Can ANYONE help?

> My hair is very fine and oily at the scalp and> splitting and breaking at the ends ( I read the> difference on here not too long ago.)I'm trying to> grow it out, but it reached a point where it's gotten> so bad I can't get it to look good. Someone told me to> wash the scalp and condition from the ears down - this> has helped, but it's still breaking and splitting. I'm> using Herbal Essences. I don't blowdry. My stylist -> if you can call her that- won't cut off enough to get> all the splits and breaks. I don't know how to find a> stylist ( in Steamboat Springs, CO ) that will know> how to cut my hair, and I don't know what to do to> grow it longer. It's almost to my bra strap now.Re: your hair spliting problems; Jade try this formula to help your hair. Alkaline strong shampoos and other "aggressive" cleaners such as household cleaners that you may use around the house such as aerosol or spray cleaners with ammonia can dry out your hair by getting a secondary misting through normal spray applications of such, without you noticing when you are using them. Find a salon that sells Redken products and purchase some "PPT", Amino Pon shampoo and some "Extreme/Soft" conditioner. Next go to a health food store and buy some "citric acid crystals" and some condensed milk. Mix 2 tablespoons citric acid crystals and 5 ozs of "PPT", mix until crystals are completely dissolved. This will be referred to as "acidified PPT". This will be enough for several applications. Shampoo your hair, rinse and repeat, leaving the shampoo in your hair. Squeeze out excess lather, apply condensed milk to your hair, saturate and comb through to the ends, apply acidified PPT and do the same, and leave on hair for 20 minutes minimum. Rinse thoroughly with cool water. Repeat if hair is in very bad condition. Apply "Extreme/Soft" conditioner for 10 minutes and rinse with cool water. DO NOT use this formula if you are going to color your hair within 3 days!! Use this routine up to 3 times a week. Instead of washing your hair every day, alternate, "shampooing with conditioner", without using shampoo, every other time. Also, get some wheat germ oil and mix with the PPT(non-acidified) and extreme conditioner and leave on for 20 mins min. once a week and you should see a big improvement soon. Buy the wheat germ oil at the health food store. As for your stylist not cutting enough off to get your hair in good shape: close your eyes and run your hair through your closed fingers and stop when you feel it "get rough" on dry hair. Open your eyes and see where you have stopped at. This will give you an idea of how much needs to come off to get rid of the split ends. Remember, you are much better off cutting a little more now than a lot later. Frequent trims (4-6 weeks) depending on how fast your hair grows, will keep your hair in top condition and no one will know when you get your hair cut, because your hair will always be in great shape! You will only need to cut about 1/2 inch to 1 inch at a trim, after your hair is in good shape. If you do not trim off the split ends they will keep on splitting and splitting until your hair will be from "fine to frizz fine" and split all the way to the scalp! If you have your hair cut in layers, insist that your stylist "TAKES THE TIME" to properly section out with fine parts and clips the ends of every bit of hair that is in each parting, no matter what the length difference is. The object is to make sure that all of the hair is trimmed at the ends. To properly do this the hair is sectioned the same way you would as if you were doing "weaved in hi-lights". Be sure that you have a stylist that has patience so you don't just get 'chopped'. Try to find out when their slow day is and try to go then when they are not so busy. william

> My hair is very fine and oily at the scalp and> splitting and breaking at the ends ( I read the> difference on here not too long ago.)I'm trying to> grow it out, but it reached a point where it's gotten> so bad I can't get it to look good. Someone told me to> wash the scalp and condition from the ears down - this> has helped, but it's still breaking and splitting. I'm> using Herbal Essences. I don't blowdry. My stylist -> if you can call her that- won't cut off enough to get> all the splits and breaks. I don't know how to find a> stylist ( in Steamboat Springs, CO ) that will know> how to cut my hair, and I don't know what to do to> grow it longer. It's almost to my bra strap now.I have never heard of the method which William suggests, but, who knows, it may help. I have seen pasts posts from you concerning fine, thinning, breaking hair. Can you identify whether the source of your problem is environmental,hereditary, or internal, or some combination? Just because your hair is fine and oily doesn't mean that it should be breaking off and thinning out. Has your hair ever been in reasonably good shape, most importantly free of the breakage?As for cutting off the split ends, I would recommend an old-fashioned barber. I am sure there must be one in your town. If you can speak with the barber before you attempt to have the splits cut off, I think this might help. In fact, he might be able to make some suggestions.I do not agree with William about the rate of cutting split ends for your hair. Your hair sounds like it is in bad shape and needs every opportunity to grow. The splits should go all at once. Thereafter, as William commented, the little-bit-at-a-time approach is superior. I subscribe to it, cutting 1/8" of an inch or less at a time. I have to tell you that I have cut as much as four inches when the split ends were horrible, and I have never regretted it. My hair always grew back stronger, longer and faster. Psychologically, I think that you will feel much better when you see some progress, even if the transition period gets bumpy at times. I know that was true for me.As for wheat germ oil, I don't know about its value. I use jojoba and olive oil which have generated superior results.I alternate between them for hot oil treatments, but have to say that I have a preference for jojoba. A woman by the name of Tamara who posts here gave some excellent advice about using jojoba oil on a daily basis for the ends of hair. She noted that her ends get dry. So do mine and, personally, that's where long hair can get fragile. I rarely worry about the area from my scalp to the end of my rib cage, but at the area near my waist, that requires vigilence:)I hope that you can address the source of the problem and that I may have helped in some way.All the Best,Jade21

> Jade21> Thanks for your response. yes, I have had healthy hair> - when it was shoulder length and a tad longer. I> remeber in grade school, I had very long hair and sat> in class pulling the split ends apart and breaking the> hair at the week points. I didn't know then it was not> healthy.> I don't THINK it's enivironmental. I lived in Houston> in a lot of humidity and moved to CO. in low humidity> - the problem is the same. I've been taking biotin> which helps a little.> Thanks again for your help!Dear Jade,I was glad to help. I hope that you become more satisfied with the condition of your hair.I just wanted to add something. It's good to hear that you are taking a biotin supplement. I did that for a while, but noticed little difference. I noticed a big difference with Vitamin C. It seems to really help to prevent split ends. Also, if you are going to take a B Vitamin, take a B-Complex one so that all the B Vitamins can work together. I also read that if you take a supplement of an individual B Vitamin limit your dosage to two to three times the amount in your B-Complex Vitamin. As I remember, this has something to do with the B Vitamins working together. You can throw off the balance and defeat their effectiveness.As Karen Shelton has mentioned often, things which improve an individual's hair vary from one person to the next and what works for you may come down to a process of trial and error. Thanks to Karen and others, I would say that the errors can be substantially reduced:)Enjoy the holiday season and happy growing....All the Best,Jade21> Jade