HAIR STILL BREAKING!! Ready To Give Up

[gabulldawg]

You guys, I don't know what else to do! I did an Apogee treatment last night (the serious one), and my hair came out so nice and soft and shiny. BUT it's STILL BREAKING!! And I'm talking about SERIOUS breakage! I'll admit that I was being a little rough with my hair last night out of sheer frustration. However, it's looking like my ends are starting to get see through again!! I will try not to be discouraged or make any serious moves until my touch up, though, since I am currently I think seven weeks post and my roots are pretty thick in some areas. If my hair is looking thin and scraggly at my next touch up I am really going to consider cutting it to however short it takes to get rid of the ends. I am really trying not to get discouraged. Any words of encouragement would be great.

My current plan is to try to wear a wig until my next touch up and see if that helps. I currently wear a satin bonnet under my wig cap to protect my hair and edges. I'm really hoping that this can help me to salvage what's left of my hair. It still looks like it's getting longer, but we all know that long hair with scraggly ends is NOT hot.

 

[tenjoy]

if it is still breaking, may it was ends that are too far gone and not mendable. wait and see if it stops. How is your elasticity?

 

[gabulldawg]

if it is still breaking, may it was ends that are too far gone and not mendable. wait and see if it stops. How is your elasticity?

It's actually been pretty long hairs that area breaking off. erplexed I'm not sure about my elasticity. How can I check that?

 

[JustKiya]

1) Are you sure it's breakage and not shedding? The change of seasons does cause some people to shed a lot.

2) What sort of moisture regimen are you on? It's easy to go too FAR on the protien side, and turn bits of hair into brittle sticks.

3) What sort of mechanical damage is your hair undergoing? Do you wear it up or down?

4) Do you give your ends any sort of special treatment? They are the oldest and most fragile part of your hair.

If your breaking is getting worse, there is SOMETHING happenening causing that.....once you pinpoint the cause, you will know the appropiate repair - just putting different products/wigs on isn't going to fix it....

 

[silverlotus]

1) Are you sure it's breakage and not shedding? The change of seasons does cause some people to shed a lot.

2) What sort of moisture regimen are you on? It's easy to go too FAR on the protien side, and turn bits of hair into brittle sticks.

3) What sort of mechanical damage is your hair undergoing? Do you wear it up or down?

4) Do you give your ends any sort of special treatment? They are the oldest and most fragile part of your hair.

If your breaking is getting worse, there is SOMETHING happenening causing that.....once you pinpoint the cause, you will know the appropiate repair - just putting different products/wigs on isn't going to fix it....

Ditto to this whole post!

Breakage does not always mean you need protein. Sometimes it's cuz you need more moisture. Furthermore, a protein overload is both easier to do & harder to fix than a moisture overload. Read Sistaslick's Breakage 101 for more info on that. She also has an elasticity test in there.

OP, what's your reggie?
When was the last time you clarified?
Does your hair feel extra rough, tangly, or coated?

 

[gabulldawg]

1) Are you sure it's breakage and not shedding? The change of seasons does cause some people to shed a lot. I'm actually thinking it's breakage because I have never noticed any white bulbs at the ends of the hair that falls out. My stylist also said that she noticed some breakage throughout my hair when she was about to braid it.

2) What sort of moisture regimen are you on? It's easy to go too FAR on the protien side, and turn bits of hair into brittle sticks. I think I'm pretty good with the moisture. I use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner at each wash. I moisturize my hair 1-2 times a day. I also seal with either castor oil or EVOO

3) What sort of mechanical damage is your hair undergoing? Do you wear it up or down? My hair has been in braids for the past week. I just took them down and washed my hair (when I did the aphogee treatment). Currently I have my hair braided in two braids under my wig. Before I got braids I was wearing a lot of buns, braidouts, twistouts, and bantu knot sets.

4) Do you give your ends any sort of special treatment? They are the oldest and most fragile part of your hair. I do take care of my ends. Last night they felt pretty good. I add extra moisture to the ends and then do a thick sealing of castor oil regularly. I try to do it every night, but sometimes of course I forget.

If your breaking is getting worse, there is SOMETHING happenening causing that.....once you pinpoint the cause, you will know the appropiate repair - just putting different products/wigs on isn't going to fix it.... Someone in another thread mentioned that I may be overdoing the protein. I was using ORS hair mayo as a prepoo every week before my wash. I have decided to start with eliminating the use of the hair mayo to maybe once a month and see if I notice any decrease in breakage. And maybe the aphogee contributed to more breaking because it was just more protein. I also am thinking about washing once every two weeks instead of once a week and leaving my hair in braids for two weeks and wearing a wig to cut down on manipulation.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[gabulldawg]

Ditto to this whole post!

Breakage does not always mean you need protein. Sometimes it's cuz you need more moisture. Furthermore, a protein overload is both easier to do & harder to fix than a moisture overload. Read Sistaslick's Breakage 101 for more info on that. She also has an elasticity test in there.

OP, what's your reggie? Currently, I wash weekly first using a clarifying shampoo followed with a moisturizing shampoo and a moisturizing conditioner. I used to prepoo weekly with ORS hair mayo, but that may have been too much protein for my thin hair, so I am going to cut it down to once a month.
When was the last time you clarified? I clarify weekly. The last time I clarified was last night.
Does your hair feel extra rough, tangly, or coated? My hair actually FEELS and looks great, besides the fact that it's thin. It's never rough-feeling. It always feels nice and soft and moisturized. I definitely think that I have enough moisture going on. [/quote]

Thanks for sistaslick's website. I'm going to check that out now.

 

[neonbright]

Braids my be the problem, I wore braids 4 months into my pregnancy and had them for 3 1/2 years after my daughter was born; if I get braids now, my hair say what tha, so I don't do them anymore.

 

[tenjoy]

Braids my be the problem, I wore braids 4 months into my pregnancy and had them for 3 1/2 years after my daughter was born; if I get braids now, my hair say what tha, so I don't do them anymore.

Could be, since braids done tight and frequent enough can stretch your hair to where your elasticity is gone.

 

[gabulldawg]

I don't get braids very frequently. I have had them twice in the past couple years - cornrows this past week, and then cornrows for a sew in.

 

[silverlotus]

Did you moisturize while you were in braids?
Also, clarifying every week is probably drying out your hair.

 

[gymfreak336]

Did you moisturize while you were in braids?
Also, clarifying every week is probably drying out your hair.

Yep. Combine too much clarifying with too much protein and you will have a disaster.Stop the weekly clarifying and increase your moisture levels by using a moisturizing conditioner only for awhile.

 

[Leslie_C]

gabulldog,
what moisturizer are u using? Check the ingredients. Your hair sounds kind of like mine as if it doesnt like much protein. My hair was acting up for the past week or so. I thought my hair liked the Sunsilk Hydra TLC as a moisturizer but come to find out it has keratin in it and my hair HATES too much protein so I cant use those kind of products on a daily basis. The only conditioners with protein my hair seems to like are ORS paks and Aubrey GPB. My hair was coming out in my hands everytime I touched it and I had little short hairs on my shoulders/the back of my shirt. I stopped using it and switched to a moisturizer that doesnt contain any protein and it has stopped 95%.

 

[Isis]

Constant breakage can also mean a lack of red blood cells. Are you anemic? If so, your hair follicles cannot get nourishment and the hair will shed and/or break easily . The solution is to take a daily iron supplement (at the same time with vitamin C) which will stop the breakage in days but it's best to get your blood tested by a doctor first. Too much iron can cause breakage also ( although most females do not have this problem).

 

[gabulldawg]

Did you moisturize while you were in braids?
Also, clarifying every week is probably drying out your hair.

Yes I did moisturize my hair while in braids. I thought that using the moisturizing conditioner and shampoo after the clarifying shampoo would help prevent the drying of the clarifying shampoo. I guess I could cut back on that as well. How often should I use it?

 

[gabulldawg]

gabulldog,
what moisturizer are u using? Check the ingredients. Your hair sounds kind of like mine as if it doesnt like much protein. My hair was acting up for the past week or so. I thought my hair liked the Sunsilk Hydra TLC as a moisturizer but come to find out it has keratin in it and my hair HATES too much protein so I cant use those kind of products on a daily basis. The only conditioners with protein my hair seems to like are ORS paks and Aubrey GPB. My hair was coming out in my hands everytime I touched it and I had little short hairs on my shoulders/the back of my shirt. I stopped using it and switched to a moisturizer that doesnt contain any protein and it has stopped 95%.

I use BB oil moisturizer with castor oil and aloe as my daily moisturizer. I don't think there's any protein in it. I didn't see keratin in it.

But that's EXACTLY how my hair is right now! Just coming out in my hands! I braided my hair in two french braids last night to wear under my wig and there's hair EVERYWHERE! I'm about to take the braids down to apply BT and MN to my roots and I already know that my hair is about to come out again!!! That's why I'm trying to get my wig routine down. I may have to decrease manipulation to once a week or something and forego using BT and MN.

 

[gabulldawg]

Constant breakage can also mean a lack of red blood cells. Are you anemic? If so, your hair follicles cannot get nourishment and the hair will shed and/or break easily . The solution is to take a daily iron supplement (at the same time with vitamin C) which will stop the breakage in days but it's best to get your blood tested by a doctor first. Too much iron can cause breakage also ( although most females do not have this problem).

It's funny that you would say this, because i was diagnosed with anemia about two years ago. However, I recently had a blood test done and the doctor said all of my levels were good.

 

[gymfreak336]

Yes I did moisturize my hair while in braids. I thought that using the moisturizing conditioner and shampoo after the clarifying shampoo would help prevent the drying of the clarifying shampoo. I guess I could cut back on that as well. How often should I use it?

You clarify when you have build-up for most people maybe once a month.

 

[Allandra]

Have you tried Mizani H20 Intense Night-Time Treatment?

Here's a thread on it: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=158821&highlight=mizani

 

[Brownie518]

I was having a little breakage problem and I knew it had to be protein overload. You should try the suggestion of using more moisture. You should try some real good moisturizing deep conditioners. I started using ORS packs, Aveda Brilliant conditioner, and Design Essentials Super Moisturizing Conditioner (among others) for my deep conditioners, using protein only once in a while when I felt I needed it. Immediately turned my hair around! I was doing protein on a schedule, which was not good for me. I now do it as needed and my hair appreciates it.

 

[gabulldawg]

I was having a little breakage problem and I knew it had to be protein overload. You should try the suggestion of using more moisture. You should try some real good moisturizing deep conditioners. I started using ORS packs, Aveda Brilliant conditioner, and Design Essentials Super Moisturizing Conditioner (among others) for my deep conditioners, using protein only once in a while when I felt I needed it. Immediately turned my hair around! I was doing protein on a schedule, which was not good for me. I now do it as needed and my hair appreciates it.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I am definitely going to cut down on the protein and clarifying. But how will I know when I need protein?

Also, as an update, I just took my braids down (one at a time) to moisturize with BB oil moisturizer and to put BT/MN mix on my scalp and to rebraid and I only lost a little amount of hair! I was much more gentle than I was last night. I hope that is promising and I hope that I didn't hurt my hair at all.

 

[Brownie518]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I am definitely going to cut down on the protein and clarifying. But how will I know when I need protein?

Also, as an update, I just took my braids down (one at a time) to moisturize with BB oil moisturizer and to put BT/MN mix on my scalp and to rebraid and I only lost a little amount of hair! I was much more gentle than I was last night. I hope that is promising and I hope that I didn't hurt my hair at all.

This breakage thread has a lot of information that has helped me (and countless others) with their protein/moisture balance questions

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=84746

If my hair gets too soft, mushy, and limp I give it some protein. Once you start being more aware of it, you will be able to tell with no problem. I only clarify once every few weeks. That's how long it usually takes for my hair to start feeling coated and stiff. It's been good so far.

Good luck with this situation. I am sure it will turn around. Make sure to keep us updated.

 

[Amarech]

Breakage does not always mean you need protein. Sometimes it's cuz you need more moisture. Furthermore, a protein overload is both easier to do & harder to fix than a moisture overload. Read Sistaslick's Breakage 101 for more info on that. She also has an elasticity test in there.

I am walking proof of this statement, especially the bold parts. The messed up thing is that I didn't even realize what I was doing. I keep adding more protein, thinking that all these hairs I see are because of the weakness I'm trying to correct when in fact its my hair being overcome with all the protein I was using. I lost half my hair volume because of this. The good news: It's slowly coming back and my regimen has a better balance between moisture and protein. Try it. Hang in there....

 

[gabulldawg]

I am walking proof of this statement, especially the bold parts. The messed up thing is that I didn't even realize what I was doing. I keep adding more protein, thinking that all these hairs I see are because of the weakness I'm trying to correct when in fact its my hair being overcome with all the protein I was using. I lost half my hair volume because of this. The good news: It's slowly coming back and my regimen has a better balance between moisture and protein. Try it. Hang in there....

Thanks )