Thinking About Heat Training My Hair

[kblc06]

Because unless it's sopped in jheri curl juice, I cannot wear my hair down in its natural state without incurring major split ends. It's as if my hair is made of velcro and the cuticles will not lay completely flat. And before anyone says it, almost all the products I use have a pH of about 4.5 (Joico, leave-ins), and I also do a final rinse with cold water after conditioning. But since, my hair is fine, I'm also afraid that I may get even more split ends from damage and manipulation. Not to mention, I really don't even like straight hair all that much anymore. I just want to wear it big and fluffy without it drying out and splitting to shreds ....grrrrrrrr.

Rant over...but seriously, has anyone else experience this?

 

[classychic1908]

have you ever tried using a little gel on top of your moisture layer seal your ends? I find that I have fewer issues with my ends when I do this.

 

[kblc06]

have you ever tried using a little gel on top of your moisture layer seal your ends? I find that I have fewer issues with my ends when I do this.

My hair is fine when I seal with vaseline under my wigs or when I'm in a ponytail. And normally I do use gel when I do ponytails. It's just that, I really want to enjoy my hair.....preferably in a non-juicy nor completely straight state. Like in a stretched, fluffy braid out, semi-natural state. But I get split ends & SSKs galore when I try to wear it in this state. I just want some additional options besides a wash n go, ponytail, wig, or completely straight (which has become quite boring).

 

[Tiye]

Because unless it's sopped in jheri curl juice, I cannot wear my hair down in its natural state without incurring major split ends. It's as if my hair is made of velcro and the cuticles will not lay completely flat. And before anyone says it, almost all the products I use have a pH of about 4.5 (Joico, leave-ins), and I also do a final rinse with cold water after conditioning. But since, my hair is fine, I'm also afraid that I may get even more split ends from damage and manipulation. Not to mention, I really don't even like straight hair all that much anymore. I just want to wear it big and fluffy without it drying out and splitting to shreds ....grrrrrrrr.

Rant over...but seriously, has anyone else experience this?

Then don't straighten it to bone straight - just straighten it out enough to stretch and smooth the cuticle. Then you can braid it up as a protective style, when you want to wear it down, release the braids for wavy texture.

 

[lilsparkle825]

I feel like I have the same issue -- I find myself having to trim a lot (or at least more than my thick-haired sister) because of my fine strands, which I love to wear in twistouts and the like. I just DC and dust more often to keep my ends looking decent, because I am not giving up my textured styles. It seems that only when I wet bun, straighten or keep my hair in braids can I avoid splits.

 

[jamaica68]

I'm having similar issues with single strand knots and splits and I'm doing oil rinsing hoping it will decrease or stop completely.

 

[shenitab]

I am having the same problem. I did the 2 step Aphogee treatment and it seems to have helped some. My mom suggested the same thing Tiye did. She said I should blow my ends out a little or try rolling my hair just to straighten or curve the ends a tad. She was like - you know I used to have a fro and that's what I used to do. I am also wondering if I am detangling or combing my hair enough. I feel like I have tried everything and am getting frustrated. This has been a setback for my hair. I am not retaining length. Neither of my daughters have this issue. I think it's partly because they have different hair textures than me and partly because they don't really wear their hair loose, it is almost always, braided, twisted, or in ponytails. I love to wear my hair "out" but I have to stop until I figure out how to make it work.

 

[bludaydreamr]

OP, Porosity Control Conditioner can help with sealing the cuticle.
The longer my hair gets; the more ssk's/splits I've noticed while mainly wearing twist, so I've decided to use more heat and keep my hair stretched as much as possible. Hopefully if I monitor my hair I wont have a major set back.

 

[classychic1908]

My hair is fine when I seal with vaseline under my wigs or when I'm in a ponytail. And normally I do use gel when I do ponytails. It's just that, I really want to enjoy my hair.....preferably in a non-juicy nor completely straight state. Like in a stretched, fluffy braid out, semi-natural state. But I get split ends & SSKs galore when I try to wear it in this state. I just want some additional options besides a wash n go, ponytail, wig, or completely straight (which has become quite boring).

Would a small amount of AVG, or high quality wax, pomade on the ends while you set your braids for the braidout weigh it down too much?

What about braid n curls or twist n curls?

 

[Sunrise]

Yep, I started over the last month or so to use heat to keep my hair stretched and eventually heat trained. My hair was trained when I was younger thanks to my mum's pressing techniques and trying to reach there again. It gonna take me longer as I'm not using such high heat to burn the hair.

I've tried using a hair drier. The next time was Hair dryer/Maxi Glide combo, Hair dryer/Electric Flat Iron and, the last time which I prefer was Hair dryer/Stove Flat Iron.

I'm about to use the last combo today/tomorrow but try it with Pressing Creme to see if there is any difference in straightening. I used Africare Silk Spray and I ended up looking like a mad woman.

The longer my hair is getting, the more splits and knot there is. I've cut an inch off all over and I am still finding splits - madness!

I also notice to splits/knots are mostly on the side that I sleep. Just got to figure out a way of keeping the scarf during the night.

 

[kblc06]

Then don't straighten it to bone straight - just straighten it out enough to stretch and smooth the cuticle. Then you can braid it up as a protective style, when you want to wear it down, release the braids for wavy texture.

Would a small amount of AVG, or high quality wax, pomade on the ends while you set your braids for the braidout weigh it down too much?

What about braid n curls or twist n curls?

These are the styles that I want to wear. But when I wore my hair out like that last week (which looked fluffy and amazing and showed length at the same time), I developed a ton of split ends. I had done an intensive S&D in late September, and I had only worn my hair out of a bun or ponytail once. And there were times when the strands felt like they were fused together at the cuticle. My hair is so prone to splits that you can blow on the ends and you will see 4 layers of cuticle separating from the cortex.

It is truly frustrating

 

[kblc06]

bump bump.......

 

[ctosha]

The knots and splits make me sick...lol I can't stand them. I too have considered heat training but I also consider the down side of heat training, that too can cause splits and breakage as well if heat is used in high dosages. Im still pondering over this, if not now I know down the line in my natural journey I will eventually take the heat training route.

 

[Nonie]

OP, first of all, I think your first mistake is wasting time with S&D. When I read your line where you say that you develop splits from wearing your hair in even a braid-out, it made no sense to me. I can see splits from heat, but what I think is happening is when your hair is stretched you are seeing the splits the futile task of S&D didn't get out. Also when you S&D you end up leaving hairs that have already split and torn away because they do not look split. They are damaged beyond just being split so you leave them there and they end up causing you problems.

So my suggestion is to put all your hair in small braids and snip a TINY amount from all your braids every couple of months. So tiny that you don't even miss it. You will be surprised at how much better your hair will do and how less time you will spend looking for splits.

Secondly, there are a few MBL or thereabouts naturals (Mwedzi, Virtuenow...come to mind) who wear their hair stretched all the time. They could probably shed some light on how they achieve that and how they are able to keep splits/knots at bay.

Perhaps you should try stretching your hair using less watery products so there's no curling back on your strands. But this will work best if your ends are in good shape, which IMO is very hard to determine if you're relying on your eyes to tell you which strands are split and which ones are not. As these images show, just because you don't see a split doesn't mean the split didn't happen. The pointed end of my hair in the first image shows the "after-results" of a split. If I were just looking for a fork shape, I'd leave that hair there and it'd continue to weaken the rest of the strand:

 

[kblc06]

Oh, I do trim my ends as well. I divide my hair in 4 ponytails (top half/bottom half). And I take maybe about 1/4-1/2" off every two months. To even the hemline, I take an addition 1/4" off by splitting my hair into two ponytails and trimming them flush with one another. I do this AFTER the S&D and I also clip away ends that taper or look like they're about to split, not just the split ends. That's what's so frustrating, because it seems as though I'm cutting off all my progress when I want to wear my hair down. Any time I leave my hair in a state where the ends my wrap around each other, I end up with split ends. And they're usually midshaft splits, not just breaks at the end.

ETA:
My hair strand doesn't quite look like yours. Whereas your strands appear round all the way down, most of mine appear flat, then round & thinner, then flat and thick again where the bend of curl or wave is. If that makes sense....like a piece of thread, but no where near as thick

OP, first of all, I think your first mistake is wasting time with S&D. When I read your line where you say that you develop splits from wearing your hair in even a braid-out, it made no sense to me. I can see splits from heat, but what I think is happening is when your hair is stretched you are seeing the splits the futile task of S&D didn't get out. Also when you S&D you end up leaving hairs that have already split and torn away because they do not look split. They are damaged beyond just being split so you leave them there and they end up causing you problems.

So my suggestion is to put all your hair in small braids and snip a TINY amount from all your braids every couple of months. So tiny that you don't even miss it. You will be surprised at how much better your hair will do and how less time you will spend looking for splits.

Secondly, there are a few MBL or thereabouts naturals (Mwedzi, Virtuenow...come to mind) who wear their hair stretched all the time. They could probably shed some light on how they achieve that and how they are able to keep splits/knots at bay.

Perhaps you should try stretching your hair using less watery products so there's no curling back on your strands. But this will work best if your ends are in good shape, which IMO is very hard to determine if you're relying on your eyes to tell you which strands are split and which ones are not. As these images show, just because you don't see a split doesn't mean the split didn't happen. The pointed end of my hair in the first image shows the "after-results" of a split. If I were just looking for a fork shape, I'd leave that hair there and it'd continue to weaken the rest of the strand:

 

[darlingdiva]

Like another poster, I recommend Roux Porosity Control for cuticle control.

You said that you do a final rinse with cold water. How does your hair feel after the final rinse? I'm asking because I gave up on doing final rinses with cold water, and I'm so glad that I did. A lot of people say that cold water seals the cuticle, but my hair used to be so tangled after I rinsed with cold water.

I've gone back and forth on what I use for my ends b/c I've always had a problem with maintaining smooth ends (they feel pretty good right now, though--oddly enough.) I've been using an aloe vera & castor oil spritz on my ends & I like it so far. Maybe the aloe vera is closing the cuticles on my ends & that's why they don't feel so rough.

Out of curiosity, what's your detangling method? I'm asking b/c I think there is a correlation between proper detangling and single-strand knots. When the former is done, the latter is minimized (I believe.). I've read on here that single-strand knots form when the shed hair mingles with the unshed hair, and I've found it to be true for my hair.

 

[Vshanell]

kblc06 Honestly i'm sure that heat training will only make your splits worse. I have the same problem as you....my hair is very fine and it splits no matter what I do. Weather I use heat or not it will split. All I do is keep them at bay by dusting/trimming frequently, combined with thorough S&D's and Traycee's method of snipping the ends that stick out. All of these combined together is about the most I can do and it's a lot of work.

Are you thinking of heat training only because of SSK's or because of splits too? I'm sure that heat will only make splits worse and for SSK's you could keep your hair stretched,,but I don't....I just let them be and cut them out when I do my S&D which is about twice a year. I just came out of wearing only wng's for 7 months and my ends look pretty good....of course I have quite a bit of splits and SSK's but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I've just accepted that I will always have splits. I just do the best I can at keeping them at bay. I think fine hair is much more prone to splitting.

 

[Oasis]

my hair, natural or relaxed, is the same way. except it wasn't just wearing my hair down that give me splits. it was wearing my hair in any style! if i cut off 1/2 an inch the splits would be back the very next and i NEVER used heat, slept on stain, and rarely wore my hair out. i've just given up.

 

[Vshanell]

Like another poster, I recommend Roux Porosity Control for cuticle control.

You said that you do a final rinse with cold water. How does your hair feel after the final rinse? I'm asking because I gave up on doing final rinses with cold water, and I'm so glad that I did. A lot of people say that cold water seals the cuticle, but my hair used to be so tangled after I rinsed with cold water.

I've gone back and forth on what I use for my ends b/c I've always had a problem with maintaining smooth ends (they feel pretty good right now, though--oddly enough.) I've been using an aloe vera & castor oil spritz on my ends & I like it so far. Maybe the aloe vera is closing the cuticles on my ends & that's why they don't feel so rough.

Out of curiosity, what's your detangling method? I'm asking b/c I think there is a correlation between proper detangling and single-strand knots. When the former is done, the latter is minimized (I believe.). I've read on here that single-strand knots form when the shed hair mingles with the unshed hair, and I've found it to be true for my hair.

I'm sure this happens too but most ssk's come from curls tying themselves into knots. That's how it is for me at least, my curls just curl up into themselves and work their way into a knot....it slowly pulls itself closed through manipulation of some sort.

 

[Nonie]

Oh, I do trim my ends as well. I divide my hair in 4 ponytails (top half/bottom half). And I take maybe about 1/4-1/2" off every two months. To even the hemline, I take an addition 1/4" off by splitting my hair into two ponytails and trimming them flush with one another. I do this AFTER the S&D and I also clip away ends that taper or look like they're about to split, not just the split ends. That's what's so frustrating, because it seems as though I'm cutting off all my progress when I want to wear my hair down. Any time I leave my hair in a state where the ends my wrap around each other, I end up with split ends. And they're usually midshaft splits, not just breaks at the end.

ETA:
My hair strand doesn't quite look like yours. Whereas your strands appear round all the way down, most of mine appear flat, then round & thinner, then flat and thick again where the bend of curl or wave is. If that makes sense....like a piece of thread, but no where near as thick

I think all curly hair has the sort of flat cross-section you describe even if it isn't noticeable. If you can see the cross-section of your hair, you probably have thick/coarse strands coz I can't see mine since my strands are very fine. (I wonder whether that's why you're able to see issues with your strands while I just can't imagine straining to find the same in mine? :scratchch ) The strand you see of my hair is magnified big time so it isn't really thick. To get perspective, that's the corner of my thumb-nail you see to the left of the strand in the first pic.

Since you know that ends wrapping around each other is the first problem, then you have to find ways to prevent that from happening. Maybe rollersetting? Or braiding and putting curlers at the ends so that they are stretched?

I agree with darlingdiva that your detangling technique might need tweaking. Midshaft splits I believe are caused by brushing and perhaps "bubble hair" which is believed to occur when liquid boils inside strands. I don't know if any of this hits close to home.

SSK is something that is typical of afro hair but mid-shaft splits are not, so finding out what causes those is important to stop them happening. Perhaps you should consider manipulating your hair less? I really believe if you kept your hair stretched and didn't manipulate it often, the
SSKs would reduce.

Fine4s is another natural who keeps her hair stretched if I'm not mistaken. Maybe you can take a leaf out of her book too. I think Ms Lala might also keep her hair stretched, IIRC. Hopefully they'll pop in and perhaps see where you could tweak your regimen.

 

[kblc06]

Like another poster, I recommend Roux Porosity Control for cuticle control.

You said that you do a final rinse with cold water. How does your hair feel after the final rinse? I'm asking because I gave up on doing final rinses with cold water, and I'm so glad that I did. A lot of people say that cold water seals the cuticle, but my hair used to be so tangled after I rinsed with cold water.

I've gone back and forth on what I use for my ends b/c I've always had a problem with maintaining smooth ends (they feel pretty good right now, though--oddly enough.) I've been using an aloe vera & castor oil spritz on my ends & I like it so far. Maybe the aloe vera is closing the cuticles on my ends & that's why they don't feel so rough.

Out of curiosity, what's your detangling method? I'm asking b/c I think there is a correlation between proper detangling and single-strand knots. When the former is done, the latter is minimized (I believe.). I've read on here that single-strand knots form when the shed hair mingles with the unshed hair, and I've found it to be true for my hair.

I've tried RPC in past, but I get this same results when using Joico (they both have a very low pH). I normally wash my hair in braids over the sink or loose in the shower. When detangling over the sink, I separate my hair in four sections and a apply a slippery conditioner and lots of water. I remove the shed hair first with my fingers and then with a detangling comb. After that I rinse with water and apply my main DC and rebraid. But in the shower, I just use the running water to help me detangle. I don't believe that my SSKs are the results of detangling though- I normally notice them after I've left my ends loose for an extended period of time or when my ends have dried out.

@kblc06 Honestly i'm sure that heat training will only make your splits worse. I have the same problem as you....my hair is very fine and it splits no matter what I do. Weather I use heat or not it will split. All I do is keep them at bay by dusting/trimming frequently, combined with thorough S&D's and Traycee's method of snipping the ends that stick out. All of these combined together is about the most I can do and it's a lot of work.

Are you thinking of heat training only because of SSK's or because of splits too? I'm sure that heat will only make splits worse and for SSK's you could keep your hair stretched,,but I don't....I just let them be and cut them out when I do my S&D which is about twice a year. I just came out of wearing only wng's for 7 months and my ends look pretty good....of course I have quite a bit of splits and SSK's but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I've just accepted that I will always have splits. I just do the best I can at keeping them at bay. I think fine hair is much more prone to splitting.

Pokahontas You only S&D 2x a year?! Does your hair maintain its progress? The SSKs are no where near as bad as the split ends, although my hair is not riddled with split ends like it once was. But I see so many people on the forum who never develop split ends as long as they stay away from heat and keep their ends protected. And I don't manipulate my hair but once or twice a week if that. The only thing that has kept split ends at bay for an extended period of time is wearing wigs. My hair was completely unexposed and unmanipulated. But sometimes I just want to wear my own hair .

my hair, natural or relaxed, is the same way. except it wasn't just wearing my hair down that give me splits. it was wearing my hair in any style! if i cut off 1/2 an inch the splits would be back the very next and i NEVER used heat, slept on stain, and rarely wore my hair out. i've just given up.

Thank you! I'm beginning to feel as though split ends are inevitable despite what I do. I DC my hair for hours at least 1x a week, I'm super gentle when I wash and detangle, I rarely EVER just wear my hair down. I don't even see how I could possibly develop split ends when my hair is tucked in a twisted bun

 

[greight]

Subscribing and bumping.

OP, how long do you think it takes for your split ends to form? Especially after you trim? Do you think a protein treatment after you trim may help reinforce your hair?

I suffer from this situation as well, but I believe protein treatments which focus more on my ends have helped me along with daily moisturizing. I keep my hair up in a twisted style which has all my ends tucked under. I probably deep condition or condition my hair every 2 - 3 days.

Doing a final rinse with ACV has helped my hair as well. On top of that, I'm using Porosity Control and the Roux Alpha Shampoo. Still need to find a holy grail moisturizing deep conditioner, but I'm trying to exclusively use products that have mildly acidic pHs.

I'll probably do an Aphogee 2 Step treatment to reinforce my hair during the Thanksgiving break. I'll also be cutting another inch of hair in the front (sigh) which stays with split ends. The rest of my hair has barely any splits in them anymore so I'll be monitoring them closely and following this thread for ideas. Hopefully, this technique will work and I can bump up this thread in January 2011 with good results

 

[Nonie]

Thank you! I'm beginning to feel as though split ends are inevitable despite what I do. I DC my hair for hours at least 1x a week, I'm super gentle when I wash and detangle, I rarely EVER just wear my hair down. I don't even see how I could possibly develop split ends when my hair is tucked in a twisted bun

I have always said this, but it's never good news so I don't think many like to hear it. I have said I do not think it is possible for anyone who is "organic" and not plastic to have hair w/o splits. Living things wear down and tear and as soon as you trim your hair you create another opening to an area that until then was kinda "protected".

Think of a ribbon. The length of it is usually intact but the ends if not sealed with an interlock machine are usually frayed. You trim off that fraying end and you create another end that soon starts to fray. That's the story of hair too. Trimming doesn't permanently stop the hair's "fraying" from happening but it does temporarily slow it down, so that if you then seal and protective style (think of folding the end of the ribbon over and tucking that end under), the fraying is sort of slowed down. But after a wash and if the fold is released, the fraying starts all over again.

If there really was a way to stop splits, then Wanakee with her meticulous care to her ends would not have been trimming her hair as regularly as she did. Neither would some of the women on this forum with beautiful ends and nice thick tresses who protective style religiously but still find that they have to dust to retain length.

 

[Vshanell]

@Pokahontas You only S&D 2x a year?! Does your hair maintain its progress? The SSKs are no where near as bad as the split ends, although my hair is not riddled with split ends like it once was. But I see so many people on the forum who never develop split ends as long as they stay away from heat and keep their ends protected. And I don't manipulate my hair but once or twice a week if that. The only thing that has kept split ends at bay for an extended period of time is wearing wigs. My hair was completely unexposed and unmanipulated. But sometimes I just want to wear my own hair .

Yes usually I only do a thorough one twice a year because that's all I'm willing to do, lol. It's so time consuming and I have to straighten my hair to do it which I dread because I don't like straight hair anymore. Sadly my hair does not maintain it's progress, even with my very low-mani regimen (detangle once a week on wash day, no manipulation at all during the week). My hair is going to split no matter what.

I see a lot of people say they never get splits either with proper care.....I'm so curious how many of those have fine hair.

 

[Vshanell]

I have always said this, but it's never good news so I don't think many like to hear it. I have said I do not think it is possible for anyone who is "organic" and not plastic to have hair w/o splits. Living things wear down and tear and as soon as you trim your hair you create another opening to an area that until then was kinda "protected".

Think of a ribbon. The length of it is usually intact but the ends if not sealed with an interlock machine are usually frayed. You trim off that fraying end and you create another end that soon starts to fray. That's the story of hair too. Trimming doesn't permanently stop the hair's "fraying" from happening but it does temporarily slow it down, so that if you then seal and protective style (think of folding the end of the ribbon over and tucking that end under), the fraying is sort of slowed down. But after a wash and if the fold is released, the fraying starts all over again.

If there really was a way to stop splits, then Wanakee with her meticulous care to her ends would not have been trimming her hair as regularly as she did. Neither would some of the women on this forum with beautiful ends and nice thick tresses who protective style religiously but still find that they have to dust to retain length.

This does make sense. I'm always worried about the split traveling up the shaft and leading to breakage though. I have seen mine travel up the shaft....gosh I've seen some horrible ones *shudder*. I feel like if I let them get to that point I will have more breakage. Like right now I just roller set after wearing a wash n' go for 7 months (no S&D) and I was seeing more breakage than normal. I'm not sure it's totally from splits or not but I knew I had to go ahead and straighten so I could do a thorough S&D and get my ends back healthy.