curlykinkynfrizzy writes:
I’m so loving the Curly Nikki blog and forum! Anyway , I don’t recall seeing this issue mentioned on your site. But I hope you can post this topic so I can get some assistance! Lately I’ve been plagued with thin ends. Strangely though, it’s only in the front of my hair. Now I know most of us want to retain as much length as possible but I hate seeing thin ends especially when it makes your hairstyle look busted! Whenever I style my hair in twists they look great…until you see the ones framing my face. In a moment of passionate frustration I quickly snipped off about half an inch from the 4 twists framing my face. I couldn’t stand seeing full shiny twists with thin, frayed ends!
Now I’m wondering if I just may have to say goodbye to twists/twist-outs because it seems it may just be too much manipulation for my hair: the process of detangling , sectioning/parting , smoothing and twisting. I may need to just go back to my WnGs and finger detangle as much as possible. But it kinda annoys me because I can’t seem to twist without a comb being involved. My hair is extremely curly/coily and I can’t just grab a section and twist. What’s a girl to do!
Oh and btw ,I don’t use heat except for when I deep condition – and only for 15 minutes under a soft bonnet dryer (it’s too hot and that’s all I can take!).
Thanks in advance!
I would cut tham of because they might be dead ends and if you leave dead ends to long it makes all your hair dead
thanks for this post. i straightened my hair and it looks shorter than when it was straightened in decemeber. Im at APL when in Dec I was an inch away from BSL! So close it's frustrating! I'm going back to DCing and baggying with shea butter. I dust every 2-3 months so Im really surprised at my hair :(( It's shiny and soft from my henna, but the ends and the potential breakage is disheartening. 🙁
I want to recommend Keyonna Tillman at the Capella Salon in Los Angeles/Studio City. She is also Deva trained – she gives me and my friends amazing natural curly cuts.
Thanks for the rec anon @ 12:53! I def will have to check that out…at the very least ask if he has any SD referrals. Again its me curlykinkynfrizzy 🙂
curlykinkyfrizzy
I am in the Los Angeles area and had a consultation at Capella salon in Studio City yesterday. I was offered a free consultation with the owner. He was amazingly supportive and knowledgeable about cutting textured hair. I am going for a cut in 2 wks.CHeck out the reviews on naturallycurly.com
His name is Shaie
I know San Diego and Studio City are kinda far from each other to travel for a trim, but you may want to call and see if he has any recommendation for someone in your area
Good luck!
I trimmed my hair (myself) and i will be doing routine (6 weeks) Aphogee proteinn treatments to maintain my ends.
Aaarrghh! I can't log in as myself! Anyway this is me- curlykinkynfrizzy! Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. I used to twist on sopping wet hair but it takes forever to dry and I can't stand (nor will my 3 children allow me to LOL)sitting under the dryer. And I have recently tried dry twists/twistouts after washing/dc and putting my hair in 4 large twists. Then I make about 8-10 twist. I get more volume and length this way. But like I said the front is PITIFUL!! 🙁 My hair coils around itself sooo much it's hard to detangle. I'm going to try doing with out the comb. I'm thinking I may have to just buckle down and get that "trim" lol. Yeah good luck with that, here in Cali (San Diego). I can't find a salon that can handle my hair and I'm still traumatized almost 2 yrs later after an exp at an Aveda salon where a stylist said my hair was "too damaged" to trim or flat iron! LOL! Thanks ladies!
I chop them off because I cannot stand ragged ends. I also try to be more attentive to my hair. I've never been consistent though.
well i agree with sweetme because i tried to hang onto to my busted ends and my hair was just so raggedy looking..i just couldnt understand why i couldn't hold moisture and why i would have to redo my twist outs so quickly but as soon as i did my trim (about half inch) my curls POPPED lol…i've never seen my hair so bright and shiny, so even though we want to hang onto the length it's not sexy or healthy to have busted and disgusted ends trying to hold onto some length
Good idea @ curlykinkynfrizzy. I love the adventure of retaining length in this experience of natural hair but lets be honest, we all know when we see someone that needs to let go of those dead ends.
I went to the salon telling her "only take a qtr of an inch pleaaase"…lol! which wouldn't have did my raggedy ends justice. She took off about 3 quarters and my curls popped I was shocked at what a "GOOD" trim could do. You might miss the length for about 2days but you'll be happy to be healthy.
Yeah I would say lightly trim the ends of your hair off and this would make for a better twist'twistout. Hum how often do you trim your hair by the way? just curious. However be careful how you are twirling the ends to much prefer can cause this, not so much though. But make that you're taking your vitamins,drinking enough water, and eating a good balanced meal and this will do your hair and skin a good deal.
I am not sure how your hair fairs when wet. I do my two-strand twist on TOTALLY sopping wet hair saturated with my leave-in (knot-today or yes to carrots) and Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Conditioner as my Shea Butter. The consistency of Aubrey Honeysuckle is creamy and I don't have to manipulate my hair as much to work it into my strands. BTW I just did an Aphogee 2-step protein treatment last night. I noticed the difference right away- less limp, more body, tighter curl on my salvageable strands. This won't rescue your already thinned ends (cut em off) but, it will improve the condition of your hair if it needs protein.
I think you should cut off the ends, when your hair is twisted, when you notice the translucent ends cut them off, deep condition once a week, and yes change styles. I think the hair is toughest to deal with when it is very short because you cannot place it in a bun or ponytail or even a braid, if your hair is still too short for a bun, etc. continue to twist the hair, DC, and cut the ends. Once your hair has grown out you can do more styles with it. Try to also grow your hair out without adding other hair in like braids (when I suggested braids earlier I was referring to your own hair; not braided extensions). I started out with another woman who had natural hair as well and my hair when flat ironed out is shoulder length now (it took me about 7 months to reach this length) she still has very short hair and the reason why is that she used braided extensions and during the take down she lost alot of hair. This hopefully helps.
Thanks Sweetme. I am taking a chance and going for a "shaping" consultation today to see if I can get a professional job without the heartache. I am sick of having weird random ends jacking up my style. I want to be able to wear my hair out more and have a banging style. Im going to a salon that specializes in the Devachan technique for curly hair (technique developed by Lorraine Massey of curly girl fame and Devacurl products).
Been natural for 10 yrs and my last professional trim was 2 yrs ago.
I keep my ends coated with Shea butter. I've tried to break-up with Shea butter, but I just can't. Although shea butter is heavy sometimes & leaves a residue (ok its not the shea butter I am heavy handed) I find that water and shea butter on my ends is my friend. My ends oozes with moisture. I re-moisturized (when I re-twist before bed) every other day with water on the ends followed by Shea butter. I use water and shea butter because I am a recovering product junky. I clip my ends at home every 6 – 8 months.
Your best most defined curl will be from fresh cut ends. Believe… I just got mine trimmed a half inch to remove heat damage and my curls bang!
I tend not to worry worry about thin ends. If they are damages/split I dust. If not, I leave them alone.
You can try sealing the ends of your twists, wrapping them with end papers and rolling them on a perm rod to hide the thin ends(http://www.maneandchic.com/2009/06/end-paperswraps.html). More fingercombing is also a good idea. Fingercombing has helped my ends stay in better shape so I can dust less.
My hair is super curly/coily and I can grab a section and twist/braid…even after finger combing only. Try smoothing before twisting (http://www.maneandchic.com/2010/09/setting-techniques-smoothing-explained.html). Do you twist on wet hair? If not, try it. Here are some tips on wet sets (http://www.maneandchic.com/2010/05/10-tips-for-perfecting-your-wet-set.html).
This article by Chicoro may help you figure out what to do about thin ends: (http://www.maneandchic.com/2008/02/thin-ends-growing-or-breaking-chicoro.html).