Help! Dryness and Splits

[rwanda]

I am in desperate need of help. I have been a member on this forum for a couple of years and have babied my 4a/4b hair for years. I rarely use heat, always deep condition with protein and moisturize, wear protective styles such as braids mostly, buns or roller sets, and perm every 3 or 4 mos with lye relaxer while protecting the ends. The problem is my hair is splitting on the ends and in the middle of my hair shaft, and my ends are extremely dry. J constantly see broken hairs on the BR floor. I have managed to grow my hair to arm pit length thanks to LCHF, and don't want to have to cut it all off. I have already cut an inch off. I always moisturize and seal my ends in oil, spray my hair down with moisturizer when in braids, I tried the glycerin/aloe vera mix sealed with castor oil, (I don't think my hair likes glycerin and it leaves my hair feeling funny, and not moisturized), tried aloe vera oil & creme from FNWL, I've tried everything to keep my hair moisturized and get rid of the dryness but I still have breakage. Sisters please help I don't know what to do, all opinions will be valued. Will I have to cut all of my hair off and start over?

 

[fluffylocks]

Bump for help. I really hope you dont have to start over(make sure to bump this later today though so it doesnt get lost)

How about too much protien?
What shampoos and conditoners are you using? Maybe that could be causing the dry hair.

But also, Have you ever went for long periods of time without trimming your hair when you may have been damging it?....or did you start your hair growing with damaged hair?

 

[Irresistible]

I am in desperate need of help. I have been a member on this forum for a couple of years and have babied my 4a/4b hair for years. I rarely use heat, always deep condition with protein and moisturize, wear protective styles such as braids mostly, buns or roller sets, and perm every 3 or 4 mos with lye relaxer while protecting the ends. The problem is my hair is splitting on the ends and in the middle of my hair shaft, and my ends are extremely dry. J constantly see broken hairs on the BR floor. I have managed to grow my hair to arm pit length thanks to LCHF, and don't want to have to cut it all off. I have already cut an inch off. I always moisturize and seal my ends in oil, spray my hair down with moisturizer when in braids, I tried the glycerin/aloe vera mix sealed with castor oil, (I don't think my hair likes glycerin and it leaves my hair feeling funny, and not moisturized), tried aloe vera oil & creme from FNWL, I've tried everything to keep my hair moisturized and get rid of the dryness but I still have breakage. Sisters please help I don't know what to do, all opinions will be valued. Will I have to cut all of my hair off and start over?

wow , sounds like your doing everything! I always ask about oil, but I got to that part in your post

ok so my next thoughts are, my hair didnt like glycerine either, leaves it feeling very tacky and dry, next the aloe vera, that has protein, so if you are using other protein in your regimen it could be overdosed. try something without protein to moisturize daily. do you have a leave in?

 

[Irresistible]

Bump for help. I really hope you dont have to start over(make sure to bump this later today though so it doesnt get lost)

How about too much protien?
What shampoos and conditoners are you using? Maybe that could be causing the dry hair.

But also, Have you ever went for long periods of time without trimming your hair when you may have been damging it?....or did you start your hair growing with damaged hair?

Good questions!

 

[Irresistible]

oh just thought of this

both glycerine and castor oil are humectants that draw moisture from the air to your hair,but with dry air they draw it out of your hair, also the aloe being protein if you already have enough in your regimen could be too much , so this mixture has to be under all the right conditions to be beneficial or it could reverse

 

[thegirltolove]

Do you think that maybe you could be over-conditioning your hair? I know that I was in the same boat as you until I started cutting back on the conditioning.

I realized that my hair being wet so much and constantly having conditioner on it made it porous, ultimately making it dry, brittle and damaged.

Try clarifying also. Product build up may be the culprit as well.

If I were you, I would clarify, wash with a moisturizing poo and condition, use a leave in and serum, BLOW DRY on a low speed and temp (I know imma get strung up for that one) in order to make sure your cuticles are closed, moisturize and leave it alone until the next wash day.

 

[rwanda]

Fluffylocks I realize I could be using too much protein and not realize how many products I use with protein contents. I use mostly keracare moisturizing poo & cond., CON poo, & Keracare or nexxus humectress. Actually my hair was very healthy when I started growing my hair from a fresh short cut. I would snip my ends often when I saw splits.

Irresistible I use IC leave in or keracare leave in.

Thegirltolove I have clarified before but I will try your suggestions, I could be overconditioning, because I wash at least 2x's a wk. & always let cond. sit on hair ev. wash. My hair feels very porous and this is why I use roux porosity at times.

 

[Irresistible]

Fluffylocks I realize I could be using too much protein and not realize how many products I use with protein contents. I use mostly keracare moisturizing poo & cond., CON poo, & Keracare or nexxus humectress. Actually my hair was very healthy when I started growing my hair from a fresh short cut. I would snip my ends often when I saw splits.

Irresistible I use IC leave in or keracare leave in.

Thegirltolove I have clarified before but I will try your suggestions, I could be overconditioning, because I wash at least 2x's a wk. & always let cond. sit on hair ev. wash. My hair feels very porous and this is why I use roux porosity at times.

I dont know anything about the leave in's your using, do they have any protein?

wow this is a hard one to figure out. Do you think at any point your hair was over processed?

has your hair done well with relaxers in the past? or has it always been a grow/break cycle?

 

[rwanda]

Irresistible since I've joined LHCF a couple of years ago my hair has done excellent up until this point. I perm only ev. 2 or 3 months and protect my newgrowth & ends in the process. I believe my leave ins do have some protein in them. I think I will take inventory of all my products to help me with protein overload.

 

[Gracie]

How often do you clarify?

CON green has dimethicone in it and over time will leave a coating on your hair which I believe will prevent your hair from getting the benefits of your moisterizers.

I am a lover of CON green, co washing, humectants, proteins, moisterizers and oils so I make sure to clarify regularly.

 

[mezzogirl]

I'm only a few months old on LHCF but could it be the cones in the Keracare and some of the other products. When I first started using cones, my hair seemed to respond, then it became very dry. When I clarified and stopped using cones for a couple of weeks, my moisture level increased. Just a thought.

 

[Angelicus]

Question: How are you setting your hair after washing it? This is a very important question because it'll let us know how you're getting the splits in the middle. Thanks.

 

[plastic]

Heya - if you are getting splits in the middle of your hair shaft that means you are wearing your hair in a way that is damaging that area (ponytails perhaps ? banana combs ?) Nothing else to add

 

[Neroli]

Wow, sounds like you're doing everything right. As other have mentioned:

--perhaps cone overload? may be worth checking product labels for cones, especially leave-ins

--even without cones, may be worth clarifying, just to have a clean slate

 

[rwanda]

Anky I ususally let my hair airdry in a ponytail with a nonmetal elastic band or I'll airdry or hood dry with a roller set using magnetic rollers. I use foaming setting lotion with a little serum on ends and length of hair. I clarify at least once a month. Does any one have a list of moisturizing conditioners and leave ins without all the protein?

 

[thegirltolove]

Anky I ususally let my hair airdry in a ponytail with a nonmetal elastic band or I'll airdry or hood dry with a roller set using magnetic rollers. I use foaming setting lotion with a little serum on ends and length of hair. I clarify at least once a month. Does any one have a list of moisturizing conditioners and leave ins without all the protein?

You know, I had the same issue when I tried to go cold turkey on the heat thing. I found that using an ionic blow-dryer on low and even flat ironing from time to time helps my cuticles to close and helps my hair stay retain moisture.

I am not saying that heat is the answer. I am just saying what worked for me and some of the other ladies with similar problems. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Irresistible]

Anky I ususally let my hair airdry in a ponytail with a nonmetal elastic band or I'll airdry or hood dry with a roller set using magnetic rollers. I use foaming setting lotion with a little serum on ends and length of hair. I clarify at least once a month. Does any one have a list of moisturizing conditioners and leave ins without all the protein?

I will use leave ins with moisturizing proteins because I dont do any other treatments so I dont know of many

but I believe Elasta QP Recovery doesnt have any

I just purchased Eluecence MB conditoner I believe thats just moisture
Also Nexxus Humectress

maybe some others can chime in with more

I hope you get your hair back on track,this seems like a Puzzle to figure out but you got alot of good suggestions

 

[bravenewgirl87]

For goodness sakes, people. Don't make me have to say it again.


Get yourself some MOP Extreme Moisture and Extreme Protein.

If you cannot get a hold of a bottle I would serious recommend Bumble And Bumble Deeep conditioner. I love this line. I know the have the creme de Coco mask for moisture so you can also try that one.

But, those are my two suggestions.

I hope my advice works for ya.

 

[rwanda]

bumping!!!

 

[rwanda]

Bravenewgirl87 I've never heard of the MOP line but I'll try to find it and give it a try. I have heard of the bumble and bumble line though. Thanks for the advice.

 

[africa]

Maybe it's buildup from products or silicones. Also, maybe it's from manipulating it when it's dry? I have texlaxed 4a/b hair and dry manipulation is a no no. Too much protein build-up over time can also be the culprit since it can make the air brittle. For my hair, most oils will cause some hardness unless I limit my use until after a wash.

A protein-free moisturizing conditioner l like is Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose. Try deep conditioning and may even co-washing with it for a few days after you DC with it. Redken All Soft Conditioner (it might have a little protein) also works very well.

I also agree with the poster who mentioned the cuticles being open as a potential problem. Maybe rollersetting more often or very low temperature direct heat may help.