Can I hear from those who've had...

[Leshia]

...SERIOUS hair tragedies and had to start completely, and I mean COMPLETELY over? I don't know what they did to my hair at Elie Elie in Tysons but when I tried to texturize last night with Botanicals texturizer, I watched my hair literally rinse down the drain. I've never, ever experienced a hair tragedy like this before but luckily, I'm not one who "depends" on hair to define me. I'm wearing scarves and will be till summer since I'm pretty much down to almost zero hair. I swear I thought I was dreaming but never cried or anything. Sure, my hands were shaking as I looked at my hair in them, but "nary" a tear. I'll be putting coconut oil on my head every night, along with green foods and aminos. Anyone know where I'm coming from?

 

[HoneyDew]

I am so sorry to hear this happened, but I appreciate your positive attitude. I had something similar happen to me, but I still had enough hair to hide it or to wear braids to get over the hump. But, still it was devastating to me so I know how you feel. You are handling it much better than I did! I held on to the lost hair for a year! I could not throw it out. Actually that is how I found LHCF - searching for help in Google and found this site.

 

[tinkat]

I know exactly what you are talking about
This is a journal entry from 2 years ago:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=152
The journal is called setback

My hair bounce back though, and yours will too!

 

[trini_rican]

I'm still recovering from my hair tragedy - I have hidden pockets in the front of each side of my head that were holes - now there's hair there but it's a delicate area. I make sure to massage and oil those sections when I wash weekly. (((hugs))) You're hair's going to be super healthy when you see progress since you're starting from scratch.

 

[HoneyDew]

I'm still recovering from my hair tragedy - I have hidden pockets in the front of each side of my head that were holes - now there's hair there but it's a delicate area. I make sure to massage and oil those sections when I wash weekly. (((hugs))) You're hair's going to be super healthy when you see progress since you're starting from scratch.

Girl me too! It has been 3 years and I can still tell where that area was. It is MUCH better and my hair has grown, but it is much shorter. But, on a positive note, the hair in that section is much healthier and thicker than the other sections of my hair!

 

[Crissi]

You will recover with a vengence don't worry! Especially since you feel confident without your hair. It will be back before you know it!

Here's my "tragedy"...

In Nov 2004 i went to a "professional" to have my hair relaxed (never been relaxed before). However she did not have th brandi wanted (affirm) and made me wait ALL DAY. So she said she will straighten it with GHD's for free. Well first she blowed it out almost like a dominican blowout, then straightened it, no heat protectant just keracare essential oils.

My hair looked ok but i've had it straightened way better before. A few weeks later i washed it and my hair began to break TERRIBLY. patches and everything, bold spots etc. Some of my hair stayed straight, it looked like a hada mohawk. I tolerated it up until 2005 when i let secondary (high) school. I had a little cut and weaved it, i made a little progress however this damage was not going anywhere.

I always spoke about how i would love to cut myhair and start again. Well March 7th 2006 i went to the barber and got it cut off. I kept it faded up until May 12th this year. My hair is the healthiest it has ever been (well healthiest since i was about 4yrs old lol). My hair is eve and breakage free!Its growing nicey to, itsjust over3 inches but under 4 - im on track in regards to average growth rate. I know if i took my vitamins for more than a week a time and actually used my sulfur mix it would grow faster - im starting those things up again consistantly now! In a sense im happy this happened or else i would not have such a healthy head start!

Heres my album

http://public.fotki.com/Crissi/

I haven't updated in a while my hair is a bit longer than what you see.

Crissi, x

 

[MsCounsel]

Yes, I know where you are coming from. The WHOLE REASON I LOCATED THIS SITE was because I did something in 2005 to my hair (still don't know what it was - very poor habits) and it broke off sooo badly that I had see through hair in many spots. Initially, I jumped on the bandwagon tried a bunch of products. That didn't work either. But then I realized, I had to be patient. Now I can't stop playing in my hair because it is 90% filled in and I'm mostly bra strap. I still have one spot that is very short and I'm learning to handle it with more tender care. No one looking at me would know it's there.

Your hair will grow back. Watch your diet and don't overload your hair with products. Before you know it your hair will flourish.

 

[Leshia]

I am so sorry to hear this happened, but I appreciate your positive attitude. I had something similar happen to me, but I still had enough hair to hide it or to wear braids to get over the hump. But, still it was devastating to me so I know how you feel. You are handling it much better than I did! I held on to the lost hair for a year! I could not throw it out. Actually that is how I found LHCF - searching for help in Google and found this site.

Yes, devastated is a good word. I still can't really believe it, if that makes any sense. Braids would be my chosen course right now but I have nothing to which to attach the braids! I honestly am still too shocked to cry...and thank the good Lord it's winter and I can cover my head! Thank you, HoneyDew

 

[Leshia]

I know exactly what you are talking about
This is a journal entry from 2 years ago:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=152
The journal is called setback

My hair bounce back though, and yours will too!

Wow, Tinkat, I felt like I was there when I read your journal! You've got some thick hair now, huh? It looks great. Thank you for empathizing and sharing.

Trini Rican, you wouldn't know anything was wrong now! Thank you for posting.

 

[Leshia]

You will recover with a vengence don't worry! Especially since you feel confident without your hair. It will be back before you know it!

Here's my "tragedy"...

In Nov 2004 i went to a "professional" to have my hair relaxed (never been relaxed before). However she did not have th brandi wanted (affirm) and made me wait ALL DAY. So she said she will straighten it with GHD's for free. Well first she blowed it out almost like a dominican blowout, then straightened it, no heat protectant just keracare essential oils.

My hair looked ok but i've had it straightened way better before. A few weeks later i washed it and my hair began to break TERRIBLY. patches and everything, bold spots etc. Some of my hair stayed straight, it looked like a hada mohawk. I tolerated it up until 2005 when i let secondary (high) school. I had a little cut and weaved it, i made a little progress however this damage was not going anywhere.

I always spoke about how i would love to cut myhair and start again. Well March 7th 2006 i went to the barber and got it cut off. I kept it faded up until May 12th this year. My hair is the healthiest it has ever been (well healthiest since i was about 4yrs old lol). My hair is eve and breakage free!Its growing nicey to, itsjust over3 inches but under 4 - im on track in regards to average growth rate. I know if i took my vitamins for more than a week a time and actually used my sulfur mix it would grow faster - im starting those things up again consistantly now! In a sense im happy this happened or else i would not have such a healthy head start!

Heres my album

http://public.fotki.com/Crissi/

I haven't updated in a while my hair is a bit longer than what you see.

Crissi, x

You're right. Unless these hair "mishaps" happen, we won't start anew, right? I HAVE to continue to think like this even though I just BC'd in June. Ugh. I just still can't believe it though. Thank you, Crissi.

 

[Leshia]

Yes, I know where you are coming from. The WHOLE REASON I LOCATED THIS SITE was because I did something in 2005 to my hair (still don't know what it was - very poor habits) and it broke off sooo badly that I had see through hair in many spots. Initially, I jumped on the bandwagon tried a bunch of products. That didn't work either. But then I realized, I had to be patient. Now I can't stop playing in my hair because it is 90% filled in and I'm mostly bra strap. I still have one spot that is very short and I'm learning to handle it with more tender care. No one looking at me would know it's there.

Your hair will grow back. Watch your diet and don't overload your hair with products. Before you know it your hair will flourish.

I was *just telling my girlfriend that it's time to straighten up the diet, give my hair only what it needs (coconut oil) and wait for it to come back. It's time to sit back, take a breather and try again. Thank you.

 

[gone_fishing]

I am sorry this happened too. What services did you receive there? I'd keep my hair and take it back to them and then I'd sue!

If it's a chain place the almost always have insurance so I would try to get a settlement and donate my winnings to my hair products.

 

[Traycee]

Something I really don't like to talk about. But Nov 2004 I was Dieting to lose weight. I was on the very popular atkins no or low carb diet. Well I was losing like 5 to 8 pounds a week . I was so happy , I was running about 5 miles a week . I lost a total of 55 pounds in 3 months.

Well one morning I woke up to hair all in the bed all over my pillow. My first reaction was to pull and hair just kept coming out. I could not stop crying. My beautician took me in that day. To make a long story short when I left the salon all my pretty BSL hair as GONE. I left the salon with extremely thin neck length hair. To embarrassed to let my husband see I wore braids for a year. When I stopped wearing braids I was at shoulder length and thick. I wish I had knew you guys back then.


The doctor said I lost my hair b/c of Malnutrition . WOW!!!!
I know your upset now but....

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!!!!
sorry so long

 

[Esq.2B]

...SERIOUS hair tragedies and had to start completely, and I mean COMPLETELY over? I don't know what they did to my hair at Elie Elie in Tysons but when I tried to texturize last night with Botanicals texturizer, I watched my hair literally rinse down the drain. I've never, ever experienced a hair tragedy like this before but luckily, I'm not one who "depends" on hair to define me. I'm wearing scarves and will be till summer since I'm pretty much down to almost zero hair. I swear I thought I was dreaming but never cried or anything. Sure, my hands were shaking as I looked at my hair in them, but "nary" a tear. I'll be putting coconut oil on my head every night, along with green foods and aminos. Anyone know where I'm coming from?

I'm sorry but looking at your hair in the Avatar...your hair is BANGING! I LOVVVVVVVES IT! Was that pic after the hair incident? I love it just the way it is! I guess that's a bit unorthodox of me considering this is LHCF. But hey, it is what it is!

I think short hair is fierce (when worn by the right person). If the avatar was before the incident then you won't have too long to get back to that point. Your hair will be back to it's cute self in no time. But you don't need hair to "define" you, like you said. You're beautiful. I think you can get away with a ceasar (sp?).

I had setbacks before I joined LHCF. I chopped it off like Halle then started over. It was prob the best thing that could've happened to my hair.

 

[scorpian]

I have shaved it all down to boy cut brush length...pics in my fotki
I recently shaved my nape and I may be shaving the rest of if it again if it doesn't stop falling out

 

[audacity.]

(((((Leshia)))))

 

[lovenharmony]

I completely understand! I'm a survivor of the Rio relaxer system that literally dissintergrated my hair in the back and thinned it out to the point of almost baldness! Thank goodness my scalp wasn't damaged and I was able to recover - so can you!!

I'm glad to see that you have a positive outlook on things...I was a teenager when I lost my hair, so it was extra traumatic for me. At least you can make a fresh start

 

[poetist]

I'm sorry but looking at your hair in the Avatar...your hair is BANGING! I LOVVVVVVVES IT! Was that pic after the hair incident? I love it just the way it is! I guess that's a bit unorthodox of me considering this is LHCF. But hey, it is what it is!

I think short hair is fierce (when worn by the right person). If the avatar was before the incident then you won't have too long to gt back to that point. Your hair will be back to it's cute self in no time. But you don't need hair to "define" you, like you said. You're beautiful. I think you can get away with a ceasar (sp?)..

Im assuming the avatar pic was taken prior to this situation, since the OP says she doesnt have any hair to braid. But I agree, the avatar is FLY. Leshia, I even checked out your fotki and the blonde TWA is DOPE. That being said, once your scalp recovers, it shouldnt take too long to regrow your TWA. Like Esq, I too, think you can pull off a caesar. You have the face to rock any hair style any length. Lucky you!!!!!

 

[br0wney3z]

So sorry to hear this happened to you. I will say that you handled it a lot better than I did when I had a similar experience. Back in 2000, I bought a home relaxer from a local Sally's that is located in a White area of town, big big mistake. I guess it probably had been sitting there for years or something and had gone bad. My mum used to do my relaxers and although she never really followed the directions (no overlapping etc) my hair wasn't in bad shape. Well anyways, after leaving the relaxer in, we went to go rinse it in the sink and literally patches and clumps of hair just started falling out. I could feel the hair leaving my scalp, I just busted out crying. It got even worse as I was blowdrying it. In the end, my entire nape area was completely gone, and I do mean completely. It was 2 months before my senior year winter formal, uhhh, i was beyond devasted.

However, the last disaster that sent me running and landed me here was back in Janurary. I got a relaxer from a 'professional' and my whole ENTIRE scalp was burnt. I mean scabs, puss and all. But as someone said, this too shall pass. Your hair will be stronger in the end

 

[deeshortesthair]

...SERIOUS hair tragedies and had to start completely, and I mean COMPLETELY over? I don't know what they did to my hair at Elie Elie in Tysons but when I tried to texturize last night with Botanicals texturizer, QUOTE]I had a similar experience with Soft and beautiful just for me texture softner it is now 6 months post tragedy and i have 3 inches of hair.You can see the beautiful growtha and the now twa again on my myspace ...I am going back to not experimenting with my hair and giving it a lot of tlc...good luck ...hugs
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/ind...viewPicture&friendID=56430001&albumId=1505767
gIRL WE WILL GROW IT BACK TOGETHER ...I HAVE ADOPTED YOU AS MY HAIR TWIN ...

 

[vivEz daNs lamouR]

My story isn't mine, it's actually my mother's. She had been going to a stylist at a salon for well over a year; this woman would perm her hair, color her hair, wash and sets, EVERYTHING.

One time the stylist colored my mother's hair with permnent hair color as per my mom's request. So the very next month, my mother asked to get a chemical relaxer. Now my mom knows absolutely NOTHING about haircare, she's just always been blessed to have MBL hair and since she's bi-racial its a lovely texture. Well, this stylist told my mother not to get to a chemical relaxer but instead to do a texturizer because its milder than a relaxer. She put it on my mother's scalp, and when my mom went to the sink to wash, her hair was coming out in clumps. She heard the wash woman go "Janet, her hair is falling out!" and immediately my mother started freaking out. The stylist tried to play it off so she takes her into the chair, rollersets her, and then begins to scold my mother saying that she shouldn't have gotten a texturizer so soon after doing permanent color. My mother said that thats HER job and that she should've opened her mouth instead of just keeping quiet. They trimmed off 6 inches and tried down play and act like everything was cool.

When my best friend and I went to go meet her @ the salon, I asked her why she cut her hair so short. She told me what happened, AND that she paid for the service, and I started to inspect her hair. When I tell you it was the worst thing I think I've ever seen in my life, I mean it. The kitchen up to the top of her ear was completely gone. The hair was so short that you couldn't even grab it with your fingertips. She had bald spots in the middle of her head AND her crown was thinning. She just didn't look like my mom.

I went back to the salon demanding to speak with the owner and explain that this stylist messed up my mother's hair. Her suggestion?

"Come back, get wash and sets, I'll give you a free condition treatment." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I demanded her money back, and then we decided to pursue legal action.

My mother had to start seeing a dermatologist and get steroid shots injected into her scalp to try to promote growth. The shots were so strong that they indented her scalp where she got the shots. Then in June I finally convinced her to stop hanging on to the damaged hairs and just do a BC. She did a low cut and went completely natural.

It's grown out now, but this was by far the worst experience she's ever been through and I've ever witnessed. It's one of the reasons I decided to stop going to salons. The worst part? They never even said sorry.

 

[sylver2]

...SERIOUS hair tragedies and had to start completely, and I mean COMPLETELY over? I don't know what they did to my hair at Elie Elie in Tysons but when I tried to texturize last night with Botanicals texturizer, I watched my hair literally rinse down the drain. I've never, ever experienced a hair tragedy like this before but luckily, I'm not one who "depends" on hair to define me. I'm wearing scarves and will be till summer since I'm pretty much down to almost zero hair. I swear I thought I was dreaming but never cried or anything. Sure, my hands were shaking as I looked at my hair in them, but "nary" a tear. I'll be putting coconut oil on my head every night, along with green foods and aminos. Anyone know where I'm coming from?

Sorry this has happened.
Yes My hair fell out and I had no choice but to start all over. My hair broke off all over my crown area. So the crown was literally 4 inches long and the rest of the hair around it was past my shoulders. It was horrible. I had to wear hats or geled ponytails until I got to the hairdresser.
Just cut it all off and started over. shaved back .
took about 2 yrs to get near apl.

 

[newflowers]

I too had a horrible hair experience which led me to find this site. It's been a year and my hair has improved so tremendously, I am still amazed. A positive attitude and a willingness to work for it - long hair is all yours - all you need is time.

 

[Determined22]

I had a horrible experience when I was 11 - way before I found this site.

I had a self-relaxer applied by my mom (and she used to relax ALL my hair at each touchup, not just the NG!) and then I decided I wanted braids. Didn't take care of them at all. When I took my hair down and had it washed and dried, I discovered that all my hair in the middle was broken off at the line of demarcation. Only the hair around the edges of my head was left...so imagine SL hair around the outside of my head, and maybe 1/2 inch of 4B NG in the center. As an 11 year old, I was devastated.

I got everything cut off, and for the next two years I got my hair pressed. It grew back in less than 2 years and I got a relaxer again.

 

[back2relaxed]

Years of chemical took its toll on my hair. Permanent color, lye relaxer, blonde hair! My hair said no more, and it jsut wasn't growing like it normally would, nor was it thick. So in May of 2006 I stopped getting a relaxer. I ended up bc'ing in December of 2006. I had about 2 inches of hair all around. I decided to relax again in February of 2007, but my hair has never been healthier. It is super thick and hasn't been this healthy since I was probably a kid! Thanks to LHCF and you ladies, I'm finally on the right track. I think starting over sometimes is a great thing. You rhair will thank you in the long run. You will be fine!!