Suggestions for Severe, Severe, Horrible, breakage

PuddingPop

PuddingPop

Well-Known Member
Did I mention that the Breakage is really bad?


A young girl I know asked me to flat iron her hair. She had recently gotten a short cut a few weeks ago and couldn't do it herself. She has been wearing a wig for the most part since the cut. When she removed the wig and i began to do her hair I realized that it was extremely brittle and broken down to the scalp in many places on her head :nono:. The hair was crunchy and actually breaking off in my hand. It was like nothing i had ever felt before. At that point i told her her hair was breaking terribly and told her it was not a good idea to use heat on it any time soon. I moisturized it with some Elasta QP recovery oil moisturizer and sealed with some Wonder 8.
She wants me to help get her hair back on track but I don't know where to begin with a problem this bad. I need some help please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ETA: Her hair is relaxed.
 
Last edited:
Using a spray bottle, dampen the hair with some warm water and apply HE LTR mixed with olive oil in small sections. sit her under the dryer and DC for about 30 - 45 minutes. It's important to have oil mixed in so that when the conditioner is rinsed out, there will be some oil left over the protect the strands.

do this weekly for about 3 weeks and her hair should be good as new :yep:

HTH
 
The question is how did it get that way?

Is her hair relaxed or color treated? Her hair may be severely overprocessed and will
need to be deep conditioned several times before deciding how much will need to be cut. I like Motions CPR and Keracare Humecto.

Its good that you refused to put heat on it, that's the last thing her hair needs right now.
 
Her hair is relaxed. It was so bad that it actually prompted me to clean and reorganize my hair product totes ( something i've been putting off for months) just to see what I had on hand to get started with .
 
What does she do with her hair on a daily basis? It sounds like she needs a good protein treatment, but I'd do something like Nexxus Emergencee followed by a good DC, NOT making it hard, or a balanced conditioner AO GPB, rather than the heavy duty aphogee. It sounds like her hair is too fragile for that strong a protein. Then moisture moisture moisture!! I'd make sure she DC'd at least weekly, maybe adding in the protein every 3 weeks or so until the breakage subsided. But she's going to seriously have to lay off the heat for a while :yep:. You know it's bad if she just got a trim and she still has this much breakage :nono:. Good luck in helping her!
 
Wow that's terrible, i would suggest a protein treatment follwed by a good DC and daily moisture. I also think she should invest in a nice wig and protect her hair for a while.
 
Are You sure all the Relaxer is out? I would re-neutralize it and then I would start on a Solid Regimen of Protein/Moisture to bring it back in balance.

Low/No Manipulation, No Heat and get the Porosity in Check. I would also incorporate a light weekly reconstructor.

This sounds like what I was dealing with about 2 years ago. Hair had been Over/Double Processed (Relaxer & Color) Poorly Neutralized and Overly Porous (And this happened at the Salon).
 
I'd say a hard core protein treatment like Aphogee 2 step protein treatment. I use to do this treatment once a month or try Komaza's protein treatment if you are scared of the hard core one. I like that one too, they both are really good at stopping excessive breakage.
 
Sounds like her hair is dry and she needs intense Moisture. :yep:

The best thing for you to do Is clarify and give her an intense moisture treatment weekly until her condition picks up.
 
I had a friend that suffered from severe breakage. She had been natural right up until the end of freshman year in high school. Her perm was good for a couple of months, then her hair just got super stringy. She had to cut before she could go on making better choices with her hair. If the hair is snapping off like that, I believe it's best to cut down to the healthier part of the shaft and start over. The brittle shaft may be beyond repair at this point
 
Once upon a time my hair was like that. Even when it was wet, it was crunch. :perplexed: I had severe chemical and heat damage on my relaxed hair. What saved my hair was the ApHogee line and a gooooooood moisturizing deep condition. After about a month or two of ApHogee shampoo for damaged hair and the reconstructor, my hair made a huge turnaround.
 
Wow.... Without pictures it sounds like she may have a no-lye relaxer, need more moisture and she definitely don't need to put any heat or any extra tension on her hair. She need to make sure she up her moisture levels... HTH
 
Thanks for all the advice ladies.
I spoke to her again and She said they did a protien treatment at the salon when she got it cut a few weeks go so I guess were going to stick to all moisture for at least the next month. I'm thinking of having her DC at least 2, maybe 3 times a week until it begins to improve then apply a leave - in ( i'm thinking HE-LTR) and seal with castor oil and air dry.
Hopefully this at least will stop the breakage and we'll worry about getting some growth later
 
PuddingPop said:
Thanks for all the advice ladies.
I spoke to her again and She said they did a protien treatment at the salon when she got it cut a few weeks go so I guess were going to stick to all moisture for at least the next month. I'm thinking of having her DC at least 2, maybe 3 times a week until it begins to improve then apply a leave - in ( i'm thinking HE-LTR) and seal with castor oil and air dry.
Hopefully this at least will stop the breakage and we'll worry about getting some growth later
Click to expand...

That was a great idea for her to go to the salon. How did is her hair cut? I'm quite sure they cut all the damage which gives her a fresh start. Now all she has to do is keep up the protein treatments/reconstructors & moisturizing DCs, stretch relaxers and low (or no) heat use.

Its time for her to become apart of LHCF lol.
 
I'll say what I always say....CLARIFY! Start off with a clean slate when your hair is in need of major help. After that I would do an intense deep conditioning treatment and incorporate a protein treatment weekly until her breakage subsides. I would also suggest she do protective styling and moisturize daily with a ph balanced leave in conditioner from now on.
 
All the ladies have given good advice. I'm sure you're aware that she should not get a relaxer until her hair is healthy/fit enough to receive it.
 
Clarify initially and then let her co-wash, protein treatment and do moisture DC treatments (heating cap or shower cap, wrapped over with a warm towel), rinse then PC to get her PH balance back to normal. Stay way from anything that is drying to her hair that is SLS shampoo. Let her know she needs to moisturize and seal at least 2 twice a day. Protect her hair at night with a satin or silk scarf. Let her continue to protective style, but come out to breathe to do these TLC to her hair.

Her leave-ins after her wash again moisturize leave-in, get some keratin and protein leave-in and a nice seal. Need to find out what products her hair likes and let her stick to a routine for it to rebound. Good luck!
 
Nothing breaks hair to the root like over processing. I bet they didn't rinse the relaxer out well enough. I'm glad she went to the salon to get treatment.


Sent from TopNotch1010's iPhone using LHCF
 
tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT said:
i would cut

a cut low cut
Click to expand...


ITA! cut that mess off. why try to save damaged hair? you can't do anything to it, but put a bunch of products on it. you stated that she has a short hair cut and it is damaged down to the scalp. get rid of it asap and start fresh. she can rock wigs if she is concerned about being natural and the length. give her 6-8 months, so she can have enough hair to relax again.
 
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