What do you ladies think of this new regimen?

[spellinto]

• Condition once a week.
• Shampoo twice a month.
• Detangle and wrap hair nightly. (I'll probably finger detangle & crosswrap/braid during the week and use a comb on the weekends. The point of this is just to stretch my new growth and keep it manageable.)
• Use a mild protein treatment once a month.
• Use my leave in only when I'm air drying my hair.

This is the regimen my stylist created with me to fix my split end problem. He thinks I'm alternating between moisture and protein too often (I typically use protein 1x a week and use my leave-in everyday/every other day) and that's why my ends are splitting. I'm a little nervous about not moisturizing daily, and I'm not sure if I'll continue to wrap my hair when I'm 2-3 months post (my new growth gets REALLY thick!) What do you all think, is this a safe regimen or not? Do any of you ladies have a regimen similar to this?

Attached is a photo of my hair currently (I am relaxed): you can see that the ends are frayed--they're getting a trim soon!

 

[cutenss]

You might be one of those people that need to dust your ends more often. Especially if you where your hair out. Ends rubbing against fabrics, car seats, chairs, etc. will become damaged quicker, than hair that is in a bun, being protected.

 

[faithVA]

• Condition once a week.
• Shampoo twice a month.
• Detangle and wrap hair nightly. (I'll probably finger detangle & crosswrap/braid during the week and use a comb on the weekends. The point of this is just to stretch my new growth and keep it manageable.)
• Use a mild protein treatment once a month.
• Use my leave in only when I'm air drying my hair.

This is the regimen my stylist created with me to fix my split end problem. He thinks I'm alternating between moisture and protein too often (I typically use protein 1x a week and use my leave-in everyday/every other day) and that's why my ends are splitting. I'm a little nervous about not moisturizing daily, and I'm not sure if I'll continue to wrap my hair when I'm 2-3 months post (my new growth gets REALLY thick!) What do you all think, is this a safe regimen or not? Do any of you ladies have a regimen similar to this?

Attached is a photo of my hair currently (I am relaxed): you can see that the ends are frayed--they're getting a trim soon!

I'm of no help. But did he say why switching between protein and moisture would cause your ends to split?

 

[almond eyes]

You have nice hair by the way!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe your leave in is the culprit or the way you are wrapping your hair.

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[MileHighDiva]

In lieu of m&s everyday, can you only m&s 2-3 a week? What is your LI/moisterizer of choice?

What is your porosity and is your hair fine, medium, or coarse? The actual strands not the density.

Your hair is beautiful!!!!

ETA: How strong of a protein treatment were you using weekly? Light, medium, or heavy? If it was med or heavy, were you following up with a moisturizing treatment?

ETA2: How frequently are you dusting/trimming? How deep are the split ends and how frequently do they rear their ugly head?
Sent from my Speak & Spell using LHCF

 

[Ogoma]

Gotta agree on how pretty your hair is.

It sounds reasonable, but the moisturize 1x a week gives me pause. Do you leave in a warm state? I would think it would be hard to pull off in the winter.

Curious to read why switching between protein and moisture causes splits.

 

[ckisland]

Your hair is really pretty OP .

I'm natural, and when I do a wash n'go using gel or straighten my hair, moisturizing once a week, on wash day, is good enough for me. I wouldn't worry about that part unless you have exceptionally dry hair. So is your stylist saying that you need more protein and less moisture? I can see that since ends can become weak and mushy from moisture overload. Hygral fatigue is why I can't wet my hair more than twice a week regularly .

 

[spellinto]

Thank you ladies for the sweet compliments on my hair. That makes me feel a lot better about the state it's in.

faithVA: he explains it better than I do, but his logic was that I was putting my hair through frequent and unnecessary phases of moisture and then brittleness throughout the week from my protein treatment, moisturizing DC, and cowashes. He pinpointed weekly protein treatments as the most harrasive to my ends. I don't actually recall my hair feeling brittle because I used a light protein, but in his mind, protein of any kind should only be used once a month.

AlmondEyes: I've never regularly wrapped my hair until this point. I typically just pin it up to my scalp and tie a scarf over it. This will be the first time I (cross)wrap daily. As my new growth becomes thicker, I may swap cross-wrapping for twists to help keep my roots stretched. I haven't decided yet.

MileHighDiva: That's a good idea. If my hair begs for more moisture during the week I may increase my moisturizing to 2x a week. I use Lacio Lacio, it is the best leave-in I've ever used on my hair. I also use CON Argan Oil Strength & Shine Spray to moisturize my new growth. I have high porosity hair, but I'm not sure of the density...an educated guess would be medium to course. I used a light protein treatment (first ORS Replenishing Conditioner, then switched to Aphogee 2 Min) and I always followed with a moisturizing conditioner/DC. These days I'm trimming once every month to get rid of these splits. I only have a few inches left to trim, so thankfully I will not lose much length. I would say my splits are pretty chronic though because I still can't pinpoint why they are happening, although I think with my new techniques my ends will be more resilient in the future.

Ogoma: I know, the idea of moisturizing only 1x a week freaks me out too! I may switch to 2x a week to give the regimen a chance but also just to be safe. I live in a state where the weather can be really hot or super cold. Please see beginning of this post to read my stylist's protein-moisture explanation.

 

[faithVA]

^^Thank You

 

[MileHighDiva]

Girl, extremely cold means M&S two-three times a week for me, but it's 8 below zero where I'm at currently and that's w/o the wind chill factored in.

I have fine hair and it loves protein, as long as, I keep it balanced with moisture. I think moisture/protein balance is key to maintaining the hairs elasticity. I never heard of protein harassing ones hair , unless they're low porosity.

Have you considered eliminating the split ends in one shot to prevent them from getting worse and traveling further up the strand? Normally, I'm against cutting more than 1" in unless the damage is more than 1". It sounds like your splits are more than an inch, unless I'm misunderstanding. Most people around here cut more than 1" for aesthetic reasons not, because of the health of their hair. However, please remember health before length.

Also, have you considered switching to more natural products w/o cones? A lot of relaxed ladies are using natural products, unless they're using direct heat.

How do you normally style/wear your hair?

Maybe, some of he relaxed ladies will come and help. I don't want to lead you the wrong way. I think most of the ladies responding so far are natural IIRC.

sunnieb EnExitStageLeft divachyk

You and your stylist are doing something right, because your hair is I hope you find a solution and/or your new regimen works out!

 

[MileHighDiva]

OP, I wonder if your stylist is trying to describe hygral fatigue? Do you pre-poo before you cleanse? If so, are you using a penetrating oil, such as, EVCO?

Sorry for rambling on and on!

 

[sunnieb]

• Condition once a week.
• Shampoo twice a month.
• Detangle and wrap hair nightly. (I'll probably finger detangle & crosswrap/braid during the week and use a comb on the weekends. The point of this is just to stretch my new growth and keep it manageable.)
• Use a mild protein treatment once a month.
• Use my leave in only when I'm air drying my hair.

spellinto obviously you doing something right to have such a beautiful head of hair!

Do you deep condition once a week? With what? What shampoo are you using? Do you clarify to remove build up?

My hair requires moisture daily because it's naturally dry. I use Carrot Oil and NTM 2x a day.

My weekly routine is this:

Deep conditioning
Clarify 1x a week (Suave Daily Clarifying)
Shampoo 1x a week (Nexxus Therrappe)
Deep condition 1x a week (alternate moisture/light protein)

Cowash
Use varying flavors of WEN

Honey/EVOO Treatment
For an extra moisture boost, I apply raw/organic honey and EVOO to damp hair and let set for an hour. Then wash and airdry.

Even if your hair isn't dry like mine, moisturizing 1x a week doesn't seem like enough. Especially for your ends.

 

[KittyMeowMeow]

I am suspicious of the idea of a moisturizer or protein treatment causing splits while leaving the rest of the hair looking/feeling good. I have never heard of that. Especially if you have been using this regimen to get to your current length without problems.

I wonder if the splits are caused by the usual suspects- heat, color, not PSing with tucked ends enough (especially in cold weather) or mechanical damage (perhaps a new comb or brush? Use of bobby pins or ponytail holders near your ends?)

How often are you using heat and what are your methods? Do you color? Did any of what I mentioned change before the splits started? How are you PSing and how often?

Slowly trimming out damage can be a problem if actual splits are involved because they will travel up the hair. I would do a trim above where the splits are if possible. If not, I would do a thorough S&D with sharp hair cutting scissors to completely get out any splits.

 

[spellinto]

MileHighDiva: I live in Massachusetts so I experience winters below 0 degrees F. You're probably right, moisturizing 2-3x a week is a good idea in this case. To be honest, I don't really understand why my stylist would discourage me from moisturizing & using protein...(I'm a little paranoid that he wants me to be more dependent on him to earn more money; I can't tell if he has my best interests in mind or if he's just a smooth talker ) but I'm so fed up with these splits that I'm willing to take his advice . I just want to know that when I finally cut them off, they're not going to reappear like this again. And yes, I plan on trimming off all of my split ends at once. I have tried a lot of natural alternatives to products but they are not for me Most of them just sit on top of my hair. My high porosity hair feels much better when I use products with cones. I appreciate your advice and your kind words though And I guess he might of been describing hygral fatigue if anything. I don't typically prepoo...should I start even though I only shampoo 2x a month?

sunnieb: Thank you so much! I thought I was doing things right but I still experience split ends and strands that stick together (although my strands only stick together when I moisturize, bun, and take the bun down later in the day). I DC with Silk Elements Megasilk Moisture Treatment, my favorite DC in the entire world . I use Organix Nourishing Coconut Sulfate-Free Shampoo. I used to clarify monthly but when I got serious about eliminating my split ends, I stopped. I noticed that non-moisturizing sulfate shampoos made my ends look horrid. Now I only clarify before a touch-up or as needed. I agree that moisturizing 1x a week doesn't sound like a good idea...originally I was moisturizing every day/every other day. I'm thinking of just moisturizing 2-3x a week and going from there.

KittyMeowMeow: it doesn't make sense to me either...i was so desperate for an answer that he convinced me that it made sense haha. I too have a hard time understanding why my former regimen works for everything but my ends. As for the usual suspects, I do not use heat except on my bangs...the only exception is when my stylist does it for me during touch-ups, and those are every 3-4 months. I am not color treated, but it may be important to mention that I do have high porosity hair. I only use duckbill clips to I protect my ends when I bun. I used to bun 90-95% of the time. I would bun by smoothing my hair back into a ponytail with a mixed fabric scrunchie (the thin black ponytail holders destroyed my ends!) forming a big, loose bun and securing the ends with the clip. During my last stretch in September, however, I gave my hair a break because I bunned for 6 months beforehand and noticed thinning ends and breakage when I finally relaxed. I had to cut back to BSL for that and now I'm learning to enjoy low manipulation styles (french rolls, braidouts, bantu knot outs, etc.) that are easier on my ends (I try to bun less often now, or make looser buns)...I THINK my hair is doing better with them, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I think my frequent PSing and the tools I used to comb (I was using on old plastic widetooth comb for years before I purchased a seamless comb and it's much gentler on my strands) were the main causes of the splits I have now. And like I mentioned to MileHighDiva, I plan to trim off the remainder of my splits all at once.

 

[divachyk]

My stylist suggests I moisturize daily and protein treat once a month (max) or at every touch up. My TU schedule is every 10-12 weeks. Too much protein will break my hair -- I'm protein sensitive though and can get by without using protein for at least 8-10 weeks.

I'm unsure how moisture / protein cause splits but an imbalance will definitely cause breakage. Your hair is gorgeous so you're definitely doing something right.

ETA: what styling tools do you use? My splits came from using improper tools = tangle teezer.

 

[spellinto]

My stylist suggests I moisturize daily and protein treat once a month (max) or at every touch up. My TU schedule is every 10-12 weeks. Too much protein will break my hair -- I'm protein sensitive though and can get by without using protein for at least 8-10 weeks.

I'm unsure how moisture / protein cause splits but an imbalance will definitely cause breakage. Your hair is gorgeous so you're definitely doing something right.

ETA: what styling tools do you use? My splits came from using improper tools = tangle teezer.

divachyk: Thank you . I will only use protein once a month. As for tools, I now use a seamless comb, but before I was using a plastic wide toothed comb. I think it definitely contributed to my split end issues.

 

[Saludable84]

[*]Condition once a week. [*]Shampoo twice a month. [*]Detangle and wrap hair nightly. (I'll probably finger detangle & crosswrap/braid during the week and use a comb on the weekends. The point of this is just to stretch my new growth and keep it manageable.) [*]Use a mild protein treatment once a month. [*]Use my leave in only when I'm air drying my hair. This is the regimen my stylist created with me to fix my split end problem. He thinks I'm alternating between moisture and protein too often (I typically use protein 1x a week and use my leave-in everyday/every other day) and that's why my ends are splitting. I'm a little nervous about not moisturizing daily, and I'm not sure if I'll continue to wrap my hair when I'm 2-3 months post (my new growth gets REALLY thick!) What do you all think, is this a safe regimen or not? Do any of you ladies have a regimen similar to this? Attached is a photo of my hair currently (I am relaxed): you can see that the ends are frayed--they're getting a trim soon!

Ohhhh. So it's your blog I'm reading. I'm liking.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[KittyMeowMeow]

I think buns or any PS that catches your ends in hair tools is damaging. Buns with a ponytail holder where your hair is in a loop have that ponytail holder rubbing against your ends. And clips or bobby pins are like little knives on your strands, wearing them away and are especially bad on the ends. I do buns where I gently coil the hair and tuck the ends under, then secure with a hairpin.

Also, watch your stylist on the heat. 3-4 times a year is not a lot, but at longer lengths especially, this can add up. If your stylist is doing anything other than the lowest heat, one pass, with a silicone heat protectant, this can also be more damaging than necessary. Even one flat iron session can cause permanent damage. An idea to consider would be a wrap/roller set with a hooded dryer for straightening.

@MileHighDiva: I live in Massachusetts so I experience winters below 0 degrees F. You're probably right, moisturizing 2-3x a week is a good idea in this case. To be honest, I don't really understand why my stylist would discourage me from moisturizing & using protein...(I'm a little paranoid that he wants me to be more dependent on him to earn more money; I can't tell if he has my best interests in mind or if he's just a smooth talker ) but I'm so fed up with these splits that I'm willing to take his advice . I just want to know that when I finally cut them off, they're not going to reappear like this again. And yes, I plan on trimming off all of my split ends at once. I have tried a lot of natural alternatives to products but they are not for me Most of them just sit on top of my hair. My high porosity hair feels much better when I use products with cones. I appreciate your advice and your kind words though And I guess he might of been describing hygral fatigue if anything. I don't typically prepoo...should I start even though I only shampoo 2x a month?

@sunnieb: Thank you so much! I thought I was doing things right but I still experience split ends and strands that stick together (although my strands only stick together when I moisturize, bun, and take the bun down later in the day). I DC with Silk Elements Megasilk Moisture Treatment, my favorite DC in the entire world . I use Organix Nourishing Coconut Sulfate-Free Shampoo. I used to clarify monthly but when I got serious about eliminating my split ends, I stopped. I noticed that non-moisturizing sulfate shampoos made my ends look horrid. Now I only clarify before a touch-up or as needed. I agree that moisturizing 1x a week doesn't sound like a good idea...originally I was moisturizing every day/every other day. I'm thinking of just moisturizing 2-3x a week and going from there.

@KittyMeowMeow: it doesn't make sense to me either...i was so desperate for an answer that he convinced me that it made sense haha. I too have a hard time understanding why my former regimen works for everything but my ends. As for the usual suspects, I do not use heat except on my bangs...the only exception is when my stylist does it for me during touch-ups, and those are every 3-4 months. I am not color treated, but it may be important to mention that I do have high porosity hair. I only use duckbill clips to I protect my ends when I bun. I used to bun 90-95% of the time. I would bun by smoothing my hair back into a ponytail with a mixed fabric scrunchie (the thin black ponytail holders destroyed my ends!) forming a big, loose bun and securing the ends with the clip. During my last stretch in September, however, I gave my hair a break because I bunned for 6 months beforehand and noticed thinning ends and breakage when I finally relaxed. I had to cut back to BSL for that and now I'm learning to enjoy low manipulation styles (french rolls, braidouts, bantu knot outs, etc.) that are easier on my ends (I try to bun less often now, or make looser buns)...I THINK my hair is doing better with them, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I think my frequent PSing and the tools I used to comb (I was using on old plastic widetooth comb for years before I purchased a seamless comb and it's much gentler on my strands) were the main causes of the splits I have now. And like I mentioned to MileHighDiva, I plan to trim off the remainder of my splits all at once.