Hello everyone!

I need help.  I used to have the healthiest hair in the world!  Now, my hair looks horrible.  I am not sure if it is because I am going through large amounts of stress or because I use a ceramic flat iron every other day.  Please help me!  I do not know what to do and I would like to get suggestions on what to do to prevent hair breakage and to keep it growing.  My first step will be to give up the flat iron for a while.  I use Nexxus Hummectress for conditioner and leaves my hair shiny but as far as preventing breakage and brittleness, it doesn't do anyhting at all.  :-[

Welcome!  You poor dear.  :'(

Stress and the flat iron are probably BOTH causing problems with your hair.  

The flat iron heats the hair, which removes the moisture from the hair shaft.  This, in turn, makes the hair, dry and brittle.  If you can eliminate the flat iron, I'm sure your hair would appreciate it.  

Adding moisture to you hair, via conditioners and/or oils can also help the condition of your hair.  Be careful of shampoos and/or conditioners that have lots of ingredients that end in -cone.  These can build up on your hair and actually cause more brittleness with time.  If you do use them, try a clarifying shampoo from time to time to remove the build up.  A vinegar rinse can help if the build up is not severe.

Let us know how your hair does!

Welcome to LL, Fiona!

I agree with what BB said. And to add to what she already suggested, doing a CWC wash would help keep your hair from drying out after a shampoo. To do a CWC wash, apply a lightweight conditioner from the ears down (most people use Suave, V05, or White Rain), shampoo the hair that didn't get covered with conditioner, and then rinse everything off. After that, apply a heavier conditioner from the ears down and rinse when you're ready.

You can check out Anais Satin's website for more information about gentler hair care. HTH. Good luck!

sorry to hear about your hair :-/

My hair has experienced the same exact problem, my hair was sooo healthy and shiny, until i got depressed (family stuff), then i started using the ceramic flat iron to smooth out the damage, which obviously made more damage.

I started using jojoba oil, and like juri suggested doing a CWC helps a lot.

Now i can actually wear my hair loose :D
Hope Everything goes well, and Good Luck :)!

I've had my hair pretty bad from dying and bleaching before and what saved it was Aveda's Damage Remedy Intensive restructuring. It literally SAVED my hair! You can get the shampoo, conditioner & deep treatment (use once a week) and by the time u finish the treatment your hair will feel amazing.
I hope this helps, it really saved me!