I flat ironed my hair yesterday and my ends are shot!

[Kirei]

Hi all! :waves:

I flat ironed my hair last night and it has grown a whole lot! I am shoulder length in the back but, hair is really short on the top, about 4-5 inches. (see: mullet)

I don't know if it is pregnancy or what but, my hair is so dry and straw like, flatironed! It has gotten thicker and it's way longer than it was 2 years ago, I made great progress but, my ends are really damaged.

I don't know if the ends just don't like the heat or if there is still some relaxed hair on my ends.

So my question is this:

Should I get it cut off? I mean my ends look horrible when straightened but, they look nice when curly. I know I have splits and will have to cut at least and 1/2 inch off sooner or later.

Or should I get it braided, let it grow out some more and then cut it?

Thanks for any replies! I'll atach pics of my hair as soon as I take some so you all can see what I am working with! LOL!


ETA: If I get it cut it will be in the next 3 weeks if I do it soon, if I wait it will be in about 6 months. 6 months from now, I will have or should have about 1 inch or more of growth.

 

[Monigirl]

Cut now or later? Hmmmm......

I would be do a small trim now then get your hair braided and when you take the braids down later examine your ends for further cutting if needed.

Can't wait for the photos

 

[Nonie]

I too recommend a trim now before braids. I know dusting regularly seems to be good for my hair and keeps my hair looking healthy. Braiding w/o dusting--trying to follow Cathy Howse's regimen when I first joined the forum--left my ends looking so thin and unsightly that I had to chop off about 2 inches. So braiding w/o trimming won't do your hair much good IMO. Better to go into braids w/ your ends a little neater than they are now.

@ Monigurl, your hair growth/progress is awesome!

 

[aja1121]

Are you natural? If so, this is a normal occurance for naturals (4a/b) who don't straighten often. For some reason, if the ends of the hair aren't somewhat straight before you flat iron, the iron just flattens the kinks instead of straightening them. I found that extreme deep conditioning and using a blow-drier with a paddle brush does the trick. Some ladies like the comb-chase method, where you follow the flat-iron with the comb.

If you are relaxed, I would suggest prepooing and deep conditioning at every wash. If your ends are not uneven I wouldn't trim just yet. If so, just dust (1/8 to 1/4) them every other month.

 

[hopeful]

I would braid it up and not worry about cutting until after the baby arrives.

 

[felicia]

I wouldn't cut the ends b/c I don't think they are damaged. Like Aja1121 said, if you aren't used to the heat, the ends just flatten and give the illusion of damage. When I flatironed, I thought the same thing and cut about 2 inches. When I washed my hair and wore it kinky, the ends looked fine. I then flatironed the following week, and the freakin ends looked damaged again, so I had cut off all of that hair for nothing. I find that airdrying my hair in tiny twists, untwisting, and then flatironing helps.

 

[Poohbear]

DON'T CUT IT! Especially if you are trying to grow your hair out.

When I first straightened my natural hair, the ends looked dry and frizzy. That is because your hair is natural, strong, healthy, and is resistant to straightening. Your ends just want to stay in its natural curl pattern. I'm pretty sure your ends are not damaged.

The only thing that worked for me to get my ends straight when I want straightened natural hair is using Proclaim bergamot grease before flat-ironing. I know a lot of ladies are against using grease. There are other products that have worked for others when it comes to dry looking frizzy ends which you can find in 'straightening tips for naturals' threads.

Hope that helps.

 

[BrownEyez22]

I wish I saw this thread on Friday.

Last night I straightened portions of my twa, its about earlength straightened, and the ends looked bushy but I couldn't find any splits. When it's coily, I don't see any damage so I was wondering why it looked like that. I ended up dusting the ends anyway, but thankfully I didn't cut off all the ends... I thought about it.

Thanks Ladies!

 

[Forever in Bloom]

I wouldn't cut the ends b/c I don't think they are damaged. Like Aja1121 said, if you aren't used to the heat, the ends just flatten and give the illusion of damage. When I flatironed, I thought the same thing and cut about 2 inches. When I washed my hair and wore it kinky, the ends looked fine. I then flatironed the following week, and the freakin ends looked damaged again, so I had cut off all of that hair for nothing. I find that airdrying my hair in tiny twists, untwisting, and then flatironing helps.

I did the same thing back in June by cutting off 2+ inches because I thought my ends were damaged. My hair would have been 8 inches by now. Oh well - you live and you learn