I really try to take good care of my hair, but, right now I don't know what to do. I have little white dots on some of the hair shafts, and if I gently pull at the hair, it breaks off at the white dot. and I mean GENTLY. I have A LOT of these white dots, and I don't want anymore breakage. My hair feels veeery dry and brittle and I don't know what to do with it. Does it need a protein treatment? I have a hunch that it might need WAY LESS protein, but, I don't know for sure, and I don't want to make a mistake that will cause more breakage. (For reference, I try my best to avoid cones and sulfates.) Any advice would be great!

I used to have exactly the same hair like you described(and even worse my head was full of splits too:rolleyes: ) before using oil treatments. You can find lots of information on the recipes board about oils if you want. But know that the most important thing is to keep your hair moistured. You should find what works you best to beat that dryness and try to keep your hair secure as well. And the most evil of I could think is the the blowdryers . You should try to let your hair airdry and see what kind of a difference it will make. Good Luck!:flowers:

I love your avatar BTW :thumbsup:

Dry hair either means you need less protein or more moisture. Do you use any products with protein in them?

Do you do any heat styling?

I never use heat on my hair, which makes my hair situation more exasperating, because, it has no reason to be so dry and disorderly. :(

I'm really starting to think protein is the cuprit, because even though I moisturize *everyday* its a rats nest. Almost all of my products have tons of protein.

Thank you for the advice :)

I second the avitar love.

I'd say oil your hair like crazy tonight, just throw some olive oil or canola oil, anything you've got on hand (I mean, jojoba and grapeseed are fantastic, but you're in dire straits, here), leave it on for a few hours, then cover your head with cheap conditioner (I highly reccomend VO5 Kiwi Lime, and it's less than a dollar) and leave THAT on for about 40 minutes before you shower.

If that solves your problem, you know it's moisture related, not protine related. If that dosen't solve your problem, then you'll know what your problem is and can take better steps to solving it.

It sounds to me like you're hair is just dry, but then my hair tends to be on the dry side so I'm instantly going to assume that's what the problem is. It's also pretty common and relatively easy to fix.

Have you tried Snowy Moon's Deep Moisture Treatment? If the oiling helps that might be the next step to try.

Oh, another question- do you brush your hair when it's wet? Your hair is weaker then, and I could see, possibly, the weak white spots being from hair that's been overstretched when wet. If that's it, don't brush your hair when it's wet anymore, or take a comb to the tips and slowly, gently, work your way up (I tend to braid or bun my hair when it's wet, to protect it).

Hope that helps, let us know how it goes!

Thanks MadPirateBippy, I'll definitely try that! Thanks everyone! I hope this works

All good advice here. My big ones are:
1. avoid ALL heat styling
2. avoid harsh styling products, or any styling products with chemicals
3. do deep oilings with coconut or olive oil
4. leave in a very small amount of jojoba oil for protection

When I discovered LHC, I had many white bumps, probably caused by elastic bands and my nylon-bristle brush which I had been using. Fourteen months later, I still get a few of the white bumps. I do sometimes wonder if fabric scrunchies and even the finest quality metal barrettes could cause them. My hair is fine, and color-treated, so perhaps a few fractures are unavoidable.

ack, I did SMT over-night, and my hair has never been so tangled in my life :( why can't my hair just behave? now I have tons more breakage trying to untangle my hair. Maybe I used the wrong conditioners...I used Elucence MB and some Jessicurl Too Shea (I think they both might have a little protein in them..).

Your hair is just either really dry, in protein overload or both.

Get a good pair of hair scissors, beard trimming scissors or whatever you prefer (just SHARP) and begin dusting away the splits you are finding.

Sorry the SMT didn't work for you! I don't know about Jessicurl Too Shea, but I do know the Elucence MB has some protien. If you want to try it again I'd suggest going to the store and getting a cheap conditioner with no protiens and no cones to use, and leave it in for less time. I seem to remember some people have had trouble with leaving it in over night.

For moisture I personally love the coconut milk soak, but some people find it hard to wash out (I found CO got it out wonderfully).

Just to warn you. I've found that when my hair has a lot of moisture in it, it plumps up and makes my splits easier to see. If that happens to you don't let it freak you out.

It would probably benefit you to try one thing at a time. If your hair doesn't like oils, it could cause more breakage. First, you might want to discontinue the protein for a couple of weeks to see if you notice any difference. Then, you might want to try oils to see if they will help.

Another thing you might want to consider is using silicones temporarily. I know Paul Mitchell has some products with water soluable silcones that are not supposed to cause build-up if you would be more agreeable to that type. The silicones will give you extra slip to detangle and may keep your breakage down a little until your hair is in better shape.

Are you washing your hair every day? You said you were moisturizing every day so I didn't know if that meant you were also washing every day. It is possible that it could be stripping your hair to wash that often. Washing every other day instead could give your hair a little break.

Just to warn you. I've found that when my hair has a lot of moisture in it, it plumps up and makes my splits easier to see. If that happens to you don't let it freak you out.

Thank you for the warning! I probably would have freaked if I didnt know that in advance :D

And the hair scissor advice is a good idea! I've actually used regular scissors to trim in the past (Shameful, I know, lol)

Are you washing your hair every day? You said you were moisturizing every day so I didn't know if that meant you were also washing every day. It is possible that it could be stripping your hair to wash that often. Washing every other day instead could give your hair a little break.

I try to keep washing to a minimum (on average; every 4 days). By "moisturize everyday" I mean apply leave-ins or rinse and apply leave-ins. but that is good advice!

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I don't blame SMT for my tangle problem, because it did feel really nice while it was on, I blame either leaving it over-night, or rinsing it in the sink. It really does seem like a good treatment!

I don't even have any advice to give but I have to express my Escher love! :silly::inlove: