My ends are fried

Alright, so I just got my hair trimmed 2 weeks ago in NYC Chinatown. The only problem is that the person who trimmed it shortened my top layers to above my shoulder, while my longer layers reach to my waist (or even a bit past).

I straighten with a Jilbere de Paris Porcelain Iron. I don't have curly hair or anything, I straighten it to just make my hair smoother and less frizzy, since I have thick Asian hair. I use a Spray-On Leave-In conditioner for my hair before and after I straighten it.

Now 2 weeks after a trim, I discovered that I had split ends. There aren't very many, so I'm guessing that the person who trimmed my hair missed a few or something. I'm afraid of trimming my hair again, because my layers are so varied in length as it is, and I'm too afraid to loose length because I am growing my hair out to at least past my butt (the long layers that is) before I cut it off for the locks of love.

Is there any way I can save my ends without loosing length? And how can I keep my ends nice for longer? I don't really think I could ever give up my straightener just because I love how manageable my hair is afterwards, but if there are ways I can have beautiful, silky hair (I do condition already, but that doesn't help the frizz), I would appreciate suggestions!

Love,
Mary

Hi AI,

If you don't want to lose your length, you can search out and snip off all the splits individually. Do be sure to use VERY sharp hair scissors or embroidery scissors.

Having "Asian hair" doesn't necessarily call for straightening, and having "Asian hair" doesn't necessarily mean frizz. The best thing to do is give up heat tools completely-- using heat will increase the chances hair protein will warp, dry unevenly (causing frizz) or go dry and split. I don't use heat at all for my Asian hair and opt for other ways to control frizz.

The first thing I do is snip the frizzy ends off (a lot of Asian frizz is due to individual strands' twisting during the wash and during combing/brushing. On frizzy strands, the 5-6 inches closest to the head is often not frizzy. Twisting can be prevented by keeping scalp scrubbing to a minimum while washing) Others may disagree, but I'd rather put up with a little frizz than everything that comes with straightening. Conditioning twice (condition-wash-condition) has helped me greatly. and last but not least I've made peace with my hair.

I understand Locks of Love is a personal choice (and a very open-hearted and generous one) but I've heard a lot about their "questionable practices". I'd advise you to do some background research on them first in terms of their honesty in business.

Good luck
Anais

Thanks so much for replying!

What kinds of conditioners do you use? I was thinking of using that coconut oil that I read about in the topics as a deep conditioner.

Here's what my routine looks like...

(1) a light and cheap prewash conditioner
(1) or prewash oiling with coconut oil (about a teaspoon of oil for anywhere between BSL and waist length)
(2) Kirkland Marine Algae Shampoo from Costco (appropriate drugstore substitutes are Paul Mitchell Awapuhi shampoo or Salon Selectives shampoos. They contain gentle cleansers)
(3) diluted apple cider vinegar rinse (weekly). It's about 1/2 cup diluted in a 20oz soda bottle of water.
(4) Suave Professionals BioBasics conditioner (contains silicones)

Lately I've been doing step 1 oiling only once a week since oiling is too heavy and time consuming for me to do every wash. My new routine involves a "prewash conditioner" to make my routine a CWC (condition, wash, condition-- method invented by Martine) This prewash conditioner is anything light and silicone free (free of any ingredients ending in "cone" or "conol" and the exception "cyclopentiloxane" which is also a cone). This includes V05 conditioners like Strawberries and Creme and Tangerine Tickle, which are cheap enough to glob on before shampooing. The Suave Naturals line is also cone free.

Though not all Asian hair is alike, I think this routine should help you just as much as it helped me.

Good luck and happy hair thoughts,
Anais

Thanks again, Anais!

Judging from your avatar, your hair looks like my hair back in the old days, before I stupidly subjected my hair to dyes and straighteners.

I grew up with the best straight hair ever, and it had a beautiful natural blue tint to it and little frizz. I never blow dryed it, straightened it, or dyed it. But 2 years ago, I cut off all of my hair for a chance (Stupidest hair blunder ever!), and since then, even though I grew all of my hair back to the original length, it just will not be as beautiful as before. So what did I do? I dyed it, I cut it again, and I straightened it a lot.

I've been seriously debating over how to get my natural hair color back without dealing with the half black, half red situation. And I really would LOVE to have my nice straight hair back without all that maintenance and worrying that comes with a straightener.

Is there any chance that I can ever get my childhood hair back? Today, I went through and snipped off a lot of split ends that I had found throughout my hair. Tomorrow, I will be buying some type of oil for deep conditioning. Would places like Walmart sell coconut oil, or should I try places like Sally's? We don't have real health stores around here.

I remember reading that you have never dyed your hair before, but do you know if there is any healthy way that I can get my natural color back without going through a year's worth of root color differences?

-Mary

PS- I have gone through some research about Locks of Love, and I discovered some unusual differences. Such as they said that they do not make wigs for chemo paitients, and then later on, I found a place that said they did. It was very unsual, so I will continue my research. Thanks for the heads up. =)

PPS- E-mail me or IM me at Serene Star 9 (AIM) sometime. I would love to chat with you, Anais!

Walmart sells LouAna brand coconut oil in the vegetable oil section of their food store. It's really cheap. I prefer a more natural oil, because I like a real coconut fragrance, but this is a real bargain.

Hi Asian Invasion,

It'd be fun to chat with you personally. I'm off to send you an email!

Anais

hi-i'm asian too. i have thick, coarse, frizzy, wavy, shoulder length hair. i use a hair straightener on my bangs everyday to smooth out the unruly wave. are there any products out there that might help me tame the wave in my bangs and the rest of my hair?! its becoming a nuisance to do my hair, yet i refuse to go out the door w/out straight bangs. can someone give me advice?! thanks!

First thing to do is quit using heat. Heat warps hair proteins and causes uneven wave, dryness, frizz, etc.. so it''s a neverending cycle.

but if you''re happier using a straightener, I''m not stopping ya.

My wet combing method isn''t "straightening", per se, but it''s the only thing I do. It involves combing wet hair with a seamless comb, every 5-10 minutes until it is completely dry. I know this sounds too easy, and it is, but basically... Hair will dry in the position it''s in while it''s wet. I basically force it to dry straight.

This wet combing method doesn''t work if you don''t already have reasonably "straight" hair.

The other thing you can do is get a super absorbent towel (microfiber towel). If hair dries unevenly, it might wave or frizz as well.

I''ve posted briefly about it here, but you can reply if you need more info:
posted on 25-Aug-2004 12:06:55 PM
subject: how can i mak my thick tong hair staight all day

http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB%5FAP673892709&id=8950&sr1=wet+combing&sr2=&ExMth=no#post8958


Anyway, I think it''s worth a shot. Might take awhile for your hair to get used to it.

HTH
:)
Anais

hi anais! thank you for replying. i was afraid no one was going to respond to my post. but thank you so much!

you know, the "wet comb" method is something i tried years ago. it did not do much for me. yes, my hair dried and it stayed put, however my hair became a bit "fuzzy" and "poufy".

i didn't realize the heat from the straightening iron causes damage too. i hear a lot about how it doesn't cause damage if you do it quickly. like, run the iron down the hair shaft quickly. maybe that might be something i need to sacrifice later...

i will try the micro-fiber towel you mentioned. i didn't know that if your hair dries unevenly it causes frizz too...sorry, i am so clueless about these things.

i checked out the link you included...it didn't quite help too much...but it was informative. =) thanks.

i did check out some other posts that you replied to. and one of them was the steps on how you wash your hair. like you use coconut oil before shampooing or use a cheapy conditioner then shampoo it out and then condition again. i think i'll try that tonight.

thanks for the tips! if i have any more hair issues can i post again?


jodi

p.s. your hair looks beautiful! i should post a picture of my hair. then you'll see how horrible it is.

Hi Jodi,

Whooo I was in a hurry responding to your post earlier. It was fragmented and crappy.

Thanks for your compliment! YES, Martine's elaborate condition-wash-condition method... THAT HELPED THE MOST WITH FRIZZ, AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT!! Sorry sweetie.. Well, the CWC instructions are everywhere so I hope they help you at least by a bit. Frizz is sometimes from lack of moisture as well, and the double-conditioning helps immensely.

I have 5 minutes to sort through mucho other replies and check email...

Hugs,
Anais

hi anais-thanks again for responding. =) do you answer all questions throughout these message boards? i'm just wondering b/c your'e name is comes up quite frequently. how do you know so much about hair? are you a hair stylist?

and don't worry about the "CWC" method. i'm sure there are lots of tips and info i can find. i did have one dumb question for you today though...you know when you do the "CWC" method, do you wet your hair first, then apply the cheapy conditioner/oil? or do you apply it to dry hair, then wash out w/shampoo? i thought about that this morning and maybe i'm doing it wrong.

have a great weekend! and by the way, i LOVE your picture. its so unique and elegant.

jodi

hi cmesweet-so do i just apply the conditioner and/or oil to dry hair? then wash out? no shampoo right? thank you. =)


jodi

Jodi,

Thanks a bunch for your compliment! I am a researcher (unprofessional) and it's a big hobby of mine. Actually I'm a handwriting analyst and humor writer for a local paper. I just happen to cruise these hair boards a lot. Fun to help people out. :)

Cmsweet is referring to what we call "CO" or "Conditioner Only".

That is different from the "CWC" method ("Condition, Wash, Condition"). The CWC works exceptionally well for Asian hair in my opinion, while the CO does not. The reason for this? typical Asian hair is VERY porous compared to other types of hair, so lots of conditioner residue gets caught in the hair shaft in between the cuticle scales or "microscopic shingles" on the hair shaft. I just don't feel that clarifying rinses, like vinegar, are enough to remove it all from Asian hair.

CO/Conditioner-Only: "washing" like you would with shampoo, except you'd be using a very light conditioner like V05 Kiwi Lime or Freesia. Or White Rain Extra Body. Then you'd finish off with your usual conditioner. The cheapie conditioner replaces the shampoo. Along with coarse hair, Asians also tend to have bigger pores, making us more susceptible to breakouts on the scalp IMHO. CO requires putting conditioner on the scalp, which deposits plastic ingredients or otherwise occlusive materials in the scalp's pores and hair roots.

CWC/Condition-wash-condition (invented by dear Martine): Just like CO, except you'd use shampoo in between the conditioners. Wet your hair first, apply cheapie conditioner, DON'T RINSE, shampoo the scalp and let the lather rinse down the length, rinse out shampoo, apply usual condioner and do a final rinse.

In a CWC, oil can be applied to dry hair. but not the cheapie first-conditioner.

HTH!
Anais

Lol...i tried the two methods sometime ago and i did both methods wrong. With the condtioner wash, i just used one conditioner, rinsed it out and styled as usual. With the CWC, i rinsed out the condtioner before shampooing. God im so hopeless with things like this. Ill try it again. The CWC i mean

hi anais-thanks for clarifying the difference between "CO" and "CWC"...i too, can be hopeless like renee. =)

you're a handwriting analyst?! that sounds cool! you must totally love your job huh?

i have a personal question for you, if you don't want to answer, its okay. b/c under location, you have "bill gate's backyard", are you by chance living in washington? dumb question, yes?

anyway, i will do the "CWC" this evening. i can't imagine washing my hair w/just conditioner, my scalp would be SO oily. eewww. =(

do you use any heat to straighten your hair? or is your naturally straight?


jodi

Jodi, as Anais will come thundering in any minute now to tell you, she does not use any heat to dry her hair. :)

We all might as well answer the question for Anais. =P She uses the wet combing method to dry her hair straight. She air dries her hair, but combs it with a wide tooth brush (Rachel) every 5 minutes.

=P I think that I've read Anais's posts and e-mails way too often. ^^

HAHAHAAHAH You ladies are sooo funny : P

Sigh...i did the CWC yesterday and i just remembered i rinsed the first conditioner out. i guess i have to post a note on sth on my bathroom wall to remind me

I tried a CWC yesterday too and I was like don't rinse out the first conditioner, but I was reading how long to leave the conditioner on and it said rinse well so I rinsed without thinking.

Depends on what your first C is.

If it's oil, wash and rinse well. Shampoo the length.

If it's a light commercial C like V05, don't rinse first. Just shampoo, but don't shampoo the length.

Sorry for the confusion : P

Hugs,
Anais

hi all-well, to not use heat on your hair, must be such a wonderful thing!

hi all-well, to not use heat on your hair, must be such a wonderful thing!

[QUOTE=AnaisSatin] HAHAHAAHAH You ladies are sooo funny : P
[/QUOTE]

I try.