Struggling with your natural hair? Come in here.....

[DarkJoy]

Update:

Meanwhile, last night I henna'd then used Aphogee 2min, then DC'd with AO blue camo, tea and acv rinsed. Damn! Different head of hair! Soft, moisturized and my twist out is really popping. No scalp itchies or hair falling out.

She's back to her regular tempermental self and in need of a trim. I need another 3 inches so I can cute my fro into a nice style. So for now, will just dust this weekend.

 

[ronie]

Happy to hear your hair is back on track DarkJoy. Ouf that was a closed one.

 

[faithVA]

Happy to hear your hair is back on track DarkJoy. Ouf that was a closed one.

I second that. Glad everything is better.

 

[HanaKuroi]

whoa HanaKuroi! You are ultra sensitive! I asked to see if there was a correlation to internal allergies/reactions vs dermatologic.

Mine seem to be somewhat separate, dairy and, to a degree, pencillin can flare everything up.

Yea, we definitely have to dome up with a sensitives line!

My short answer is no. Lolol

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[HanaKuroi]

My derm told me that once you have a bad allergic reaction it xan cause you to become chemically sensitive to almost everything.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[faithVA]

I guess my struggle level has decreased over the months. I would downgrade it from struggle to more of challenged But I'm making progress.

I tried that temporary rinse WHAT A WASTE OF TIME I've tried henna, rinsed, demi-permanent. I don't have time for that. So I am back to my permanent color but this time around I am adding protein in my regimen. Friday, I did an overnight DC with AOWC. It didn't really work but I figured I would try it. Then I shampooed with 4 Naturals. I did a protein treatment with ION Extreme Care and conditioner rinsed with Deva Curl One. My hair said, stop playing So I DCd with ORS Hair Mayonaisse. I am revisiting this DC. It worked ok but it is going in the give-away box. My hair felt stronger with the protein but it was harder than usual. Gave it 72 hours before doing my color.

Last night I colored using the Naturtint #2. I wasn't sure it would work since I had so much product on my hair. I had my hair in flat twists. I didn't even take them down. I put the color on the roots of the flat twists, then went back and massage the color in. Then I took down each flat twist and worked the color in. I let it sit for 40 minutes under a baggy. I rinsed, used their shampoo (it was rough), followed with their protective creme and then conditioner rinsed with the Deva Curl One. I used the As I Am Leave-In (luv, luv), Farasues Hair Fertilizer and Shea Moisture Smoothie. My hair felt hard. Not sure if it was the Farasues or the Shea Moisture. I then 2 strand twisted with one of the Curlove samples.

My color came out nice. No more grays (sigh of relief). The color took nicely even too my edges. My hair isn't super soft but it feels pretty good considering I used protein, a crazy shampoo, colored my hair and didn't follow up with a DC. And I didn't notice any additional breakage.

So I will monitor my hair over the next few weeks. I am going to color every 8 to 12 weeks but I will find a way to just do my roots. I am going to try the Shea Moisture Color.

For the rest of the year I will just be fine tuning my regimen and my products.

 

[DarkJoy]

Glad your struggle is not a struggle anymore faithVA. That is a major accomplishment!! And...well...considering how much she went through with that last routine--wow! Strong too! You know my hair would be all up in the sink with color. I'm genuinely happy for you!

Ahem... on another note---prepare yourselves ladies! I'm trying jojoba oil for the first time in my life. Using it to seal my hurr. I just cowashed and tea sprayed. that's all routine. will see how she reacts with the new addition....

I know... I need to stop experimenting with ingredients so close together--but I need to get a base of raw materials that I can work with for mixtressing. cross your fingers.

 

[RngdeCurls]

I could definitely use some help.

Since I started on the pill, I've been experiencing a lot more breakage. Before I started using it, I could wash, detangle and condition my hair with very few hairs left over in my comb or tub. I recently quit my job to focus on finishing school so I can't afford to change prescriptions; the one I'm on now is free through my insurance. I've tried biotin, msm and fish oil tablets, but none of them got me back to my pre-pill days.

Any advice?

 

[Cruzankink]

I could definitely use some help.

Since I started on the pill, I've been experiencing a lot more breakage. Before I started using it, I could wash, detangle and condition my hair with very few hairs left over in my comb or tub. I recently quit my job to focus on finishing school so I can't afford to change prescriptions; the one I'm on now is free through my insurance. I've tried biotin, msm and fish oil tablets, but none of them got me back to my pre-pill days.

Any advice?

RngdeCurls Im no doctor but sounds to me like you have a hormone imbalance and not a vitamin/mineral difficiency that's why biotin, msm and fish oil would not work. I know some pregnant women deal w/ this issue during and/or after pregancy. If it is hormonal, unless your body gets used to it, changing your presciption to a low dose hormone may be inevitable to save your hair.

 

[faithVA]

I could definitely use some help.

Since I started on the pill, I've been experiencing a lot more breakage. Before I started using it, I could wash, detangle and condition my hair with very few hairs left over in my comb or tub. I recently quit my job to focus on finishing school so I can't afford to change prescriptions; the one I'm on now is free through my insurance. I've tried biotin, msm and fish oil tablets, but none of them got me back to my pre-pill days.

Any advice?

Drop by your cvs or walgreen and see what they have for hormonal balance and women issues. You probably only need a slight rebalancing. If you have a health food store those are good places to check as well. I don't have a particular brand in mind.

 

[RngdeCurls]

That sounds spot on actually. I was trying to treat acne and my dermatologist determined that I do have a hormone imbalance. I had no idea that that would effect my hair too. Wow. I definitely need to poke around at my local CVS, I didn't even know that I could buy something for hormonal balance.

Thanks a lot, you ladies are awesome. I really hope this helps me get my hair back on track.

 

[hnntrr]

I think you are allergic to the twist hair.

Have you had this happen with just your natural hair?

Did you soak the hair in vinegar and hot water?

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

My head itches regardless of what I do. I think the only reason it hasn't with just my hair is cause I wash often to prevent itching...if i dont wash frequently I itch and scabs occur. Not sure whats happening, there are more than a few scabs in my head..just like I got relaxed. I am taking these out maybe tonight. I just don't know what to do with it between install and even then i dont know if I should change the extension style or stay with what I have been doing...

 

[Cruzankink]

UPDATE:

I been doing the LOC system of moisturizing for the past 3 weeks. I love it. It does seal in moisture so much better than just sealing w/ EVOO. The only downside is that the cream base moisturizer I'm using is too costly for the amount of product I'm getting. I'm still looking for something less expensive that works just as well.

I'm noticing that my bantu knot outs/twist out only last about 2-3 days v. 5 days when my hair was shorter. This is so even when I minipinapple my hair at night. I thought my styles would last longer the longer my hair gets but I was wrong. However, it does not take long to retwist/reknot my styles.

 

[hnntrr]

Used coconut oil last night and it is confirmed. Hair does not like coconut oil, feels hard and meh so. Washing tonight with coconut cowash i will keep using jojoba oil till I can get avacado oil to try.

 

[DarkJoy]

Your hair is still hanging on to some damage hnntrr? I recall there might be some left?

My hair HATED coconut oil when it was damaged. Once the bulk of it was gone they became BFFs. It's weird how things can change...so don't give up! But then again, it may never like it. No worries...and good for trying twice. Always good to give stuff a 2nd chance. So many things out there to PJ!

I'm curious about the avo oil! Update us on that. Haven't tried it myself, so just bein nosey as usual :lol.

 

[hnntrr]

Your hair is still hanging on to some damage hnntrr? I recall there might be some left?

My hair HATED coconut oil when it was damaged. Once the bulk of it was gone they became BFFs. It's weird how things can change...so don't give up! But then again, it may never like it. No worries...and good for trying twice. Always good to give stuff a 2nd chance. So many things out there to PJ!

I'm curious about the avo oil! Update us on that. Haven't tried it myself, so just bein nosey as usual :lol.

Yeah, I still have a bit of heat damage I think...at least an inch in some areas. It seemed like it liked it more with the relaxed ends than now with most of the damage off. Not sure. Gonna try a few more things hopefully. I am just tired of it being sooooo dry.

The only times it was soft and bouncy was when I used, shea moisture coconut oil and eco styler for my bantu knots when it was still relaxed...ever since then its been really nice wet but still dries pretty hard and I am not sure why.


eta: Just washed my hair and even wet it felt dry and kinda hard. Def not using coconut until I try something else. I think I may need to shampoo my hair as well.

I have some shampoo's from lush that I am going to try when I have more time to sit with my hair. I am going to skip washing tomorrow and do a moisturizing pre-poo with conditioner and honey and shampoo and overnight baggy I think. Hopefully that will help.

 

[hnntrr]

ALRIGHT YALL. Im about to shampo my hair with Blousy by LUSH. I am going to do it with out doing a pre-poo :O...justttt to see howwwww moisturizing it is since it does have a bit of sulphate in it....if I dont have to use a pre-poo great. If I do...next time I clarify hopefully that will help.

The plan is to shampoo ONCE, then immediately DC overnight. Results in the morning. Im scared you guys. Hopefully a overnight DC will help if it does strip my hair then ill do a 20 minute protein condish and wig it through the weekend.'

eta: Soooooo far so good. This was actually the first time I had to go through and use a wide tooth come to detangle under water. I could nottt get through my hair with my fingers. So after I sectioned off and detangled, I went through in 4 sections and shampoo'd. The shampoo didnt really later much at first but I didnt use much. It felt good going on and when I rinsed it out it felt pretty clean but it had a tiny bit of softness to it I was NOT used to ...not very stripped at all which was surprising. I detangled again with conditioner and omgoodness. It felt really great. Soft and almost silky. Albeit still alittle dry (cause its been dry for the past few weeks) but it felt heavy and fluffy which it hadnt been feeling like before. Needless to say I cowashed twice, once rinsing out and once leaving in and I am doing to DC overnight and rinse out in the morning...if I can last that long. DC'ing with Aubry Organics WC

 

[hairqueen7]

What does it mean if my hair doesn't give me a sleek look with no type of gels,jams jelly etc it just for the moment wen I use a brush n then once its styled its back to looking thick n coarse

 

[DarkJoy]

We need more hairqueen7. Products and regimen, please!

sounds like things are looking up for your hair @hnntrr! yay!

 

[ronie]

Does anyone have those random relaxer straight strands? When I first bc in January I noticed those straight hairs and thought they could have been heat damage from my blow drying days while transitioning. I did not totally believe that cause they were isolated strands in the middle of perfectly coiled strands, and my last blow dry was since August. So I said I ll give it some more time. I examined my head last night looking for these suckers and they are straight from root to tip, meaning they grow out like that. I wore an Afro and I had these little strands hanging out like nobody's business. I cut them for the sake of the style. They annoy me more than my grays at this point.i never pull out any of my grays. At first I counted 9, but last night there were 12. Thanks for your input.

 

[hnntrr]

Does anyone have those random relaxer straight strands? When I first bc in January I noticed those straight hairs and thought they could have been heat damage from my blow drying days while transitioning. I did not totally believe that cause they were isolated strands in the middle of perfectly coiled strands, and my last blow dry was since August. So I said I ll give it some more time. I examined my head last night looking for these suckers and they are straight from root to tip, meaning they grow out like that. I wore an Afro and I had these little strands hanging out like nobody's business. I cut them for the sake of the style. They annoy me more than my grays at this point.i never pull out any of my grays. At first I counted 9, but last night there were 12. Thanks for your input.

I have that same exact problem on the crown of my head. Atm most of it is heat damage. However mine does tend to wave now instead of being straight. It could be heat damaged, someone once told me heat damage sneaks up on you like a ninja, it could be weeks or months and nothin them boom. Straight as all get out.

 

[faithVA]

Does anyone have those random relaxer straight strands? When I first bc in January I noticed those straight hairs and thought they could have been heat damage from my blow drying days while transitioning. I did not totally believe that cause they were isolated strands in the middle of perfectly coiled strands, and my last blow dry was since August. So I said I ll give it some more time. I examined my head last night looking for these suckers and they are straight from root to tip, meaning they grow out like that. I wore an Afro and I had these little strands hanging out like nobody's business. I cut them for the sake of the style. They annoy me more than my grays at this point.i never pull out any of my grays. At first I counted 9, but last night there were 12. Thanks for your input.

I have plenty of them, but because I color my hair I can't tell if they are gray hairs or regular hair. The longer my hair gets the worse they get because most of my hair will shrink up to 2" and then I have these 4" hairs that just hang out The hair in my crown is straight as well. But it just grows that way. It has very little pattern to it.

 

[HanaKuroi]

DarkJoy I just used the Bask vanilla whiskey repairative hair soak. It has no aloe vera.

It went on smooth. I could have used less product. I am heavy handed. I have more than 3/4ths left. I really coated my strands. I could squeeze it out of my 4 celies. I have 4a/b cbl length hair.

It is pretty expensive. I think I like it better than curl junkie repair me.

The protein in this product is quinoa.

I should probably do a review somewhere.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[DarkJoy]

Oooo! Thanks for thinking of me HanaKuroi! This sounds like a lovely product. Cant wait for a full review!

 

[HanaKuroi]

Oooo! Thanks for thinking of me HanaKuroi! This sounds like a lovely product. Cant wait for a full review!

I am lazy. I probably won't actually do a review.

If I am blown away possibly.

What protein are you using?

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[DarkJoy]

I am lazy. I probably won't actually do a review.

If I am blown away possibly.

What protein are you using?

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

Lol. I am using the aphogee 2min. Surprisingly, my hair lives it. After this I will try another natural brand to compare. I don't like that it has amodimethicone. The good thing is it stops those little c's.

____________
*.~.*Sent from a distant Galaxy in the Unicorn-verse*.~.*

 

[HanaKuroi]

Lol. I am using the aphogee 2min. Surprisingly, my hair lives it. After this I will try another natural brand to compare. I don't like that it has amodimethicone. The good thing is it stops those little c's.

____________
*.~.*Sent from a distant Galaxy in the Unicorn-verse*.~.*

I am afraid of cones. For. Real.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[Forever in Bloom]

I am afraid of cones. For. Real.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

Me. Too.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[DarkJoy]

Well HanaKuroi and Forever in Bloom, I am too. The regular dimethicone makes my hair break and fall out. amodimethicone doesnt seem to bother. However, I would like to get away from it all together. I was just desperate at the time for a stronger protein. Aphogee 2min is ALL chemical too. When this is out I will buy one of Hana's aloe-free suggestions

 

[HanaKuroi]

Well HanaKuroi and Forever in Bloom, I am too. The regular dimethicone makes my hair break and fall out. amodimethicone doesnt seem to bother. However, I would like to get away from it all together. I was just desperate at the time for a stronger protein. Aphogee 2min is ALL chemical too. When this is out I will buy one of Hana's aloe-free suggestions

The important thing was to stop the breakage!

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y