Dry ends driving me insane

[Of the Fae]

My ends are still dry and my hair is still elastic when wet from the last time I bleached. In the mean time I've gotten back to henna, which is better, but my ends are still scraggly.
I've tried cones, non-cones, oils.. a lot of things. Still I am afraid I will have to trim, for the second time in three months now..
BSL is becoming an impossible goal this way, while my hair grows so fast on its own, every time I brush it I see little pieces of my hair ends breaking off :(
Any advice? Trim?
It looks messy and it feels like straw on the last few cms ..

[jojo]

Sounds like a trim is order, just trim a teeny bit and see what difference it makes. Sometimes taking the weeniest bits off make the hugest of differences.

[Rufflebutt]

Yes, you'll have to trim. I know it's sad, but I'm currently in the same boat. Well not exactly, I just want to thicken up my hemline by maintaining with monthly trims.

But you'd benefit from it as well. Think of it this way, would you rather have your hair crumble away or just get it over-with and cut away the damage?

[Louise148]

I had damage that sounds like this when I used to have a heavily bleached blonde and flat ironed pixie. I used to see little snapped bits coming off when I brushed or washed it and I had to have it trimmed. I think while some damage can be managed with lots of moiture and protein if it's breaking it'll just have to come off. Sad I know but you'll have very healthy ends once the breakage prone bits are removed.

[Boucles d'or]

I think you'll have to trim it... Use a few drops of 100% pure argan oil on your ends. You'll see an immediate change!

[Boucles d'or]

I had the same as you my ends were also like straw when the hairdresser colored my hair ombre... They were all breaking. I use a supershampoo now of l'oreal. Absolute repair cellular for heavily damaged hair, for me it works wonders also the redken line Extreme does well. My hair stopped breaking and my ends look all right now.

[Amber_Maiden]

I would trim if I were you.

[Alexblue]

I know I'm going against what people have said earlier but if there are no splits then no need to trim :-) Dry hair can be nursed back slowly.

If you have hard water you may want to try a chelating shampoo (one designed for swimmers that removes mineral deposits from the hair). I thought my ends needed a 4 inch chop but then I used the shampoo once and they were extremely soft. Like night and day.

[Madora]

My ends are still dry and my hair is still elastic when wet from the last time I bleached. In the mean time I've gotten back to henna, which is better, but my ends are still scraggly.
I've tried cones, non-cones, oils.. a lot of things. Still I am afraid I will have to trim, for the second time in three months now..
BSL is becoming an impossible goal this way, while my hair grows so fast on its own, every time I brush it I see little pieces of my hair ends breaking off :(
Any advice? Trim?
It looks messy and it feels like straw on the last few cms ..

Do you always detangle before you brush?

To help protect your ends, you might want to try Mineral Oil, also known as baby oil (Johnson and Johnson makes it).

MO is lightweight and helps keep moisture in your hair longer. It is also a great detangler and helps calm the frizzies.

Mineral oil should be as pure as possible..i.e. just the MO plus a fragrance. Additives take away from its effectiveness.

How to apply:

Put 2 or 3 drops of MO in a small dish. Take a cotton baby swab, dip it in the oil, then apply the swab over your palms and fingers. Run your hands through your hair several times until the sheen has mostly vanished from your hands.Then detangle gently with a wide tooth comb.

MO works best on hair that has been clarified first, but you can also use it on dampened (not dripping) hair..or dry hair (such as split ends).

Leaves the hair soft, shiny and supple. There is no after scent.

More about MO here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=225

[COLOR=#8b0000]

Good luck!

[Arya]

If your hair is elastic when wet, doesn't that mean you need some serious protein?

[Anje]

If you're dealing with overly stretchy hair after bleaching, I think a protein treatment is in order. Clarifying and a trim might also help, but I'd put off trimming until you've tried clarifying, done a protein treatment and immediately followed it with moisture.

[Of the Fae]

Thanks for all your advice. I had bought this argan oil no cone conditioner in Italy which worked well on my hair but I haven't used it in a week and now my hair is dry again.
I'll try some mineral oil and if that does not work a trim may be the only way :(
Where does one get an anti hard water shampoo?

[Madora]

You might want to fight the hard water issues by getting something to attach to your shower head that filters the water. Heidi W knows more about this than I do.

[jojo89]

I've been in your shoes too many times sadly. Stupid hair mistakes. Skip clarifier, protein treatment; Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment from Sally Beauty Supply is my favorite so far. It'd probably be a good idea to get at least an inch off, I know it sucks but it is better in the long run.

[Maybe]

I feel your pain OP. I'd like to trim my dry ends off. They are just dry, not split (as far as I can tell).
But I need a couple more inches of length so I can start wearing it up and stop heat styling it. I cringe every time I pull out the flat iron but I don't know what else to do at this point!

[alwayssmiling]

I only ever trim now if I have too many splits to s&d them off, or I am getting significant breakage. I check for breakage by gently combing my hair over some white paper (I have dark hair) and if there are a significant amount of hair bits then I trim. For me, clarifying and deep conditioning, with some leave in, would be enough to solve most dryness issues. The problem with getting dry ends is that we tend to go bananas and throw everything at it; conditioners, oils, serums, until they start to build up and make the problem a whole lot worse. Sometimes we need to strip the hair back and start afresh. Dry ends can be nursed back to health as long as its done before they turn into splits or breakage.

[heidi w.]

I wonder that clarifying won't help your situation and stave off a trim?

heidi w.

[Madora]

I only ever trim now if I have too many splits to s&d them off, or I am getting significant breakage. I check for breakage by gently combing my hair over some white paper (I have dark hair) and if there are a significant amount of hair bits then I trim. For me, clarifying and deep conditioning, with some leave in, would be enough to solve most dryness issues. The problem with getting dry ends is that we tend to go bananas and throw everything at it; conditioners, oils, serums, until they start to build up and make the problem a whole lot worse. Sometimes we need to strip the hair back and start afresh. Dry ends can be nursed back to health as long as its done before they turn into splits or breakage.

Excellent post, alwayssmiling! Being proactive when it comes to dry ends can pay big dividends! Better still to avoid the causes of dryness if at all possible and keep the hair moisturized (but don't go hog wild putting all sorts of products on your hair)!

[Deborah]

If your ends are merely dry, then a tiny touch of shea nut butter on the ends, while your hair is still damp from washing helps a lot.

If, however, your ends are breaking off, nothing will stop this, and you need to cut them off.

[jeanniet]

If you did a bleaching and your hair is elastic, sounds like you need a protein treatment followed by a DT. I would do that before anything else, and especially before doing a chelating shampoo. Chelating might be necessary IF you have hard water and/or well water with minerals in it, but try the protein treatment first. If you do have hard water, you can deal with it very successfully by doing citric acid rinses (1/4 tsp. per gallon of water, and don't rinse out) with each wash. This is much easier than dealing with filters, and works very well--I've been using citric acid rinses for about two years and love them.

[Wildcat Diva]

Yes Jeannie beat me to it! Citric acid rinses may help your hard water problem! Check out that thread. I believe that you may have to try multiple solutions to address your problem.

[earthnut]

Any acid rinse will be chelating and help with hard water - vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid, aspirin, club soda.

I recommend a protein treatment and deep conditioning/deep oiling too. You can use any protein-rich food for a protein treatment, but gelatin (http://scienceyhairblog.blogspot.com/p/recipes-and-projects.html)or liquid aminos are the best. You can use any saturated or monounsaturated fat for a deep oiling (ie coconut, palm kernel, olive oil, peanut oil, shea butter)

Any oil applied to the ends will help. Try what's in your kitchen. If you have fine hair, light olive oil, jojoba oil, and light mineral oil are some of the lightest oils.

[dwell_in_safety]

I would try clarifying, and possibly chelating, as stated and if neither option works to make your ends appear to be in good condition (after oiling them), I would go ahead and trim them off. Your hair will feel soooo much better.