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Hair Damaged (to Cut Or Not To Cut)

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CurlyNiquee

CurlyNiquee

Well-Known Member
So, I have been very neglectful of my hair for the last half year or so due to stress mainly. Not only do I have significant heat damage to the front of my hair, but I have split ends and drastically different lengths from the front of my hair to the back due to breakage.

I am pregnant and just dont have the energy to deal with it right now, so I had it braided in box braids.

I am wondering is it possible to go from here and not have to do a big chop, or if I shouldn't even waste my time trying to grow it out and just chop it off. It took me a long time to get to where I was and I am kinda bummed I let this happen.

Any advice is appreciated!
 
IMFOCSD said:
Hello, what are your varying lengths? Or what is the shortest length? You could just keep ur hair in braids or other protective styles and trim as ur hair grows out.
Click to expand...

The back of my head to about my ear is about bra strap length (maybe a little under at the longest part). As you go up past there it gets shorter about neck length and the very front about two inches in is completely broken off and probably measures about 2 1/2 inches in length.

Yeah I thought about doing that, trimming slowly as it grows. I'm definitely not going to be up for taking the level of care it needs outside of protective styles for a while.
 
Damaged hair can't be fixed or made healthy again so you might as well cut it whether you do a big chop or series of trims. You will hate to cut it eventually or it will just break off. Leaving it in braids while it grows out sounds like a good idea.
 
Jace032000 said:
If it were me, I would go for a really sassy layered cut which allowed you to keep some of your bra strap length and address and clean up the broken hair. You can continue to maintain the layers and cut off the damaged hair as your hair grows out.

Are you relaxed? Natural?
Click to expand...

I am Natural
 
I would not do the braids. I feel that would keep you in the same frame of mind of ignoring your hair that caused this problem in the first place. Hair can still get further damage in braids if neglected. I would big chop. 2 inches to BSL is a large disparity. It's going to probably take a couple of years to even out your hair. And that's a long time to have to find ways to hide that level of unevenness.

A TWA is probably just the low maintenance style you need right now while being pregnant, and you'll still have access to your hair to give it the care it needs. I'd try to develop the simplest regimen possible and stick with it. Maybe a 1x/week wash, DC, LOC method.
 
My vote is to cut it. The length differences sound just to drastic to try to grow out one part and maintain the other. It sucks to go from BSL to SL, but I've done it before and it will grow back :yep:.

I just cut off my severe heat damage, and I'm so happy I did!! I was initially planning to slowly grow out my heat damage, but I couldn't take the thought of growing out my hair for 2-3 years while still carrying around all of this damaged hair. Now I treasure my hair more than I did before, and I'm going to take great care of it :bdance:.

Also, a short cut (not necessarily a TWA) will be soooo easy to deal with while you're waiting on the baby to arrive :yep:
 
CurlyNiquee said:
I know its just hair and it will grow back. But my soul cries when I think about chopping it off :lol: ... it's been a long journey. Thank you ladies for all your suggestions!
Click to expand...

If possible I suggest cut of an inch or two now. Do a hard protein treatment and DC. Then braid consistently for the year, because it is low maintenance, I only moisturize my hair every other day. Then cut maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch every 2 months until the damage is gone. You don't have to do a complete big chop, but you have to find a stable regimen to be consistent with.
 
CurlyNiquee said:
I know its just hair and it will grow back. But my soul cries when I think about chopping it off :lol: ... it's been a long journey. Thank you ladies for all your suggestions!
Click to expand...

If your pregnancy is making you extremely tired and possibly neglectful to your hair it's probably best to find a protective style that fits your lifestyle. I have been in situation where my hair broke off at varying lengths so I trimmed the damage(the ends) and had either a sew in,wig or braids... braids never made my situation worse because I applied my moisturizers as needed, it can be done...make sure you you trim the damage even if you don't decide to even ur hair up anytime soon. You should do a Google search for styles that are long in the back, shorter going up...like a layered cut..you have option other than cutting it all off.

Whatever you decide to do make sure it's something that won't require too much attention since you are pregnant and tired hun.
 
CurlyNiquee said:
So, I have been very neglectful of my hair for the last half year or so due to stress mainly. Not only do I have significant heat damage to the front of my hair, but I have split ends and drastically different lengths from the front of my hair to the back due to breakage.

I am pregnant and just dont have the energy to deal with it right now, so I had it braided in box braids.

I am wondering is it possible to go from here and not have to do a big chop, or if I shouldn't even waste my time trying to grow it out and just chop it off. It took me a long time to get to where I was and I am kinda bummed I let this happen.

Any advice is appreciated!
Click to expand...

You and I were in the same boat about a year ago. I neglected my hair I had lots of heat damage, localized breakage, and tons of split ends and SSKs. But I just couldn't bring myself to do the big chop! Instead I start wearing two strand twist and to hide the damage I put my twist in flexirods. Over the last year I've been gradually trimming my hair, making certain I take really good care of it. For instance I wash it every week, deep conditioning every week, never comb it, and make certain that I hydrate my hair with Aloe. It's worked out pretty well for me my hair is all between MBL and WL. All evened up! Now that I'm hit a length goal, I'm trimming off the last of my heat damage now, 1/2 per month. Have to say, it hasn't been all that bad so far. But that's my HCJ.

It may only be hair, but by not trimming it I taught myself how to really care for my hair, style it, and grow it. I'm a patient person. What ever you decide OP just know you don't have to cut it all off. But the cost is that your spend more time trying to recover. Braids if left in to long can cause a lot of damage. Your hair can dry out, it puts a lot of stress on the roots, it can dry your scalp out too. But if you take really good care of it you can see the payoff in time.
 
I would not cut it all off. It sounds like that is not the route you want to take so just do a trim. Possibly do a bang in the front since it is damaged and sounds like it is shorter and bun the back. Seems like that would be an easy style for a while as long as not too much tension on the bun.
 
i have damage from my last texlax and the meds i am on can be making it come out as well. (my doctor said my hair may or may not come out) whenever i run my fingers through my hair only a strand or 3 may come out.

i just cut my hair into the tapered style today as a matter of fact and i refuse to cut the top where the damage is. thank goodness i am good at camouflaging my hair. i will continue to hide it and gradually trim the top. i wills take the extra time
to do my hair and will start moisturizing with my leave in conditioner and hair oil
 
Are you opposed to wigs?

What about braided styles done at a natural hair salon with your own hair? I've seen beautiful styles that cover patches, breakage, etc. That would allow you to keep the hair out of your way but still look presentable. Moisturizing would be easy because you could spritz with braid spray and KIM.

Or, look into cutting to about shoulder length. I wouldn't cut all of my hair personally, based on the sound of it
 
If it were my hair, I would cut it off. I'm pregnant also, so I feel you not wanting to be bothered with your hair. My hair was extremely damaged about 2 1/2 years ago, and I cut my hair from brastrap length to about 6 inches all over. My hair is a little longer than bra strap now.

At the very least, I would start trimming off the damage and utilize protective styles so you won't have to be bothered with your hair as much.
 
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