Why do my ends look like this?!?! (pics included)

carameldelight87

carameldelight87

New Member
A few important dates:
Last relaxer was early December 2006.
Started locs May 15th, 2007.
Combed out locs July 4th, 2009. Now I'm natural.

I've NEVER been natural before in my life so all of this is BRAND new to me. :yep:

I've only straightened my hair one other time since I combed out my locs and that was within the same month of combing them out. I used a VERY old Gold n Hot (I affectionately call it my Gold n Hot Mess iron) flat iron and I believe it burned my hair (that burnt hair smell was a real strong indicator). :rolleyes:

My ends were raggedy so I clipped them (didn't fix the problem at all) and quickly gave up on the straight look. Thank GOD my curls returned unharmed! :notworthy:

So for the last few months I've been learning my curls and trying new products, styles, etc. But I kept seeing these gorgeous naturals on youtube do tutorials on straightening their hair and their results were just amazing! :drool:

I decided it was my iron's fault (and also the lack of a heat protectant and straightening serum which I went and purchased) so I set out to replace it. I bought the Remington Wet 2 Straight iron from Walgreens for about $30. I considered a CHI but I just wasn't gonna pay $100 for it before I gave the cheaper ones a try.

What I Used/Did:
Co-Washed with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration
Straightening Serum: Special Effects (FX) "Silk Drops" on damp hair
Heat Protectant: TRESemme Heat Tamer Spray on damp hair
Air dried most of the way and then blow dried on low with comb attachment by section
Flat Iron Spray: Special Effects (FX) "Flat Iron"

Results:

Now I have to say that the Remington did NOT burn my hair at all. There was no burnt hair smell and I absolutely love how my hair FEELS. But...it looks a MESS!!! :nono:

WTH is wrong with my hair?!

Troubleshooting:

My ends are not split (I checked).
I tried the fine tooth comb on the end of the flat iron (it was awkward to hold...gotta get the hang of it) but it didn't do anything.


Here are my curls...I truly love them. :love2:


texture.jpg


Here are my :censored: ends...

101209endsclose.jpg


A front length pic...for what idk, but I took it so...here...

101209front.jpg


I need any and ALL suggestions. :perplexed:


*Edit 10/14/09*

So I re-straightened my hair on a higher level of heat 15 of 30 and wrapped it. There is a MAJOR difference!! Thanks a lot guys, y'all were right, it wasn't straight from the get-go. Here's a pic of my wrap. I'll post a final result pic tomorrow after I comb it out. Fingers crossed, ladies!

wrap101409.jpg
 
Last edited:
You might have to start sealing
your ends with a natural oils, like
coconut, jojoba, avocado..
 
My ends have looked like this after I flat iron
I usely have to use essential oils in my hair and then wrap it at night
that usually gets my ends flatter. Then the next day I will slide my Maxiglide over it again at low heat setting. then it's good and straight. ans as long as I wrap it a t night it stays straight until I wash again.

The last time I straighted I used Aphogee Keratin Green tea
the results are in my album
 
I agree with the suggestion to put EVCO on just the ends, it may help.

I would also suggest: using more tension while you blow dry and flat iron. The blow dryer with the comb attachment does not provide enough tension to straighten your ends, say the experts. Also, how small were the sections you took?

Ummmm.... you know my friend's hair came out like that when I tried to flat iron her natural hair for her. I used low heat, and after only 2 passes I quit- I'm not damaging anyone's hair for a style. So her ends were not straightened. When she went to the shop, it came out super straight, but she said they used a high heat blow dryer followed by the flat iron. Her ends were still straight after a month of washing.
 
If you don't have split ends I wouldn't trim them. It doesn't look like you got your hair very straight in general so maybe there wasn't enough tension to get your ends perfectly straight.
 
I did try to wrap it that night and added some Smooth 'N Shine Silk 'n Sleek polishing oil to it. Then the last couple days I've been moisturizing with a condition and sealing with avocado or coconut oil...guess it's gonna take some time. :ohwell:

Oh yeah, it's not that straight because I was scared to leave the flat iron on too long and only did a couple of passes. But also after I combed it, it just puffed up. Also this flat iron isn't the best for getting the root straight. I will probably have to go over that with a curling iron.
 
Also, do u ladies think baggying with help? I haven't seen too many natural women say baggying helped them. I've just been tucking my ends away at night (while straightened) to keep them from rubbing up against anything.
 
what heat temp/setting did u use with flat iron? since this was your first time straightening your hair, you may want to try doing a roller set first to help with straightening then try to flat iron.
 
That's exactly how my hair looked last year around Dec. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I came here. :yep: For me it was finding the most effective way to moisturize my hair and retain the moisture from the inside. I do co-wash often and seal with oils (my hair's favs are coconut, EVO, and shea butter). You're right about having to find out what works best for you in this area by experimenting. What helped me achieve a smoother look (while I was learning about my moisture/ protein balance) was the DIVA smooth kit (the one that's $34.99). You probably have seen their ads here. If you don't want to buy their product then carameling as a DC treatment helped me too. I thought I needed to trim more and ended up with a scissor happy stylist who cut more than 3 inches of my hair b/c she wanted to.:wallbash: Needless to say I haven't been back to her again. Anyway, the other ladies here have given great advice too. I would say make sure your hair is balanced (moisture, pH, etc), try using smaller sections at a time, and keep trying different things until you find out what works best for you.
 
Shoediva said:
what heat temp/setting did u use with flat iron? since this was your first time straightening your hair, you may want to try doing a roller set first to help with straightening then try to flat iron.
Click to expand...


The iron has 3 different groups of settings for dry, damp, and wet hair so I used it on the second to highest for dry hair. I think it goes up to 30 and I used it on 9. 1-10 for Dry, 11-20 for damp, and 21-30 for wet.

I tried rollersetting and silk wrapping my hair about 2 weeks ago and it was a huge horrid mess. :nono: Maybe if I had flat ironed right after I took the rollers down, it may have looked better. I may try that next time. Thanks.
 
Prudent1 said:
What helped me achieve a smoother look (while I was learning about my moisture/ protein balance) was the DIVA smooth kit (the one that's $34.99). You probably have seen their ads here. If you don't want to buy their product then carameling as a DC treatment helped me too. I thought I needed to trim more and ended up with a scissor happy stylist who cut more than 3 inches of my hair b/c she wanted to.:wallbash: Needless to say I haven't been back to her again. Anyway, the other ladies here have given great advice too. I would say make sure your hair is balanced (moisture, pH, etc), try using smaller sections at a time, and keep trying different things until you find out what works best for you.
Click to expand...

So I'm definitely gonna have to search for more info on this DIVA smooth kit, I've never heard of it before. And carameling isn't what I think it is...is it? Lol.

Also, I'm so not a chemist, scientist, etc so pH is a foreign concept to me. I made sure to stay away from science in college.

Why couldn't there just be a magic pill for healthy hair...:ohwell:
 
Alright, so I'm definitely taking all of ur advice but of course my hair wasn't straight to begin with! So I redid it, messed it up, and had to redo it again (I think my hair has had enough heat for a while) but the results were ten times better! :yahoo:

straight2.jpg


I'm gonna make sure I baby my ends by moisturizing and sealing more often because even after I straightened them they feel crunchy. The root and shaft of my strands feel great, but my ends (on all lengths) feel like tree branches! :perplexed:

I guess over time they will get better or I'll end up having to cut them off. Thanks again, ladies.
 
carameldelight87 said:
Alright, so I'm definitely taking all of ur advice but of course my hair wasn't straight to begin with! So I redid it, messed it up, and had to redo it again (I think my hair has had enough heat for a while) but the results were ten times better! :yahoo:

straight2.jpg


I'm gonna make sure I baby my ends by moisturizing and sealing more often because even after I straightened them they feel crunchy. The root and shaft of my strands feel great, but my ends (on all lengths) feel like tree branches! :perplexed:

I guess over time they will get better or I'll end up having to cut them off. Thanks again, ladies.
Click to expand...



It came out much better! Pretty!
 
I think you may have a little spits. Get a very small trim, like 1 inch. Then moisturize the heck out of your hair and mostly the ends.
 
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