I Just Don't Understand....discouraged & confused

[sengschick]

I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Okay, I've had just about all that I can take

. I really thought about cutting my hair and giving up today as I drove to work.

I washed last night and noticed these short broken hairs in my k-cutter & on my shower wall. I've been noticing them for awhile now and thought they would get better since I was doing all the right things for my hair, right?

Well they're still coming. They range from 1/2"- 1 1/2" long (most are 1/2"). I'm assuming these are my ends which were exposed to weekly blow drying and flat ironing before I found LHCF. I've been w/o heat now for 10 weeks. My ends are intact and not splitting... so what's wrong w/them? Is it b/c they were heat damaged? Should I just cut them off even though they appear to be healthy? Can I rehabilitate them? I was trying to go w/o a trim for another 15 weeks. Is that doing more harm than good? Am I overreacting and this is actually normal? I probably saw 12-15 last night (I could be exaggerating slightly) and in between washes I see a total of 8-12. I actually loose very little hair on wash day, so I know my hair is healthy. I think I have ailing ends though, and at this rate I feel like I'll never see the gains I want.

I shampoo as needed maybe twice a month. Otherwise I condition wash twice a week. I almost always let my conditioner sit for 20 mins under a heating cap, if it doesn't I let the conditioner sit for at least an hour w/o heat. I've been using protein, sometimes heavy (Elasta's Breakage Control Serum), other times light (AO GPB, Phytobaume, Humectress) or none at all (Phytosesame). I keep my hair moisturized, using oils/butters/aloe twice a day (also do monthly EVOO hot oil treatments). And I've been wearing braid-outs. My hair is always up, sort of french rolled with the front/crown out (some days its more pinned and tucked than others). So what else is there to do?

I've been putting Humectress in my oil/butter/aloe mix, and maybe it's too much protein for the ends.... it's the only thing I can think of y'all.

Maybe they need more protein? Please, please help.

TIA
SengsChick

 

[Falon]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

12-15 hairs doens't sound like a lot of breakage. I think that normally people loose between 50-100 hairs per day long and short. After you do your hair how much is left on the comb? 12-15 hairs would be less than a pea sized ball of hair.

Can you give us a little more info on your hairs condition? Does it look raggedy when you style it? Does it not hold the style? Do you have a lot of fly aways? A lot of short broken strands around the crown?

 

[patience]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Sounds like you may just need a good trim. If nothing is wrong with you medically, try that and then deep condition and see if that helps.

Also, be prepared that one of your products may be the culprit.

 

[Tracy]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Sengs.....

Hair still breaks even if it's incredibly healthy and you're taking really care of it. If your ends don't LOOK unhealthy leave them alone!

Sometimes we talk about hair here in such absolutes that we assume perfection is possible. Most of the time, it's not. Hair that breaks a little is not necessarily unhealthy. It's just doing what hair does.

If it's not excessive breakage I wouldn't worry. My hair (colored or no) ALWAYS breaks and sheds a little every day. Every single day.

About 10-20 pieces...sometimes shed sometimes broken. All women with all hair types get broken hair...

I don't think you should worry so much....

 

[Falon]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

I just looked at your pics. Girl, this is just my most humble opinion. But your hair looks great! I don't think it needs cutting. Just keep dusting the ends and eventually you will get where you want to go.

 

[moneychaser]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

This doesn't sound like shedding, are you seeing white bulbs at the end of these hairs?? Its normal to shed 50-100 hairs per day. I don't know what is considered normal breakage, though. Its been said that healthy hair doesn't break at all. Im still trying to figure this one out myself

QP Break Control Serum isn't a strong protein treatment. When was the last time you did a serious protein treatment (Aphogee) ?

 

[debyjay]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confu

[ QUOTE ]
Tracy said:
Sengs.....

Hair still breaks even if it's incredibly healthy and you're taking really care of it. If your ends don't LOOK unhealthy leave them alone!

Sometimes we talk about hair here in such absolutes that we assume perfection is possible. Most of the time, it's not. Hair that breaks a little is not necessarily unhealthy. It's just doing what hair does.

If it's not excessive breakage I wouldn't worry. My hair (colored or no) ALWAYS breaks and sheds a little every day. Every single day.

About 10-20 pieces...sometimes shed sometimes broken. All women with all hair types get broken hair...

I don't think you should worry so much....

[/ QUOTE ]

Phew! Well this is good to know coz I lose some hair every day and it makes me so upset. Last night I added the QP serum to my Le Kair cholestrol along with a lil garlic conditioner and it reduced the amount quite a bit. I sat under the dryer for 15 mins and waited another 15 to rinse. It really helped.

 

[bettydavis]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

I lose a little bit of hair everday when I moisturise, long and short hairs maybe 10-20, but it's WAY less than I used to lose so I feel like I'm making progress. I'm trying to detangle less often cause that seems to be when I lose the most hair. I also did an Aphogee treatment. I put my hair in loose braids to wash it if I don't feel like detangling it on that wash day. But I still lose hairs, I think it's normal.

 

[sengschick]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Thank you for answering ladies!!!

Falon: Thanks for the compliment. It's pretty good hair, really. I just need to keep it on my head!

I only comb on wash days, so daily shedding is in my wash day count. I keep this in mind and know that I'm doing pretty good b/c my hair ball is never in excess of nickel size and is 85% of the time dime sized and smaller. But the short hairs seem to be 50% of my shedding. In a less dramatic moment I would say 25%.

Patience: I'm trying to isolate my topical products. I use Elasta's Mango Butter (maybe it's the protein Irrisistible was posting about yesterday), EVOO, Aloe Vera Gel (just on the ends b/c it makes my braid-outs revert) and Humectress. I put EVOO and Aloe on the ends only today. My hair is fine, so maybe it's too much weight. They feel coated and soft, so I'm confused.

Denali: It's not shedding, these are short hairs. I don't shed anywhere near 50-100 hairs per day (or I'd be posting every 10 mins about balding!

). I was thinking the same thing, healthy ends should stay intact. Though I must admit I love Tracy's response!

I thought Breakage Control Serum was strong... good grief. So I thought I was doing a "serious protein treatment". I'll try the apHogee. What about Nexxus Emergencee?

Tracy: Thank you. It's hard to know when you're on the right path and when you THINK you're on the right path.

I just keep thinking that if the pace continues and doesn't stop......

 

[Tracy]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Don't overdo it on the protein love....

That can CAUSE breakage if the breakage you're having doesn't rise to the occasion of needing such a strong treatment.....

Did it start recently the hairs in the shower? Aphoghee and Nexxus are better used when there is hair everywhere....on the sink.... on the floor when you comb your hair dry....or as infrequent but routine maintenance.

My advice is to stick to the Elasta and only use it once every three weeks to a month and then just use creamy proteins weekly or bi-weekly.

 

[LittleMissScientist]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Hi Sengs,

First, you are taking wonderful care of your hair (after hearing all the pampering yours gets my hair is like, DANG- can I get ONE protein treatment???

).

Seriously, I do think it is perfectly normal- and perhaps better than normal- to see a few pieces of hair every day...just think about the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of strands that are still on your head and growing.

You have thick, lovely hair that is thriving!

A sidenote on products: how committed are you to EVOO? I have found that it makes my hair a little crispy.

 

[sengschick]

Re: I Just Don\'t Understand....discouraged & confused

Thanks again Tracy!

(btw, I love your avatar) I did notice fewer short hairs when I used the Elasta, maybe even none that week. I had planned to use it once a month, but I just bought it so I've only used it once. I'll see if it's sufficient before I upgrade. The hairs aren't everywhere, I only see them in my hands after I've added moisturizer and of course on wash day. Okay, I'll stick to what I'm doing in terms of conditioning for awhile longer. Maybe it's just normal for my hair. And maybe those dead ends are just seperating the weak from the strong for me!

Oshun.. thanks for the compliment

. You're right, I love this hair, so it should be lovin' me back!

I'm not committed to EVOO, I was using coconut oil before, but my ends started feeling dry (it was refined) so I just bought the EVOO just to have something. I mix it, so it's been working fine. I was eyeing a bottle of Almond oil yesterday to try, as I am low on EVOO. I still haven't perfected my daily moisturizing thing, still tweeking, so I am going try other things until I get it right!