tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT
Well-Known Member
LEAD HAIRS vs. THINNING
(or damaged) ENDS
how do you distinguish between the two?
(or damaged) ENDS
how do you distinguish between the two?
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Original post or postercan someone please tell me what OP means... I really did try to find it out on my own but didn't lol
@tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT
To tell the difference, you have to look really close at the individual hair strands. Thinning damaged strands will have splits at the ends and/or along the hair shaft. Leading hair strands will be nice and smooth with cuticles in tact, they're just longer than the rest of your hair strands due to uneven hair growth which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
How common are lead hairs? I never understood whether this is something everyone gets or if it is rare. Or does it just happen when the hair reaches a certain length?
Sent from my MB501 using Long Hair Care Forum App
How common are lead hairs? I never understood whether this is something everyone gets or if it is rare. Or does it just happen when the hair reaches a certain length?
Sent from my MB501 using Long Hair Care Forum App
Nonie - to me, there's all types of splits. Even after that split has torn off, I feel like that hair strand is still split at the end where it's torn off. There are splits that may not be visible to the eye. Also, thin hair strands doesn't always mean damaged hair strands. A thin wispy hair strand with no splits is different than a thin broken off hair strand post-split.Poohbear, my damaged ends have looked thin w/o being split because by the time I noticed them, they were already thin after the split had torn off. So I don't think looking for splits would be a good way to gauge coz what if you're too late by the time you look?
I like the other suggestions about seeing how the hair behaves instead of just relying on appearance. I've posted before how my hair looked normal but zooming in showed how the end was thin. But I had to magnify it A LOT to see that...and the only way I knew I was looking at a thin post-split end, was because my hair was thicker up until that point. If I had been looking at my hair when I had about 2 inches of thin ends, I'd have missed the fact that I was looking at a post-split end that will be breaking off.
And this has always been my issue with using sight to determine ends that need trimming. You're always too late doing it that way IMO, but to each his own.
@Nonie - to me, there's all types of splits. Even after that split has torn off, I feel like that hair strand is still split at the end where it's torn off. There are splits that may not be visible to the eye. Also, thin hair strands doesn't always mean damaged hair strands. A thin wispy hair strand with no splits is different than a thin broken off hair strand post-split.
Nonie - This is true. But when I think of a thin wispy strand that may be thicker at the root and thinner at the end, I think of baby's hair...Poohbear I agree with your post. W/r/t the bold: It is different if the thin wispy strand is actually the physical structure of the strand, but if the entire strand is thick and then the end is thin and wispy, then that's a split end. Coz you're right when a split tears off, it leaves an open strand that it still split, and when it breaks off, the part it broke off from is already a split beginning to happen.
I don't believe there's a way to tell a thin wispy strand has no splits without actually looking at it magnified to know it is a whole strand, or being able to look at the strand all the way to the base to confirm that you're looking at a whole strand that is naturally fine and not a strand that is worn off into a wispy state which = damage aka split/post split/torn off strand/strand missing cuticle
if a 'lead hair' is allegedly growing at a faster rate, how can it wait for other hairs to catch up? wouldn't it be a lead hair forever? if you didn't cut it, even when the other hairs caught up, the lead hair would still be farther along because its still growing...in order for the other hair to catch up, the lead hairs would have to stop growing. i thought when a hair reaches the end of its growth phase it falls out? so then how could it lead? and say it didn't fall out, how would it know to start growing again? if you cut the lead hair are you saying the other hairs wont catch up to where the lead hair was? it just doesn't make sense to me....i think its possible for certain hairs to grow faster than others, but i dont see how they can grow and grow and grow and then stop and wait for the shorter hair to catch up, unless im misunderstanding the whole lead hair theory. as for the question i agree the difference between hairs with a different growth rate than others, and thin ends is the overall condition of the hair.
@Nonie - to me, there's all types of splits. Even after that split has torn off, I feel like that hair strand is still split at the end where it's torn off. There are splits that may not be visible to the eye. Also, thin hair strands doesn't always mean damaged hair strands. A thin wispy hair strand with no splits is different than a thin broken off hair strand post-split.
@Poohbear, the hair along my hairline is wispy too but not just at the ends; the entire strands are just finer than anywhere else. When I look at that baby's hair, I see fine strands but not just at the ends. The strands are fine all along their length. At the base where they attach to the scalp, they look thick coz they are close together but each strand has the same thickness.
Also when you talk about how the hair grows out of the scalp thin and pointy, you forget that the hair doesn't stay perfect like that for long so the so-called lead hairs cannot be at the state they were when they first were born. I can picture in my head how the cuticle can be perfectly formed to create a pointed end that is rounded--just coz the Creator is good at what He does. But nothing living looks the same when it's been around for a while--particularly not hair that's been manipulated for days on end. Even just rubbing with your hand is friction that could start wear, so the pic of a baby or newly growing hair doesn't explain how ends can be wispy while the rest of the strands are whole. Especially not when that person has cut her hair sometime in her lifetime since those strands started growing within the last 2-7 years.
I'll be back with images to further explain my point if I can pull it off.
@iri9109...pray: Thank you!) Finally someone from my CHUCH! Praise dance:
@EllePixie I love and hate you at the same time. Love coz that punchline^^ was GOOD! Hate you coz I'm so mad you thought and used WINNING before I did. *Team Charlie Sheen*
I know I'm in a goofy mood today because what I got from this post is: Lead hairs stay WINNING!
But anywho...the telogen phase of hair growth lasts 5-6 weeks when the hair is resting. When it re-enters the anagen phase, the hair is shed and a new strand begins to grow.
although i agree with hair shedding at different rates i don't think that hair grows at dramatically different rate from each other (except maybe around the edges due to a natural length gradient that occurs on most people) if the hair was to grow out at different rates they would be minimal and not result in scraggly ends.because if the hair was cut down in a cesar and was left to grow and never cut again and did not break the hair would be relatively even in length but it would not end at the same place because they hang from different areas of the head causing a perception of different growth rates.
i could see "lead hairs" as a possibility if the hair was cut bluntly,then grown over a period of time with breakage and damage being minimized and the hair still ended up with wispy ends.
i think the lead hair phenomenon is either due to having uneven hair in the first place (for what ever reason) and never trimming it even and/or unnoticed breakage.
although i agree with hair shedding at different rates i don't think that hair grows at dramatically different rate from each other (except maybe around the edges due to a natural length gradient that occurs on most people) if the hair was to grow out at different rates they would be minimal and not result in scraggly ends.because if the hair was cut down in a cesar and was left to grow and never cut again and did not break the hair would be relatively even in length but it would not end at the same place because they hang from different areas of the head causing a perception of different growth rates.
i could see "lead hairs" as a possibility if the hair was cut bluntly,then grown over a period of time with breakage and damage being minimized and the hair still ended up with wispy ends.
i think the lead hair phenomenon is either due to having uneven hair in the first place (for what ever reason) and never trimming it even and/or unnoticed breakage.