Am I inadvertantly weakening my hair?

[lovegan]

Well, my hair is weak to begin with (yeah...too many highlights last year, not enough protein = breakage city).

But I co-wash daily in two braids since I work out a lot, and I wet bun it 70 % of the time. Wet hair is weaker than dry hair (so they say) ,and before I wet bun it, I put a leave in condish and put oil on to seal.

Can wet bunning and all that goes into it (twisting, pulling, etc.) weaken the hair shaft? It seems a lot of ladies who only do weekly styling that involves that (roller setting, flat ironing etc) have less day to day manipulation. I'm giving my hair a break from heat for the next several months, and i don't want to do weaves, cornrows or other "low manip." styles except for buns.

any suggestions?

 

[DivaRox]

I think the potential is there to weaken it further if you're not supplementing with a good mix of proteins. Are you cowashing with any light protein condishes? What about dcing? And what about your schedule of periodic heavier protein applications? These may counteract any further weakening from constant wet styling and daily manipulation.

 

[poookie]

i read somewhere that wet bunning is dangerous; something about hair drying in buns is put under more tension than hair that is bunned dry.

i co-washed every other day the whole month of december, and i can tell my hair grew in thicker, and my hair became stronger because of it. i didn't bun, but i did air-dried pin curls, and pinned them up, so i had very little manipulation.

i'd say that except for the wet bunning, you're on the right track. maybe instead of bunning it wet, let it air dry, and use a little leave-in to positition it into a bun?

 

[lovegan]

I think the potential is there to weaken it further if you're not supplementing with a good mix of proteins. Are you cowashing with any light protein condishes? What about dcing? And what about your schedule of periodic heavier protein applications? These may counteract any further weakening from constant wet styling and daily manipulation.

I'm cowashing with neutrogena daily deep moisturizing conditioner and using humectress (nexxus) as a leave in with oil on the ends.

I just got done using Keraphix tonight (left it on for about 15 min with out heat) and I still have popping and breaking! (even if i just run my hand down my wet hair, I have littl ehairs (and some long hairs appearing on my palm).
I think my stylist has been neglectful in using reconstructors in the past from relaxers, so this might be the culimation of years of negelct.

thanks for the advice though, i might try something hardcore like emergecee....

 

[lovegan]

i read somewhere that wet bunning is dangerous; something about hair drying in buns is put under more tension than hair that is bunned dry.

i co-washed every other day the whole month of december, and i can tell my hair grew in thicker, and my hair became stronger because of it. i didn't bun, but i did air-dried pin curls, and pinned them up, so i had very little manipulation.

i'd say that except for the wet bunning, you're on the right track. maybe instead of bunning it wet, let it air dry, and use a little leave-in to positition it into a bun?

ooooooh....good suggestion! I'll try that. Pin curls might be cuter than me running around with a wet soggy head all day anyway!! i'll keep yall posted!

 

[sunshinelady]

I think you'll be okay. Just make sure that you don't make the bun too tight and try not to bun in the same place all the time. If you start to feel roughness around the bun area, then you may want to take a break.

 

[lovegan]

I think you'll be okay. Just make sure that you don't make the bun too tight and try not to bun in the same place all the time. If you start to feel roughness around the bun area, then you may want to take a break.

Thanks for your help!

 

[EbonyHairedPrincess]

I co-wash almost daily for over a year and while my hair is soaking wet I can't mess with it at all. I usually put it in a braid while it's wet then condition & rinse while my hair is still in the braid. Then I let it air dry for a while. After my hair has had a chance to start drying then I can begin manipulating. I usually bun, french roll or put a head band on for work.

 

[lovegan]

I co-wash almost daily for over a year and while my hair is soaking wet I can't mess with it at all. I usually put it in a braid while it's wet then condition & rinse while my hair is still in the braid. Then I let it air dry for a while. After my hair has had a chance to start drying then I can begin manipulating. I usually bun, french roll or put a head band on for work.

i might try that. I think the problem is that when it's wet bunned, it looks kinda....limp as it dries, so i think i find myself taking it down and re-doing it a couple times a day .

 

[EbonyHairedPrincess]

i might try that. I think the problem is that when it's wet bunned, it looks kinda....limp as it dries, so i think i find myself taking it down and re-doing it a couple times a day .

If I'm wearing a bun usually I re-bun one time after I get to work and it's had a chance to dry for about an hour or so. Once my hair starts to dry it thickens up.

An alternative is what my daughter does which is condition wash at night, bun then put on your head scarf or bonnet. The next morning she skips the conditon wash. Instead she applies a little moisturizer, then she fluffs her ends, re-buns and smooth edges with pomade.

 

[lovegan]

If I'm wearing a bun usually I re-bun one time after I get to work and it's had a chance to dry for about an hour or so. Once my hair starts to dry it thickens up.

An alternative is what my daughter does which is condition wash at night, bun then put on your head scarf or bonnet. The next morning she skips the conditon wash. Instead she applies a little moisturizer, then she fluffs her ends, re-buns and smooth edges with pomade.

thanks for the tip. i actually tried that this morning, and my hair actually looks prettygood air dried without being in a bun!

i think the sheer WEIGHT of my wet hair was weakening my strands too (I'm doing a protein treatment next wash).

Now that it's air dried, it's DOWN and i have little breakage! how odd.