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View Full Version : Hair breaking off at the ends



cuties
June 3rd, 2012, 11:24 AM
My hair has all of a sudden breaking off at the ends. When I comb my hair, I get so many small hairs, an inch or so in the comb and the long hairs that I loose, almost all have snaps in the middle or the end. This has been happening for last 1 week or so. I did color my hair last weekend with all natural color which has henna and indigo. I have used the color in the past with no side effects and this is my third time using it. I use it only once in 3 months. The only thing that I remember is that this time I picked a different shade than previous times. Could that be the problem? Also I haven't got a hair cut since mid Jan, so I was wondering if it was due to that? I don't use heat at all on my hair and use conditioner regularly. I also used olive oil on my ends a couple of times this week after I started seeing this snapping, but it hasn't helped or maybe I am expecting results too soon. I am getting worried about this as I see so many hair in my comb now.

spidermom
June 3rd, 2012, 11:25 AM
Sounds like it's time for a trim.

Carolyn
June 3rd, 2012, 11:29 AM
Maybe too much protein and not enough moisture? Does your conditioner have protein in it? Are you conditioning after every wash? If not you may need to.

cuties
June 3rd, 2012, 11:32 AM
I use protein once a month. I use conditioner every time I wash and it doesn't have protein. Is henna protein?

Spidermom, I do think its time for a haircut. I was thinking of getting it in 2 weeks anyway. This is my first time stretching my hair cut for this long. Longest I have gone before this is 3 months, but now its going to be 5 months.

heidi w.
June 3rd, 2012, 11:41 AM
My money's on that somehow the color you used, or the protein treatment you're conducting, somehow, you have protein overload. The way we can tell protein overload or underload (yep, both have the same symptom) is that hair SUDDENLY and A LOT OF IT begins breaking off inexplicably. I had this happen once from using a leave-in conditioner on my hair. I jumped back in the shower and washed all that leave-in off my hair and just about immediately the breaking off ceased.

All shampoos, and all conditioner's in a manufacturers blend of these include a basic amount of protein when used. People can get into protein trouble when they mix and match products from different manufacturers. I'm betting the color you used had some protein in it, if you used a boxed product and did it yourself. Also, read the labels on product choices. For example, the leave-in I used that one time turned out the directions clearly stated that straight haired fine haired people needed to rinse this product out, and not leave it on! Look for those kind of details.

And for the moment, I'd suspend protein treatments. For the most part, most people don't have a protein issue, so there's no need to apply a protein treatment unless you have a very specific reason or need for doing so. This is one of those topics that too many people guess at, and a subset of these folks end up in trouble. Don't guess about porosity and protein. And by the way, never apply protein if one has a hair porosity issue. Bad news.

heidi w.

heidi w.
June 3rd, 2012, 11:44 AM
Sounds like it's time for a trim.

While it may be time for a trim, this will not solve a protein overload problem. Again, most conditioners have a modicum of protein in it.

I can't answer about henna, but I can tell people that I'm not fond of henna. People's henna'd hair after a number of years of using henna ends of dry and difficult to deal with because after a while, henna blocks the uptake of applied conditioner. I know unpopular to hear, but that's the general consensus from those who know more than myself about henna. I have witnessed this end result on henna'd hair. It's heartbreaking to see, too. To know that someone has tried so hard to grow their hair long and try to take care of it and this is what happens. Upsetting.

heidi w.

jacqueline101
June 3rd, 2012, 12:17 PM
I'd say a trim is in order. You need to moisturize your ends.

cuties
June 3rd, 2012, 12:27 PM
I can suspend henna but I don't know how else to color my grays and I don't want to go to chemical dyes. I read the ingredients on the box and it only had henna and indigo. Yes, I did it myself.
Anyway, I don't use leave-in-conditioners. Just rinse out. Maybe I can stop using conditioners and use oils like coconut or mineral oil on the ends, will that help? I have dry hair ends but my scalp is oily, so I have to wash it every other day. I will stop the protein treatments.

BlazingHeart
June 3rd, 2012, 12:58 PM
My understanding is that after a henna treatment, many people experience some dryness and need to do moisture treatments. If you haven't been, you may be short on moisture, which could cause breakage.

I don't think stopping conditioner will help with this unless your conditioner has protein in it. A lot of the VO5 line don't have protein in them (the moisture milks are the main exception). If you aren't sure, you can always post the ingredient list here and ask other people who are more informed about what's what. Otherwise, read through your ingredient list and google the ingredients you don't recognize.

~Blaze