How do you know when your hair likes something???

[Kenny-Ann]

This is my first time starting a thread so be gentle with me....

I have been transitioning since March 26th, decided to BC on August 12th and still don't know what my hair likes. It has been an endless game of trial and error and I still have no clue what my hair is supposed to feel like and look like.

I woke up this morning and sprayed my hair with water and olive oil. Now that it is dry my hair feels kinda dry but if i put my fingers in it they have a slight oil feel to them. Is this normal?

Is there a specific way your hair supposed to feel? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I would love that moist juicy feeling without "soul glo" look

BTW: I believe my hair is 4b/4a (I'm still trying to figure it out). I co-wash almost everyday to every other day. I usually use the Kimmaytube leave-in or HE LTR and then seal with jojoba oil. At night I spray with water, throw in the HE LTR and baggy. Usually my hair clumps together in most places for some serious coils (which I love), but then it goes back to just feeling dry. If you need pics of my hair to see what I mean...I will post pics as soon as my phone charges.

Thank you guys in advance

 

[Chocolatelove2010]

I'm a newbie aswell, welcome. But I wanted to get my $6 dollars worth so I post regurlarly and start threads just for the sake of it.

Don't be shy, remember you're behind a screen. You can always turn it off

I didn't really understand it when people said 'listen to your hair, how does it feel. I was thinking these people are cuckoo... they talk to their hair Just when I thought.. oh gosh. I bought some products and the 1st one I put in just truly made my hair feel yucky. I washed my hair out, and threw that product away. I came back on here and saw Castor oil was really popular and bought some of that. It made my hair feel really thick, the oil was too heavy so I mixed it with another oil.. called 'Jasmine oil' and that evened it out.

If your hair's not feeling good, wash the product out. Try something else. I never used to listen to my hair before but I'm sure if it could speak.. it would have said something along the lines ''B!tch stop burning me, what is all this heat... and then some of the strands just said fCUK YOU Ima commit suicide, and I think that's how split ends are born.' Our hair tries to tell us through breakages and split ends we're doing a bad job. It's our job to listen, and fix it.

Just feel your hair, and try to balance it out. I duno if that helped... but yeah. Get in touch with your hair.

 

[GaiasDaughter24]

I don't know how to explain it but you can tell. Your hair will feel strong and soft at the same time. It took a little bit to find what works for my hair, maybe about 2 months. Don't worry when you find the right conditioner you'll be like "my hair feels awesome!" Sam with shampoo, DC, oil, etc. You can tell the difference. Like, I learned that my hair LOVES castor oil on soaking wet hair but coconut oil, which does nothing for me on wet hair, is just as great when my hair is dry. Castor oil is too thick for dry hair. Trial and error. You'll be able to see.

 

[BlaqBella]

@Chocolatelove you're a mess....but you're SO right. Both you ^^.
But i know because my hair looks super healthy (when i use things it likes), it's soft (but strong..another tough one to figure out,but you will), it's shiny or moreso than before, etc.HTH.

ETA: And I should have said as #1 It grows and retains length.

 

[Kenny-Ann]

Thanks ladies. I figure I will just keep trying. What gets me is that what works for one, doesn't work for all. I'm beginning to think that I'm becoming a product junkie. And the search continues.

 

[Janet']

For me, the proof is in the proverbial pudding: My hair thrives, it grows, it feels and looks moisturized.

 

[GlamaDiva]

This is my first time starting a thread so be gentle with me....

I have been transitioning since March 26th, decided to BC on August 12th and still don't know what my hair likes. It has been an endless game of trial and error and I still have no clue what my hair is supposed to feel like and look like.

I woke up this morning and sprayed my hair with water and olive oil. Now that it is dry my hair feels kinda dry but if i put my fingers in it they have a slight oil feel to them. Is this normal?

Is there a specific way your hair supposed to feel? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I would love that moist juicy feeling without "soul glo" look

BTW: I believe my hair is 4b/4a (I'm still trying to figure it out). I co-wash almost everyday to every other day. I usually use the Kimmaytube leave-in or HE LTR and then seal with jojoba oil. At night I spray with water, throw in the HE LTR and baggy. Usually my hair clumps together in most places for some serious coils (which I love), but then it goes back to just feeling dry. If you need pics of my hair to see what I mean...I will post pics as soon as my phone charges.

Thank you guys in advance

Hey! We BC-ed almost at the same time (I BC-ed officially 8/14) and it seems we may have the same hair type. What I did after BC-ing is I co-washed every day(Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition but now I'm trying out Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Conditioner and love it) (still doing) and once I co-wash I baggy; I add my oil mix to my scalp, put on my leave in conditioner ( Cantu Shea Butter or Giovanni Direct Leave In) apply a moisturizer (I'm using SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Cream as my moisturizer) and then seal with jojoba oil, and then of course add the plastic cap and bonnet to sleep. In the morning, I rinse my hair a little, add a conditioner, a little Shea Moisture and jojoba oil and then style. So far with this method my hair has stayed moisturized and feels that way towards the end of the day. Maybe if you aren't consistently co-washing, do it going forward to see if it helps with the dryness and moisturize, moisturize! It seems to work for me. My hair looks and feels completely different than when I first BC-ed. Maybe try out a different conditioner for a while, to see what your hair likes and moisturizers.

I attached a picture of my hair right after BC and my default picture is what it looks like as of today after styling. I'm still learning as well, but I Hope this helps!

 

[ConstantlyDynamic]

hey!! i remember feeling that way when i posted my 1st thread too...and like one person responded but that's ok lol

but yeah i was in the same position as you and though i still have tons of issues like split ends etc., one thing that i did fix was the moisture issue (i JUST fixed it too). if i were you, i would try to figure out if my hair is porous or not. i recently used Roux Porosity Control then DC'ed (most people use it after DC-ing because it closes the cuticle or something idk but it dried my hair out when i used it after so i actually dc'ed a second time-my mom thought i was going crazy lol- and my hair literally soaked up the silicon mix conditioner-i knew my hair needed moisture but i was shocked at how much). so after i dc'ed, my hair was softer than usual and it actually remained soft the whole day (usually it feels dry at the end of the day). the next day- it was still soft. i have to add that i use curl free gold mixed with some water to dilute it because i have fine strands (i give credit to the juice challenge for turning me on to the juice!!). that helps too. so yeah your hair shouldn't dry out at the end of the day and it shouldn't feel oily. products shouldn't just sit on it so either those products don't work for you or your hair is porous (am i right ladies? i'm just going by my personal experience)

 

[beautyaddict1913]

My hair needs moisture so I judge products by how well my hair retains the moisture. I love when I put a product on at night and the next afternoon my hair has that cool to the touch, soft, moist feeling, and of course its completely dry...if a product doesnt do that then its not a staple for me.

If a product makes my hair feel hard, brittle or dry I decide that my hair doesnt like it (EVOO, Giovanni Direct Leave In, and Qhemet AOHC)

Its important to try different products different ways before you decide your hair hates it. Try it diluted, or on dry hair or as a sealant, etc...once youve done that and your hair still "curses you out" then you know for sure that ur hair doesnt like something!

 

[AimWard]

Is there a specific way your hair supposed to feel? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. I would love that moist juicy feeling without "soul glo" look

The only way I can tell if my hair likes something is through trial, error, and comparison. For example:
I used to think my hair liked coconut oil. It would always feel soft at first but by the end of the day it would be dry as a desert, crispy and greasy. I went for years thinking I just had this super dry hair that drank up anything I put on it. I then tried shea butter and my hair felt soft to the touch but not greasy. By the end of the day, it was still soft to the touch. And two days later it was still soft to the touch and not greasy or crispy and there was no need to apply more. Shea butter is now my HolyGrail and gauge when it come to other oils and butters. From it I've learned that my hair hates coconut oil and glycerin and tolerates Olive oil and Castor oil in small quantities.

It took me almost a year to hone in on what my hair truly liked. I figured out my oils/butters and poos really quick. It took a bit more trial and error to figure out my conditioners and stylers.

 

[Kenny-Ann]

See, I didn't even think of how porous my hair was. I know one thing and that is that it is thirsty. It's like a sponge, just soaking up moisture. I clarified and DC last night and now my hair feels very nice without the greasy feeling. Hopefully it will last during the day. It seems I will be adding more products to my expanding collection.

I've attached pics of my hair.

 

[Kenny-Ann]

I have to say thanks to all of you ladies for your input

You have not idea how much it is appreciated.