Discouraged: Hair Breakage (Plz Help)

[divachyk]

A little lengthy but please hang with me:

I DC overnight with lustrasilk shea butter/mango and evoo because my hair was feeling coarse. The next morning I applied evco and sat under heat cap for an hour and then cw'd with Aussie Moist. My hair detangled nicely with minimal breakage and shedding. (SN: in a perfect world there is zero breakage but I've yet to achieve that level of perfection.)

I applied Elasta QP H-Two and NTM silk leave in and began air drying with using the scarf method. The hair under the scarf dried soft but strong. The length of my hair (the part left hanging that wasn't under the scarf) was drying poofy, dry and fragile. I tried finger combing the length of my hair when it was about 90% dry and RIP -- a good number of strands (about 5 or 6) broke. Now that my hair is fully dry, I'm still losing about 5 strands to breakage each time I finger comb.

I average losing 0 to 2 strands to breakage each time I finger comb but definitely not 5 to 6.

Where do I go from here? It seems like I go from one extreme (protein) to another (moisture).

Questions --
(1) My hair doesn't feel mushy, but is this moisture overload I'm experiecing?
(2) Should I postpone my appt for my touch-up that's scheduled for Thursday of this week until I can do a protein treatment?
(3) Any/all suggestions welcome.

 

[ajargon02]

Where do I go from here? It seems like I go from one extreme (protein) to another (moisture).

Questions --

(1) My hair doesn't feel mushy, but is this moisture overload I'm experiecing?

- Sounds like really dry hair to me. To me it sounds like HEAVY MOISTURE IS NEEDED. For me ( a natural ) should I have moisture overload, hair really does feel mushy when wet, and really elastic when wet and overly elastic when dry.

(2) Should I postpone my appt for my touch-up that's scheduled for Thursday of this week until I can do a protein treatment?

- I would postpone it simply b/c of the breakage. A relaxer won't help this. I would do a deep condish ( qp DPR-11 with honey added) and moist heat like steaming with the dc in the hair for 30-45 minutes. I would do that weekly for 4 weeks minimum and see how the hair responds.

If at that point, the breakage is slowed, then alternate moisture dc with protein dc. if you can hold off the touch up for another 8 weeks while babying your hair, I would.

Keep in mind that I am a natural, and the last relaxer that I had was over 12yrs ago. Maybe one of the relaxed ladies can weigh in. Good luck and hth!

 

[divachyk]

bumping for add'l responses and to add --

I applied a good bit of NTM silk leave in to the length of my hair and a dab of evoo/jbco mix, baggy'd overnight and today my hair feels super duper soft. I'm still afraid to work with the length of my hair as it now feels almost too soft. It's not mushy though...just soft. I've never experienced hair this soft before. Kinda scary to work with it. Is that crazy of me to think that?

 

[lovegymnasts]

Well...Lustrasilk shea butter/mango is not a deep conditioner.
I would suggest getting a moisturizing deep conditioner. It would say to leave on at least 15 minutes and/or use heat with it. I would add some olive and/or coconut oil to it and leave on for at least 30 minutes with heat. I think you will see an improvement from doing this weekly.

 

[Nixx22jam]

For some reason I was under the impression that Lustra silk shea butter and mango was a deep conditioner. If not what is and what is cholesterol used for?

 

[divachyk]

Well...Lustrasilk shea butter/mango is not a deep conditioner.
I would suggest getting a moisturizing deep conditioner. It would say to leave on at least 15 minutes and/or use heat with it. I would add some olive and/or coconut oil to it and leave on for at least 30 minutes with heat. I think you will see an improvement from doing this weekly.

Did not realize lustrasilk wasn't a DC. I didn't include this within my post, which I should have -- I'll go back and edit but I applied lustrasilk and evoo overnight. The next morning I applied evco on top of the lustrasilk/evoo that I already had on my hair and sat under the heat cap for about an hour before washing it out.

What DC do you use?

 

[lovegymnasts]

Did not realize lustrasilk wasn't a DC. I didn't include this within my post, which I should have -- I'll go back and edit but I applied lustrasilk and evoo overnight. The next morning I applied evco on top of the lustrasilk/evoo that I already had on my hair and sat under the heat cap for about an hour before washing it out.

What DC do you use?

I use Queen Helene Cholesterol Hair Conditioning Cream which is also a cholesterol but a deep conditioner. I add olive oil and coconut oil to it.

Queen Helene instructions:
Apply to towel dried hair. Generously apply to hair and scalp. Add a few drops of water and work into a lather. Cover with a plastic cap for 15-30 minutes. Remove cap and rinse.
For increased results, use a heat cap.

Lustrasilk's instructions:
Shampoo and towel dry hair. Apply Shea Butter Cholesterol Plus to hair and scalp. Leave on for 3-5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with water. Style as usual.

There is a long going debate on this topic. I contend it is not a deep conditioner because it is not marketed as such and the directions for usage are those of a regular conditioner.

Since it is not working for you, I would suggest using a product that is marketed as a moisturizing deep conditioner. You will probably see a difference.

 

[divachyk]

I use Queen Helene Cholesterol Hair Conditioning Cream which is also a cholesterol but a deep conditioner. I add olive oil and coconut oil to it.

Queen Helene instructions:
Apply to towel dried hair. Generously apply to hair and scalp. Add a few drops of water and work into a lather. Cover with a plastic cap for 15-30 minutes. Remove cap and rinse.
For increased results, use a heat cap.

Lustrasilk's instructions:
Shampoo and towel dry hair. Apply Shea Butter Cholesterol Plus to hair and scalp. Leave on for 3-5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with water. Style as usual.

There is a long going debate on this topic. I contend it is not a deep conditioner because it is not marketed as such and the directions for usage are those of a regular conditioner.

Since it is not working for you, I would suggest using a product that is marketed as a moisturizing deep conditioner. You will probably see a difference.

I'll go back and review my instructions but I thought for sure it read a little different than what you posted. I even googled it and came up with the same details you posted. hmmm. Thx for bringing this to my attention. Will ETA when I get home to include instructions (unless someone beat me to it).

 

[30something]

Lustrasilk Shea butter and mango is a deep conditioner. If it working for you keep it, but you should really assess if it is giving the moisture you want. I know for me lustrasilk has been my only DC for a month + now. Lustrasilk is either or hit or miss with people.

I don't think that is the problem, maybe you should use clarifying shampoo do a protein deep condition follow by a moisturizing one. Aphogee 2 minute is a good one. Maybe incorporate just a little more protein in your regimen like a protein leave in. You hair doesn't need to feel mushy to need protein. My hair starts breaking way before the mushy feeling if I fall off with using protein. I think you should cancel your appointment and do a protein treatment before relaxing, because a relaxer can probably make it worse.

 

[KnottyGurl]

DC I use are either ApHogee 2 minute Reconstructor or ORS Replenishing Conditioner. Using regular conditioners to DC usually give me the same results as you.

 

[Nali1987]

This happened to me when I was relaxed as well. I was afraid to even touch my hair because hair kept coming out! Everytime I finger-combed my hair, hair would come out. I was hysterical! They don't sell Aphogee (everyone kept urging me to use it) where I live so I washed my hair and applied Kerastase Resistance, it's a "reinforcing and refinishing treatment for damaged lengths and ends", for 5 minutes. I just bought another bottle because I plan to use it as a natural as well. It's not cheap but it's wonderful product for damaged relaxed hair.

 

[divachyk]

Lustrasilk Shea butter and mango is a deep conditioner. If it working for you keep it, but you should really assess if it is giving the moisture you want. I know for me lustrasilk has been my only DC for a month + now. Lustrasilk is either or hit or miss with people.

I don't think that is the problem, maybe you should use clarifying shampoo do a protein deep condition follow by a moisturizing one. Aphogee 2 minute is a good one. Maybe incorporate just a little more protein in your regimen like a protein leave in. You hair doesn't need to feel mushy to need protein. My hair starts breaking way before the mushy feeling if I fall off with using protein. I think you should cancel your appointment and do a protein treatment before relaxing, because a relaxer can probably make it worse.

For the past month, I've used Aphogee 2min reconstructor. Protein leaves my hair feeling coarse, but strong. Because I didn't like the coarse feeling, I decided to omit protein from my process this past time. Big mistake. I prefer, coarse/strong hair than soft/fragile hair. I think I will keep with using protein/DC every wash to balance things out.

What's your suggestion for a protein leave-in? I have HE LTR Leave-In in my stash. Isn't that protein based?

DC I use are either ApHogee 2 minute Reconstructor or ORS Replenishing Conditioner. Using regular conditioners to DC usually give me the same results as you.

I've used Aphogee & ORS together and it worked nicely. As mentioned above, I only omitted protein this past time because I don't like the coarse feeling but better that than breakage.

 

[Charz]

Umm to me 5 strands isn't that much.

You have like 100,000 strands of hair on your head. Even if you have 5 strands of breakage per day for a year....365 x 5....thats only 1825 broken strands a year.

This is only 1.8% of the total hair on your head. And that doesn't even figure in broken strands that are eventually shedded anyways.

Hair is going to break due to many environmental and handling factors. You cannot prevent all breakage. But to me 5 or even 10 hairs a day is not a big deal. Now more than that you might want to be worried.

Just a thought.....

 

[MissLawyerLady]

Redken Anti-Snap is a good protein leave-in. Sally's carries a generic version "GVP Anti-Snap" that is very good and cheaper than the Redken.

When I feel like a need a light protein but not enough to do a protein DC, I use the GVP Anti-Snap. Sometimes, I'll mix the GVP with a moisturizing leave-in too, when I need just a little something extra.

 

[divachyk]

Umm to me 5 strands isn't that much.

You have like 100,000 strands of hair on your head. Even if you have 5 strands of breakage per day for a year....365 x 5....thats only 1825 broken strands a year.

This is only 1.8% of the total hair on your head. And that doesn't even figure in broken strands that are eventually shedded anyways.

Hair is going to break due to many environmental and handling factors. You cannot prevent all breakage. But to me 5 or even 10 hairs a day is not a big deal. Now more than that you might want to be worried.

Just a thought.....

I was waiting on the statistical approached person to join in, so welcome. I thank you for the encouragement. Typically I'd agree that 5 strands should not be alarming. What is alarming is when I barely rub or touch my hair and SNAP, my strands break.

I think there is a distinct difference between typical hair breakage that results on a day to day basis and hair breakage that occurs when I barely run my fingers through my hair. I think the breakage I'm experiencing now is a little outside of my normal breakage pattern which is why I bring it up.

 

[Charz]

I was waiting on the statistical approached person to join in, so welcome. I thank you for the encouragement. Typically I'd agree that 5 strands should not be alarming. What is alarming is when I barely rub or touch my hair and SNAP, my strands break.

I think there is a distinct difference between typical hair breakage that results on a day to day basis and hair breakage that occurs when I barely run my fingers through my hair. I think the breakage I'm experiencing now is a little outside of my normal breakage pattern which is why I bring it up.

When you look at your hair strands closely, do you see little white dots? And if you pull on that hair strand, does it snap where the little white dot is?

Also, if you are experiencing something different outside of your normal breakage pattern, it could be because your hair is older, especially at the ends. This is why I am asking the above question.

 

[divachyk]

When you look at your hair strands closely, do you see little white dots? And if you pull on that hair strand, does it snap where the little white dot is?

Also, if you are experiencing something different outside of your normal breakage pattern, it could be because your hair is older, especially at the ends. This is why I am asking the above question.

Unfortunately the broken hairs was breakage (without bulbs) rather than shedding (with bulbs). I did have some shed hairs though but I didn't factor those in my number. I've never tried pulling on the shed hair where the white bulb is. What does snapping at the white bulb indicate?

 

[Charz]

Unfortunately the broken hairs was breakage (without bulbs) rather than shedding (with bulbs). I did have some shed hairs though but I didn't factor those in my number. I've never tried pulling on the shed hair where the white bulb is. What does snapping at the white bulb indicate?

Those are weak points on your hair strand. A good protein treatment can help strengthen the weak points temporarily. When I look through my hair, sometimes I see one, and sometimes my curiosity makes me pull on it. It almost immediately snaps off. Then I up my protein.

 

[Missi]

I had the same issue...up until Sunday for as long as 3 yrs. My hair hanging out the scarf always dried poofy and detangling it cause breakage.

I learned from Sylver to roll the hanging hair in rollers or bantu knots. My hair dried soft just like my hair under the scarf. Now I kno its going to be awhile to see results from this method. My ends r tangle free & manageable now. HTH

 

[swimfan09]

Maybe the solution is less is more - seems like you used a lot of deep conditioning products and got a protein overload - hence the breakage. Try a clarifying shampoo, a moisturizing conditioner, a leave in and a simple sealing oil - only comb under the shower. Maybe that will help.

 

[divachyk]

I learned from Sylver to roll the hanging hair in rollers or bantu knots. My hair dried soft just like my hair under the scarf. Now I kno its going to be awhile to see results from this method. My ends r tangle free & manageable now. HTH

Does it take longer to dry with roller and/or bantu knots? Are you putting the roller and/or bantu knots in immediately on wet hair or do you air dry for a bit first, then put them in on damp hair?

Maybe the solution is less is more - seems like you used a lot of deep conditioning products and got a protein overload - hence the breakage. Try a clarifying shampoo, a moisturizing conditioner, a leave in and a simple sealing oil - only comb under the shower. Maybe that will help.

Deep conditioning actually causes protein overload? I thought it would cause moisture overload if anything.

I combed (with an actual comb) under the shower and experienced no breakage. As the hair dried, it broke while finger combing. I think my hair became dry and fragile because it seemed strong and wasn't breaking while detangling in the shower. Thoughts?

 

[**SaSSy**]

For some reason I was under the impression that Lustra silk shea butter and mango was a deep conditioner. If not what is and what is cholesterol used for?

Well in the strictest sense lustrasilk shea butter cholesterol is not on its on a DC. You can keep it on your head with heat, or mixing it with other things to enhance the product. The word "cholesterol is just a word these commercial companies like to use to indict its thickness or how emollient it can work in the hair, but most of the time these products provide great detangling and soften properties, but don't penetrate the hair shaft to provide true moisture benefits.

 

[divachyk]

Well in the strictest sense lustrasilk shea butter cholesterol is not on its on a DC. You can keep it on your head with heat, or mixing it with other things to enhance the product. The word "cholesterol is just a word these commercial companies like to use to indict its thickness or how emollient it can work in the hair, but most of the time these products provide great detangling and soften properties, but don't penetrate the hair shaft to provide true moisture benefits.

What's your DC of choice?

 

[Missi]

i'm all late...i put them in while its wet. my hair drys in a couple hours...if its hot...a couple minutes. go to www.fotki.com/sylver2 and check out her scarf method for 6 months

 

[**SaSSy**]

What's your DC of choice?

I would suggest Aubrey Organics GPB for protein, and their honeysuckle rose for moisture. I really like Shescentit banana brulee, and her avocado conditioner; both for moisture.