Struggling with your natural hair? Come in here.....

[Victoria44]

faithVA have you corrected any of your problems? and thank you

pookaloo83 lol aw thank you, you're always so sweet! Unfortunately my hair has a long way to go before its back in good shape

 

[faithVA]

Victoria44[/USER];16402849]@faithVA have you corrected any of your problems? and thank you

@pookaloo83 lol aw thank you, you're always so sweet! Unfortunately my hair has a long way to go before its back in good shape

No unfortunately not. I am getting it cut at the beginning of August and starting over. I ordered a Komaza Hair Analysis which should come in next week. I will share the results in the Komaza thread. If I see anything I think will help you I will let you know.

I have been cowashing for the past 9 weeks. My hair is softer at the roots but my ends are still horrendous. And no matter how much I trim them, within a week they seem to be damaged again

 

[Arian]

No unfortunately not. I am getting it cut at the beginning of August and starting over. I ordered a Komaza Hair Analysis which should come in next week. I will share the results in the Komaza thread. If I see anything I think will help you I will let you know.

I have been cowashing for the past 9 weeks. My hair is softer at the roots but my ends are still horrendous. And no matter how much I trim them, within a week they seem to be damaged again

Same problem. I'm getting a haircut next month too. Hopefully, it won't be too drastic. Sending hope your way as well.

Sent from my 4G Thunderbolt using LHCF app

 

[Cruzankink]

UPDATE: This weekend is week 6 of my 8 week CGM challenge. I cheated and I observed a negative reaction. I read online that one should poo occasionally, even while doing CG, to prevent product build up. (I don't know how true that is). So I added a dime size amount of low poo to my Garnier Fructice co-wash con to cleanse my hair. I thought by adding such a small amount of low poo would minimize any effect it would have to my CG challenge. After I washed, my hair felt alot drier than usual and the defined curls I got used to seeing the last few weeks were pretty hard to find. Fortunately, I did my DC w/ quinoa protein and my curls/coils bounced back but were not as defined as prior wash days.

LESSON: I didn't realize just how drying sulfate free poos were on my hair and the sad part is that I didn't feel I had product buildup. I jsut did it bc I didn't think it would hurt. From now on, I'm going to stick w/ what works. I don't think that CGM is a challenge anymore. I love how it works for me so I'm gonna continue to tailor my regimen to fit this method and make it a permanent part of my routine.

I have a lottt of mid shaft splits, and regular splits. I think most of them came from the last time I got my hair braided. The lady kept switching from the wide tooth comb I gave her to her own fine tooth rat tail comb. The ends of my hair look horrible, with long holes within the strands, and splits. I can't get my self to cut more than half an inch every 2 months so its a very slow process getting rid of the damage. I'm afraid of what i'm going to see when I straighten in novemeber

Victoria44 I understand your reluctance to cut the necessary damage out in one shot. I suffer from heat damaged ends and I'm afraid to cut more than 1/2 in. every 2-3 months. If you haven't already, invest in seamless combs. They help prevent mid-shaft splits.

 

[daviine]

Cruzankink It was a good lesson learned because you didn't have a setback. Thanks for sharing your learning experience. I look forward to reading about how you tweak your regimen as you progress.

 

[Leslie_C]

Cruzankink glad CG is working for you! What do you DC with? Also any pointers for where to find good homemade recipes?
I totally feel you on the post about cost of some of these products. Shoot, I try to keep my price point at $10 for a product...Shea Moisture and Aubrey are about as good as it gets so far bc they are fairly reasonably priced and I can get them on the ground. I found my HG leave in on sale in a liter size (AG fast food) and used a coupon so 33 oz for 11.50 is the bees knees! I sure hope these same products continue to work when Im fully natural bc Im on a roll finding stuff that is making my hair more managable and minimizing breakage. There are online only products I definitey want to try, but if I can find something cheaper and available on the ground that does the job Im happy with that. Im finding natural inredients(oils and butters) are cheaper online than on the ground for the most part.

 

[shortt29]

Cruzankink glad CG is working for you! What do you DC with? Also any pointers for where to find good homemade recipes?
I totally feel you on the post about cost of some of these products. Shoot, I try to keep my price point at $10 for a product...Shea Moisture and Aubrey are about as good as it gets so far bc they are fairly reasonably priced and I can get them on the ground. I found my HG leave in on sale in a liter size (AG fast food) and used a coupon so 33 oz for 11.50 is the bees knees! I sure hope these same products continue to work when Im fully natural bc Im on a roll finding stuff that is making my hair more managable and minimizing breakage. There are online only products I definitey want to try, but if I can find something cheaper and available on the ground that does the job Im happy with that. Im finding natural inredients(oils and butters) are cheaper online than on the ground for the most part.

Leslie,
Where did you get the coupon for the AG from Ulta? I want to go purchase the Fast Food but a coupon would help

 

[Cruzankink]

@Cruzankink glad CG is working for you! What do you DC with? Also any pointers for where to find good homemade recipes?
I totally feel you on the post about cost of some of these products. Shoot, I try to keep my price point at $10 for a product...Shea Moisture and Aubrey are about as good as it gets so far bc they are fairly reasonably priced and I can get them on the ground. I found my HG leave in on sale in a liter size (AG fast food) and used a coupon so 33 oz for 11.50 is the bees knees! I sure hope these same products continue to work when Im fully natural bc Im on a roll finding stuff that is making my hair more managable and minimizing breakage. There are online only products I definitey want to try, but if I can find something cheaper and available on the ground that does the job Im happy with that. Im finding natural inredients(oils and butters) are cheaper online than on the ground for the most part.

Leslie_C I DC w/ either Curl Junkie's Hibiscus & Banana Deep Fix (HBDF) or Organicals Deep Conditioning Creme (ODCC) depending on the weekend. Both can be ordered online. I am however running low on my Deep Fix so I am considering buying a bulk size of the ODCC since it provides similar results and is more economical. Unfortunately, although I've searched, I haven't see any homemade recipes online that I thought was a good fit for me but I'll share w/ you what I do with my products/ingredients. Since ODCC is a base (look @ denimpixie utube vdo on bases for more info) I add different ingredients at different ratios depending on my use. For DC, I make a batch which I add honeyquat for more moisture and fragrance. ODCC can also be used as a leave in which I add water, coconut oil, honeyquat, a little quinoa protein and fragrance. HBDF can be purchased at curljunkie.com and ODCC can be purchased at ingredientstodiefor.com.

 

[R.A.A.H]

Welcome @R.A.A.H! Ahhh another thin, fine haired sister! Well... I'll tell ya, this stuff aint easy! Getting a reggie down that works for us it tougher than most, I think...

Are you just co-washing and go'ing? I'm finding for my fine hair (even my TWA--I got about 2 inches), it murders my hair. Why? Dang SSKs! They seem to form most when just leaving it. I've resorted to low heat to give it a little straightening to avoid SSks. So far so good. IDK how that would work on short hair? Maybe blowdry on cool or medium while brushing, just to get it barely straight enough so your ends don't curl on themselves and each other.

What are the actual product names you're using? Are you getting a protein/moisture balance? I think fine hairs need protein to make them stronger to avoid snapping. I recently found this out....just as I had to chop off from all the SSK and color damage a cpl weeks ago.

That's my .02. HTH

HEY HUN! Wish I saw this USEFUL post earlier, would have saved me the headaches of SSKs! Ya know, I blowdried my hair for the 2nd time ever during my natural hair journey and i must say, i did it wrong ! MY blowdryer didn't have the comb clip so i used a regular comb.

But yes, I do agree that washing and going is the murderer, the SSK crook! ESPECIALLY when i just leave my hair! When i blowdried my hair straight, or barely straight , last night, i noticed the softness in my AFRO. maybe it was meant for me to do this!

The names of my products are:
1. MN
2. sulfur 8 (sometimes to stimulate my scalp)
3. crisco! to seal my hair and my skin! (I LOVE THIS STUFF!)
4. hot six oil
5. i cowash with cheapies like Suave apple green or Vo5 pomegranate strengthening cond, suave naturals almond and shea butter cond, andd a light protein cond like ors replenishing cond.
6. my oils are oliveoil, grapeseed oil and coconut oil. my hair likes olive oil mostly.

You are so right bout the fine hairs needing protein hun. I thought i was protein sensitive at first, but i discovered lately that my hair LOVES it. it makes my curls pop like crazy. usually for more protein, i just pop an egg over my head ! my hair thanks me for it.

Thanks hun!!

 

[DarkJoy]

YW. the protein was a toughie for me too. I tried several protein DCs and natural methods like the egg. Made my hair like brillo. Thanks to LHCF, found the AO GPB. My hair is happy! I protein every 2 weeks...though I think might try once a week. Sometimes its the type/source of protein as opposed to not using any at least for me... it's all trial and error.

Aint the fluffy soft blowed out puff so niiiice?! lol. No SSK. I got SSK 3 weeks ago when I decided to WNG when in a rush after not WNGing for a month (was blow drying to avoid). Never again!

Just be sure to use a good heat protectant even for low heat. I am switching between Mixed Chicks straightening serum and the IC heat protectant serum.

Gotta try this crisco when the sulfur grease runs out...lol.

 

[Leslie_C]

Leslie,
Where did you get the coupon for the AG from Ulta? I want to go purchase the Fast Food but a coupon would help

shortt29 they have 3.50 off $10 purchase coupons all the time and you can print them off their website. Let me know how you like the Fast Food and if you dont like it I will buy it from you lol.

 

[sj10460]

My nape won't grow. I posted before about my breakage in the back then it started to fill in nicely. It fell out again and I don't know what's causing it. My diet hasn't changed and my stress levels are the same. I am doing the crown and glory method.

Could it be hereditary? My moms nape is bald as well. When I was younger it was never like this. It started fallng out about two years ago.

I don't know what to do. I don't wear my natural hair out because of the back so I keep putting the braids in hoping it will grow. I'm really bad with washing my hair often but I do deep condition it bi weekly and spray it with water daily. I also oil my scalp every other day. I do not tie my hair at night but I do sleep on a silk pillowcase

 

[Cruzankink]

My nape won't grow. I posted before about my breakage in the back then it started to fill in nicely. It fell out again and I don't know what's causing it... Could it be hereditary? My moms nape is bald as well... I don't wear my natural hair out because of the back so I keep putting the braids in hoping it will grow.

@sj10460 Maybe it's hereditary, considering your mom is having the same issue, but see if you're rubbing your nape on a rough surface (i.e. couch, head rest on car or office chair, winter coat, etc.). I had a similar experience where one winter, I had a coat w/ a rough lining but I never used a scarf, silk or otherwise which resulted in my hair breaking off at the nape. A friend suggested I placed a silk scarf around the lining and the following winter my hair stayed on my head. Also when at home, I tie a silk scarf on my head to prevent any friction from casual contact w/ rough surfaces.

I don't want to alarm you but, another consideration is whether your braids are causing traction alopecia. This condition is most common in African-American women who braid/weave their hair too tightly. Traction alopecia is reversible if diagnosed early, but may lead to permanent hair loss if it is undetected for a long period.

 

[DarkJoy]

@sj10460 Maybe it's hereditary, considering your mom is having the same issue, but see if you're rubbing your nape on a rough surface (i.e. couch, head rest on car or office chair, winter coat, etc.). I had a similar experience where one winter, I had a coat w/ a rough lining but I never used a scarf, silk or otherwise which resulted in my hair breaking off at the nape. A friend suggested I placed a silk scarf around the lining and the following winter my hair stayed on my head. Also when at home, I tie a silk scarf on my head to prevent any friction from casual contact w/ rough surfaces.

I don't want to alarm you but, another consideration is whether your braids are causing traction alopecia. This condition is most common in African-American women who braid/weave their hair too tightly. Traction alopecia is reversible if diagnosed early, but may lead to permanent hair loss if it is undetected for a long period.

sj10460 I agree with Cruzankink esp about the braiding. Braiding with extensions and braiding tightly really doesn't do us any favors. At least in my experience.

Also, is the nape hair a diff texture than the rest? Lots of folks have a few hair types going on in different sections. If it is kinkier back there it may need different and gentler attention. My nape and bangs are silkier with bigger curls and doesn't get bothered by much. My crown and sides are nappy as can be and need twice the product and to be covered way more. It also snaps easier when combed.

Just something to think about..

 

[shortt29]

@shortt29 they have 3.50 off $10 purchase coupons all the time and you can print them off their website. Let me know how you like the Fast Food and if you dont like it I will buy it from you lol.

Leslie...I wish I could share with you however I have been a Fast Food user since the late 1990's I would get my wash and sets with it for years at the salon I used to go to. I love that stuff and just started using it again about a year ago. I'm glad you like it too and thanks for the info!

 

[R.A.A.H]

What do you use to Moisturize with? Why are you clarifying so often. What are you cowashing with? Oils are not moisture. Do you use any creams or moisturizers before you seal. I think you ssk are from lack of m/s.

oh my, i'm sorry for the late reply to your helpful post. erplexed bare with my noobness

hmm. good question. i think my moisture is coming from just plain water that i spritz on and then i seal it. i have not found that product yet!
i am cowashing with the cheap conditioners like suave and vo5, most lack cones. the creams i might use are either this carrot oil creme by kids organic and cantu shea butter leave in. i might go back to using my shea moisture curl smoothie.

what's m/s? moisturizing and sealing?

 

[nysister]

Hair profile?: 4 1/b

Reggie and products?: Olde Jamaica Black Castor Oil, Cocont Oil, Beeswax to seal - Alberto V-O5 to co-wash/wash

How do you style your hair?: Braidouts

What problems do you have with your hair?: None now, but 90% of it locked a while back and I spent a few days taking it down. Thankfully it's recovered. I am a lot more diligent about detangling right away when I notice that happening and while I shied away from beeswax in the past I realize that it's the best end sealer for me.

 

[virtuenow]

Victoria44 hair sounds like my previous problems w/the hard, dry, hair & missing crown. Your hair is not getting moisture and it may be that your strand needs to build up strength to hold moisture. Weekly deep conditioning w/moderate protein/reconstructor has helped me tremendously (AO Gpb). The effects of the cond'r last about 5-7 days, so its important to do it more often. Also, cutting the shampoo (by doing scalp only w/diluted poo). Shampoos are very drying & stripping to our already dry natured hair. Also, oil rinses w/castor oil are helping to hold the moisture. I did a cut to get rid of most of the damage hair, and will slowly trim the rest over time. But my new hair is growing in and its holding moisture now. Maybe your hair doesn't like the steamer or baggying. I only leave the cond'r on for the recmmended time. I used to do it longer & w/heat and my hair was never healthy or moist afterwards. I find just using a plastic cap and wrapping a towel 15 min is giving me better results.

 

[Cruzankink]

MIDWEEK UPDATE:

Observations: Yesterday, I did my first mid-week CW in atleast 3 weeks (I think). Although, I enjoy them especially after a work out, I didn't want to take time to twist my hair afterwards so I stopped. But anyway, my twist out was looking frizzy so I CW. I noticed some breakage, nothing more than usual but curiousity got the best of me and I length checked my heat damaged sections. As expected, they were not retaining as much length as sections w/ little to no heat damage. A few months ago, I would have been dissapointed bc I had length milestones for my hair. However, my goal now is to have healthy hair bc if hair is healthy it will break less and retain length.

Goal: I have about 1-2 inches of heat damage ends in some sections less in others. I did a trim in June and will continue to do periodic trims. My goal is that by April 2013, I will not have any heat damage ends.

Tweaked Weekend Regimen: Usually on weekends I prepoo w/ EVOO, CW and DC w/ honeyquat. Considering how well my hair is responding to CG I want to increase the moisture and protein in my hair. Since coconut oil has better hair penetrative qualities, this weekend I'll prepoo w/ CO and sleep w/ it overnight. Also, I'll add protein to my DC every week instead of every other week and also add olive oil and honeyquat for moisture. I will no longer do CW midweek unless absolutely necessary. The less hair manipulation the better. As usual, I'll report my experience.

 

[Foxglove]

Hair profile?: 4 1/b

Reggie and products?: Olde Jamaica Black Castor Oil, Cocont Oil, Beeswax to seal - Alberto V-O5 to co-wash/wash

How do you style your hair?: Braidouts

What problems do you have with your hair?: None now, but 90% of it locked a while back and I spent a few days taking it down. Thankfully it's recovered. I am a lot more diligent about detangling right away when I notice that happening and while I shied away from beeswax in the past I realize that it's the best end sealer for me.

I had palpitations just reading the bolded

 

[Victoria44]

virtuenow thanks for the tips. I actually thought protein deep conditioners would worsen my problem since I would be strengthening (hardening) my hair more often, and it would feel crunchy but the reviews on ao gpb are really good, I think I'm going to give it a try.

 

[virtuenow]

@virtuenow thanks for the tips. I actually thought protein deep conditioners would worsen my problem since I would be strengthening (hardening) my hair more often, and it would feel crunchy but the reviews on ao gpb are really good, I think I'm going to give it a try.

Victoria44 Yeah, I purposely avoided protein for years as a natural too. 5 years to be exact. I had hard, crunchy, wires for hair that could never stay moist. I thought it would make my hair harder. I found the opposite to be true for me. The mild protein treatments are much moisturizing than any "moisturizing cond'r". Also, having organic quality products instead of the cheapie products (cheapie ingredients) made a difference. I finally broke down and tried mild protein quality conditioner w/organic ingredients (AO GPB), stepping away from shampoos (diluting them and only using on scalp now), and castor oil (oil rinses). If your hair is still hard and dry, you have to step away from those products you are using. If a product is working, I found you will notice an immediate difference. And with each time you use it, your hair feels better and better. That chosesterol conditioner does not cut through strong hair. My hair laughed at that and every other cheapie conditioner on the market. But I convinced myself that that was the way my hair was always going to feel. Try something new & different

 

[Cruzankink]

UPDATE: I did my tweaked regimen this weekend. My hair was a lot easier to detangle than its been a long time. So much so, that I finger detangled rather than using my magic star jumbo rake. IDK if it was the overnite coconut oil pre-poo, the DC steam treatment w/ protein or a combo of both but it worked. Breakage was much less too!

STRUGGLES: I get annoyed everytime I have to twist my hair after a cowash! Sooooo, I''m considering revisiting WnG. I feel I gave up on WnG to soon. I know... the SSK. But I did a some research this weekend and I'm going to try some tips/techniques used by WnG queens b4 I wave the white flag . I posted in another thread that I want my hair to be WnG ready by years end. I think it may be a li'l sooner than that. I'll keep you ladies posted.

 

[DarkJoy]

Thanks for the update Cruzankink!

You must share the ssk-free technique! I tried one this weekend and got new ssk. It would be really nice to wash and go. So conveniennt at times but its too risky for me. So please do tell!!

 

[Arian]

I've given up on Qhemet Amla and Olive Cream ever working for me again. It's on the chopping block. I'm slowly finding things that work for my hair. But it's very slow. I'm still struggling to find a daily moisturizer that keeps my hair soft and supple. I'm hoping that the hair analysis will tell me more about my issues.

 

[Cruzankink]

Thanks for the update Cruzankink!

You must share the ssk-free technique! I tried one this weekend and got new ssk. It would be really nice to wash and go. So conveniennt at times but its too risky for me. So please do tell!!

DarkJoy Well this is what I've learned:
Keep hair not only moisturized but lubricated (u may need 2 add more leave in than usual 2 combat dryness but also more oils for lubricating ends so when they curl on each other they r easy to unravel and not form SSK.
A styler like gel is recommended for better hold
Also keep hair stretched (by banding or light blow drying) IDK how this point is gonna work 4 me the point of WnG is that it not suppose to take 2 long.
I bought Paul Mitchell 'the Conditioner' it has some silicones but they r water soluble thus CG friendly. I used it only once but I found that it doesn't give me the shrinkage as my usual leave in. Thus my hair is moe stretched. I'm gonna uses this con in my WnG experiment.

 

[DarkJoy]

Update:

The Good: I've had no-low breaks or shed. Credit goes to chopping, AO GPB, AO HSR, Lisa Rachel and ditching the shampoo for good. The fur seems to love co-washing only.

It's growing fast! Right after my BC 3.5 weeks ago, The sides were too short to grab for my usual flat twists, so I had to box twist (which never comes out right). I noticed over the weekend, I'm now able to make flat twists. Yay!

The faster hair growth is probably due to the sulfur'd grease. Always had good luck w/sulfur grease in the past, BUT greases always caused acne. I found a good brand of grease and a face wash technique that stopped it. woohoo!

The Bad: Grrr... ran out and had to try the Let's Jam Custard for a WnG. BAD MOVE. I had it in for 3 hours. First-2.5 inch long hair should not take 3 hours to dry!! Then it shrunk so bad, looked like I only had 1/2 of hair. So I washed it out...and there were SSKs! And worse--BREAKAGE. No breaks for 3 weeks and now it's started. UGH. That went in the trash.

I still havent dusted those SSK, but will do so this weekend on my BC 1-month-iversary (lol)

New Goals:
-Find a way to make WnGs work. Flat twisting every night for twist outs takes too much time when I have other stuff to do.
-No new unnatural products! My fine hair seems very sensitive and tempermental. Natural stuff doesn't seem to cause it stress.

'nuff said.

 

[Missjetta]

Hair profile?: A mixture of 3's and 4's, I think? It's multi-textured (barely discernable micro zigzags in the immediate front, medium waves near my ears and top, very coarse zigzags in the crown, then all the rest is medium to small spiral curls). My hair is thick and holds heat.

Reggie and products?: Wash and Condition every 2-4 weeks or so. Or when I feel like it. I use Aveda Damage Remedy shampoo and conditioner, Pantene Relaxed and Natural conditioner, sometimes EVOO, sometimes full fat yogurt. I don't have a consistent regimen because I can't stand doing my hair.

How do you style your hair?: I wear a bun almost every day because I can't comb it without a hassle. In the summer, I usually braid extensions with the back cornrowed and the front in singles. 2x a year I flat iron and trim.

What problems do you have with your hair?:
Tangles and the "velcro" effect. My hair seems to velcro itself to itself to where I can't even finger comb it while dry. It's easiest to detangle when soaking wet.
If I let it dry before combing thoroughly or without some type of product, it will turn into a velcro ball. I have to detangle again after I detangle. And then it's still tangled.
No idea what products are best to use because I don't know what type of hair I have.
It's totally possible that I'm expecting too much out of my hair and wanting it to do things that my hair textures can't do.
For me, to say I am struggling is an understatement.

 

[lamaria211]

Hair profile?: A mixture of 3's and 4's, I think? It's multi-textured (barely discernable micro zigzags in the immediate front, medium waves near my ears and top, very coarse zigzags in the crown, then all the rest is medium to small spiral curls). My hair is thick and holds heat.

Reggie and products?: Wash and Condition every 2-4 weeks or so. Or when I feel like it. I use Aveda Damage Remedy shampoo and conditioner, Pantene Relaxed and Natural conditioner, sometimes EVOO, sometimes full fat yogurt. I don't have a consistent regimen because I can't stand doing my hair.

How do you style your hair?: I wear a bun almost every day because I can't comb it without a hassle. In the summer, I usually braid extensions with the back cornrowed and the front in singles. 2x a year I flat iron and trim.

What problems do you have with your hair?:
Tangles and the "velcro" effect. My hair seems to velcro itself to itself to where I can't even finger comb it while dry. It's easiest to detangle when soaking wet.
If I let it dry before combing thoroughly or without some type of product, it will turn into a velcro ball. I have to detangle again after I detangle. And then it's still tangled.
No idea what products are best to use because I don't know what type of hair I have.
It's totally possible that I'm expecting too much out of my hair and wanting it to do things that my hair textures can't do.
For me, to say I am struggling is an understatement.

Post some pics of your hair im sure some of us can figure out your hair type for you and recommend products

 

[Cruzankink]

New Goals:
-Find a way to make WnGs work. Flat twisting every night for twist outs takes too much time when I have other stuff to do.
-No new unnatural products! My fine hair seems very sensitive and tempermental. Natural stuff doesn't seem to cause it stress.

'nuff said.

DarkJoy Giiirrrrlllll, I feel you!!!! I am so sick & tired of twisting my hair! I don't want my hair maintenance to feel like a chore. I am definately going to experiment WnG using different products etc. 'Cause the time it takes to twist my hair is taking the joy away from being natural.