New girl with the broken off hair

[livy]

Hi, My name is Olivia and I have been lurking on here for about 4 months now learning all that I can. But the time has come for me to try and really figure out what the heck is wrong with my hair. I am relaxed and plan on keeping it that way for now. Only one problem, I cant seem to get my ends to stop breaking off. My hair is about shoulder length in the back and healthy for the most part. The problem is the front of my hair. There is a ton of breakage that just wont stop. I've trimmed and protected and still it keeps breaking. I am in the military so I wear my hair up in a bun all week and sometimes on the weekends too. I've tried doing the aphogee protein treatments but my hair doesn't really seem to like it. (It was hard and crunchy) I've been sticking with moisture. I co-wash everyother day with vo5 moisture milk conditioner and I shampoo once a week with aussie moist. I moisturize daily with ORS oil moisturizing hair lotion and seal with ultimate herbal oil. I also spray my hair with soy tri-wheat leave in condition in the morning before I go to work. Especially on my ends. I flat iron usually once a week to try and look cute for my hubby.. I use Silk Elements Olive Heat Protection Spray before flat ironing. Oh yeah, I also deep condition with Neutrogena Triple Moisture deep recovery Hair Mask after I shampoo.

I'm so upset about my hair drama. It drives my husband crazy that I'm always stressing about it. But, the thing is, is that I've never hair hair growing problems until now. Before I would cut my hair in a cute a-line bob every now and then and it would grow out just fine and eventually I would miss my bob and cut it again. But this time it's not recovering and I just dont know what to do.

Thanks in advance for any advice that I might recieve!!!

 

[CarolinaGal]

I usually wear my hair in a bun also. Are you using a brush to smoothe your bun? If so, do you think it could be the culprit? If you wear a part, do you change the part location from time to time? Also, do you have to wear a hat? That could be rubbing on your hair line. Can you tack a bit of silk to the inside of your hat? Just some quick things that came to my mind. I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[shopgalore]

Sleeping on a satin pillow or using a satin scarf for sleeping and welcome.

 

[livy]

I do wear a part, and I rotate it to the opposite side each week. I wrap my hair up at night so in the morning I dont really have to comb it at all it's usually right where it needs to be. I just have one of those short stubby buns on the back of my head it's kind of messy, but its the best I can do with such short hair. I do have to wear a head band to keep all of my layers back. It's one of those stretchy ones. It doesn't seem to pull to hard that I notice. I could just be used to it though. I only have to wear my hat for a short amount of time. So I dont think that is the problem.

 

[Shoediva]

It sounds like you have a good regimen thats working for you. Stress will increase breakage, I know its hard when we cant figure out whats going on with our hair. So I have to ask the following:

do you self relax? could it be your hair is overprocessed? When did the breakage start? how long has it been going on? Did you add or change anything in your regimen recently?

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

How are you styling after your cowash? Also, maybe you need to ease up on the weekly heat for the time being

 

[livy]

I tried self relaxing and I'm not very good at it. So I go to the salon. They use the most mild relaxer on my hair and dont leave it on the full processing time because my hair is so thin. And it grows in fairly straight anyway. My breakage started maybe a year ago when I first cut my hair into the bob because it was too short to put up, so I had to flat iron at least a little bit daily so that I could look decent when I went out. The back of my hair was fine, but the front just disapeared one day... I woke up, looked in the mirror and it was gone!!

As far as my regimine.. I've just recently developed one so I've just been buying stuff and seeing what is working.

I just hate the situation. My whole life everyone always told me I had the "good" hair and that was when I wasn't even trying. Now that I'm trying, I cant seem to get it back.

Thanks again for all of the advice. I love this board!! Everyone is so nice, and helpful. It's the hair family that I've always wanted LOL

 

[livy]

After co-wash, I let it air dry and before bed I will comb it into my work hair (slick back) and pin up the ends so they're not all over the place and wrap it up with a satin wrap.

Yea, I really do need to lay off the heat. I hate having to wear my ugly buns all week, so I like to look cute on the weekends. I would get a weave but in my career field hair pieces of any type aren't allowed since we work around a lot of machines and such.

 

[CarolinaGal]

I do wear a part, and I rotate it to the opposite side each week. I wrap my hair up at night so in the morning I dont really have to comb it at all it's usually right where it needs to be. I just have one of those short stubby buns on the back of my head it's kind of messy, but its the best I can do with such short hair. I do have to wear a head band to keep all of my layers back. It's one of those stretchy ones. It doesn't seem to pull to hard that I notice. I could just be used to it though. I only have to wear my hat for a short amount of time. So I dont think that is the problem.

Could you try using a silk scarf or a piece of silk from the fabric store? Those stretchy head bands still seem to put a good amount of tension on the hair. Or maybe you could see if soaking it in olive oil would help. I know some ladies here soak their hair ties in olive oil to reduce dryness and hair breakage. It sounds like you have a lot of really good hair practices. Good luck and please keep up posted.

 

[JJamiah]

Are you using a very good moisture after your proteins? Plus if it seems hard and brittle maybe your issue isn't protein.

Do you clarify? I like to start on a clean slate. How long do you leave your moisture DC on?

I used Aussie 3 minute for the past 3 weeks can you say love it? LOVE ITTTTT! LOL

I just mix it with Humectress and Porosity control leave it on for about an hour. My hair drinks it up, like fine wine. Maybe it is just a need to tweek your products.

Personally I also wear the stretchy headband and if you find yourself adjusting it at all, YOUR possibly popping hair off, becareful. The added stress of your hat even if only for a short time also could be part of the issue, place a satin lining that matches your color along the hair edges and inside, do a slip stitch and it won't compromise your uniform a bit.

Don't pull your hair in tight ponys because you feel it's too short to put in a PS. Try to make sure the products you use are alcohol free (like your gel if you use it or hair sprays). Anywho I hope I helped at least a little bit. Good Luck

Yeah I would ease up on the heat as well, that could be drying it out.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

Double-check that Tri-wheat leave-in . Make sure it's not a light protein.

 

[JJamiah]

Double-check that Tri-wheat leave-in . Make sure it's not a light protein.

If your talking about Healthy Sexy Hair - Soy Tri-Wheat Leave in Conditioner, YEP I just checked it has Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein in it.

 

[JFK]

Hi, My name is Olivia and I have been lurking on here for about 4 months now learning all that I can. But the time has come for me to try and really figure out what the heck is wrong with my hair. I am relaxed and plan on keeping it that way for now. Only one problem, I cant seem to get my ends to stop breaking off. My hair is about shoulder length in the back and healthy for the most part. The problem is the front of my hair. There is a ton of breakage that just wont stop. I've trimmed and protected and still it keeps breaking. I am in the military so I wear my hair up in a bun all week and sometimes on the weekends too. I've tried doing the aphogee protein treatments but my hair doesn't really seem to like it. (It was hard and crunchy) I've been sticking with moisture. I co-wash everyother day with vo5 moisture milk conditioner and I shampoo once a week with aussie moist. I moisturize daily with ORS oil moisturizing hair lotion and seal with ultimate herbal oil. I also spray my hair with soy tri-wheat leave in condition in the morning before I go to work. Especially on my ends. I flat iron usually once a week to try and look cute for my hubby.. I use Silk Elements Olive Heat Protection Spray before flat ironing. Oh yeah, I also deep condition with Neutrogena Triple Moisture deep recovery Hair Mask after I shampoo.

I'm so upset about my hair drama. It drives my husband crazy that I'm always stressing about it. But, the thing is, is that I've never hair hair growing problems until now. Before I would cut my hair in a cute a-line bob every now and then and it would grow out just fine and eventually I would miss my bob and cut it again. But this time it's not recovering and I just dont know what to do.

Thanks in advance for any advice that I might recieve!!!

Have you looked at the ingredients of this leave in to make sure you're not adding too much protein into your reggie?

ETA: The ladies above beat me to it LOL. But that may be the problem, God knows best.

 

[taz007]

Do you use a lye or no lye relaxer? If you are using a no-lye, you definitely need to clarify.

You may also want to look into using ceramides (especially if you are using a no lye relaxer)

Here is some info on ceramides:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=131270&highlight=ceramides

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=442532&highlight=ceramides

http://juvenescent.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/ceramides-and-your-hair/

You also may want to visit the relaxed/textlaxed support thread:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=416276&highlight=ceramides
Welcome!

 

[livy]

I'm not sure if I have a lye or no-lye relaxer. I've never asked. But I'm going to call and find out.

Should I not be using the soy tri-wheat leave in since it has protein in it?? Today I got brave and tryed the aphogee 2 min again. I am deep conditioning right now. I dont think that I usually leave it in long enough. So I bought some plastic caps so I can get out of the shower with the conditioner still in my hair.

I'm going to do some research on all of the suggestions that I have gotten and I will update you guys on what I will be adding!! Thanks SO MUCH for all of the suggestions.

 

[andromeda]

I know exactly what you're going through with maintaining a short bob cut. I had one a while back and felt that I had to flat iron frequently to keep it looking good - this was way before my hhj. I asked another member here how she maintained a similar cut and she said that she rollerset and blew out her roots with a round brush (when necessary).

Also, here's a thread that has lots of resources that are helpful for those beginning their healthy hair journey or troubleshooting.

 

[teacherjess]

I tried self relaxing and I'm not very good at it. So I go to the salon. They use the most mild relaxer on my hair and dont leave it on the full processing time because my hair is so thin. And it grows in fairly straight anyway. My breakage started maybe a year ago when I first cut my hair into the bob because it was too short to put up, so I had to flat iron at least a little bit daily so that I could look decent when I went out. The back of my hair was fine, but the front just disapeared one day... I woke up, looked in the mirror and it was gone!!

As far as my regimine.. I've just recently developed one so I've just been buying stuff and seeing what is working.

I just hate the situation. My whole life everyone always told me I had the "good" hair and that was when I wasn't even trying. Now that I'm trying, I cant seem to get it back.

Thanks again for all of the advice. I love this board!! Everyone is so nice, and helpful. It's the hair family that I've always wanted LOL

This was me EXACTLY a year ago. First off, welcome to LHCF. Second, have you tried fixing the problem internally? Do you take any vitamins for the hair? Also, drink as much water as you can. See if this might help. Your reggie sounds fine. Maybe tackling the problem from the inside will be your missing link. And I agree with the other ladies-- lay off on the weekly heat for now.HHG!

 

[CurlTalk]

I usually wear my hair in a bun also. Are you using a brush to smoothe your bun? If so, do you think it could be the culprit? If you wear a part, do you change the part location from time to time? Also, do you have to wear a hat? That could be rubbing on your hair line. Can you tack a bit of silk to the inside of your hat? Just some quick things that came to my mind. I hope this helps. Good luck!

*Cosigning!*

And welcome to the board, livy!

 

[LushLox]

I do wear a part, and I rotate it to the opposite side each week. I wrap my hair up at night so in the morning I dont really have to comb it at all it's usually right where it needs to be. I just have one of those short stubby buns on the back of my head it's kind of messy, but its the best I can do with such short hair. I do have to wear a head band to keep all of my layers back. It's one of those stretchy ones. It doesn't seem to pull to hard that I notice. I could just be used to it though. I only have to wear my hat for a short amount of time. So I dont think that is the problem.

I think this is one of the major contributors to your problem. You might not think that wearing the head band is a problem, but if you wear it every day for long periods, it is likely to cause breakage because of the material rubbing against your hairline. This happened to me; I lost so much hair in the front of my head but fortunately it is growing back.

Welcome to the boards!

 

[westNDNbeauty]

sounds like you are doing appropriate things.

i've read something on here about water and the use of filters. seems that some posters, no matter how good their hair practices, their hair just was hard and would break due to the difference in water when they moved to another country.

are u in the U.S.? might your water need to be filtered?

...just a thought

 

[Liege4421]

I know you said that you're in the military so you have to wear a bun...but I'm in the military, too, and I didn't wear a bun until my hair was long enough to put into a bun without pulling tight. There are other protective styles that are in regulations that may not require so much tension on your hair. Perhaps you should try braids/wig/weave to give your hair a break? Sometimes when we are stressed about what is wrong, we try so much stuff it ends up being even more stressful on the hair than before.

 

[livy]

I'm going to stop wearing my headband. I guess I will just have to deal with having my bangs all over the place.

Leige In my career field that have more regs than usual ie) nothing metallic is allowed in our hair, and no hair pieces of any kind. Only plastic, or elastic is allowed. So it makes it a little more difficult to work around. I used to wear a pony tail but i found myself curling it under everyday with the flat iron so that it didn't just stick out straight.

Still researching products... I hate buying stuff that I hate/dont use.

 

[livy]

Ok, just got home from a huge hair shopping spree. I am going to incorporate the following into my hair regi:

Nexxus humectress conditioner and Roux Porosity control. Any advise on when/how to use?? I also bought a 1875W Conditioning Hard Bonnet Dryer made by Ion for better deep conditioning.

I am going to clarify with Suave clarifying shampoo before starting this new journey as well.

Thank you to everyone who made such wonderful suggestion. I really feel positive that this is going to work. And juduging by all of the beautiful hair that I keep seeing on LHCF I am a true believer that my hair can be long and beautiful.

 

[fwilliams]

I tried self relaxing and I'm not very good at it. So I go to the salon. They use the most mild relaxer on my hair and dont leave it on the full processing time because my hair is so thin. And it grows in fairly straight anyway. My breakage started maybe a year ago when I first cut my hair into the bob because it was too short to put up, so I had to flat iron at least a little bit daily so that I could look decent when I went out. The back of my hair was fine, but the front just disapeared one day... I woke up, looked in the mirror and it was gone!!

As far as my regimine.. I've just recently developed one so I've just been buying stuff and seeing what is working.

I just hate the situation. My whole life everyone always told me I had the "good" hair and that was when I wasn't even trying. Now that I'm trying, I cant seem to get it back.

Thanks again for all of the advice. I love this board!! Everyone is so nice, and helpful. It's the hair family that I've always wanted LOL

How often are you relaxing?, the relaxer, plus the brushing, plus the tension of the bun every single day AND the heat once a week could be putting a lot of stress on your hair. Maybe you should try stretching longer between relaxers or going natural if your natural hair has a looser texture anyway.

 

[livy]

I relax about every 10 weeks. Thats about the most that I can take. Otherwise my hair will start breaking off at where my new growth and the relaxed hair meet. But maybe with better deep conditioning it wont be so bad. It seems like going natural would be easier after my relaxed hair grows out, but I keep flashing back to my childhood and my mom 'hittin' my edges with a hot comb!!!