I have a similar thing: the hair on my right side is damaged and extra thin from bleached streaks that I put in a couple years ago on just that side. I try to even it out and get off the most damage yet keep the length by having a V-shaped hemline. Depending on where the damage is, that could be something to consider.

[Humbug454]

I'm not really doing anything to care for the damage, just trying not to increase it. I just have my hair down at night; not really sure what else to do or how to prevent damage at night!

I don't blow dry it any more since September, never straightened it and never dyed it.

I normally wear my hair tied back in a low ponytail that's quite loose. I use the hair friendly elastics for this, no metal parts on them.

I usually wash my hair 2 times a week and just leave it to air dry naturally.

[Madora]

You might want to look into using a silk pillowcase at night to help protect your delicate ends.

Also, I'd try and stay away from those elastics at night. Maybe you could braid your hair with a shoelace or ribbon to keep it confined.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try looking into your care routine. See what products are friendly and what ones aren't and get rid of the ones that aren't. Then I'd clarify my hair do a s and d for splits and oil my length putting extra oil cocoa nut on the last half inch. If your hair is frizzy from damage I'd really oil it up and braid it keep it braided until wash day. I wash mine weekly. I'd sleep in the braid and all.

[lapushka]

However, I've had those two trims now, and for some reason the hair on the left side of my head is fine, but the hair on the right side of my head is still damaged at the ends! There aren't many split ends, but my hair feels very dry and damaged!

You say the damage is minimal (minimal splits), but that it just feels dry. That doesn't necessarily mean damage. Try going on a S&D mission, and moisturize your hair lots (SMT, or check into the mineral oil thread). Trying to make it less dry is a good thing!

As far as it being unequal goes, try trimming a small bit, just to even out the ends. No need to chop it all off, or a huge chunk anyway just because it feels dry.

[jojo]

out of interest which side do you sleep on? just wondering if this is the reason why

[Humbug454]

Right side of my head, which is probably contributing to the damage.

I'm trying to sleep on my left side more, but I don't know which side I end up on when I roll around in my sleep :)

[Humbug454]

Just decided to go for it and cut a couple of inches off and get rid of the damaged hair totally.
It was making me spend too much time thinking "should I or shouldn't I?" so I just decided to get rid of the horrible hair!

At least this way I can get a "fresh start" (sort-of) and monitor my growth a lot better, and overall just be happier with the way my hair looks and is growing :D

Also just bought some coconut oil and going to really take care of my hair now! Bring on the nice looking hair :) !!

[BlazingHeart]

Out of curiosity, which hand did you hold the blow dryer in back when you used it? I am betting it was in your right hand, which would have meant more use on the right side of your head and thus more damage.

Have patience, trimming out damage may make growing slower in the short run but it can mean faster growth and fewer tangles in the long run.

~Blaze