My hair feels like a Brilo Pad....

[bluediamond0829]

okay heres the thing i havent had a relaxer since May...ive been just doing cornrows and braids since...im not for sure on what i want to do with my hair as far as going natural or going back and relaxing(i just purchased and recd my first phytorelaxer from ebay).right now im just removed my cornrows(which i only had for like 4 days) and my hair feels like a brilo pad...i have like 1 to 2 inches of new growth...but i cant take not being able to comb thru my hair...and if its going to be like this with going natural i dont want it(no offense to any of the beautiful natural sisters)...i tried last night of parting my hair so that i can apply the MTG to the scalp with a nozzle that was not working...i tried applying some oil to my hair last night...but it just is the same..my hair holds the oil on it...is this maybe because of the MTG that i just started using? what can i do?? im thinking of maybe relaxing by the end of October or beginning of November if i can hold out that long...because i cant take my hair if its going to be like this..is it tru that i should stop using MTG before i appy the relaxer?

 

[brittanynic16]

"Hair like brillo. cuttin' up my pillow...phaty girl, phaty girl...who me?"

But seriously anything worth having doesn't come easy. Do you think that when you are natural that you will be able to comb your hair? Probably not. I only comb (detangle) my hair once a week. It took a while for my a hair to stop being dry after I stopped relaxing. It is a side effects of relaxing your hair. It is called transitioning for a reason. You have to learn to take care of your hair in pre-natural and natural state. I wish I could give you some advice but I had the same problem. It was really annoying so I just cut it off. I figured if I wanted to be natural then what was I waiting for. Anyway, stay strong. It is all process, and it is very worth it in the end.

 

[bluediamond0829]

thanks for the advice that you did give me..i think my concern was to make sure that this was something that is apart of having this much of new growth and part of the transitioning..i hope i didnt sound ignorant...i guess this is really the longest that i have went without having a relaxer service...and just wanted to make sure this was something that only i am going thru...thanks please anyone else that has advice

bump bump

 

[auntybe]

I have a friend that only wears braids and her hair does this all the time. This is what I have to help her do to mke her her hair "tolerable".

try using a conditioner to soften your hair and comb thru. We use Generic Nexxus purchased at sally's. Then we wash with Cream of Nature - it comb thru and rinse.

Then deep condition and wash out. Comb thru with a leave in.

If you are planning to relax you may need to deep condition weekly until the week before you relax.

HTH

Auntybe

 

[bluediamond0829]

thanks for the help...im going to be actually washing my hair on saturday so i'll try this method and see how it works...yes most definetly i was planning on taking a break from braids/cornrows so that i can deep condition(2x a week) my hair for at least a month(somewht like the Robin Woods method) and then try to put the braids/cornrows back in...

 

[DiamondStar]

Hi BlueDiamond,

We stopped relaxing the same month, so I can totally relate. I am also aware that there is absolutely no way possible that I can comb thru my hair when it isn't wet. It's an adjustment, but it's worth it if you want to become natural. To combat dryness, I have a few different methods, but this is my favorite:
I use Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner on dry hair. I'll part my hair in four sections and apply the conditioner to each section. I'll let it sit with a plastic cap for a half an hour or so, then I'll rinse it out and apply some Aubrey Organics Jojoba Oil to each section. Hehehe, I don't work for Aubrey Organics But this really works (for me)!

 

[bluediamond0829]

Diamondstar, thanks alot for the information...see im a official pj so im going to skip over the part about the Aubreys Conditioner that u use and the Aubreys Jojoba oil...and just see that you said u use conditioner and then a oil lol ...

 

[Healthb4Length]

My last texturizer was in april so I know what you're going through. I would follow the advice given, they are great! I would also suggest that when you wash your hair separate them with clips in 4-6 sections depending on your length and wash and deep condition in sections. You can comb and detangle in sections too...trust me...this really helps. Let's just say I have MASSIVELY thick type 4a hair, I haven't relaxed since april with almost 3 inches of NG and I can GLIDE a comb thru my hair (only when wet) and I have minimal breakage. It takes time but you'll get the hang of it!

 

[ChoKitty]

Wow. I'm going through the same thing. It's almost enough to relax again. I think I'll be watching this thread...I stoped relaxing in may or june.

 

[DiamondStar]

Diamondstar, thanks alot for the information...see im a official pj so im going to skip over the part about the Aubreys Conditioner that u use and the Aubreys Jojoba oil...and just see that you said u use conditioner and then a oil lol ...

Hehehe, a pj, huh? Well in that case, just use some conditoner and a lil' oil like you said... You didn't see anything else in my first post; no product names, or anything else.

..and you are very welcome !

 

[Cheleigh]

Funny you should write "brillo pad" as I just wrote a post about this on another forum. Okay, long response, hope you all don't mind.

Some things that are working for me:

1. I think it's difficult for well moisturzed natural hair to feel like a brillo pad. That first inch or so of new growth is the worst. It's not soft or pliable at all. As Brittanynic mentioned, it is probably residual effects of the relaxer. I didn't have that much damage, but even still, my new growth was rough and dry (not thick or nappy, which is different than dry and brillo pad feeling) until about the third month. I also discovered I wasn't moisturizing enough (see below). My "real" texture didn't start coming in until toward the end of the fourth month of transitioning.

2. I have discovered that my natural hair needs a lot more moisture than my relaxed hair does. Even now, when I wash my hair at night and air dry it with leave-in, my natural hair is almost dry by morning. My relaxed hair is still very wet. I probably moisturize my hair 60% more now than I did as a fully relaxed head. When my hair is too dry, some parts do start to feel like a brillo pad. When it's properly moisturized--all the textures--napps, coils, spirals, and frizz--are soft. My hair doesn't seem to love oils much now--it needs water based moisturizers, but that might change.

3. I have discovered that generally, my hair does not like combs very much. My hair is super tangly--meaning I can comb through it, and then go back over the same section and there are tangles again--I think I have lots of O shaped strands. My hair responds much better to finger combing, where I can control the tension better, with an occasional wide-tooth comb or Denman brush when my hair is wet or damp to capture shed hair (which is a big source of my tangles). Just this week I went with the recommendation of folks who detangle under water, and I will tell you my detangling session went a lot better, so now this is a part of my new detangling routine. I also wash my hair in at least four sections and detangle each section separately.

Always keep in mind that most of us have had relaxed hair for 10, 15, 20 years, and even then it probably took most of us years to learn how to properly care for our relaxed hair. It will take you a while to figure out how to take care of your natural hair too--I'm only 6 months post, and everyday, I learn something new about my hair. Things don't aways go well for me during this transition, but it's worth it--I look at my natural hair, and I sometimes feel a little shame that I hid it for so long.

 

[carmend]

If left on its own my hair is VERY dry and brillo pad-ish too. The 2 things that have helped stop my hair from being sooo dry are 1)using raw shea butter on it almost daily 2) Using the leave in conditoner in the Pic. Good shampoos and conditioners have helped as well. But by far these 2 things have made the difference. My hair went from brush fire to supple once I started using shea. And after months of experimenting I have now got what seems to be the perfect home mix for my hair. I mix raw shea, black castor oil, glycerin, and coconut oil. HEAVEN!!! ...

Here is the leave in..

 

[bluediamond0829]

well i was impatient so i went on a co washed my hair last night and deep conditioned and to my amazement i noticed that it was a little more softer..i didnt try to comb it..but it just felt better...im going to continue to do this thanks everyone for the advice..but i do believe im going to either end up texturizing or relaxing my hair because i dont think i can really get use to not being able to come thru my hair and wearing scarves can get boring...

 

[secretdiamond]

I also think it's the MTG. A couple of days after I put it on, my hair was VERY dry. It was oily, but dry. i don't know if i'm making sense, but I don't like that at all. I'm still gonna try to stick it out to see if it actually aids in growth, but I'm not sure if I'll be buying another bottle. Hopefully, it wasn't the MTG, but it was the only thing i added to my regimen.

 

[bluediamond0829]

yeah thats exactly how mine is...it is oily to touch but when you look at it it looks dry and nappy...but another thing from me doing the co-wash like you and some one else told me to try doing...i was able to plait my hair...which i was surprised judging from the other day it was hard and ruff...

 

[angellazette]

I was having a dry hair problem and I've come to believe that it was the shampoo. I would wash, deep condition, then air dry. As it dried, it just became drier, and drier and would hurt to comb! Plus I'm like 8 months post, no picnic!

Now for my weekly wash I put conditioner on my dry hair, let it sit, then put a small amount of shampoo (think quarter) in my hand, rub together and smooth through on top of the conditioner, then I rinse, deep condition, air dry etc. It has helped with the dryness alot.

Also, try an ORS Replenishing Pack. I used two tonight for the first time for my deep condition and this stuff is GOOD! I didn't want to rinse it out, I just fell in love! Plus I noticed my hair stayed much more moisturized while airdrying. I wish they sold big bottles of this stuff because I am SOLD!