Damaged, zig-zag, squiggly hair question

[tmb1975]

Hello, I am brand spanking new here to this forum and I am hoping to get some advice from all of you. I'm having a problem with a sudden spurt of zig-zag, squiggly hairs all over my head.

This is what happened:

For practically the last 15 years, I've been getting my hair heavily highlighted to a light blonde shade. Damage hasn't usually been an issue as I use good hair products, avoid heat tools as much as possible, and air dry a good portion of the time.

This time at the salon, however, was different. I had just gotten highlights and this stylist I had seen a couple of times before and had good results with began getting my hair ready to blow dry. My hair was wet and it's fine to begin with, so it was in a fragile state. She began roughly pulling on it with a round brush as she was blowing it dry. She even joked about how she's rough on her own hair and apologized if she was hurting me (she was).

Well, all I know is that when I walked in there that day, my fine, straight hair was still straight. When I walked out, I had a ton of squiggly, zig-zag hairs afterward.

Here's a link to a photo of what it looked like after:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/P1000168a.jpg

You can't really see the squiggly hairs, but you can see the odd texture.

Prior to that mess, this is what my hair looked like:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/IMG_2312.jpg

I've since gotten a bunch more cut off to a chin-length bob, but I'm still finding these squiggly hairs.

What's worse is my roots are hideous and I have to get a highlight again (this time with my regular stylist - not the woman who was so rough on my hair). I'm afraid to even highlight my roots now, but what can I do? They're showing grays and they look absolutely awful because I've held off highlighting for almost three months.

The products I'm using in my rotation are: Bumble and Bumble Mend and Quench line, Kerastase in the green bottle and the orange/peach bottles, Sojourne sulfate-free shampoo (really moisturizing), occasional coconut oil hair masks, a Gloss Moderne deep conditioning mask, and I'm going to try Joico's Revitaluxe.

In addition to all that, I'm taking biotin, Biosil, a good multi-vitamin, and am about to start Viviscal.

If this didn't all start after that horrible hair appointment, I'd wonder if it's my hormones or stress (I suffer from panic attacks and generalized anxiety), but I've had my blood tested and all of this began right after she pulled on my wet hair so hard with that round brush while blow drying (on a high heat, I might add - it actually burned).

Do you guys have any ideas for me? Should I bite the bullet and cut it even shorter, as in tapered to my head? This is what it looks like now after tons of deep conditioning:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/P1000218a.jpg

The two times I've had very short hair, I've hated it, but I don't know what to do anymore. Finding these squiggly hairs are practically giving me panic attacks these days.

Thanks in advance for any advice you have for me. I hope I don't sound too neurotic, but the sad truth is I'm a bit obsessive over my hair. :\

Thank you for reading this long post too!

[tmb1975]

^I don't see an edit button and wanted to add that before all of this happened, I was attempting to grow out my hair. :(

[lapushka]

I don't see anything wrong with your hair, to tell you the truth. :o Maybe that's just me. :shrug:

[tmb1975]

Well, it is hard to see the squiggles. I actually saved a few of the worst ones to show my hairdresser. Maybe I should take a picture of them for you guys so you can see what I mean.

You can kind of tell in this photo how my hair isn't smooth anymore. I used to have some flyaways, but these are different - they're wiry, crazy flyaways:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1.../P1000168a.jpg

Here's a different shot that might show things a little clearer:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/P1000171a-1.jpg

[HintOfMint]

Hmm. Hard to say what you should do.

Conventional wisdom says to chop off all damaged hair and start anew. However, that seems to refer to damage in the form of split ends and white dots which travel up like a fraying rope.

Your damage, on the other hand, seems to be different. Basically your hair was stretched when wet and the structure is now distorted. Aside from tangling issues, I don't think that kind of damage will travel up. So, you probably don't have to cut it as a preventive measure. You can deep condition it and wait for it to grow out on your own trimming schedule--you can grow it longer, or keep it at this length for now until the damage is trimmed away.

Now the concern is the texture which can be masked through styling. Wearing curls helps, although if you prefer your hair straight, you can try hair wrapping (youtube is your friend). And of course, product, pick your poison. I can't really recommend a smoothing product to you as I have a very different hair type, and well... I don't really use much except for a dab of olive oil. I used to use Aveda Brilliant Universal smoothing cream, but that was just to take care of my "poof." I don't know if it will take away the "squiggly" texture.

For your next highlighting session, I have heard very good things about prepping your hair with coconut oil, but I have no personal experience with this.

Good luck, and really, your hair looks good. I know you don't like the change in texture, but I think we are our own biggest critics. I don't mean to invalidate your legitimate feelings about your hair, but... chin up. You'll be fine, it will grow out and there are options to help you.

[Keller1128]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the hair dresser. The first image you posted isn't showing up for me, but I can see the second one. I don't see any squiggly hairs though. I have virgin hair (except for years of blowdrying and straightening with no heat protectant) and have found these zig-zaggedy squiggly hairs you speak of. They're fine and curl up when I let go of them. I don't know what caused them, but I want you to know that I have them too. I think the texture of those hairs is just different now. I know that if I cut mine off, they would grow back exactly the same. I think your hair looks great and you shouldn't worry about it. It's only when we start examining individual hairs on our heads that we get critical and freak out (I do it too).

ETA: PS: Welcome to the forum!

[lapushka]

I kind of get what you mean now... Hmm, I don't know what you could do about those squiggly bits, other than treating them like flyaways, by using some wax, or gel on them, serum even.

[tmb1975]

Thank you all for your advice and comforting words. It's good to know it doesn't look as bad as I think it does. :)

Someone recommended doing an Aphogee protein treatment, but I did one years ago and didn't find it helped much. Do any of you have opinions on this?

I admit I use a bit of ThermaFuse oil or Moroccanoil to smooth it down. It's probably not the best thing to use, but it really does help. I'm not losing anymore hair than normal and haven't noticed many broken pieces, so I'll take that as a good sign (although I did read that some people with alopecia notice a hair texture change before it all falls out, and of course that scared the daylights out of me. Google is not always my friend.).

Sometimes I'll put a heat protectant in, let my hair air dry, and when it's mostly dry, just quickly bend the ends under with a round brush and a dryer. I use it on a lower heat setting, so I don't think it's *too* bad to do once in awhile.

On another note, do any of you know if there's an edit button on here? I can't seem to find one.

[jojo]

I think your hair is in tip top condition to be honest. Your squiggly hairs are new growth or look like it to me! cheer up your hair is in lovely condition! :)

[lippleyluv]

Your edit button will appear when you have more posts. ;)

I think your hair is lovely. My hair is frizzy & coarse from years of bleaching, blow drying & flat ironing. I have been heat free for two & a half years & my texture is sloooowwwwly improving. I have also been growing during that time- from nape to BSL.

I still color my hair~~my virgin color is white white & i don't want to look/feel that old yet. Plus I think it's not flattering with my complexion. My point is that I have managed to grow my hair, starting with some gnarly damaged ends & make improvements to my texture while still coloring my hair although I only color the roots these days.:D I am just not brave enough for a big chop.

Deep Conditioning Treatments & gentle care are your best bet. And make ABSOLUTELY sure you ONLY ONLY ONLY go to your trusted stylist ever ever again, the end. I went four months once when my stylist had surgery. I would rather have monster roots than have some ***** ruin my hair. If I ruin it myself that's my problem but I won't pay for that particular privilege, thanks.

[Avital88]

i get what you mean, but believe me my hair is way worse than yours,mostly newgrowth but the same 'look'
Dont stress about these little hairs, dont see that stylist anymore though.
Your hair looks healthy and shiny to me , especially since its colortreated.
Dont cut it i would say, happy growing and welcome on the boards:)

[spidermom]

I don't think it looks too bad; believe me, if it did, I'd tell you. I agree with a prior comment that your fragile wet hair was stretched too much, which caused the strange texture. I'd keep giving it deep treatments and get small, regular trims. Eventually the worst of the damage will be gone.

Also, maybe you're at an age where something is changing, and that is causing a change in your new hairs. My DD has always had the weirdest little fine zig-zag hairs, some of them baby duck yellow in color. She had these as a toddler, so I know it's not damage.

[Pecheresse]

I would just quit the highlight and rehydrate it. It's not bad looking it doesn't even look dehydrated? The broken hair is just normal I guess. Don't cut it altogether you'll regret it. If anything get a natural color on it to match your roots and let it grow naturally. No more torture.
I used to have highlights for 10 yrs and I let my real color take over. It looked ugly and now it looks damn dark blond (the kind that is "perfect base for highlights") but it's been worth the hassle so far. Nothing feels better than being yourself all over again. Good luck!

[Amber_Maiden]

I really think your hair loos fine. She might have broken some hairs with her rough handling- but they will be ok.

[tmb1975]

Hey everyone-

It's been a long time since I posted here and I have no idea if I should be bumping this thread with an update or creating a new one, but I'm taking a chance and bumping.

Here's the update: my hair has become possessed by something unholy and I have no idea what to do anymore.

I would have said it was a mixture between a type 1A and 2A. It was straight, fine (according to my stylist there's a lot of it - I tend to disagree) with a very slight wave that was barely there. The story above explains how my hair texture changed after the stylist was rough on it.

Well, here it is, almost nine months later (I didn't mention that the disastrous hair appointment was in late December of 2011) and the mess continues. I have had a lot cut off and my dreams of having longer hair have been abandoned now. It's a shorter bob again because I thought those squigglies and zig-zags were damage that needed to go, but it's growing in this way now. I have kinky hairs growing out of my head that are my natural color, not the white zig-zags that were occasionally cropping up. My baby hairs around my forehead are turning curly. My ends have tiny knots in them (no matter how much I get it cut!), my hair when it's wet has the most horrid texture now (eyebrow length bangs that are hard to detangle?? Never was a problem in the past) and I find triangular and L-shaped hairs just popping up out of nowhere.

I have gotten more lowlights put in so we've really cut down on the bleach, but this was never an issue before the December hair massacre. My hair was white blonde at one point and in better shape. I have to use silicones. Without them, it's an utterly hopeless mess. I have a shower filter on and have tried citric acid rinses because I can't tolerate vinegar. I use almost all Kerastase products because they're the only things my hair actually likes and behaves with. I've tried so many other things that it would take me hours to name them all.

My hair isn't breaking because almost every loose hair I find has come straight from the root. I really thought this all came from that stylist roughing up my delicate wet hair so much, but clearly it's not that. She couldn't have damaged my follicles, despite reading that it is possible to damage a follicle (this was regarding facial hair).

I have Googled and read this forum a lot and every time I put in my hair problems, African American hair forums come up. Apparently the knots I've been getting are common in AA hair, but I don't have that hair type so none of the tips help me. It's fine and still looks mostly straight, but is clearly morphing into something else.

I'm 36, haven't had any kids and am scheduled to see an endocrinologist to discuss this and a few other hormonal issues I've been having. I see that doctor in January.

I also have an appointment with a hair specialist in September. He does transplants but his receptionist said it might be worth my coming in to have him look at this. I've saved mutant hairs to show him.

No doctor or dermatologist so far can figure it out, aside from saying it's age and hormones.

At one point last year, I had a protein deficiency, but was able to get my protein levels back to normal as of my last bloodwork. Thyroid levels are normal too.

One thing: I've had a return of extreme anxiety and panic attacks since last August, but especially starting up again in January. As a result, my appetite has suffered and my diet hasn't been great. I have also had a couple of medication changes, but only one is known for hair problems, and that is Inderal. Inderal can cause hair thinning though, and I'm on such a low dose that I haven't experienced any increase in hair loss.

I'm taking Biotin, BioSil and Viviscal along with my fish oil and usual supplements.

Once again I'm asking for any advice or input? You all are really my last hope as I doubt the hair specialist will know what's wrong and I have to wait months to see an endocrinologist who will likely just say it's in my head.

I'd give anything to go back to this time last year when my hair was manageable. It's so bad that I'm dreading a future trip because I have a much longer hair routine now in the shower and my relatives have a very limited hot water supply. My plain in-shower hair routine last year still left me with a cold shower. This time it will be even worse. O_O;

[FrannyG]

Some of my new growth has been coming in that way exactly. Like you, at first I thought it was some kind of damage, but I knew I hadn't done anything unusual to my hair. It really did look like hair that had been stretched too far while wet, but I never do that. I soon realized that some of my new growth was just growing in the zig-zag, kinky manner that you describe.

The doctor says that there's nothing wrong with me or my hair; I've had full-panel blood-work done for other reasons. That's just the way some of my new growth is coming in. It started for me about two years ago, just before menopause.

However, I do know that some other women find their hair has a texture change several years before peri-menopause. We've seen it a fair bit here, but I can't think of any names of members or particular threads that discuss it, off hand.

I am not happy about it; for 49 years, I had completely straight, silky hair. I'm just learning to live with it.

It's always a good idea to get yourself thoroughly checked out by the doctor, so I'm happy to hear you're doing that, but perhaps this is just the way some of your hair is growing in. If it is, I hope that you can just learn to accept it for what it is, and learn how to manage it. I know how frustrating it is. :blossom:

[Tota]

No doctor or dermatologist so far can figure it out, aside from saying it's age and hormones.

Yep. This happened to me at 24. I had long straight hair until then. I chopped it into a short pixie. While growing it out I realized my hair is not straight anymore. First I thought it was because of dye damage but after a while the damaged dyed hair was cut off and my hair was still the same. Eventually I learned to embrace it. The answer from doctors and stylists was the same: It's ok, just your hormones. You can't fix what isn't broken ;)

I don't think there's anything wrong with your hair. Maybe grow it out and see how you like it, perhaps you'll have amazing lush wavy hair and you'll fall in love with it.

[florenonite]

Maybe your hair is becoming wavier? It's not uncommon for one's hair texture to change with age because of hormone fluctuations. If you're used to your hair being straight and are still treating it like straight hair, you're more likely to get those frizzy fly-aways. Maybe you could read up on dealing with wavy hair and modify your routine?

[BelleLoupGarou]

Ok. Well, Im responding to this thread from my phone so Im not able to open your photos. However, Ive had the exact thing happen to my hair. I was using Pantene Pro-V on my already bleached and dyed hair and also using a blowdryer and a flatiron daily. What was causing this essentially was wax like build up from the Pantene and then using the flatiron on it. What was happening was the individual strands of hairs that had alot of build up were melting! I had to use a good clarifying shampoo and an ACV rinse. This clarifying regimine lasted a couple days and it really got rid of the build up and alot of the hairs that looked damaged were just victims of a heck of alot of build up. Try that before you run to the shears!

[Rufflebutt]

Looks like that stylist damaged your hair! You might not want to see her again..

There's nothing you can really do to FIX damage except wait for your hair to grow. But products like silicone can conceal the damage if you don't want it in your face 24/7.

[tmb1975]

Thanks for your replies, everyone. :)

I used to get perms as a teen and knew how to get the waves to look fairly decent (for the time - the cut was incredibly dated, but the waves weren't total fuzz bombs either), but the problem is my hair is still mostly straight with just random singular pieces of hair growing in funny or if they've reached their full length, look a little like they were curled with a spiral iron. So how in the heck do you treat hair like that? If left to air dry, it has a subtle wave in a few areas that's always been there, but it was never enough to work with. It still isn't enough to work with, but if this nonsense keeps up, I imagine I'll have to learn to style wavy hair again.

The ends are the worst. I won't cut it any shorter and my stylist assures me it's healthy, but why are my ends getting tiny knots or L shapes? The hair will grow in straight, but the end will be horizontal, making an L shape.

I did talk to a friend who's a stylist about keratin treatments. I'm not sure if I'd ever do one, but it's been crossing my mind. Has anyone done them? The one she uses is formaldehyde-free.

The most frightening thing is when my hair is wet. It looks like washed up seaweed, all tangled, loopy, lumpy and just weird. I used to be able to detangle fairly easily with a wide tooth comb, but the comb can't get all of the loops (picture a roller coaster's loops) and lumps sorted out anymore. I have to make sure it's detangled as much as possible and then carefully use a smaller toothed comb to get the rest of the tangles out. I've had moments where I've pondered pulling a Britney and shaving it. (Kidding - I would never do that, but it has had me on the verge of tears a couple of times.)

We do have hard water and I don't know how good my shower filter is. My husband said we could look into a water softener, and I'm wondering how that would be. I hear softer water can leave hair limp.

My white hairs in the front are wiry zig-zags and I can see what's going to happen. I'm going to have Grace Coddington hair when I'm all white. She's the Vogue creative director and is amazingly talented, but if you Google her, you can tell her hair is brillo pad-like from probably just being all gray or white underneath her hair color. In her younger photos, her hair is much softer-looking.

Anyway, I've been reading about hormones and also went to see a nurse practitioner who is my ex-boss, so she's someone I really trust. She believes in doing saliva tests because they are very sensitive to any hormonal changes and apparently there are things you can do to balance hormones. The problem is these tests are pricey and there are no promises. A friend of mine had them done and she had great luck with them, but what's to say I spend the $400 and get back a perfectly normal report? It's a big chance to take, which is why I thought I'd start with the endocrinologist first.

I think the most horrifying thing was I saw my aunt in July for the first time in a year. She's 56 and her hair is now morphing into something that looks like what my hair might become. Her hair's always been wavier than mine, but now she has this clump of wooly hair sitting on the top layer. She complained her hair was acting strange up here, and we do have hard water. She has a water softener at home. She's also grown it a lot longer and doesn't apparently spend much time styling it, but it is a definite change and I'm thinking I will or am inheriting it. I know this will sound odd, but we have the exact same teeth, so I already have one of her traits.

I'm heading to CA sometime before the end of the year and am going to have my MIL's stylist look at it. She's supposed to be very talented and California definitely has much better stylists than my city has. It's worth a try.

Well, I've rambled as usual and put out a load of thoughts here. If any of you know anything about water softeners, keratin treatments, salivary hormonal testing or anything else, I'd love to hear your suggestions. I know I was all over the road in this post, but I wanted to give you all as much info as possible. I will keep reading here as always. It's a treasure trove of information.

[Kizuna]

I'm sorry to hear your having problems with your hair!
Since you decribe your hair as a mess after showering, I was thinking "maybe she needs to change the way she washes her hair?". Maybe new products or even a new method (conditioner only or even water only?) could help. Since you do say your hair isn't super straight when airdried, maybe you could try treating is as wavy hair and see if it improves it.
As for soft water, I have soft water and I love it, so I don't think you should be afraid of buying a softener. I don't know how much it would help tough (I don't know much about water).
Good luck!!!

[tmb1975]

Kizuna, your hair is my dream hair. I am so envious!! It's what I always hoped it would be, but when my natural blonde faded into a mouse brown and I got highlights, the shininess was gone. :(

Do you find it's hard to rinse out your hair with the softener? Someone told me shampoo is tough to rinse out with soft water.

I definitely changed products when things started going awry. My hair is oily no matter what I do. I've read that hair produces more oil to compensate for too much shampooing, so I cut way back. I'd like to do it daily, but I stretch it out for sometimes three days or even four by using dry shampoo. It hasn't changed anything.

I switched to gentler, sulfate-free products. Since a doctor said it could be age-related, I added the Kerastase conditioner for "mature" hair to my regimen. I don't know if they intended this line to be for women in their 30s, but I'm trying it anyway.

My stylist friend recommended Simply Smooth's Magic Potion which has keratin in it. I got some to try, but I'm leery since I've heard keratin can be drying.

My hair when it's wet is hard to explain. It takes some time to detangle, but it looks far worse than it actually is. As in, you'd look at it and think, "My gosh, this beast is going to take an hour to work through!" and yet it probably takes about five minutes of careful combing. What I don't like is that before, a wide tooth comb would work just fine and my hair would be ready to go, and now I need a wide tooth and smaller tooth to get all of the loops straightened out.

I don't know if it makes sense. I need to take a shot of it when it's wet and ask your opinions. All I know is my hair has loops like a roller coaster and it looks insane. I don't even remember this happening with perms!

[tmb1975]

OK, everyone, I had time to go through the ol' photo archives and found photos of me when my hair wasn't blown out by a professional and was either in its air dried state or blow dried quickly by me (I am terrible with styling my hair. I can't get a smooth blow out no matter what and I use a T3 on low heat, so maybe that's why, but I won't damage it with high heat.).

Here they are:

2008, quickly blow dried by me:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/IMG_0191.jpg

2004, quickly blow dried by me:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/HPIM0564.jpg

2001, air dried:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/DSCF0008a.jpg

2001, air dried:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/DSCF0007a.jpg

2001, air dried:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/DSCF0004.jpg

2008, air dried:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/IMG_2623.jpg

And finally, a haircut I got a few months ago. My hair's longer now without the layers (which I stupidly thought would help):

Done by a pro:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/P1000358.jpg

My dream was to someday have Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy hair. She had natural dark hair that was bleached (probably double processed) and it was always sleek. *How* is that possible??

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/tmb1975/Hair/Newscom-zumawireworldphotostwo591430.jpg

You can see there's a slight wave pattern there when it's air-dried, but in all of these years, I never had squiggles and oddities. Just fuzz that was part damage from bleach (for a long time I neglected it badly and never deep conditioned) and maybe just partly from the waves.

Any thoughts? Do these photos help at all? Maybe I'm obsessing over something that really isn't as significant as I think it is?

I can't admit my problem to too many people because they'd think I'm nuts.

[florenonite]

Did you comb before air-drying in those pics? I ask because it really looks to me like you've got combed-out waves, and maybe the squigglies are just your hair getting wavier.

[Tota]

Did you comb before air-drying in those pics? I ask because it really looks to me like you've got combed-out waves, and maybe the squigglies are just your hair getting wavier.

That's exactly what I thought seeing these pics. I think you're a wavy. Next time you wash and airdry your hair, don't brush it or comb it. Then you'll know for sure ;)

[tmb1975]

Do you mean to not even detangle it? Just wash, condition and leave it as a ball of tangles until it dries? Whew, I'll have to pick a day when my husband's not around to do it! :P It won't be pretty.

I was looking at photos of my 10 year old self when all I had was one little side wave. Everything went to pot. The nice sandy blonde turned mousey and then the sleek straight look started to slowly disappear. Still, I'll take the hair in those photos over this. I've emailed my stylist asking her if she thinks a keratin treatment will get rid of it.

[Kizuna]

Kizuna, your hair is my dream hair. I am so envious!! It's what I always hoped it would be, but when my natural blonde faded into a mouse brown and I got highlights, the shininess was gone. :(

Do you find it's hard to rinse out your hair with the softener? Someone told me shampoo is tough to rinse out with soft water.

I definitely changed products when things started going awry. My hair is oily no matter what I do. I've read that hair produces more oil to compensate for too much shampooing, so I cut way back. I'd like to do it daily, but I stretch it out for sometimes three days or even four by using dry shampoo. It hasn't changed anything.

I switched to gentler, sulfate-free products. Since a doctor said it could be age-related, I added the Kerastase conditioner for "mature" hair to my regimen. I don't know if they intended this line to be for women in their 30s, but I'm trying it anyway.





THank you!
I started using conditioner only (CO) last year and it has really made my hair super shiny!
Cutting down on regular schampo and switching to a sulphate free is a great way to start. Since I use conditioner only I gladly recomend it to other people. I don't know how it would work for you, but for me it did wonders for my hair. Here's the thread about CO (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898).

I do not find is hard to rinse my hair with soft water at all. I haven't been to many places with hard water, so I can't really compare. But I don't have any problems. :)



That's exactly what I thought seeing these pics. I think you're a wavy. Next time you wash and airdry your hair, don't brush it or comb it. Then you'll know for sure

This is a good idea. This way you'll know for sure how it looks without any modification!

[florenonite]

Do you mean to not even detangle it? Just wash, condition and leave it as a ball of tangles until it dries? Whew, I'll have to pick a day when my husband's not around to do it! :P It won't be pretty.

Yup. You can comb it to detangle in the shower if you need to (I think a lot of wavies/curlies do it while the conditioner's in), but after you get out of the shower leave it be.

[tmb1975]

Thanks to both of you for your responses!

Kizuna, I still struggle to understand CO washing. I tried Wen a long time ago and it was a disaster. Then I bought one of those cheap V05 conditioners people were saying they used successfully and it just left my hair unclean. I asked my stylist friend about it and she was dumbfounded. Maybe I just wasn't using the right product. I've had extremely oily skin and hair since I was 14. I inherited it from my dad. ;)

Florenonite, I just washed it last night and tried Philip Kingsley's elasticizer. It seemed like it felt better, but now it feels kind of heavy. I'll break out my Kinky-Curly clarifying shampoo today and do as you said. Should I take a photo when it's dry?

[tmb1975]

PS - I still don't have an edit button but wanted to add this - the only conditioner I tried that seemed like it could clean your hair was the Origins Clear Head. It actually foams a little!

[florenonite]

Yes, definitely take a picture, and we can help you work out your hairtype ^_^

[Tota]

This (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=164) article might help you. It talks about how to prepare your hair for hairtyping. You can detangle your hair in the shower while you have conditioner on. After that try to manipulate your hair as less as possible while it airdries. Good luck! I hope you'll find out your hair is not damaged ;)

[Lunadriael]

Not to be weird, but I don't really know what either of you are so very worried about. The pictures look like perfectly normal hair that many people would like to have. Not everyone is naturally silky smooth and hair-type can change over time.

My hair has been like you describe as 'a nightmare' since forever. When I shower it is a tangled mess, it tangles very easily all the time (it did even when I was a kid with completely virgin hair and was washing it once a week). I would never dare to comb it through or detangle in the shower because it is so fine it would just snap off. When I let it dry without messing with it at all, it's not straight, it has instead a lot of s waves in it (waves, not curls).

It's just very tangled up around itself, so I'll have to brush or comb it out (or look completely awful) and eventually from the brushing it appears as though my hair is naturally straight, as the waves completely drop out.

I also get a lot of bends at the ends of my hair, which I assume is mechanical damage, but I am very careful with it and I don't think it would be possible for me to eradicate them completely. They aren't splits or white dots, there just comes a point where it bends in a contrary angle that makes it wrap around other hairs. (I do keep snipping them off when I find them because I feel like it is damaging the rest of my hair).

I really would let your hair dry on its own with no manipulation, I bet it's not straight hair now, even if it used to be.

[tmb1975]

Thanks for the article, Tota. I'll give it a try. I'm now 99% sure it's not damage. Ever since the stylist was rough with it and it turned to zig zags, it was like a wake-up call because I realized I'd better start doing more deep conditioning to get it in better shape, and I've noticed my hair doesn't break or snap like before and almost all of the shed hairs I find are from the root. So that's encouraging (at least it seems like it).

Lunadriael - it was never an issue until my hair texture changed literally overnight. Those waves in the photos were the norm for me. Coarse, funny-shaped wiry things weren't. I heard a gross term to describe some of the hairs I've been finding and it er...basically compares them to the hair in the nether regions. It was just bizarre. I walk into the salon with my normal texture hair, get some highlights and a painful, brutal blowout and walk away with a different head of hair. I'll never forget running my hand down the back and feeling the kinks and snarls and getting panicky.

So while the Sweeney Todd stylist may not have caused this, it really did seem strange that the texture changes weren't more gradual. It was just an overnight change that initially seemed like damage, but obviously wasn't since it was nine months ago and the hair is still the same.

Anyhow, I can't ignore what role my diet has been playing. My appetite is not great due to anxiety issues and I haven't been eating well. I definitely need to eat more nutritious foods.

[jacqueline101]

Your hair looks great to me.

[Miss Catrina]

It looks pretty good even now, honestly. I wonder if you could join all those who use a bit of baby oil as a leave-in? Might smooth them out into the rest of the hair.

[HintOfMint]

I thought those squigglies and zig-zags were damage that needed to go, but it's growing in this way now. I have kinky hairs growing out of my head that are my natural color, not the white zig-zags that were occasionally cropping up. My baby hairs around my forehead are turning curly. My ends have tiny knots in them (no matter how much I get it cut!), my hair when it's wet has the most horrid texture now (eyebrow length bangs that are hard to detangle?? Never was a problem in the past) and I find triangular and L-shaped hairs just popping up out of nowhere.



I've started to get those coarse, wiry hairs growing in as well. They're not damage since my hair is virgin and it's growing in that way, even at the root. It's probably just a byproduct of getting older and getting a different hairtype.

I'm 25 and these hairs started increasing in number only recently, I haven't noticed any thinning, so for now I'm just going to chalk it up to life's little quirks.

[Miss Catrina]

I've started to get those coarse, wiry hairs growing in as well. They're not damage since my hair is virgin and it's growing in that way, even at the root. It's probably just a byproduct of getting older and getting a different hairtype.

I'm 25 and these hairs started increasing in number only recently, I haven't noticed any thinning, so for now I'm just going to chalk it up to life's little quirks.. .

I just found my first misfit wiry hair last night. I was sitting on the couch watching TV, petting my hair as usual (:p) and felt this really bumpy, rough spot. I managed to get the individual oddball hair between my fingers and walked to the bathroom mirror... sure enough, I had one lonely hair that looked like it came from an overly-brushed afro... right in the center of my head.