QuoteReplyTopic: My hair growth Posted: August 25 2007 at 10:07am
Hi,
I posted here a while back about growing my hair. Since then I have been messing with hair extensions but have decided they are not for me. Well maybe just clip ins. So I thought I would post some pics of my hair growth and ask a question. My hair is pretty healthy but full of split ends on the bottom layer. I want to grow it 4 more inches. I was thinking maybe just let it grow then start trimming the splits off. Surely they want mess my hair up that much. What do you think? Also I discovered my boar bristle brush actually has hard plastic bristles mixed in so maybe that is what is causing the splits. I am going to switch brushes and maybe try to comb more even though I hate combing.
Alisa06
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You have very pretty hair!It seems to have quite a bit of a wave to it.
Have you tried a search and destroy method of trimming? It takes time at first, but you can do it as you have time. Do you have a close friend who can trim it for you ? The thing with split ends, is that they will travel up the hair shaft.So what started out as maybe a fraction of an inch will soon become maybe 1/4 and then more and so on and so forth.
Do not heat style, use a good conditioner, (if you use one with cones, don't forget to clarify to get rid of any build up because that WILL cause splitting) and try to stay away from shampooing as much as possible.
If you do these things you should not get new split ends, but the current ones are the ones that you need to watch out for.
Your hair is beautiful and I love the color! I agree with Alisa about getting rid of the splits - but go to a hairdresser at a good salon and ask for someone who specializes in long hair (if you do not have time for the S&D method.) For cleansing I have found my magic in a bottle with the VO5 extra body conditioner - which I use as my shampoo. For 99cents you can't beat it! Look under the oiling thread for what conditioner I use since I posted a link. Also, like Alisa posted - stay away from heat. I always let my hair air dry (except for my bang area, which I straighten). Girls with curls or waves have hair that is more porous and prone to damage and splits more. The less you do the better.
juliap
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Thanks for the compliments. Yah I am real gentle on my hair. I don't use any heat just let it air dry. I wash every three days and I use clarifying shampoo about every week or two and I always use conditioner. I even oil my hair with something called vatika oil that has coconut oil and other herbs in it. I do that about every two weeks. Usually I just put my hair in a ponytail so I don't mess with it much. Apart from the hair extensions I think I do everything right except the brushing. I have always had the splits even before the hair extensions so I am pretty sure I have narrowed it down to the hair brushing. Either that or just some people have splits regardless of what they do. I have done search and destroy before but the splits instantly came back so it just made it worse cause then they were higher up. Maybe I did not have sharp enough scissors but even when I get my haircut professionally they always come back instantly. I think its got to be the brushing I guess I will break down and get a good comb
... Either that or just some people have splits regardless of what they do...
That would be me..... No matter what I do, my hair always, and I mean ALWAYS, has lots of splits. And I only comb my hair like twice a week because I don't detangle between washes because of the curls. I condition a ton, never use heat (except on bangs), and use natural products. I've decided that my hair is just very fragile no matter what.
One thing I've found extremely helpful is microtrims. I snip a tiny amount (1/4 inch or less) from the very tips every 2-3 months. I started gaining length when I started that because it helped keep the splits at bay for the most part. (It was growing, but all the gained length was breaking off at the ends.)
Where would you recommend to get a good pair of scissors for trimming? I know last time I used a pair that were not that great so that may be why it did not work. I have mentioned this on here before but the splits are only in the undearneath hair at the bottom. So it makes me think that maybe it is not the brush causing it cause the top hair has no splits at all and I brush it just the same. Last time I think I decided it might just be the friction from clothes but I am going to try the microtrim and comb thing and see what happens. If that doesn't help then I am just going to give up and just live with the splits cause I can't get any growth if I keep cutting them.
Alisa06
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You know, I have been getting very frustrated lately because of this same thing.
I am very gentle with my hair, do not heat style, or use products, and almost all of what I do use on my hair is natural ( except my all soft, which I use for the last co, and when I do shampoo). I have not died my hair in so long that I have gray strand that is almost the entire length.I braid it at night, but put the scrunchy at different places every time.I could go on and on.....
I have been shampooing more than I normally do because of being in the sun, my scalp was getting sweaty and dirty, etc. But the flip side... being in the sun was damaging my hair, and then I was shampooing on top of it, and I had not been using multiple Co's. I found that all soft worked really well, so I was only using it. But now a few months later, I am seeing the results, which is more split ends.
I have also come to the conclusion ( as you all seem to have said about your own hair), that my hair is very coarse and porous and is going to be prone to split ends no matter what I do.
I have found that multiple conditioning seems to help somewhat. The ends do not seem to be nearly as dry when I use more than one co. It also seems that my hair responds better to multiple conditioners vs oiling.The use of both is the best for me.
I have actually been wondering if the all soft hasn't been contributing to my recent uprising of split ends. I have gone back to my good ol' VO5 moisture milks for the washing, and am only using the all soft for the last co.
Slpit ends are very frustrating, that is for sure. I am trieing to only use my comb,( I have an ox horn comb that I love). But it seems to help more with how much hair actually comes out, than with splits, but... I had been brushing more than I was previously.
Alisa06
2c-3a ciii
I want my hair back!!!
DaveDecker
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Generally I believe that split ends occur as a result of some physical stress at or near the end of the hair strands. For example, if tangles near the ends are brushed through roughly, split ends are guaranteed to accumulate. I don't think any shampoo or conditioner by themselves cause split ends, but if they make the hair more rough or tangle-prone, then they can indirectly lead to more splits.
tdouty
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It's the old question of what comes first ... the chicken of the egg? Do the split ends cause the tangles at the ends and hard brushing or does brushing through tangles cause the split ends? I don't know the answer, but I do agree that multiple conditionings helps because since switching to primarily CO, we haven't trimmed Jennifer's hair other than very tiny S&Ds for a couple years. She does have split ends, but we have just been letting her hair grow until it's a length she wants or she gets tired of it and then we'll go back to regular trims. So, in answer to the original question, we let Jennifer's hair grow with the split ends, although they weren't extremely bad.
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juliap wrote:
I have gone back to my good ol' VO5 moisture milks for the washing, and am only using the all soft for the last co. 
. But it seems to help more with how much hair actually comes out, than with splits, but... I had been brushing more than I was previously.
