Hair breakage
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Curly Hair Talk
Forum Name: Straight Talk
Forum Description: Get the straight talk on hair straightening products & techniques
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=46990
Printed Date: July 18 2025 at 9:05am
Topic: Hair breakage
Posted By: starchaser
Subject: Hair breakage
Date Posted: September 21 2006 at 6:11pm
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About four weeks ago had my hair relaxed with L'Oreal Xtenso and unfortunately it really dried my hair out. It made my scalp really flaky and I wasn't really happy with the results. That aside though, I've just noticed that my hair has become really brittle and if I pull on the ends they just snap off. Not a lot of it snaps, but a about a centimetre from the end of the strand.
I'm a bit worried about this and I'm wondering if there are any products or treatments I can use to help with the breakage? I have thickish wavy hair and I flat iron my hair every other day, so it's more than likely that the straightening is a big factor in the breakage, however it was fine before the Xtenso.
At the moment I use Nu:u Straighten and Shine when I'm straightening, the purple Fashionista goo when I'm blow drying, and Redken moisturising shampoo with the Smooth Down Conditioner.
Any tips or past experiences would be great!
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Replies:
Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: September 21 2006 at 10:16pm
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Sorry to hear that. Just so you know, sounds like the stylist who did your hair is not a chemical expert. Your scalp should not be flaky at all, because the product was never supposed to touch your scalp in the first place. X-tenso is a great product, if used correctly. The fact that your hair has breakage means it was overprocessed.
You need to do protein treatments ASAP to stop the breakage. Nexxus Emergencee works great for that. Another great product is Joico K-Pak deep penetrating reconstructor (also a protein treatment). Do the protein treatment once a week for the next 4 weeks, or until you see improvement. After that, do them only once a month. Switch to Redken all soft shampoo, and change the smooth down conditioner to the Smooth down butter treat. After doing the protein treatments is very important that you deep condition, otherwise your hair will feel like straw.
To deep condition just put on the Butter treat, cover your hair with a plastic cap and go under a dryer or heat cap for 15-20 minutes. If you don't have a head dryer or heat cap, then try applying heat with the blow dryer or simply keep the plastic cap on to create some heat. You need the heat to open up the hair cutticle so the protein and the conditioner can penetrate.
What kind of flat iron are you using? If is not a professional 100% ceramic (not just ceramic coated) iron, GET RID OF IT NOW! It will keep killing your hair. If you were using a cheap iron before you got the extenso, then your hair was in bad shape to begging with. So that made matters worst. If you need to get a professional iron, go to Folica.com and get either a Sedu or a Solia. Get the one inch. The smaller ones are better.
When you say Fashionista purple goo, I'm assuming you mean the smooth and shine. That is a really great product. Mix it up with a little Sebastian potion 9 and put it in your hair before blow drying. You can skip the straighten and shine stuff. I would also help to lightly spray your hair with Redken All Soft hair addictive. Do not rinse it out. Leave it in, after applying the Smooth and Shine/potion 9 mixture. Then you can blow dry. After your hair is dry, apply Redken Smooth Down heat glide to your hair. Go easy on it. One or two pumps (depending on hair length) is all you need. Divide hair into sections, and flat iron the individual sections of hair.
Your hair, will be soft, shiny, smooth, frizz free and it will stay like that until your next wash. Allowing you to not have to wash your hair every day. Wash only 3 times a week. Since your hair and scalp have been damaged it will allow the natural oils of your hair to come out and condition both, scalp and hair.
My hair was terribly damaged by Thermal Reconditioning about 3 years ago. It was falling out like crazy. My bathroom floor looked like a rug every time I would brush my hair. It was breaking all over the place. That's when I started to do some serious research and learned all about protein treatments and stuff. I also learned that chemicall straightening is something that has to be studied besides the general training stylists recieve. Is like a specialty. So unless the stylist is a chemical expert, chances are, they will mess up your hair. Since we don't know any better we blame it on the product. My stylist is a great stylist. I though just because she had a certifacate hanging that stated she was trained in TR (Bio-Ionics to be exact) she knew what she was doing. Well I was wrong, and ended up with damaged hair and a bald spot on my frontal hairline which took two years to grow out. Don't get me wrong, I still go to her for hair cuts (she is great at it), just not for chemicall treatments.
Once hair is damaged, it can't really be repaired. But you can re-condition it and make it better by following the steps above. At least it will buffer the damage, and make your hair look healthy, keep it from breaking off, until you grow out the damage.
Hope this helps. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Much love, Shary
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Posted By: starchaser
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 8:26am
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Thanks for the massive reply! :)
I use GHD straighteners at the moment, but think that they may be too hot for my hair and they can be very painful when my hair flops back down onto my head!
I spoke to somebody today who recommended that I use Redken's line of Extreme products to help repair my hair, but will definitely check out the two recommendations you made.
I will definitely not get my hair chemically treated again, it was such a waste of money. I read all about the stories of people not doing it properly and for that reason I went to a very well known company that has salons all over the world so I thought it would be fine. Sadly not! :(
Still, I'm due a haircut so hopefully I can try and chop out some of the damage and it won't look too bad.
Thanks again for you help! x
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Posted By: S Tcherkezian
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 3:27pm
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Hi starchaser, I just wanted to say that I use X-Tenso in the salon and it is an excellent Curl Reducer/Curl Smoothing product. You should contact L’Oreal and report what the stylist did to your hair. In addition, you should also ask for a refund.
The hair breakage could be from chemical ingredient incompatibility. For example, if your hair was previously relaxed with sodium hydroxide (lye) or guanidine carbonate hydroxide (no lye) relaxer, this can cause the hair to become brittle and break. The other reason could be from using the wrong formula, aggressive manipulation technique, timing of the softening thio solution, inadequate rinsing of the thio solution, timing of the neutralizer and inadequate rinsing of the neutralizing solution.
There’s almost always a reason as to why the hair breaks and it is always the stylist’s mistake and not necessarily the product itself. Redken’s Extreme line is excellent for distressed, damaged hair, but try to alternate it with Smooth Down. Actually, you received amazing advice from Sharyg11. She covered everything else and in such great detail. Steve ------------- Steve Tcherkezian Brazilian & Japanese Hair Straightening - REAL Specialist e-mail: steve@VerticalsInHair.com Website: www.VerticalsInHair.com Toronto Canada Steve Direct: 416 669 9118 |
Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 10:50pm
OMG! I just got praised by the number one hair expert in North America!!!! I won't be able to sleep tonight  . Thanks so much Steve! But to be fair, most of the stuff I know, I actually learned from you . I am a big fan, and love your website. The information you provided on your website helped me get through my terrible TR experience like you have no idea. I now owe my beautifull looking hair to you. I know how busy you are, so thank you so much for taking the time to share your great knowledge with people in need of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you, over and over again .
I love you dearly
 Much love, Shary
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Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: September 22 2006 at 11:00pm
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Oh! Starchaser,
GHD is not that bad, but is not the best. With the degree of damage to your hair, it just won't cut it. You need an iron with temperature control. In my experience the ceramic tourmaline ones work the best.
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Posted By: S Tcherkezian
Date Posted: September 24 2006 at 2:43pm
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Hi Shary, I read your post attentively and I learn a lot from you too! You are incredibly amazing, and likewise, I love you dearly too!! You are honest and you are sincere. You have an excellent perception of the wants and needs of hair at various levels, along with how to evaluate and prescribe products to bring forth cosmetically pleasing hair. Moreover, your advice on hot tools, such as GHD, is also great! Implements used on the hair are important factors when chemical/mechanical damage has been noted, and you have a great awareness of the damage factors as well too! You are quick and sensitive. What I’m trying to say to you is - You are a very intelligent young lady and I admire you a lot. And if all this praise won't help you go to sleep another night, well, that’s okay. You are worthy and entitled to be acknowledged. I am very sorry to hear about your TR ordeal, but I am also happy to know that your hair is okay now. Actually, I am preparing a new article which I’ll be posting on my TR Forum http://www.verticalsinhair.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl - http://www.verticalsinhair.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl Subject: “Meet your TR stylist”. I think you are going to like it a lot. Take care, Steve ------------- Steve Tcherkezian Brazilian & Japanese Hair Straightening - REAL Specialist e-mail: steve@VerticalsInHair.com Website: www.VerticalsInHair.com Toronto Canada Steve Direct: 416 669 9118 |
Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: September 24 2006 at 7:19pm
Thank you thank you thank you!!!! You are so sweet. Now I won't be able to sleep for a week  . My most humble thanks to you once again. Those comments, coming from you, are invaluable to me. I can't wait for your new article to come out. I will be impatiently waiting for it.
I know you like the Dominican Republic. I was borned in New York but was raised there. My parents live there so I go there quite often. Maybe next time you go there you can let me know, and if I happen to be there at the same time, it would be my pleasure to assist you and your family with anything you might need.
Much love, Shary
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Posted By: S Tcherkezian
Date Posted: September 25 2006 at 6:48pm
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No, no, no Shary, one week without sleep is not good! I said one more night without sleep, okay? Otherwise, I may have to compliment you a little bit less. Which is difficult for me to do, because you are really good!! I know I read in a post were you said you’re from the When I’m there, I don’t venture out; I just want to be l-a z-y for two weeks. I am dazzled! So I look at the Palm trees, the turquoise blue Sea, the white sand, the blue sky with not a cloud and other stuff that I cannot help but look…if you know what I mean! I did, however, visit Our memory of Punta Cana and its people are profound. Okay, it was good to shift gears to another topic and a great pleasure to talk with you. If all goes well, my wife and I are planning to go middle of December and if we happen to be able to meet, that’ll be a great bonus! Take care, Steve ------------- Steve Tcherkezian Brazilian & Japanese Hair Straightening - REAL Specialist e-mail: steve@VerticalsInHair.com Website: www.VerticalsInHair.com Toronto Canada Steve Direct: 416 669 9118 |
Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: September 25 2006 at 7:54pm
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Wow, I can't believe you know so much about DR!!! I love Fernando Villalona, and Punta Cana as well. I'm almost sure I'll be in DR in December, so if you end up actually being there, I'll probably drop by just to say hello and give you a big hug. Hope you can make it. December there is awesome. Hugs and kisses to you.
Love you much, Shary
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Posted By: S Tcherkezian
Date Posted: September 28 2006 at 8:16pm
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Oh, okay Shary, now I am really, really tempted! I want your big hug so I already booked the flight!! My wife and I will be staying at Here’s the link to Barcelo Bavaro Palace http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en-GB/Hotels/DominicanRepublic/PuntaCana/BavaroPalace/Home.htm?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fBarceloHotels%2fen-GB%2fHotels%2fDominicanRepublic%2fPuntaCana%2fBavaroPalace%2fHome%2ehtm%3fls%3d1&NRNODEGUID=%7b527FA03C-06F4-423E-BBAC-7FB785884615%7d&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest&ls=1 - http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en-GB/Hotels/DominicanRepublic/PuntaCana/BavaroPalace/Home.htm?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fBarceloHotels%2fen-GB%2fHotels%2fDominicanRepublic%2fPuntaCana%2fBavaroPalace%2fHome%2ehtm%3fls%3d1&NRNODEGUID=%7b527FA03C-06F4-423E-BBAC-7FB785884615%7d&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest&ls=1 I feel odd though because this is the first time I book so much in advance. I always book 4 days or one week in advance and my wife dreads it. She says it is a lot pressure; prepare this, prepare that etc. Where as, I love it and I get really excited! I’m easy going and I don’t make a fuss at all!! I look forward to see you! If not this time, maybe another time, but now you know for sure that I’ll be there!! Of course, God willing. Steve ------------- Steve Tcherkezian Brazilian & Japanese Hair Straightening - REAL Specialist e-mail: steve@VerticalsInHair.com Website: www.VerticalsInHair.com Toronto Canada Steve Direct: 416 669 9118 |
Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: September 28 2006 at 10:14pm
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OMG! how great. You are so so so sweet. Thanks so much. I know how busy you are. I don't even know how you find the time to anwer on this forum, your website, and whatever other places I'm sure you also share your knowledge. Thanks so much once again for being so sweet, and for taking the time to inform people. You are a wonderfull person. God bless you. I will do my best to be in DR for those dates, and since you gave me all the info, it will be no trouble finding you. Hope you and your family have a fabulous time there. I know you need (and deserve) the break.
Love you much, Shary
P.S if you get a chance there is a post on this forum that reads "hair getting curly, could it be medical". If it is not too much to ask, can you take a look at her question and see if you could help. I suggested to her to post her question here in hopes you would see it. If there is any info you know about what she is describing I would love to read it.
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Posted By: AzTcherSteve
Date Posted: October 01 2006 at 5:48pm
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Hi Shary, I am very angry! Not with you, but with this Forum. For one reason or the other, I have been struggling for the past four days to post a reply to you on this Forum, but it did not allow me to post, so I haven’t been able to reply to you! I used the same, my usual name, and then, I re-registered under different names with three different email addresses. Alas! No GO. I sent many emails to this Forum's admin and I did not receive a reply whatsoever. I even called and asked my daughter to register herself on this Forum under Diana Tcherkezian, instead of Diana Haddad (she's married) and I asked her that once she receives the user name and password to send it to me so that I can post a reply to you + this way, you'll be able to somehow figure out that it is me. But she was unable to register! So it must do something with either "Tcherkezian" or “verticalsinhair” itself and perhaps this Forum is attempting to block me from posting here. I also noticed that my previous postings which were under my name “Steve Tcherkezian” had all disappeared!!
When I'm angry, challenged and things become intolerable, I function best and capable to think better!! So I created a hotmail email address, instead of mailto:steve@verticalsinhair.com - mailto:forumadmin@verticalsinhair.com - mailto:steve.tcherkezian@sympatico.ca - (my service provider) and it finally worked!!! And since you’ve asked me to respond to "hair getting curly, could it be medical" I felt obligate and I was angry with myself, I was furious and very frustrated for not being able to post. I am very serious, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t give a hoot and I would have ignored finding ways and means to post and never ever post on this Forum again. I don’t need this kind of Forum headaches!
I am posting under “AzTcherSteve” and I hope you’ll figure it out that it is me. Anyway, thank you Shary! I hope we can meet in Punta Cana. I will post a reply to: "hair getting curly, could it be medical", but I am not sure if I can be of much help to her. PS- My tolerance level on certain things can be as wide and long winding as the Caribbean Sea and the beaches in Punta Cana. I am flexible and I can be stretched to adapt and to fit. And in other cases, I can be as hard as a door nail; I'm stubborn and decisive with no flexibility. I’m sorry, but I will no longer post on this Forum. Steve Tcherkezian http://www.verticalsinhair.com/ - |
Posted By: Sharyg11
Date Posted: October 01 2006 at 9:58pm
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Hi Steve,
First of all thanks so much for answering her question. Specially for saying you did it for me
, that is so sweet.I am so sorry you were made upset
 . I wouldn't understand anybody wanting to band you from this site. You are such a valuable asset, extremly knowledgeable and very proffessional. I'm sure there must be some kind of explanation for this. I had problems for the past couple of days as well. It was difficult to log on, and had problems manuvering around the site. I attributed it to the fact that they reformated the site, and switched the order of the forums, and figured that caused the problems. I know thet type of question I asked you to take a look at is not the type of question you like to answer, but I also knew that no one else could give her a more educated answer. Thanks so much for being such a gentlemen and being so sweet. You are the best!
If in fact your inability to post had something to do with the website intentionally, I more than understand, respect, and back up your descision not to post. I hope that wasn't the case though because they would be loosing a valuable asset, and depriving many people of much needed advice and expertise.
Anyway, I'm going to try and find an old post from you and click under your user name. That way I can see if your account is still active or if you in fact have been banned from the site. If your account is still active, then the problems you were having were technical and probably due to the changes they were making to the site. I hope that is what it was.
Anyway, I love you much, and don't worry, if I can't talk to you here, I will go to your website. You are not getting rid of me that EZ mister!
. P.S I am going to DR tomorrow. I'm going to drink some coconut water in your name!!!
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Posted By: AzTcherSteve
Date Posted: October 02 2006 at 9:50pm
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I don’t ever want you to get rid of you Missy, that’ll break my heart! I can tell you are an intelligent girl and I know you have the ways and means to find me. Besides, I am not the type of guy that dwells on negativity; I state my inner feelings and then I forget about it. By the way, I received an email from Andrew Walker at hairboutique.com. He is going to try to restore my original username. My previous posts are easy to find. Look under the “Last Post” heading on the right hand corner and then go down – notice my postings where it said “Steve Tcherkezian” are now under “by”. Yes Shary, I did it just because of you! I hope you a pleasant and safe trip to DR. Steve http://www.verticalsinhair.com - http://www.verticalsinhair.com ------------- Steve Tcherkezian Salon Monaco, 2300 John Street Thornhill, ON. (Greater Toronto Area) 416-669-9118 |