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For the Newbies of 2008....What was your biggest lesson learned this year?

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TG2000

TG2000

New Member
What did you learn this year that you will take into the new year? Or what did you learn that you will ABSOLUTELY not do next year?

I am starting this thread because I am not sure if I will have a "setback" or "pleasant suprise" when I get my relaxer on Dec 19. I stretched my relaxer for 6 mos and had a full sewn in for the last two. I removed my install Monday (11/24) and washed my hair yesterday morning. Let me just say that it took me 2 hours to fully detangle my hair. I was late for the family dinner yesterday because of this mess. I lost so much hair!

I gently comb through my semi-damp hair. Then I proceeded to wash it with CON regular shampoo. After that, it took me 1 1/2 bottle of conditioner to comb through my hair while I was in the shower. It doesn't look bad but the amount of hair I lost made me sick to my stomach.






 
What I learned this year is

1. Not to stretch any longer than 3-4 months. I think my hair needs to adapt slowly to the notion of stretching. Next time I will do my stretches gradually.

2. Find my moisture/protein balance.

3. Detangle hair properly.

4. Less heat
 
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tallglass2000 said:
What did you learn this year that you will take into the new year? Or what did you learn that you will ABSOLUTELY not do next year?

I am starting this thread because I am not sure if I will have a "setback" or "pleasant suprise" when I get my relaxer on Dec 19. I stretched my relaxer for 6 mos and had a full sewn in for the last two. I removed my install Monday (11/24) and washed my hair yesterday morning. Let me just say that it took me 2 hours to fully detangle my hair. I was late for the family dinner yesterday because of this mess. I lost so much hair!

I gently comb through my semi-damp hair. Then I proceeded to wash it with CON regular shampoo. After that, it took me 1 1/2 bottle of conditioner to comb through my hair while I was in the shower. It doesn't look bad but the amount of hair I lost made me sick to my stomach.
Click to expand...


Thats not unusual. I know that when my mom used to get sew ins, she'd take them down and it would seem like she'd lost a lot of hair, but she would have lost it during her daily combing. The only difference is you are seeing it come out all at once.

____

I have learned that moisture is my friend! I had just been using oil, but that just wasn't cutting it. I've also learned that it is very important to deep condition, and protect my ends as much as possible!!!
 
Wow I have learned so much since joining in March. I started lurking in November 2007. I know you asked for the biggest, but I have a lot.
- I was already co-washing before LHCF, but didn't know what it was or why it as so important. I just knew it was easier to detangle my hair.
- I am natural but I learned about stretching relaxers.
- Hair butters
- Silk Amino Acids
- Mega Trek/Ovation
- Protective Styling
- Search and destroy vs. trimming hair
- Protein/moisture balance
- Sealing your ends
- Heat protectants
- Dominican Products
- Henna
 
I've learned:
-Deep conditioning is my weekly friend, not an every so often acquaintance
-Moisturizing and sealing
-Coconut and jojoba oils are the ish
-my hair needs a moisture/protein balance

What I'll take into the new year is all of these and the fact that I will start getting a trim once every six months.
 
Wow, you brought me out of lurking with this question!!

What I learn from LHCF is how to take care of my hair to achieve healthy hair. I always have thick hair but did not take care of it. I would cut my hair every summer to a very short stlye, then braid in winter until I move back to the caribbean. I have been transitioning since July 08.
 
I just joined today (yeaaa!) but I've been roaming around LHCF since Sept. And the 2 things that immediately blew my mind and has changed my outlook on my hair are this--moisture is my friend and sealing it in my hair is key. As I continue to feel my way through this hair growth process those 2 basic things are my constants going into next year and beyond.
 
i learned to deep condition 1 - 2 times a week
-that i need more moisture then protein
-stretching my relaxers
-the benefits of oils
-and the benefits of natural products
 
Today is my 1mth aniv. with lhc and I have learned soooo much! Since I have joined I have not put in direct heat on my hair and I am really enjoying the results. So I guess I could say I have learned more variety of styles with no heat, dc is the key and of course I have purchased tons of new products including great moisturizers from tips from lhc :grin:
 
I started my journey in April 2008 and thus far I have learned that moisture is the key! Keeping my ends moisturized and protected is a must. Keeping a clean scalp along w/ deep conditioning at least 1x a week is the way to go. Protecting my hair at night no matter what is so beneficial and is a must. Low to no heat is best also.
All these are my biggest lessons learned in 2008 & I thank all for sharing them w/ me.
 
I've learned that protective styling is key to retaining length...along with protein/moisture balance of course. My hair has gotten alot thicker since I joined in October from this. All I have to do now is figure out how long I need to stretch my relaxers :spinning:
 
i learned to just pay the $6.50. it's a small price to pay.

and also learned how to solve my hair issues. my POROSITY was messed up. now with porosity control, my hair is feeling a lot better.
 
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I am learning to be patient....

I have learned not to compare myself to others. My hair is unique!

Dont use protein without moisture.
 
I am learning to not be afraid of oils...i have been using EVOO and Avocado oil the day b4 my wash...i will be trying coconut oil next.

But i wont use it on freshly washed hair...only QP mango butter.
 
1. I learned to wash my hair more often
2. I learned to clarify
3. I started doing protein treatments
4. DCing yeah babe
5. My silk scarves
6. I most recently learned to detangle in sections, you may think its detangled, but you miss so many tangles in the middle and the middle and they turn to hard knots
 
tallglass2000, sorry - i know how disheartening it can be to watch hair come out, i feel your pain. i do imagine that some extra shedding is natural since your hair has been under wraps for so long. however, here's what i do to detangle (2 of the biggest lessons i learned since joining LHCF):
- focusing on the roots when shampooing avoids tangles: i only shampoo the roots w/ my fingertips - no scratching, no shampooing the full length. as the shampoo is washed out it comes down the length of hair and cleans it by default.
- i detangle only w/ a full head of DC hence enabling slip and easy detangling: no comb touches my hair until i'm halfway thru a heated DC. i wash, condition, rinse, then i apply a DC (w/ AO or Humecto plus EVOO - i never forget the EVOO) to the roots AND the full length. after 10 minutes under heat i detangle with a wide tooth comb. this makes it so much easier to manage. little to no hair comes out. i do this b/c i'm transitioning and detangling without water AND product would be a disaster!

hope that helps.
 
I joined this year and have learned so much. I wouldn't know where to begin. I guess the most imortant things I have learned is that my hair needs moisture alot more than I was giving it.

I learned that this is not a race...my hair WILL grow. I just need to exercise a lot of patience, and alot of TLC.

I learned to protect my ends. If there is no reason for my ends to be exposed, then keep them tucked.

I learned to cornbraid my own extensions, and to box braid my own extensions. I though it was soooo difficult, but the more I do it, the better I get. Folks are asking me to braid their hair for them now, too.:lachen:

This has been such a journey for me. I have made so much progress from April to now. God bless the day I found this site. My journey continues. I have joined the BSL by December 2009 challenge. I believe with all my heart that I can go from barely SL to BSL in one year. And I am about to prove it!!!:yep:
 
Gosh I still mostly lurk but saw your thread and had to answer.
I feel your pain! I first found this site when I was taking my sew in out. Now mind you I have been doing sew ins for the last year and decided to stop relaxing. I lost soooo much hair too during htis last take out when I decided to wait, way to long to take it out. That having been said, the tearing I felt when the hair dresser was combing it was enough to make me want to vomit.

But my hair stylist told me the hair loss is natural as you would have lost that hair during every day styling...if you were a comb styler every day.

That having been said, I have learned sooo much since finding this site and its only been a couple of months:

1. Pre-pooing
2. Co-washes
3. Sealing ends
4. Vitamins (Biotin etc)
5. Jilfrel Comb (sp? I will never use another comb again...lol)
5. I always used dc but I never knew how beneficial they were!
6. Baking Soda washes?! I am trying my first one today..

The list could go on and on...I became a member after the first few lurks but haven't yet updates my pics etc. That $6.50 was some of the best money I have spent all year, far worth the invaluable tips that I have gotten!
 
I learned that:

1. My hair needs MOISTURE MOISTURE MOISTURE!!
2. I have hard water and can't do co-washes
3. Clarifying/chelating is my friend, not my enemy
4. Organic coconut oil is the s***
5. STRETCH MY RELAXERS...I used to go every 6 weeks and my hair suffered and would have continued to get worse if I hadn't found this forum
6. My hair doesn't like a lot of protein
7. Protective styling and moisturizing and sealing my ends really does work!
8. Lye relaxers are better than no-lye, especially for somebody with extra dry hair and a tough scalp like mine. I need to find out what my stylist has been using and request lye if she's been using no-lye because my hair is still drier than it ever was in the past even with all of these improvements in my regimen.

That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there's more.
 
That natural products work better for me
That conditioning is not to be laughed at
That I cannot go longer than 11 weeks trying to stretch
That my hair needs to be washed 2x a week
That most stylists really don't know how to acheive healthy hair
 
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