Ok i give up

[augiemoment]

I am so fed up with my hair at this moment that i dont care about long or even healthy hair anymore.
I'm in a country where my hair is breaking to pieces due to extreme dry weather. i have trimmed off 3 inches in seven months and i still have horrible split ends and my hair wont stop shedding. before i came here i had grazing bsl hair now its gone, to just a little past apl.
I was aiming for an 8 months stretch or to even go natural but how do i do that when my hair is not co-operating with me,
i have babied my ends to no avail, i braided it and the ends broke off so i had to trim, I cannot bun to save my life cos my natural hair is so strong i get headaches trying to lay my edges.
I honestly think i'm being punished but dont know what ive done to deserve this, all i wanted was a masters degree in a foreign University but i never bargained to go bald.
i think i have a good regimen because it worked for me back at home. my pictures are in my fotki to show my progress

http://public.fotki.com/augiemoment/


I'll have to do a touch up at 16 weeks post which is short for me considering i do stretch to 5 months with no problem.

i just had to vent but if of you gurus out there has any advice please dont fail to mention.

Ps. I deep condition my hair every week and pre-poo befor that

 

[Miss AJ]

What are you usuing for daily moisture? I live in a dry area as well (New Mexico) and I can rarely use my beloved Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 because it has glycerin pretty high on the ingredient list. If you're using a lot of high content glycerin products for moisture in a dry area then you are being counterproductive because the air has no moisture for the glycerin to grab. What other products are you using? Is your shampoo harsh? Are you sealing the moisture in with oil?

 

[nissi]

don't be discouraged. here's a couple of things to check in a dry climate...

water is your hair's friend if you seal it in right, but check your water ph. if your water is hard, you may have to invest in a water filter or add a little baking soda OR (not together) ACV to the water (not to the hair) you use to wash/rinse your hair. the baking soda will alkalize the water and help to soften it.

also, using a little castor oil (either kind) on wet hair before styling or in my products (conditioner, leave-in) has really helped me with moisture.

also consider if you are protein sensitive. do a search on the moisture/protein balance for hair and watch how your hair responds to each individual product you use.

if you use a no-lye perm as opposed to lye, you need ceramides because no-lye perms dry out and strip hair. do a search on that, it will help tons!

NVM: i see you are natural. still ceramides can help. sunflower, wheat germ or walnut oil are good sources.

one last thing (and maybe most important) is protective styling. consider protecting your hair under wigs or half-wigs. or you may have to go into lockdown mode on your hair until you finish the semester and just deep condition and bun it with glycerin sealed with coconut oil. however, NO SCRUNCHIES OR ELASTICS. they will kill your hair. use a clip barrette, banana clip or french roll to protect your ends. also, look up the baggy method. these are the main tricks i have learned on this site to help you along ... HTH! HHG!

 

[augiemoment]

miss Aj i'm doing all that and yes some of my product does have Glycerin but i have limited variety of product where i am.
i use a moisturing shampoo which is very good for my hair, and i moisturise and seal daily.

 

[Ms.Christ3n]

You may want to re-evaluate your products. Just because it worked for you at home does not mean it will work in a different place with different weather. Like Miss AJ stated, if you are moisturizing your hair with something that has glycerin in the top 3 ingredients you may need to stop using it. Glycerin is good for moisture because it grabs the moisture from the air and if there is no moisture to grab, it does not do anything for your hair so it's like not moisturizing at all.
You may want to try castor oil, or coconut oil and bunning more often. I think those may work great. A lot of ladies have good experiences with them.
Just don't give up. Everyone goes through a time when they hate their hair. It's a love/hate relationship. Hope that helped!

 

[Miss AJ]

miss Aj i'm doing all that and yes some of my product does have Glycerin but i have limited variety of product where i am.
i use a moisturing shampoo which is very good for my hair, and i moisturise and seal daily.

I'm like the MacGuyver of hair care lol so if my hair can thrive in barren New Mexico, I'm sure you can make it....what country are you in?

 

[soulfusion]

Nissi that was great advice. Thank you.

OP don't give up. Sometimes you just have to hunker down and hang in there until a particular obstacle passes or until you get it under control. Good luck!

 

[changedname]

Not much to add as I'm kind of new to all of this myself but don't give up! You still have more hair than I do! ITA on the point about changing your products and my hair tends to get really dry and breaks. ACV works wonders for me otherwise my hair feels like the Sahara all week. I'd add try not to get a touch up until your breakage is under control, unless there is breakage at the line of demarcation. Oh and at that level post I don't even try to get my edges flat as they flat out just laugh at me. Maybe try a looser updo with some kind of hair clip?

 

[augiemoment]

Miss Aj i am in Aberdeen Scotland and i will try to get more natural product without glucerin. I also need to focus extra extra on my ends but i am definately not trimming again and i think i might still make it to the eight months.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

I agree with the ladies about the glycerin. It needs to suck up water, and will take it from anywhere it can get it. So when the air is dry and the only moisture around is in your hair, it will actually suck it from there, which dries out the hair something awful. Stupid, I know.

Have you tried baggying to give your hair extra moisture or the scarf method and a little gel overnight to lay down your edges?

And can you tell us exactly what you do with your hair and what products you use at the moment? I looked in your fotki journal, but I didn't see your reggie there.

 

[hothair]

Though your previous reggie was working for you in your other location, you probably need to adjust it for the new climate.

You're in Aberdeen are you talking about dryness from central heating? You may want to get a humidifier (see Argos). Also I'm sure the local boots would carry Aussie, Garnier and John Frieda products and I can swear by Aussie Moist. When you were in braids were you moisturising and DCing because that may be your last resort to just protect your ends or get a weave PM me I can try and find out from family out there about ethnic salons...

 

[augiemoment]

i usually wash every friday night or saturday
i pre-poo on dry hair for at least 2 hrs with a cheap condish and Evoo applying it from root to ends (ends first )
then shampoo using an anti dandruff shampoo(Not every week and i dont really know the name but it works) first followed by motions moisturising shampoo(regular shampoo) applying it to oly the root not the ends. I do this in four sections, taking time to work the shampoo into the hair.
I then rinse, towel dry and apply a deep conditioner and i DC with either a hot towel, standing dryer or overnight whole head baggying.
then i rinse with warm water followed by a cold water and towel dry. I put in either 911 or motions leave in conditioner but i ran out so i'm using a store brand leave-in and so far it's ok.
Then i allow the towel to soak up moisture till hair is 20 % dry, i then apply my pantene leave in, my motions olive oil moisturiser and seal with ORS polisher and elvive repair serum and detangle hair in sections.
I then let the hair air dry or i wrap with a scarf and dry. I sometimes use a hand dryer but on cold setting. i hardly rollerset because it takes me forever.
then i either do a braidout, braid, loose bun or i wear the hair out and moisturise every single day and seal as well till my next wash.

I clarify once a month with VO5 clarifying shampoo followed by my moisturising poo.
I have looked for castor oil here as i used to use it back home but i was told it's no longer in use in Scotland so most store dont carry it. I'll be getting it when i go for summer holiday.

 

[augiemoment]

Hot hair i meant drying out form the cold and lack of moisture.
i dont wear weaves any longer and i do my own braids and i was moisturising and Dcing and it only gave me tremendous build up which equaled to breakage.
I know a lot of people swear by braids but i dont think in a dry place like Aberedeen it is advisable, everyone i know has brais or a weave and their hair is a mess (as in chewed up ends) so i really dont braid up too often until i'm like 4 months post.
Ive seen the Aussie moisturiser and i'm thinking of trying it out but you know that products do react to different hair type and i have so much product already so i'm a bit careful abt getting more stuff.

 

[ajoke]

Hang in there. Just wanted to add that you can get a very large number of US products online at http://www.pakcosmetics.com/, the Pak shop is in london and they are currently offering free shipping on UK orders over 30 pounds.

 

[augiemoment]

^^^ ajoke thanks you are like my hair sista, I will definately check them out( but £ 30 worth of hair product should last me at least six months oh)

 

[pringe]

Ok i think i got what the prob is and I'm just getting up on this too. After watching lots of youtube, specifically kimmaytube and then ordering Chicoro's book i think the issue is that your ends are exposed. You may need to protective style and tuck ur ends in so they are not exposed to the elements to keep them moisturized and help them grow.

That's what I've started doing. My hair is tucked up under itself in all these styles i've been coming up with for 2 weeks. Its even tucked up @ home. I've only worn my ends 1 day within the last 2 weeks and tonight its coming out. Its a little reward. Gonna try and stick with it and you should try it too and see if it makes a diff.

 

[Chicoro]

The ladies have given some very good advice.

I am not sure if you are staying with friends and family while you get your master degree in Scotland. I am going to assume you are there alone. If your are, then I think the other component you may want to look at is stress.

You do not have access to the food to which you are accustomed. Food provides nutrition but it is also a source of comfort for us. Your master program is probably very rigorous. So that's more stress. The next thing is that that you have to balance and budget your finances, another source of stress.

Not sure where you are, but I was in Edinburgh, Scotland for a week on a business trip. It is considered an international place. I didn't do a whole lot, but there were very few people of color around. No one was unkind to me. I do think that the people are quite different than those of your home country. I am sure that you are well -travelled and obviously well educated, but yet and still it can be difficult.

In addition to what the ladies have recommended, you may want to consider a B complex stress formula vitamin. The vitamin won't help the ends, but they will positively impact the hair that you are currently growing. When there is stress, you lose B vitamins faster than normal. That means that the critical systems in your body have to fight for those B vitamins. Hair and nails get B vitamins last. By supplementing, there are enough vitamins to go around. That will ensure the new growth will not be deficient or weak.

I think you can save your current length. You also may want to be cognizant of the future length and ensure that it continues to grow healthy.

Last, congratulations on your tremendous accomplishment! You are pursuing a master degree, in a foreign place. You are fabulous. And fabulous women especially need to be kind, gentle and patient with themselves.

Don't give up. You are just experiencing change. You just have to find out how to manage this new change. I think you are well on your way to doing that.