Are some hair types just prone to breakage?

[naturalgyrl5199]

You all are right...we have coily hair so its more fragile...Each coil is a fragile point...more prone to those dreaded SSK's and thus splits and breakage....More often than not we have to do more drastic measures to retain length ESPECIALLY ONCE YOU HIT SL/APL!.......

I know its tempting once you get that length but that hair rubbing the shoulders with all that nice and pretty FUN SWANG can be a killer on the ends! Thats when people tend to get lax too....But its like losing weight, only to stop exercising (the very thing that helped your hair get longer)....To get it longer it takes more care!

Babying those ends like they are newborns is key! -Keep the hair off the shoulders as much as possible...
-I like to put a leave in condish and oil on my ends (HE LTR Leave in conditioner and jojoba is what I use....I bought some more Joico Kpax set which came with a sample of split end mender...I throw that on my ends too...especially when I wear twists, and those twists in the back are a scrubbing my back now and need protection!!!
-Baggying, baggying, baggying!
-If you straighten...same deal.....keep ends off shoulders...wear down for special occasions....

It takes more care, and you can't slip on the reggie for the ends or its setback city!

 

[Etherealsmile]

bumping for more responses

 

[softblackcotton]

Bump...I suffer from the same deal. My hair has been stuck between 7-9 inches for about 2 years. Help!

 

[ebonylocs]

To answer your the question in your thread title:

Yes.
Of course.
That's why this site exists.

 

[ebonylocs]

Yes I feel that some types of hair are more prone to breakage. It seems that a lot of the naturals on this board with thick course hair have a hard time keeping breakage at bay. I am one of them. My hair is so coily and it just loves to tangle and make knots like nobody's buisness. I try to keep it in a stretched state at all times but it still happens. I feel like if we were to compare someone with hair that wasn't as coily or tightly curled to ours they would probably be able to retain length much easier IMO.

Actually I think coarse hair (thicker strands) retain better, while thinner strands break more easily. As someone upthread mentioned, Asians tend to have very thick strands, so their hair grows very long very easilty.

But yes, coilier/ kinkier / nappier/ (or whatever you want to call it) hair tends to tangle more, and so gets breakage because of that.

 

[Imani]

Same here sometimes I wonder if I get to APL then what?? I would not be able to wear it out for fear it would all snap offerplexed

I have just decided to leave my hair alone for a year. and see what happens. Meaning I am keeping it in cornrows for long stretches and keeping my fingers crossed

This is my fear and exactly what I'm doing right now. I have fine, dry, porous 4b hair. Never been past SL in my life. Going to try to wear wigs this entire year and see if I can make APL. Just hoping I don't get there and then as soon as I try to wear my hair out more, it breaks off

 

[softblackcotton]

the question is: how do you get thicker strands? just henna?

 

[Imani]

I don't really believe u can truly get thicker strands. I have never tried henna. But I imagine it just coats the strands giving the appearance of thicker hair.

 

[Candy828]

Is your hair prone to SSK's. This will cause breakage no matter how well you take care of your hair. I have dealt with this. If you do have ssk's, you have to keep them clipped out. It is best to clip them as they are forming because it keeps them from tangling and breaking off other hair strands. You have to really examine your hair to see if this problem exists.

 

[Imani]

^ I did not think I really got many SSK's but actually upon examining my hair I do. I don't think they are excessive tho. I never ever let my hair shrink up,and I never wear loose hair, its always stretched out some kind of way, so I am wondering if they are just unavoidable for my hair type (4b).

 

[Poohbear]

I think very tightly coiled kinky fine textured hair is more proned to breakage. That's my hair type. Manipulation is our enemy. Trying to stretch out our super shrinky hair can be detrimental if we are not extra gentle. I think as long as we are extremely gentle with our hair when styling and detangling and try to leave our hair alone as much as possible, we can retain length.

 

[edrushuk]

Hi ya Lala and everyone else,

I totally know what you are feeling. I have been natural for over 10 years now, and my hair has never reached my shoulders. Currently I deep condition once a week, and then put it into twists then leave in, just moisturise daily, sleep in a satin cap on a satin pillow but I still get the breakage. It is particularly worst when I am twisting. Normally I do it on dry hair, to get the length, but maybe I would be better doing it on wet!!

I have kinda given up on it all, just focus on keeping it soft and moisturised.

Good luck in finding the holy grail.

Susanna

PS I will try washing in big twists tho!!

 

[Cocoeuro]

I have fine 4a hair and I will not go under the shower without my hair in braids or twists!! My hair will be a tangled bird's nest!!! LOL!! I begin my braids at about 2 inches from my scalp so that I can massage the shampoo on my scalp. Also I use a bottle with a needle nose tip to apply the shampoo directly onto my scalp. After rinsing shampoo out, I unbraid my hair one braid at a time and apply my deep conditioner. I deep condition under heat for 20-30 minutes, then I detangle with a wide tooth comb, twist each detangled section, and rinse conditioner out of my hair while it's twisted. I have little to know hair in my comb and tub drain using this method that I adopted from Chicoro!!

 

[Cocoeuro]

Ms Lala, I notice that you said your hair breaks more when you comb it soaking wet. My hair is the same way. I have to wait until it's damp or the breakage will be insane. I comb it when it's damp, but I still get a fair amount of breakage. I attribute it to my fine hair b/c I DC at every wash, I keep up my moisture/protein balance, I use seamless combs & I fingercomb, I always sleep w/ a satin cap, and I airdry.

In the back of my mind, I wonder if not using heat is the culprit. I noticed that when I straighten my hair, I barely get any breakage.

I started stretching/straightening my hair with rollersets because I noticed a lot of breakage when I do other wetsets such as twist out or braidouts. When I would manipulate my hair I would literally hear and feel snapping!!!

 

[temfash]

I think very tightly coiled kinky fine textured hair is more proned to breakage. That's my hair type. Manipulation is our enemy. Trying to stretch out our super shrinky hair can be detrimental if we are not extra gentle. I think as long as we are extremely gentle with our hair when styling and detangling and try to leave our hair alone as much as possible, we can retain length.

I agree. I have modified my regimen to reduce manipulation by washing less and protective styling more at least for 2/3 weeks stretches hopefully I can finally retain more length

 

[Candy828]

^ I did not think I really got many SSK's but actually upon examining my hair I do. I don't think they are excessive tho. I never ever let my hair shrink up,and I never wear loose hair, its always stretched out some kind of way, so I am wondering if they are just unavoidable for my hair type (4b).

It doesn't matter if you don't let your hair shrink up.... the ssk's will work themselves free to break off other strains... Believe me it took me many years to conquer this problem. Now my hair grows longer to lengths I never had before. Just try keeping them clipped out and see if it makes a difference. Check you hair weekly for ssk's.

 

[Imani]

^^^My hair is short (I'm only around SL) so I can't really see most of my hair that well to search for them. Also strands are fine so I have to really be right up on my hair to see them. I just happened to notice some in my bang area the other day when I straightened bc I could pull that hair down in my face right in front of my eyes and see them.

 

[curlyninjagirl]

I think this definitely true.

When I was in Japan I met a lot of ladies with super long hair (beyond thigh length) and the one thing they had in common was super super thick (almost like wire) hair strands. In comparison it would probably take about 10 or more of my hairs just to make the thickness of ONE of theirs. I'm not surprised they are able to retain every inch of hair they grow without much effort.

ITA. I call people with hair like this "iron hair". Unbreakable strands like thick iron bars, lol. LynnieB's hair seems like "iron hair" to me. It's amazing!

My hair is definitely NOT iron hair. I try not to mess with the ends too much. I call what I do to my hair the "braid and tuck". I moisturize then make two braids and tuck the ends under the braid. My ends haven't seen the sun in a year. Actually I keep my hair covered when I'm outside or use my sunguard umbrella.

 

[Urban]

Hi MissLala,

Just noticed this thread is from last year. Just wondering if you have an update since you started this thread. Has your hair retained length since then? If so, what changes did you make to your regimen?

 

[Solitude]

ITA. I call people with hair like this "iron hair". Unbreakable strands like thick iron bars, lol. LynnieB's hair seems like "iron hair" to me. It's amazing!

My hair is definitely NOT iron hair. I try not to mess with the ends too much. I call what I do to my hair the "braid and tuck". I moisturize then make two braids and tuck the ends under the braid. My ends haven't seen the sun in a year. Actually I keep my hair covered when I'm outside or use my sunguard umbrella.

Yes, some people have amazingly strong hair and others (like me ) don't. This lady is not African-American, but she is one of my favorite hair gurus on youtube. She manipulates her hair in soooo many different styles, but it is so thick and dense that it never breaks. She keeps cutting it back from hip length.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeVgqbjAt3c

 

[Junebug D]

Yup. Fine, thin, loose 4b is very prone to breakage. Best bet is to keep it in a low manipulation, stretched style like braids, twists, locs for maximum retention. I gave up already, I've been at this for too long for too little result. Trying a haircut for a little while, then I'm locking.

 

[lushcoils]

Hi MissLala,

Just noticed this thread is from last year. Just wondering if you have an update since you started this thread. Has your hair retained length since then? If so, what changes did you make to your regimen?

Ms Lala

Have you seen any progress?

 

[Cendra]

Bumping. Am curious too.

OP, I may have missed it, but what's your hair type? I've been reading "The Science of Black Hair" and it supports what many have said on this thread: tightly coiled, 4b/c types are very fragile because every bend and curve represents a weak point in the hair strand. They tend to hold on to protein easily, but not so much to moisture. If your library has it, try picking it up. There are many product suggestions and this may help you experiment or adapt your regimen.