In need of some advice!

[Chloeharperx]

My hair journey began in 2014 and by 2017 I had grew my hair out to the longest it’s ever been and probably the longest it will get - I have fine thin blonde hair so I don’t think il reach crazy lengths like some people will. I started going to the hairdressers at this point instead of trimming it myself and from then I feel like my hair gradually got worse, in 2018 I made the decision to get my hair professionally dyed when usually I would just box dye blonde (which actually never caused me any damage I conditioned it well). In 2019 I ended up with it thinning out so much I had to start my hair journey again and by the end of 2019 one side of my hair appeared to be considerably shorter so once again I started the journey again, I have no idea what I done wrong but I haven’t had a cut since February 2020 and because of one side ending up shorter I’m afraid to do it by myself and because of the experience I’ve had with hairdressers I’m also now afraid to go there so I’m a bit stuck. I’ve seen methods like dusting and search and destroy which I can do since my hair is thin it wouldn’t take that long. Wondering if anyone has any tips?
I’ve noticed some (quite a few) white dots around the ends of my hair which is weird since I don’t use heat and it hasn’t been dyed since October 2019, the only thing I do is french braids but I don’t think they are that tight. Do I cut these white dots or just leave them? And wondering if the methods I mentioned above will make my hair look thinner at the ends like it looked in the past
Thanks to anyone who has the time to read this I’m really stuck for what I can do!

I have some pictures too but I’m not sure how to post them

[Ylva]

Welcome here!

Chemical damage can take months to show, so the white dots are probably from the dye job in October, plus any previous ones since damage to the hair is very much cumulative.

Maybe the hairdresser was not cutting the hair straight across but at an angle and thus making the ends weak and prone to splits and breakage?

[Chloeharperx]

Thank you
Oh it could be from the dye, I made sure she cut the hair straight I think most likely it is the dye but only my roots were done. I’m not sure if I’ve caused it to break with the french braids or not

[Larke]

Hello!

From my own experience, it sounds like Ylva is right: the problems you are having are likely the result of cumulative damage to your hair. I also have very baby-fine, thin hair, so I know that the effects of damage can stick around for a long time. My hair used to be so damaged that it simply could not grow past shoulder-length. Now, by using all the methods I found here, deep conditioning, search and destroying, etc., I got to waist length and hopefully will keep going longer. But even today, the last three inches of my hair are almost chronically crunchy. White dots and split ends appear all the time. It's part of the struggle of growing out damaged hair. I've thought about getting a big cut, but other than an inch taken off at the start of the year, I refuse to chop it. So, methods for surviving...

I would 100% recommend using the search and destroy method whenever you can. White dots are signs of damage, so if you can cut those out on individual strands without losing too much length overall, go for it. Same goes for split ends. I know that on hair that's very thin at the ends (mine), even s&d can affect length a little, but it won't be as drastic as a full cut.

There are a lot of resources on this forum about microtrimming and cutting hair on your own. If you spend some time searching through past posts, you'll find a lot of good stuff. I know there is a guide somewhere for how to do small, regular trims to grow out damage and thicken up the ends. I'm not sure where it is right now, but maybe someone else more resourceful than me will be kind enough to share it on here. Otherwise, I'm sure you'll be able to find it with a search.

Regarding french braids, generally it's a protective style and a good way to keep your hair up. I think for most people it works fine. Certainly better than loose hair. For my own thin hair, I braid sometimes, but I don't like only using braids. Braids still leave the hair at the end of the braid more exposed to rub against your back, and depending on the hair ties you are using, those can end up causing damage too. I don't think braids are necessarily bad, but I like switching up styles regularly, just to have less consistent stress on any one section of my hair. If your hair is long enough for buns, try those. With thin hair, certain tucks and chignons are easier to do as well. All those styles protect the ends more. Whenever I do braid my hair, I like adding extra oil to the ends for some added protection and conditioning.

Hope some of this helps!

ETA: One more thing about french braids, any style which is very tight or pulls a lot can be damaging. If you are making very tight braids, then maybe just loosen them up a little, especially if you start seeing damage at the roots, rather than the ends.

ETA2: Found the guide I had in mind: http://longhairedatheart.blogspot.co...ng-length.html

[Chloeharperx]

Thank you SO much for the help I have been on this forum before when I felt like my hair was irreparable but I managed to fix it (I really don’t know or remember how lol)
The white dots seem to be pretty much everywhere I think I’m going to try to fix it, but even when I managed to grow my hair out from shoulder length to waist length in the past I had them then as well and they didn’t do much to affect growth, even though they are there the ends of my hair still feel as if there is no damage. I agree with the braiding that the ends are still exposed I usually switch between braids, buns and down but I don’t use heat
I really wish I’d seen that page on tapered hair before I decided to go for a big cut because now I’ve had to do it twice! At least now I know it doesn’t mean that my hair is ruined
I’m hoping to grow my hair to waist length by next June as it is when I graduate university so here’s hoping the advice works thank you again