The last inch or two

[sazzie88]

A quick question to see if anyone could help me. The last two inches of my hair seem to get tangled very easily. Even after I brush all o the knots out within 5 minutes my hair seems to clump together and get knotted, and I can't run my fingers through it smoothly.

I do co wash every 2-3 days could this be the cause or is there something I'm missing? :o

[mzBANGBANG]

I also have fine hair and this happens to me when my ends are dry. Not sure of your hair type, mine is fairly straight. If you use a coney serum, usually this problem goes away and gives your hair lots of slip. Hope this helps :)

[QMacrocarpa]

When this happens to me, I trim my ends and that helps a lot. Just a very small trim can help, like 1/4", and at the moment it's a once or twice a year thing for me. Pretty easy to do with Feye's self-trim (http://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/).

[MissHair]

I have the same problem but it doesn't help when I oil my hair. Infact, it makes it even worse. My idea is that the problem comes from layers, whether they are cut or whether our hair grows in different stages. Completely straight hair seems to fix the problem for me but as soon as the last two inches start to grow unevenly, they are more prone to tangles.

[MinderMutsig]

It could be build-up. That's actually very likely since you CO. I'd try clarifying and see if that solves it. It could also be a sign your ends need moisture so that would be my second recommendation. Then there's chelating but I don't know anything about that. I think there's a thread on it though. And if that doesn't work a small trim might do the trick, especially if you haven't trimmed in a while.

[PixxieStix]

I would try clarifying and then doing a deep conditoning treatment to see if that fixes the issue. Have you tried oiling your ends? I use coconut oil on the ends of my hair and along with my LHC hair routine almost never have this issue, but prior to here I recall having it ALL THE TIME! If none of that works, then perhaps like others suggested, a tiny trim can do wonders!

[Freckled.Thing]

Yup my hair gets like this from time to time. Often it can be an indicator that it's time for a trim. This weekend I'm planning on clarifying, doing an nice long SMT and then trimming off half an inch or so. I would recommend you try the same thing--especially the clarifying--and if you're lucky you won't have to trim. Sometimes velcro hair is just a result of damage in which case it's best to bite the bullet and get rid of it.

[Kiwiwi]

It happens to me every few weeks. And everytime I first think "Oh no! I have to trim." And then I think "I should clarify first and see if that helps." And it always helps. Because I never really wash my ends, just put conditioner on it. So then I wash my ends with a strong sulfate shampoo, condition it well afterwards and voila, no more dry feeling, scrunchy, velcro-y ends! Just soft ends!

So I suggest you try that first! :)

If that doesn't work you could also try a protein treatment (moisturize it well afterwards). Because I read you do CO, your hair might be over-moisturized over time.

So I suggest you try that second :)

[Avital88]

sounds like build up, clarify!

[caiti42]

My hair is like that most of the time too. I put my down to bleach damage though but it could also be build up.

[DancingQueen]

My ends do this when it is time for a haircut. :)

[sazzie88]

Thank you ladies for al of your answers i will clarify tonight and see if that helps, if not out the scissors come :(

[Covet]

This happens to me but only when I need a trim because the ends are dry (I have bleached ends in growing out ugh!). So I suggest you do a tiny trim :)

[Anje]

I'll also suggest clarifying and possibly trimming if that doesn't fix it.

But there's one more thing I want to suggest -- when my hair got like that and even trimming didn't fix it, it turned out that I was having problems with too much protein in my CO conditioner (specifically Suave Tropical Coconut). So if your ends actually feel rough and grabby when you slide your fingers down your hair, consider that as a possibility. How do you recover from it? Switch to a CO conditioner with no protein, and do a few protein-free moisture treatments like SMTs with it. Lots of moisture is the easiest way to overcome a protein overdose.

[torrilin]

Clarify and for me, an acidic rinse is always a good step when my ends are acting weird. It's also good for me to give them a once over to make sure I don't have a herd of splits.

[sazzie88]

I'll also suggest clarifying and possibly trimming if that doesn't fix it.

But there's one more thing I want to suggest -- when my hair got like that and even trimming didn't fix it, it turned out that I was having problems with too much protein in my CO conditioner (specifically Suave Tropical Coconut). So if your ends actually feel rough and grabby when you slide your fingers down your hair, consider that as a possibility. How do you recover from it? Switch to a CO conditioner with no protein, and do a few protein-free moisture treatments like SMTs with it. Lots of moisture is the easiest way to overcome a protein overdose.

I have recently started using very occasional protien treatments because a few weeks ago I co washed my hair and it turned into a gummy mush and was stretching to 3 times the size. I pressumed this was down to too much moisture but whatever i do it is never as soft and tangle free like it was when i first started co washing :(

[Anje]

I have recently started using very occasional protien treatments because a few weeks ago I co washed my hair and it turned into a gummy mush and was stretching to 3 times the size. I pressumed this was down to too much moisture but whatever i do it is never as soft and tangle free like it was when i first started co washing :(
Well, gummy and stretchy definitely sounds like too little protein/too much moisture. It also sounds to me like you have some sort of chemical damage -- it's rare to see hair that has reached mushiness from too much moisture alone.

Stick with the protein treatments. It sounds like you need them. I'm apparently coming at this from the other side, as someone whose hair is hyper-sensitive to protein. Anything significantly out of balance can give tangles, unfortunately.

[sazzie88]

It could be build-up. That's actually very likely since you CO. I'd try clarifying and see if that solves it. It could also be a sign your ends need moisture so that would be my second recommendation. Then there's chelating but I don't know anything about that. I think there's a thread on it though. And if that doesn't work a small trim might do the trick, especially if you haven't trimmed in a while.

Thank you for your comment. I had not heard of chelating before and you've given me a "new" hair fact. :) I will look into that

[sazzie88]

Well, gummy and stretchy definitely sounds like too little protein/too much moisture. It also sounds to me like you have some sort of chemical damage -- it's rare to see hair that has reached mushiness from too much moisture alone.

Stick with the protein treatments. It sounds like you need them. I'm apparently coming at this from the other side, as someone whose hair is hyper-sensitive to protein. Anything significantly out of balance can give tangles, unfortunately.

It's strange that it just suddenly started to get like that, it felt like soggy gum, I was extremely worried when it happened. Every time I co wash I am using hair masks or deep conditioning treatments do you think that could be the reason?

[sazzie88]

I want to thank you all so so much. I clarified for the first time since co washing and wow. My hair is fanastically smooth and clean. I followed up with some quick s&ding and now it's like new :)