Relaxed Hair Thread

[PlanetCybertron]

Have you checked out the Shea butter thread? I whip my oils (castor oil, vitamin E oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil) with the butter and it comes out light and fluffy enough for daily use.

Yea I’ve been in and out of the Shea Butter thread.

Small world! I do the same thing with my Shea Butter. I melt mine on low heat and whip it while it’s still melted and then add almond oil.

 

[Wenbev]

Sis, let me tell you... lol. I’m such a zombie!
NEVER intended to get a puppy though, OMG. And he’s gonna get really big, really fast (English Mastiff). He’s been trying to chew on my crochet hair so I’m worried about having yet another threat to my locks! SMH.

How are you doing over there? Have you been rocking wigs? Still KISSing?

I had a mastiff and a cane corso in my youth to late 20s. big dogs are the best ever. I do not miss the teething though, my son would spike high fevers when he was actively cutting teeth, ugh.

 

[sunnieb]

My night off from working out, so I pampered my hair:

Honey pre-poo
Clarify w/Suave Daily Clarifying
Shampoo w/Nexxus Therappe
DC w/Nexxus Humectress

 

[sunnieb]

I'm so happy! For the first time since I lost my hair, I decided to try and style it differently other than all slicked back into a bun.

I'm wearing a side bun with a little bit of a bang in front. I was nervous to do the parting and handling that I used to do without a thought. I've been treating my hair with kid gloves since last December. I was worried that I'd have hair all over the place.

Nope! Not a hair fell out or broke off. The honey treatment I did last night is giving it a nice shine as well. My hair is growing in thick, so the short pieces blend much better than a few months ago. I took a pic when I was finished parting. Hope it posts!



My long hair is on the way back!

 

[sunnieb]

I really need to get back into my honey treatments.

My hair is still soft and shiny and I know it's from the honey. No wonder I was hooked on honey!

 

[quirkydimples]

I really need to get back into my honey treatments.

My hair is still soft and shiny and I know it's from the honey. No wonder I was hooked on honey!

Me too! Thanks for mentioning it because I had completely forgotten about honey.

 

[Royalq]

So I bought the aphogee line. I've never used a line of products. I usually use products from this and that. But I really wanna get a handle on my breakage. So I was thinking back to when I was relaxed the first time. I used heat weekly but my hair barely shed or broke off. I was doing weekly washing and treatments at the time. When I went natural I fell into washing every 2-3 weeks and then carried that over to my relaxed hair. So now I'm going back to weekly washing. I got aphogee shampoo for damaged hair, both protein treatments (plan to use the 2 step monthly and 2 minute weekly, my hair adores protein),Elasta qp dpr-11 DC, aphogee pro-vitamin leave in, and my moisturizers and oils.

I'm on a growth kick again after being in a "let my hair out and enjoy" kick for 2 years where I retained nothing. I'm using wigs for a year to help retain. I was 17.5" in August and now I'm 18 so I guess I'm doing well. I'm proud to retain a half inch because my hair normally grows 0.3 inches a month. I got a boost by taking my iron pills and multivitamin like I'm supposed to. Hopefully my new regimen, hiding my hair, and proper vitamin intake will give me the boost I need. First goal is 24 inches which will put me at waist length. Ultimate goal is 34 inches which will put me at booty length

 

[alundra]

I just had a relaxer about 10 days ago and I'm back to full APL. My hair is falling out less than before (due to increased iron) but still coming out a little bit.

I'm planning on going back to MSM and I'm hoping that will help. I think I'll also try silica for a month. I cut down on sweets - haven't had any for about two weeks now.

I'm hoping to get back to BSL by mid next year!

 

[MzSwift]

I had a mastiff and a cane corso in my youth to late 20s. big dogs are the best ever. I do not miss the teething though, my son would spike high fevers when he was actively cutting teeth, ugh.

Yay, fellow big dog lover! Our last dog was a Bullmastiff. He died last year and it took us a while to figure out when we wanted to get another.

Kindred spirit, and you’re in NV too? I’m trying to find my way back to Vegas or the west coast. Never wanted to leave but was being a “good” wife. I cowashed my hair more frequently out there and it did wonders for my hair. And the sunshine was good for my mood.

 

[MzSwift]

I'm so happy! For the first time since I lost my hair, I decided to try and style it differently other than all slicked back into a bun.

I'm wearing a side bun with a little bit of a bang in front. I was nervous to do the parting and handling that I used to do without a thought. I've been treating my hair with kid gloves since last December. I was worried that I'd have hair all over the place.

Nope! Not a hair fell out or broke off. The honey treatment I did last night is giving it a nice shine as well. My hair is growing in thick, so the short pieces blend much better than a few months ago. I took a pic when I was finished parting. Hope it posts!

View attachment 435733

My long hair is on the way back!

Yay, Sunnie!!

 

[Royalq]

just did my whole regimen. Im impressed by Aphogee shampoo for damaged hair. Ive never been a huge shampoo person. Just wash my hair, dont tangle it up, and doont make my scalp itch. I rarely buy the shampoo from a line of products cause i dont thing it on the hair long enough to have an effect. But this lathered up so well and its the first shampoo that made my hair feel so soft and mushy as i was lathering. Of course thanks to the sulfates my hair was squeaky afterwards but it was still soft. Measured the front piece of my hair at 18-18.5 inches. Took some struggle hair pics lol. Bought a new wig thats coming on thursday. Im excited to be back in hair obsessed growth mode.

 

[Royalq]

Yay, fellow big dog lover! Our last dog was a Bullmastiff. He died last year and it took us a while to figure out when we wanted to get another.

Kindred spirit, and you’re in NV too? I’m trying to find my way back to Vegas or the west coast. Never wanted to leave but was being a “good” wife. I cowashed my hair more frequently out there and it did wonders for my hair. And the sunshine was good for my mood.

I have a big labby mix too. Big dogs are such gentle babies. She's 60 lbs and a super coward. I actually got her at 3 months old cause I wanted a big dog that would protect me. And here im stuck with a 3 year old big dog that gets spooked by garbage cans at night. Such a fail. But i love my oversized puppy.

 

[Wenbev]

Yay, fellow big dog lover! Our last dog was a Bullmastiff. He died last year and it took us a while to figure out when we wanted to get another.

Kindred spirit, and you’re in NV too? I’m trying to find my way back to Vegas or the west coast. Never wanted to leave but was being a “good” wife. I cowashed my hair more frequently out there and it did wonders for my hair. And the sunshine was good for my mood.

yup been in Vegas almost 13 yrs from the east coast. sorry to hear about the pup
cowashing is the business in the summer dries so quick. lol.

 

[Wenbev]

I have a big labby mix too. Big dogs are such gentle babies. She's 60 lbs and a super coward. I actually got her at 3 months old cause I wanted a big dog that would protect me. And here im stuck with a 3 year old big dog that gets spooked by garbage cans at night. Such a fail. But i love my oversized puppy.

lol poor baby! and please tell me why the biggest dogs like to sit in laps or sit theirs buts on the smallest surfaces?

 

[Royalq]

lol poor baby! and please tell me why the biggest dogs like to sit in laps or sit theirs buts on the smallest surfaces?

She likes to sit on the couch. Like legit put her butt on it and dangle her hind legs with her front paws on the floor. I don't even question it.

 

[L.Brown1114]

Okay ladies I need your help. I've been AWOL since I've doing some heavy traveling in Europe and have had no service and spotty wifi. I'm back in the states now. With that being said I stayed in braids the whole time I was in Europe and ignored my extremely itchy scalp because I REFUSED to deal with my hair on vacation. My stubbornness led to my current issues. before the braids I was wearing my hair wet and scrunched with lots of product keeping it moisturized but it always ended up dried out (especially my ends).

I had hardcore shedding. Like knots and balls of hair coming out. Luckily my hair is very thick so no one can tell but me that my hair is thinner. Will my future thick hair interfere with the thinness? Would it cause more future breakage?

So right now I'm on damage control to the max. I bought some matrix so long damage shampoo and conditioner with ceramides and I bought its a 10 leave in conditioner with keratin. I'm hoping those will help. I already DC with joico moisture recovery balm and I'm switching to using aphogee 2 minute (since the whole jumping out of the shower and blow drying is a pain in the butt) and alternating between a moisturizing DC and a protein one.

is there anything else I can do? I want to get my hair back on track before I even begin to think about getting another relaxer. And I'm 2.5 months post. I have a tiny afro underneath my relaxed hair lol. I will say though I just blow dried and straightened my hair a few days ago and it feels WAY better than when I don't heat style. Is there a reason for this?

 

[klsjackson]

You definitely have to use what your hair will let you use. I remember when Aussie Moist was all the rage around here. I used it once and it knotted my hair up! I lost a ball of hair trying to detangle.

I think I have that conditioner you're talking about. I'll post about it when I use it.

Aussie moist made my hair a dry, tangled mess, lol

 

[klsjackson]

It is almost time for my next touch up. I was planning on waiting 16 weeks, but I can’t take the two different textures. I will relax based on how my hair is growing versus waiting for a specific time period.I have tried different things but what works for me is fully relaxing my hair, not texlax and giving my hair time to grow between relaxers but not waiting too long. Long stretches cause major breakage for me. So I will be relaxing this weekend or next week depending on my schedule, but it will be around the 8 / 9 week timeframe.

My hair thrived when I was taking biotin and GNC Hair Skin and Nail vitamins on a regular basis. I also suffer from hair breakage and shedding due to anemia and taking my iron regularly also helps to maintain the health and integrity of my hair.

This has been some type of journey but I am grateful for all that I have learned so far.

 

[sunnieb]

Aussie moist made my hair a dry, tangled mess, lol

Omg! You're the only one I can remember agreeing with me!

That stuff was like magical rainbow dust to everyone but me!

 

[MzSwift]

Okay ladies I need your help. I've been AWOL since I've doing some heavy traveling in Europe and have had no service and spotty wifi. I'm back in the states now. With that being said I stayed in braids the whole time I was in Europe and ignored my extremely itchy scalp because I REFUSED to deal with my hair on vacation. My stubbornness led to my current issues. before the braids I was wearing my hair wet and scrunched with lots of product keeping it moisturized but it always ended up dried out (especially my ends).

I had hardcore shedding. Like knots and balls of hair coming out. Luckily my hair is very thick so no one can tell but me that my hair is thinner. Will my future thick hair interfere with the thinness? Would it cause more future breakage?

So right now I'm on damage control to the max. I bought some matrix so long damage shampoo and conditioner with ceramides and I bought its a 10 leave in conditioner with keratin. I'm hoping those will help. I already DC with joico moisture recovery balm and I'm switching to using aphogee 2 minute (since the whole jumping out of the shower and blow drying is a pain in the butt) and alternating between a moisturizing DC and a protein one.

is there anything else I can do? I want to get my hair back on track before I even begin to think about getting another relaxer. And I'm 2.5 months post. I have a tiny afro underneath my relaxed hair lol. I will say though I just blow dried and straightened my hair a few days ago and it feels WAY better than when I don't heat style. Is there a reason for this?

Welcome back! I hope you had a good vacay.

Yeah, my hair responds well to heat styling too. It goes against what we preach here but I’ve recently decided not to fight it. Lol.

Sounds like you’re going to be incorporating a lot of protein. A “damage” shampoo and condish, keratin and aphogee all sound pretty protein heavy. Does your hair typically respond well to that much protein? Aside from the Joico balm, which moisturizing products/techniquess are you planning to use to balance it?

Managing your thicker hair shouldn’t cause too much damage if you keep the manipulation low. Some ladies use heat to manage the two textures. Some ladies feel that braidouts, twistouts and knotouts are low manipulation enough. Either way, find a style that works for you until you can baby your hair back to a place where you feel ready to relax again.

GL!

 

[MzSwift]

Omg! You're the only one I can remember agreeing with me!

That stuff was like magical rainbow dust to everyone but me!

Yeah, it wasn’t very moisturizing for me but I loved to seal with it in the summer (I like using a cone condish instead of using oil). I also use it during my relaxing process to coat my relaxed hair and to dilute my relaxer a bit. I like the smell of it! Lol

 

[MzSwift]

So I think I’m just going to go ahead and relax this weekend. My edges need me to. I’m afraid that if I wait longer, they’re gonna break off. This could be postpartum shedding finally catching up with me. If I relax now then I can do it again at the EOTY, that’ll put me at around 13 weeks. I really would like to stay between 12-16 week stretches but life happens and next thing I know I’m at 6 or 7 months. Lol, SMH.

 

[L.Brown1114]

Welcome back! I hope you had a good vacay.

Yeah, my hair responds well to heat styling too. It goes against what we preach here but I’ve recently decided not to fight it. Lol.

Sounds like you’re going to be incorporating a lot of protein. A “damage” shampoo and condish, keratin and aphogee all sound pretty protein heavy. Does your hair typically respond well to that much protein? Aside from the Joico balm, which moisturizing products/techniquess are you planning to use to balance it?

Managing your thicker hair shouldn’t cause too much damage if you keep the manipulation low. Some ladies use heat to manage the two textures. Some ladies feel that braidouts, twistouts and knotouts are low manipulation enough. Either way, find a style that works for you until you can baby your hair back to a place where you feel ready to relax again.

GL!

Thanks for the reply! And yes the vacation was great and much needed lol.

Joico is the only thing I’m using for moisture right now. Should I stick with the moisturizing DC and leave the aphogee out since my other products incorporate protein? The it’s a 10 leave in is everything. It’s left my hair so soft and has great slip I don’t want to let go of it lol. So if there’s another way to add more moisture to my regimen please let me know! My hairs never done well with leave ins so I’m pleasantly surprised. I don’t want to cowash since I want to keep my hair straight so I’m fresh out of ideas

 

[PlanetCybertron]

Current length check:
via Imgflip Meme Generator

A bit more growth since my last upload, but still doesn’t seem to be a lot.

I had SO much build up in this picture. So much. I love Shea Butter, but it’s going to have to be applied in small sections towards the bottom of my hair.

The sparse area in the middle looks a lot better without buildup.

Whatever. Green line indicates classic length

 

[VimiJn]

Current length check:
via Imgflip Meme Generator

A bit more growth since my last upload, but still doesn’t seem to be a lot.

I had SO much build up in this picture. So much. I love Shea Butter, but it’s going to have to be applied in small sections towards the bottom of my hair.

The sparse area in the middle looks a lot better without buildup.

Whatever. Green line indicates classic length

Lovely hair. How do you wear your hair most of the time?

 

[PlanetCybertron]

Lovely hair. How do you wear your hair most of the time?

The first couple of years I did damp bunning.

Ventured into twists and box braids some months ago, but the manipulation from installing them caused breakage.

Right now I opt for a loose bun variation held by a hair fork or hair stick, but lately I’ve been doing Bantu knots, and my hair has been loving them so far

But I’ve been protective styling my hair 90-95% of the time for maybe 3 years now.

 

[MzSwift]

I’ve decided to relax last night even though I’m still going to be PSing. It feels so good to feel my scalp again. Right now it’s wrapped under two scarves to protect it from the rain. I plan to ponytail or bun it for a month or so. If not, I’ll go back under wigs.

It has definitely grown since my trim in January. I plan to take comparison pix at the EOTY. I prefer to stretch out length check pix to keep me from getting discouraged.

 

[sunnieb]

Dh started grumbling about my daily bun last night.

I told him, AGAIN, that is gonna be at least another year and a half before I wear my hair out again. I'm on a serious growth/ retention mission and I won't be swayed by a whiny tantrum from my husband!

Honestly, I get it. He got used to me with my long hair. I keep telling him that the bun is the fastest way to get my hair back. Men!

 

[MzSwift]

Thanks for the reply! And yes the vacation was great and much needed lol.

Joico is the only thing I’m using for moisture right now. Should I stick with the moisturizing DC and leave the aphogee out since my other products incorporate protein? The it’s a 10 leave in is everything. It’s left my hair so soft and has great slip I don’t want to let go of it lol. So if there’s another way to add more moisture to my regimen please let me know! My hairs never done well with leave ins so I’m pleasantly surprised. I don’t want to cowash since I want to keep my hair straight so I’m fresh out of ideas

Sounds like your hair is in a good place with that leave in then. I would definitely recommend only incorporating more protein if/when you feel your hair needs it. Protein overload can be a beast to overcome. You can alternate in a moisturizing shampoo on your wash days to help increase moisture.

I’m planning to follow sistawithrealhair’s straight hair regi. I think I posted it upthread, I’ll find the video to post here. She maintains her straight hair for a month at a time. I plan to do biweekly or monthly.

Here it is:

 

[Crystal_Chic]

I am currently 4 weeks post first texlax and I had heavy shedding. I don't know if its because this is my first relaxer after being natural for 3 years or some other issues. I have been doing a mild protein treatment every other week and that has help but I still feel I am shedding more hair than necessary.