SINGLE STRAND KNOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies I know some of you may know me because I'm constantly posting . Well in the past, I've observed that my ends were rough and dry. I thought it was scab hair and proceeded to chop them. Every time I chopped my ends, my ends still were rough. Eventually as I kept chopping it, it got a little better. I decided to post a new topic to see if anyone could help me. I've got replies on sealing my ends which I decided to do. Sooooo, I made a mix consisting of water, glycerin, and aloe vera gel and it works PERFECT for my hair, it's almost like curl activator. So on Friday I applied the mix included with my shea butter mix for sealing. I braided my hair and have been wearing it ever since. I enjoy playing with my ends which I take my hands and twirl the ends. I was twirling my hair today and I felt little knots. I decided to pull one and saw I had a little knot. I was a little surprised because sometime last week I read about SSK. To make sure I wasn't bugging, I pulled another strand of hair and the same thing. Then again, same thing. OMG do you know what this means? I have SINGLE STRAND KNOTS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. What am I to do? I've been cutting my hair so much and I'm tired. I need help.

I hate to be the one to break it to you but that's a part of being natural. I notice when I wear my hair out a lot, I get them.

The only advice I have is dont snatch them out (mostly talking to myself...such a bad habit).

I dont know if you have heard curlies talk about S&D missions. Search and Destroy....they are speaking of fairy knots/single strand knots and split ends.

So dont freak out. It happens to all of us.

Lynnieluve wrote:I hate to be the one to break it to you but that's a part of being natural. I notice when I wear my hair out a lot, I get them.

The only advice I have is dont snatch them out (mostly talking to myself...such a bad habit).

I dont know if you have heard curlies talk about S&D missions. Search and Destroy....they are speaking of fairy knots/single strand knots and split ends.

So dont freak out. It happens to all of us.

should I chop them?

I just cut the knots when you find them. That's what most curlies do. If you dont cut them, they tend to get caught on other strands of hair causing tangles.

I need to take my own advice because I have a bad habit of snatching them out...causing me to loose the whole strand when I could have just cut the knot off the end of the strand.

Hope this helps.

Lynnieluve wrote:I just cut the knots when you find them. That's what most curlies do. If you dont cut them, they tend to get caught on other strands of hair causing tangles.

I need to take my own advice because I have a bad habit of snatching them out...causing me to loose the whole strand when I could have just cut the knot off the end of the strand.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, I'll do that then. Man I never cut my hair so much my entire life. This is getting crazy now.

Do you wear your hair out a lot?

Lynnieluve wrote:Do you wear your hair out a lot?

Not really. I'm beginning to wonder if I cowash too much (2 to 3 times weekly). I have a friend who is also natural and hardly cowashes. She said she just wets her hair, then shampoo it every two weeks. She said her shampoo is extremely moisturizing and it works great for her. I know that doesn't work in all cases though. Different strokes for diff strokes.

Lynnieluve wrote:Do you wear your hair out a lot?

I was going to ask the same thing! I did a week of WnG's not too long ago, and had a SSK forest! So I'll either S&D as suggested, or dust my ends when it's in twists--and always keep up the moisture....

So, you are twisting or braiding your hair everyday or every other day?

Lynnieluve wrote:So, you are twisting or braiding your hair everyday or every other day?

I'll wear my hear out one in a while, but other than that I'm twisting and braiding.

CurlieCutes1121 wrote:

Lynnieluve wrote:Do you wear your hair out a lot?

I was going to ask the same thing! I did a week of WnG's not too long ago, and had a SSK forest! So I'll either S&D as suggested, or dust my ends when it's in twists--and always keep up the moisture....

I'm moisturizing constantly.

I wear my hair in w'n'gs all of the time and I get a lot of SSKs. However, I've become a serious S&Der in addition to a serious ends sealer.

You have to pay serious attention to your ends with whatever you do to your hair. The health of your ends is how you retain length. So be extra careful when you wash, don't apply shampoo to the strands of your hair and definitely not to the ends of your hair, and when you cowash or condition don't scrub or rub your ends together.

I wouldn't suggestion letting your hair going for long periods without detangling. The SSKs come from your hair curling up on itself and like Lynn said if you leave them they will catch on other stands. Then you'll have bigger knots and possible matting. What I've done and it has helped is cowash twice a week, shampoo once a month, DC several times a month if not weekly, moisturize my hair daily or every other day and seal moisture into my ends with an oil, and S&D whenever I come across a SSK, and I don't twist my ends when my hands are in my hair. I can't break the HIH habit...

Lynnieluve wrote:I hate to be the one to break it to you but that's a part of being natural. I notice when I wear my hair out a lot, I get them.

The only advice I have is dont snatch them out (mostly talking to myself...such a bad habit).

I dont know if you have heard curlies talk about S&D missions. Search and Destroy....they are speaking of fairy knots/single strand knots and split ends.

So dont freak out. It happens to all of us.

I'm really bad about snatching them out too! I always apologize to my hair when I do. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I never seem to find them when I have scissors handy, its always at work something.

Lynnieluve wrote:I hate to be the one to break it to you but that's a part of being natural. I notice when I wear my hair out a lot, I get them.

The only advice I have is dont snatch them out (mostly talking to myself...such a bad habit).

I dont know if you have heard curlies talk about S&D missions. Search and Destroy....they are speaking of fairy knots/single strand knots and split ends.

So dont freak out. It happens to all of us.

I've actually been wondering this for awhile. What are fairy knots? Are they the same thing as SSKs?

jamaicanmecurly wrote:

Lynnieluve wrote:I hate to be the one to break it to you but that's a part of being natural. I notice when I wear my hair out a lot, I get them.

The only advice I have is dont snatch them out (mostly talking to myself...such a bad habit).

I dont know if you have heard curlies talk about S&D missions. Search and Destroy....they are speaking of fairy knots/single strand knots and split ends.

So dont freak out. It happens to all of us.

I've actually been wondering this for awhile. What are fairy knots? Are they the same thing as SSKs?

Yep!

SisterBoyd wrote:I wear my hair in w'n'gs all of the time and I get a lot of SSKs. However, I've become a serious S&Der in addition to a serious ends sealer.

You have to pay serious attention to your ends with whatever you do to your hair. The health of your ends is how you retain length. So be extra careful when you wash, don't apply shampoo to the strands of your hair and definitely not to the ends of your hair, and when you cowash or condition don't scrub or rub your ends together.

I wouldn't suggestion letting your hair going for long periods without detangling. The SSKs come from your hair curling up on itself and like Lynn said if you leave them they will catch on other stands. Then you'll have bigger knots and possible matting. What I've done and it has helped is cowash twice a week, shampoo once a month, DC several times a month if not weekly, moisturize my hair daily or every other day and seal moisture into my ends with an oil, and S&D whenever I come across a SSK, and I don't twist my ends when my hands are in my hair. I can't break the HIH habit...

I'm beginning to wonder if iit could be because of the conditioning thing,or from twirling my ends together. That would make sense because in a way its being bungeled together.

The conditioning wouldn't do it, its most likely the twirling. Think about it the curl is already curling on itself and then you're twirling it.