Please help me figure out my breakage dilemma!

[Researching]

I have had breakage on my edges on both sides of my bangs for about three months now and I can't figure out where it is coming from. A month before I noticed the breakage my stylist had overlapped my relaxer and I was sure that this was to blame. However, the breakage is not growing out. I get new growth but my broken hair is staying the same length. So now I am thinking that it might be something else because my broken hair should be at least to my chin by now at my growth rate. I need to change something to stop the breakage but I just can't figure out what. I can hide it pretty well, but it is a lot of breakage and it seems to be working it's way further and further past the edges and into the rest of my head. Maybe it's the protective styling. I only wear my hair down four days every six months. I ONLY comb my hair when detangling with conditioner on wash days. I wash every two weeks. I wear buns pretty much everyday. I stretch every 10-12 weeks. It can't be the bunning because the broken hairs are not being pulled back by anything because they are too short to reach my bun. When I bun I only use bobby pins, Chineese chop sticks, a claw clip, a satin scruncy, or an elastic with no metal. Mostly I use bobby pins and claw clips. I think it may be the stretching. Maybe I should only stretch for eight weeks. My stylist says it's the stretching, but I was stretching for nine months before I noticed this breakage. I really think it was from the overlapping, but it just seems like the breakage should have grown more by now. I'm completely confused.

 

[Aireen]

Overlapping and stretching are both to blame from what I've read from your post. If you overlap already straight hair, you're weakening already broken down bonds since the bonds in our natural hair have to be broken down to become straight. Now as you're stretching you have that line where your relaxed hair and your natural hair meet, that is already delicate as it is since two different textures meet at one point.

I think you should tell your stylist about her overlapping regardless of what she thinks. Stylists aren't the be all and end all of haircare and you should know your own hair a little better since you're handling it yourself on a regular basis. Just be polite and kindly tell her to be careful overlapping because it's a weak area now and you're looking to grow it out.

As for maintenance a lot of users like Jamaican Black Castor Oil and rub it on and around that area to thicken it as well as provide manageability.

 

[Researching]

I actually did tell my stylist and she was highly offended and insisted that it was stretching that was to blame and not her overlapping. But, I had been stretching for nine months before the breakage occured and it only occured after she overlapped. My biggest question is why isn't the breakage growing back? But thanks for the castor oil suggestions. As a mattor of fact I bought some today!

 

[divachyk]

What's your at-home regi like?

 

[divachyk]

I actually did tell my stylist and she was highly offended and insisted that it was stretching that was to blame and not her overlapping. But, I had been stretching for nine months before the breakage occured and it only occured after she overlapped. My biggest question is why isn't the breakage growing back? But thanks for the castor oil suggestions. As a mattor of fact I bought some today!

I agree that some, not all, stylists tend to blame stretching for a lot. My previous, emphasis on previous stylist blamed stretching on the breakage I experienced during the TU and my under processed sections that I'm still dealing with. I disagree, thus I terminated my business dealings with her. Find a new stylist because I sure am. ETA: I love jbco! It has thickened my edges nicely.

 

[Aireen]

I actually did tell my stylist and she was highly offended and insisted that it was stretching that was to blame and not her overlapping. But, I had been stretching for nine months before the breakage occured and it only occured after she overlapped. My biggest question is why isn't the breakage growing back? But thanks for the castor oil suggestions. As a mattor of fact I bought some today!

Hm... very unprofessional in my opinion. She should consider your claim and apply any changes necessary. YOU are paying HER. You stretching makes her lose money so anything to have you come back more often she might say, you know?

Anyway, yes, try the castor oil and be very consistant, it'll help your strands so that when they grow out she won't have the need to overlap as much if you continue to go to her and she continues to be hardened.

 

[Researching]

My Reggie is pretty low manipulation - Wash (Cream of Nature), Protein treat (Aphogree 2 min.), & DC (ORS) every two weeks. Buns daily. Direct heat every 6 months and wear hair down for four days, then back to buns. Moisturize once a day (S-curl and sometimes Profective Mega Grow). Multivit, 2500 mg biotin daily, fish oil when I remember, and 1000 IU Vit E every day except Sunday. I ONLY comb during detangling on wash day. I don't even comb my hair when I wear it down, so it's hard for me to believe that stretching is causing breakage. Maybe it's bunning. Ahhh man, I don't know!

 

[Aireen]

My Reggie is pretty low manipulation - Wash (Cream of Nature), Protein treat (Aphogree 2 min.), & DC (ORS) every two weeks. Buns daily. Direct heat every 6 months and wear hair down for four days, then back to buns. Moisturize once a day (S-curl and sometimes Profective Mega Grow). Multivit, 2500 mg biotin daily, fish oil when I remember, and 1000 IU Vit E every day except Sunday. I ONLY comb during detangling on wash day. I don't even comb my hair when I wear it down, so it's hard for me to believe that stretching is causing breakage. Maybe it's bunning. Ahhh man, I don't know!

Well if you're not being rough with your edges, tightening that area, or slicking it back to make the perfect bun, etc. it shouldn't be your buns.

 

[Researching]

Hm... very unprofessional in my opinion. She should consider your claim and apply any changes necessary. YOU are paying HER. You stretching makes her lose money so anything to have you come back more often she might say, you know?

Anyway, yes, try the castor oil and be very consistant, it'll help your strands so that when they grow out she won't have the need to overlap as much if you continue to go to her and she continues to be hardened.

I have considered self-relaxing, but I'm just so lazy and busy. That's why I have no problem bunning. It's easy and it takes way too long to straighten MBL hair.

 

[Your Cheeziness]

If your hair is chemically weakened to the point of breakage, you may want to consider the Aphogee 2 Step treatment to nip it in the bud. I see you already use the milder reconstructor, so you "should" be ok with the 2 step. Your hair is probably like swiss cheese and the hard protein will help fill it in while you nurse it back to health. Best wishes!

 

[Aireen]

I have considered self-relaxing, but I'm just so lazy and busy. That's why I have no problem bunning. It's easy and it takes way too long to straighten MBL hair.

Make sure to do a lot of research before self-relaxing if you're considering it to avoid any mishaps. Take precaution, self-relaxing totally scares me.

 

[divachyk]

Well if you're not being rough with your edges, tightening that area, or slicking it back to make the perfect bun, etc. it shouldn't be your buns.

ITA! I buns constantly and *knock on wood*, my hair is doing good. I do have some issues but it's not from bunning. Mine is from stretching and the stylist under processed my hair. So see, you may other factors going on causing your issues.

 

[QueenFee]

Yeah u need a new stylist STATTT! When my mom used to relax my hair a piece in the middle got overlaped and. Stayed maybe an inch for MONTHS. My aunt who is a stylist said that my scalp and hair was shocked and had me massage with emu oil twice a day and it started growing within a month. Your regi sounds like maybe a lil too much protein. My edges started thinning when I used mt Kreatin spray on them so I make sure to use it on my ends only. I will say that stress adds to the problem more than we realize so try and relax. If you're not allergic to sulfur maybe you can tip some sulfur powder into your emu oil if you decide to try it.

 

[QueenFee]

OH and as hard as it may seem maybe you should not use gel for a while, once I left it alone my edges really made a wonderful change.

 

[virtuenow]

Hmm, I think this question deserves a separate post. "Why is my breakage spot not growing back??" I'm experiencing the same thing...Only I'm not relaxed (maybe I'll start a separate post!). I upped my moisturizing routine...--now I am cutting shampoos out and just doing co-washes and oil rinses w/castor oil. I use the k-tube leave in for daily moisture...

 

[Researching]

Yeah u need a new stylist STATTT! When my mom used to relax my hair a piece in the middle got overlaped and. Stayed maybe an inch for MONTHS. My aunt who is a stylist said that my scalp and hair was shocked and had me massage with emu oil twice a day and it started growing within a month. Your regi sounds like maybe a lil too much protein. My edges started thinning when I used mt Kreatin spray on them so I make sure to use it on my ends only. I will say that stress adds to the problem more than we realize so try and relax. If you're not allergic to sulfur maybe you can tip some sulfur powder into your emu oil if you decide to try it.

I think it's more of a continual breakage issue because I'm getting new growth in that area. So the hair is growing it just keeps breaking back to the same length it was before new growth. Maybe it will just take a while before the overlapped part is grown out. The funny thing is that I don't have any issues with my bangs and I flat iron and manipulate them far more than the broken hair on both sides of my bangs. Also, I don't have any of the same issues at my nape. This is such a mystery to me. Maybe I am over moisturizing this area. I don't moisturize my bangs much.

 

[Researching]

If your hair is chemically weakened to the point of breakage, you may want to consider the Aphogee 2 Step treatment to nip it in the bud. I see you already use the milder reconstructor, so you "should" be ok with the 2 step. Your hair is probably like swiss cheese and the hard protein will help fill it in while you nurse it back to health. Best wishes!

I used to use the Aphogee 2 min. only once every three weeks. After the breakage I started using it every two weeks followed by ORS which has protein as well, but it hasn't helped. I think you are right. I could use more protein because my hair is always really soft, maybe too soft. I'm just terrified of the 2 Step treatment. Protein over load sounds scary.

 

[Researching]

I do need another stylist. My stylist doesn't do alot of thing she should and when I ask her to do things like mid-protein treatments she doesn't have a clue what I'm asking her to do so I just bring my Aphogee 2 min. and tell her what to do. I also have to bring my own heat protectant spray. She thinks her hair killer brush is so wonderful but I can see the broken hairs on my apron as she manipulates my hair to death. I want to ask her to use a wide tooth comb instead but I'm afraid she will feel intimidated that I keep telling her what to do all the time. She doesn't like to be told what to do, but at the same time she can't deny that my hair has grown by lengths and bounds since March when I started my journey. I was APL then and I am now a tiny bit past MBL. When I reached BSL she tried to tell me I needed a trim but my ends were in perfect shape. I asked her why and she said because I hadn't had one in a while. I told her maybe next time and just did a S&D when I got home. My last relaxer you can imagine was real tense because I told her about the overlapping and she was very offended and blamed the stretching. Now I'm going to get relaxed this weekend and it's been 11 weeks post. She won't be to happy about that. My only problem is is that it's really hard to find a stylist in my area that doesn't cause breakage. My last two stylists didn't even wash all the relaxer out of my hair. I have very very thick hair and I use a lot of water and it takes a little over three hours for a stylist to do my hair if she does everything right. I also don't know a single relaxed female with at least APL hair I can get a recommendation from. I don't know what to do, that's why I'm trying to stay on the good side of my current stylist, but it's tough. I may have to make the time to learn to self relax. I've done it before, but I came out underprocessed every single time.