Should I cut back to waist?

[gracenotes]

Hi everyone! This is going to be a long post with a lot of background information, so please bear with me!

In the past few weeks, I've noticed a little more breakage than I'm comfortable with (3 or 4 broken pieces every time I detangle my hair dry--and I detangle very gently), but it enough to bother me. I'm not sure if I also get breakage when I detangle conditioner-soaked hair in the shower. It is entirely possible, also, that I could have been experiencing breakage before, and just not noticed it.

In January, I moved to a place with very hard water. I will be moving back home in a few months, but until then, I'm stuck with the yucky water. I use a vinegar rinse when I wash, and I clarify every 3 weeks. However, this does not seem to be enough, and my hair seems to be reacting very badly to the water, as demonstrated by the increase in breakage, splits, and tangles.

I am very gentle when detangling, I keep my hair up most of the time, I wash no more than twice a week usually, and I use leave-ins and oil (lately baby oil) to keep moisture in my hair. Usually, this works well for me, and my hair is very healthy--except for the breakage.

Several years ago, I had hair that was between chin and shoulder, very layered, and washed and straightened daily. I've been pampering it for about a year, but the bottom 5 or 6 inches are damaged from this. It is not an outrageous amount of damage, but it is still bothersome. My original plan was to wait until my hair reached classic (it is at hip now) and then cut off the damaged parts. The damage is not visible, but it makes detangling somewhat problematic.

Additionally, my hair seems to be stuck in a growth stall. It's been 33 inches since about November. I've trimmed it since then, but it doesn't seem to have grown at all since I trimmed it a month ago. Usually, it grows very steadily at half an inch per month (more in the summer) and does not stall. This wouldn't bother me, but since I'm noticing the breakage, I am a bit concerned.

So, I have several questions.

1) Is it worth it to leave the damage alone until classic, or should I just suck it up and cut the damaged part off now? It will put my hair back at waist, possibly shorter. I don't want to because it would set me back so far, but the breakage is concerning me, and the increased tangles are very frustrating.

2) Is the amount of breakage I have described enough to set back my growth? I detangle probably twice daily, and notice 3-4 broken pieces each time. Or, am I just overreacting to it?

3) Does anyone have any tips beyond "vinegar rinse and regular clarifying" that could help with hard water?

Thanks everyone! :blossom:

[turtlelover]

Maybe you could just keep it the length it is at for awhile and maintain until the older damaged ends grow out. Do you have photos?

[spidermom]

I had a similar dilemma in 2005, and in the end I decided to get the worst 5 inches cut off because I was sick of fighting with my hair all the time. I'm glad I did it because my hair started to grow again, after being stuck with the same length and lots of breakage for the previous 3-4 months.

Again in 2011, I had 7 inches cut off (from classic to hip) because the ends were so trashed that they stuck together like Velcro.

If you're sentimental about losing length, you may prefer to just maintain your length with tiny trims. That works, too.

[lapushka]

We have hard water here, and we typically use a lot more shampoo than normal (about a palmful). Apart from that, as far as my hair is concerned, I don't seem to notice any bad things, but then I'm used to hard water and I typically don't get why anyone would be upset by it. :shrug:

Maybe try clarifying more often, like every (or every other) time you shampoo?

Could the breakage possibly be old damage (from heat styling or some such)?

[RapunzelKat]

I would suggest doing some smaller trims, like 1-2" at a time, to see if the condition of your ends improves. You may only need to take off a small amount to see a big improvement :) I have been doing this with my hair to get rid of some splits and tangle damage. The good thing about small trims is you get to keep most of your length as your hair has a chance to grow in between. :D

If that doesn't help, you might want to consider a larger trim.

Also, did you only start the baby oil recently? I am using it as well and it's helped my ends a lot, but it took a few weeks :)

ETA: as far as clarifying goes... I use Neutrogena No Residue shampoo. It works great, as long as you're ok with using sulphates on your hair. Also, I know you can use a lemon rinse or chelating shampoo to combat mineral buildup from hard water, but I have not actually tried this myself.

[Amber_Maiden]

I can tell you what I would do- I would cut off all the damage. It's better to have healthy hair than long hair, in my opinion, and to have both I think you'll need to cut off the damage. Also, the damage you have can damage healthy hair...

[Annalouise]

I agree with Amber Maiden. Because what is happening is those damaged ends are tangling and then you get more breakage and damage. I think damaged ends need to come off.
Healthy hairs wins out over damaged long hair everytime for me.

[Madora]

I can tell you what I would do- I would cut off all the damage. It's better to have healthy hair than long hair, in my opinion, and to have both I think you'll need to cut off the damage. Also, the damage you have can damage healthy hair...

^^^^ Precisely!!

@Gracenotes..perhaps you could look into some sort of attachment to your showerhead that could combat the hard water problem?

[skaempfer]

Do you have access to outside space? I live in a place with veeeeeeeeeery hard water- I collect rain water, which works very well. Maybe a small trim and then rain-water to prevent further damage? Good luck whatever you decide.

[Beckstar]

I used to add a bit of salt to my shampoo when I had hard water. It seemed to work really well. Or find some shampoo for hardwater users?

[gracenotes]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!




Also, did you only start the baby oil recently? I am using it as well and it's helped my ends a lot, but it took a few weeks :)

ETA: as far as clarifying goes... I use Neutrogena No Residue shampoo. It works great, as long as you're ok with using sulphates on your hair. Also, I know you can use a lemon rinse or chelating shampoo to combat mineral buildup from hard water, but I have not actually tried this myself.

I did just start it recently. Before that I was using coconut oil.
I've been considering switching from a vinegar to a lemon rinse, so that might be good.


I agree with Amber Maiden. Because what is happening is those damaged ends are tangling and then you get more breakage and damage. I think damaged ends need to come off.
Healthy hairs wins out over damaged long hair everytime for me.



@Gracenotes..perhaps you could look into some sort of attachment to your showerhead that could combat the hard water problem?

I would, but it's a dorm shower, so I'm not sure if I would be able to do that. Hmm.


Do you have access to outside space? I live in a place with veeeeeeeeeery hard water- I collect rain water, which works very well. Maybe a small trim and then rain-water to prevent further damage? Good luck whatever you decide.

The rainwater sounds like a good idea. I'm not sure if I'd have anywhere to put something to collect it (I live in a campus dorm), but I'll look into it because that might help my hair a lot.


I used to add a bit of salt to my shampoo when I had hard water. It seemed to work really well. Or find some shampoo for hardwater users?

The shampoo I've started using has some sea salt in it. Maybe over time that will help.

Amber Maiden, Annalouise, and Madora, I'm thinking that that may be my best bet right now. Maintaining/doing small trims may be less drastic, but I think it might be in my best interests to just go ahead and cut all the damage off in one shot. I'll give it a few more days.

[QMacrocarpa]

Before a major chop, I'd try trimming an inch or so and see. I don't think it's possible to know that a small trim won't help without trying it. You can always go shorter if things don't improve.

[jojo]

Was just going to say ^^ this, a small trim can work wonders to how you think about your hair!

[Darkessa]

1) Is it worth it to leave the damage alone until classic, or should I just suck it up and cut the damaged part off now? It will put my hair back at waist, possibly shorter. I don't want to because it would set me back so far, but the breakage is concerning me, and the increased tangles are very frustrating.

2) Is the amount of breakage I have described enough to set back my growth? I detangle probably twice daily, and notice 3-4 broken pieces each time. Or, am I just overreacting to it?

3) Does anyone have any tips beyond "vinegar rinse and regular clarifying" that could help with hard water?

Thanks everyone! :blossom:

I would say, cut off about HALF (or less) of the damage. You will get rid of it which will be nice, but you wont lose as much length. See if that is enough for you, and if the problems with the damage persist you can always cut off more.
My theory is, cut off MUCH less than you think you need to. Its easy to cut off more if necessary, but you can't get hair back immediately after its cut.

[EtherealDoll]

I would say, cut off about HALF (or less) of the damage. You will get rid of it which will be nice, but you wont lose as much length. See if that is enough for you, and if the problems with the damage persist you can always cut off more.
My theory is, cut off MUCH less than you think you need to. Its easy to cut off more if necessary, but you can't get hair back immediately after its cut.

I agree. Don't cut off all the damage at once if you don't want to lose much length. Maybe trimming only 2-3 inches will improve your hair.

[Maktub]

I can tell you what I would do- I would cut off all the damage. It's better to have healthy hair than long hair, in my opinion, and to have both I think you'll need to cut off the damage. Also, the damage you have can damage healthy hair...

I agree :flower:

[long&blonde]

Totally understand.
I'm trying to hold on to see what classic looks like/feels like too.
I'm kinda like "put it up, don't look too close!" Mode, lol.

[gracenotes]

Thanks for the input, everybody :)
I decided to cut off a little less than I was planning on (4 inches instead of 6), which puts me back to just barely waist.
It was such a good decision! My hair feels and looks so much healthier, and I can actually get a comb through it without it putting up a fight. The mini-chop also got rid of my layers, which makes me happy. It definitely feels shorter, but it still seems longish to me. And hopefully I'll hit my summer growth spurt soon, so I'll be back to hip in no time!

[Maktub]

I'm sure it is a good decision ! I'd love to see a before and after pic, your hair looks so pretty !

[gracenotes]

I'm sure it is a good decision ! I'd love to see a before and after pic, your hair looks so pretty !

Here is the last real length shot I took (end of January, but it didn't grow much after that)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8323&pictureid=124407

Here it is about five minutes ago! (Sorry about the poor picture quality, my camera charger is MIA so I had to use my webcam)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=8323&pictureid=129059

There are a couple more pictures in my album, too :)

[Slug Yoga]

Yay! Sounds like you made a good decision. Your hair looks very healthy.

For those who rinse with rain water, how do you do that exactly, by putting it into a jug and taking it into the shower or something? My water is pretty hard, and I've been considering doing that (though luckily my hair doesn't seem to have been made gross by the hard water). But certainly, since I CO-wash and therefore slather on copious amounts of conditioner, I don't think a jug-full--or even 2--would be enough to totally rinse the conditioner from my hair.

Do you wash in "regular" water and then just do a final rise-through with the rain water? Is that sufficient to wash away all the hard water? Sorry if this is a bit of a derail.