help for my dry relaxed hair

[LeNghtyDreAms]

I use moisturizing shampoo and conditioner and no matter what my hair dries and dries out. It has no moisture or shine, so i keep it wet. And I have so many moisturizers its not even funny but not one of them seems to really keep my hair moisturized. What am i doing wrong, i want soft moisterized hair, so RELAXED LADIES, please post what you do to keep your hair Moisturized.

Thanx!

 

[divine]

UR DOING ALL THIS STUFF ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE INSIDE ? HEALTHLY HAIR STARTS FROM WITHIN.......

 

[bajanplums1]

I stand by not using shampoo and using conditioner at every step
(1) Deep Condition
(2) Conditioners as leave ins
(3) Daily Moisture focused on the ends

I also agree supplements are key. Evening Primrose Oil or other essential fatty acid wil make a difference in the long run.

Also if your hair is strong--protein treatments--it will retain moisture better.

What does your regimen look like these days?

 

[Synthia]

Dreams,

You need to put essential oils in your hair. The scalp produces its own, but with African American hair texture the oil may not reach the ends or the entire length of the the shaft (or so I've read). Plus, you are probably stripping away oils with shampooing.


I don't like leaving oil on my hair during the day, because my hair gets weighed down easily.

So, at night I massage Nexxus' botanic oil into my scalp and rub just a bit in my hands and smooth it over my head. Then I put a plastic bag (with holes punched in it) over my head and sleep in that.

In the morning, I condition wash ... and my hair is really soft and moist. I don't even put moisturizer on sometimes after that because there's no need.

Right now, I'm doing the oil drench nightly, but only 'cause I've been negligent. Later I'll cut it down to 2 or 3 times a week. You don't even need to use a lot ... a little goes a long way ... especially with the body heat and plastic.


No moisturizer will do what essential oils can do.


Also, I assume you're slathering deep moisturizing conditioners on your pooed hair , wrapping it in plastic and "baking" the conditioner in with heat from a hair bonnet dryer, right? That's really good.


On days when I deep moisturize (usually following a protein treatment), I don't even need oils because the hair is so supple and moist...

 

[IntelligenceisBeautiful]

have you tried a hot oil treatment?
I would start doing this weekly, you can use EVOO for this it's very good. Also the night before you wash, saturate your hair with the evoo, cover with a plastic cap and go to sleep, in the morning you can do your regular wash routine.


Also co-washing, you might want to do this once a week or more. When I co-wash i usually rub a liitle moisturizing conditioner (like kenra) in my hair as a leave-in this leaves my hair moist when i air dry.

I wish you the best
IiB

 

[Synthia]

P.S. I have found on days when I do need a leave-in creamy moisturizer (like when I don't do oils or deep conditioning)... that I only need a litttle dab that is massaged on when my hair is damp -- fresh from the shower. My hair absorbs the moisture really easy that way.

Good ones for me are Humectress, Robert Craig Moisturizing conditioner ... even All Ways Naturals creme moisturizer -- although this one is a bit heavy ... I used to use it but don't any more.

I just ordered Kenra's and am hoping that moisturizing conditioner is good...
When my hair is dry or near dry ... I don't put any cremes on (don't want my hair heavy) ... I just spritz a little leave-in liquid moisturizer...

then the hair is generally good to go!


Let me know if these tips work for you. I don't see how they couldn't.

 

[aileendq]

Mine gets that way if I don't clarify every so often. It's counter-intuitive but it works. get rid of the buildup and deep conditioning afterwards.

 

[BAILEYSCREAM]

I use moisturizing shampoo and conditioner and no matter what my hair dries and dries out. It has no moisture or shine, so i keep it wet. And I have so many moisturizers its not even funny but not one of them seems to really keep my hair moisturized. What am i doing wrong, i want soft moisterized hair, so RELAXED LADIES, please post what you do to keep your hair Moisturized.

Thanx!

Well, I'm not relaxed, but try steaming it with conditioner or with oil. After a few treatments you will see more elasticity and feel softer hair.

If I don't steam my hair for a few months, it get really dry especially the ends.

 

[mommatide]

after i wash and con, i put either giovanni direct or silicon mix as leave in and then wet set it with water or a little setting lotion from keracare. thats the only way my hair does not feel dry . i tried air drying my hair, and it does not work, my hair does not respond well to this yet. after i wet set it, i put a bit of keracare headress (thanks macherieamour, it is the truth) on my hair and it stay's moisterized. oh yes, putting evoo on your dry hair the night before washing is great! good luck

 

[~*~ShopAholic~*~]

I'm relaxed and I like to keep my hair moisturized 2-3x's a day w/a light oil like Biosilk, Wonder 8 oil, or lately I've been using Africa's Best mixed w/a little dab of BB castor oil moisturizer, there really light and you only need a little dab, I also apply Elasta QP mango butter to my ends (my ends are the bomb now), You may want to start w/a clarifying poo, then mix some EVOO w/your moisturizing cond. and do a DC/hot oil treatment all in one continue doing this regularly maybe every 3 days or so and you should see some results immediately, plus clarifying first will allow the DC to take much better. What type of relaxer are you using? because this could be what is causing all the dryness, so many relaxers can remove the moisture from the hair, so maybe you should try using something that has Aloe, Shea Butter, Olive oil, and carrot oil something to that nature so that your putting moisture back in while relaxer instead of the opposite. ITA w/the protein treatments make this apart of your routine if it already isn't. I like to use Hair Mayonnaise as a treatment after relaxing ,(I sit under the dryer for 15 min, then I follow up w/one of my dominican conditioners for about 15 min (usually Miss Key 10 en 1 or Capilo Sole & Cinnamin until about 10-12 wks post and then I use Silicone Mix it does wonders on my NG around that time moisturizing it and loosening the curl making combing after airdrying a breeze and I shampoo and DC every 3 days)HTH

 

[simplycee]

Just curious but do you relax with a lye or no lye relaxer?

 

[AudraChanell]

EVOO-Extra virgin olive oil!! Warm it in your conditioner and put it on your end/dry spots every other day.

 

[Mizani_Mrs]

Well there are a few things i can think of.
firstly, if u are using a no-lye, then consider switching to lye.
2ndly, drink enough water and take at least a 1-a-day vite. no need to go bizerk like me and the rest of the pill poppers.
3rdly, i'd highly suggest for you to try sleeping with a showercap underneath your satin scarf..this will produce a soft moisture. u need to do this when you are deep cond. and also just try it on a regular day when u odn't plan to wash in the morn...don't wet your hair with conditioners, just apply a lil creme moisturizer and put the showercap on...your hair will be soft in the morn.
4th if you are using drugstore type products, then perhaps your hair will respond better to salon quality products. this is the case with my 4b hair...i like mizani and i recently experiemented with keracare and kenra and i plan to tackle nexxus and elucence in the future...

good luck girl

 

[simplycee]

Well there are a few things i can think of.
firstly, if u are using a no-lye, then consider switching to lye.
2ndly, drink enough water and take at least a 1-a-day vite. no need to go bizerk like me and the rest of the pill poppers.
3rdly, i'd highly suggest for you to try sleeping with a showercap underneath your satin scarf..this will produce a soft moisture. u need to do this when you are deep cond. and also just try it on a regular day when u odn't plan to wash in the morn...don't wet your hair with conditioners, just apply a lil creme moisturizer and put the showercap on...your hair will be soft in the morn.
4th if you are using drugstore type products, then perhaps your hair will respond better to salon quality products. this is the case with my 4b hair...i like mizani and i recently experiemented with keracare and kenra and i plan to tackle nexxus and elucence in the future...

good luck girl

This is why I asked. I have found that no lye relaxers were at the root of my dryness and many of my friends had the same problem. I made the switch about 5 years ago and my hair has thanked me everyday for it. I was my experience that no matter what I did I could not get enough moisture into my strands as long as I used a no lye relaxer.

 

[Divine Inspiration]

Well there are a few things i can think of.
firstly, if u are using a no-lye, then consider switching to lye.
2ndly, drink enough water and take at least a 1-a-day vite. no need to go bizerk like me and the rest of the pill poppers.
3rdly, i'd highly suggest for you to try sleeping with a showercap underneath your satin scarf..this will produce a soft moisture. u need to do this when you are deep cond. and also just try it on a regular day when u odn't plan to wash in the morn...don't wet your hair with conditioners, just apply a lil creme moisturizer and put the showercap on...your hair will be soft in the morn.
4th if you are using drugstore type products, then perhaps your hair will respond better to salon quality products. this is the case with my 4b hair...i like mizani and i recently experiemented with keracare and kenra and i plan to tackle nexxus and elucence in the future...

good luck girl

This was my problem in my experimental stages. My hair frowns on the drugstore brands. When I started getting serious about my hair, I was using Nexxus religously, and the condition of my hair improved dramatically.
I would definitely go from no-lye to lye on the relaxers and I'd suggest goin professional on the products.
Like Audra said, add EVOO to your cons. When I started doing that, my hair retained SOOOO much more moisture & the elasticity improved with that and the addition of regular proteint treatments.
(Try this con mix: Nexxus Humectress, EVOO, Nexxus Keraphix~~~your hair will feel like silk in the morning )

How often are you pooing? My hair doesn't do well with moisture after day 6 or 7, so one of the keys for me is adding water regularly.
Have you done any CO washes before?? This has been good for me when I want to tame new growth and/or up the moisture quotient in my hair.

Hope some of this helps...

 

[morehairplease]

great thread dreams! so thankful to have found it.

 

[LeNghtyDreAms]

Thanx ladies, I am using no-lye 12 weeks post,but i'm planning to switch over to lye after my Christmas stretch is over, and I also use drugstore products, cause sadly im poor . I tried a co wash yesterday, and sadly my hair hair is still dry. Ive been drinking water, and for some reason a lot of vitamins make me nauseous. I was my hair every 2 days.
Could it be because I'm airdrying my hair?
I'm going out to buy some EVOO tomorrow and add some of that to my conditioner praying that'll help. But keep those suggestions comming, somethings gotta work!

 

[jasmin]

This is why I asked. I have found that no lye relaxers were at the root of my dryness and many of my friends had the same problem. I made the switch about 5 years ago and my hair has thanked me everyday for it. I was my experience that no matter what I did I could not get enough moisture into my strands as long as I used a no lye relaxer.

This is my story.


LeNghtyDreaAms,
There are some good drugstore products that you can use. Try using the Neutrogena Triple Moisture line. That's the only line that I can use from the drugstore.

 

[syze6]

What type of relaxer are you using. When I had a no-lye, I had this problem all the time. Since I have switched to lye (Vitale Life and Body) My hair has a natural shine to it. It is moisturied and all I need is a couple drops of Jojoba oil.

 

[BAILEYSCREAM]

Thanx ladies, I am using no-lye 12 weeks post,but i'm planning to switch over to lye after my Christmas stretch is over, and I also use drugstore products, cause sadly im poor . I tried a co wash yesterday, and sadly my hair hair is still dry. Ive been drinking water, and for some reason a lot of vitamins make me nauseous. I was my hair every 2 days.
Could it be because I'm airdrying my hair?
I'm going out to buy some EVOO tomorrow and add some of that to my conditioner praying that'll help. But keep those suggestions comming, somethings gotta work!

Also try taking flax seed oil (bottled is best) and Essential Fatty Acids in general to help with the dryness, with consistent use you will see better results with your hair's natural shine and less dryness.

 

[Tene]

I have to use regular conditioner for my hair or either ors carrot oil. Those are the only two things that keep my hair soft and moisturized besides co washes.

 

[myco]

Thanx ladies, I am using no-lye 12 weeks post,but i'm planning to switch over to lye after my Christmas stretch is over, and I also use drugstore products, cause sadly im poor . I tried a co wash yesterday, and sadly my hair hair is still dry. Ive been drinking water, and for some reason a lot of vitamins make me nauseous. I was my hair every 2 days.
Could it be because I'm airdrying my hair?
I'm going out to buy some EVOO tomorrow and add some of that to my conditioner praying that'll help. But keep those suggestions comming, somethings gotta work!

When do you take your vitamins? If I take them on an empty stomach, I always get that nauseous feeling. I like to take them with some type of juice after dinner. That way I know I've coated my stomach first and I'm less likely to forget.

 

[Babyray]

You may have hard water, I know I do plus we have enough chlorine in the water some times I feel as though I am in a swimming pool .

 

[LeNghtyDreAms]

I took my vitamins after i ate breakfast, I tried taking flax seed oil pills but the smell was just yucky and I always felt nauseous after taking it, I'm used the NTM line and my hair was dry so i switched to That one in the green bottle Frutriese or something like that. I'll try the flax seed thing again, and see if that helps. And about the hard water, how can i tell? I went to a site online that showed the areas with hard water and my area wasnt a hard water area.

 

[BAILEYSCREAM]

I took my vitamins after i ate breakfast, I tried taking flax seed oil pills but the smell was just yucky and I always felt nauseous after taking it, I'm used the NTM line and my hair was dry so i switched to That one in the green bottle Frutriese or something like that. I'll try the flax seed thing again, and see if that helps. And about the hard water, how can i tell? I went to a site online that showed the areas with hard water and my area wasnt a hard water area.

Well, Flax oil doesn't smell half as bad as the other oils rich in essential fatty acids - fish oils, cod liver etcerplexed. If your Flax has a yucky smell it may have gone rancid, so maybe buy a new bottle and keep it in the fridge so it doesn't go off or buy the capsules instead.

You can tell if you live in a hard water are because your kettles would be all furred up with limescale and your shower heads would be white where all the limescale builds up or if you use soap, you would have a lot of scum in the bath and your soap will not lather up so well.

 

[LiLi]

Your hair has been colored right? What was used during the coloring process? The dryness could be because of the color, the no-lye, or a combination of both. I would suggest using a chelating shampoo (see my thread on this http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=68770 ) and then using a deep moisturizing conditioner. Also even though the map shows that you don't live in a hard water area, actually testing the water will tell if you do or not. Some people live in soft water areas but when their water is tested, it is found to be hard water.

Also, if you use a chelating shampoo, and your hair is colored, I would suggest finding one specifically for hair that is colored.

 

[bajanplums1]

Dreams,

You need to put essential oils in your hair. . . Nexxus' botanic oil

Also, I assume you're slathering deep moisturizing conditioners on your pooed hair , wrapping it in plastic and "baking" the conditioner in with heat from a hair bonnet dryer, right? That's really good.


On days when I deep moisturize (usually following a protein treatment), I don't even need oils because the hair is so supple and moist...

P.S. I have found on days when I do need a leave-in creamy moisturizer (like when I don't do oils or deep conditioning)... that I only need a litttle dab that is massaged on when my hair is damp -- fresh from the shower. My hair absorbs the moisture really easy that way

I agree with these points but:
(1)I do not use the hood dryer for moisturizing conditioners, I let my body heat handle it.
(3) I do add a bit of elucence moisture balancing conditioner on my hair when damp followed by keracare foam wrap, followed by recovery moisturizer once hair dry and [oil and a rollerset to lock it in.]

 

[CookieLAD]

I've had great luck with Affirm Sensitive Scalp (no-lye). I also use silicon mix and as someone previously stated...clarifying often helps.

 

[bluefolli]

This works for me and hopefully for you too.

Try ACV rinsing 2x a week for a couple of weeks. Then heat honey and EVOO and put it in your hair while in the shower. Rinse out 10 mins later and condition with a Suave Humectant(96 cents @ Walmart). Rinse out with cold water---very important. Try to let air dry, since your hair looks colored. You need as much moisture as possible. On your ends, you can try the ORS Olive Cream with more olive oil mixed in...you should see a good change within 48 hours. ( I CW every two days and this does not fail me...as of yet.) I am at week 7 of stretching and my hair feels very moisturized.

 

[Mizani_Mrs]

well if your hair is colored then the excessive dryness is a given, right girls? And airdrying ain't for everybody. it's a no-no for me, unless i'm wearing a bun for the rest of the week. try blow-drying your hair on med heat and see if you get better results. Also, if you can't afford salon products, i think alot of ladies like NTM, EQP products and they are just as good as salon brands. ALSO MOST IMPORTANTLY, some shampoos contains cleansing ingredients that penetrate the hair and clean underneath the surface. Some shampoos only clean the surface and are considered safe for daily use. what type of poo are u using? I am really unfamiliar with the poos but i'd suggest to read the panel and check to see if it says safe for daily use and it's for dry processed hair. And another piece of advice is make sure you are aware that the flaxseed oil is used for constipation also. Some people have had no issues with using it on a daily basis but when i did...things didn't work out so well....

Well you have LOTS and LOTS of suggestions to put you on the right track...just play around with different products, drying methods, etc. and try these things and see which one causes your hair to respond. Good luck!!!