• ⏰ Welcome, Guest! You are viewing only 2 out of 27 total forums. Register today to view more, then Subscribe to view all forums, submit posts, reply to posts, create new threads, view photos, access private messages, change your avatar, create a photo album, customize your profile, and possibly be selected as our next Feature of the Month.

4B hair struggles.......overlooked by hair companies?

⏳ Limited Access:

Register today to view all forum posts.

OMG....I was FLOORED seeing all that shed (and broken?) hair she lost. And every time I thought she was through....here she comes with another ball of hair! She lost ALOT of hair, as much as some people have on half their head!

To answer your question Lab, I think there are lots of products on the market that natural heads of all types can use, 4bs included. No 2 heads are alike, but many 4bs struggle with moisture retention and SSKs/detangling. These 2 issues can be solved with a variety of different products- water, porosity control, leave ins, oils/butters for sealing for example- and methods- stretching the hair to prevent SSKs and tangles.

Also, I'm giving MAJOR side-eye to those kinky twists....I've heard too many naturals complain that they ended up with SUPER dry hair after removing them.
 

yeah, i was wondering if MANY 4B'S WERE SENT PRODUCTS TO TRY?

i don't make videos, but she brought up an interesting question/comment


YEAH ...that amount of hair was my whole head for sure:yep:

 
Last edited:
Whoa that was a lot of hair she lost!!! It hurt my scalp just looking at it. As for companies overlooking 4b hair I would have to agree with the youtuber. In my opinion there is so much emphasis on having definition and curls most companies are going to send their products to hair types they know it will work for.

All the products are geared to having curls and even products like Miss Jessie's that can be used on all types its still marketed to achieve a certain look not based on hair health.

I remember a product called Afro Detangler and it was sold on the growafrohairlong.com site. That seems like a product that is good for 4b hair and would have benefitted the youtuber.
 
Whoa that was a lot of hair she lost!!! It hurt my scalp just looking at it. As for companies overlooking 4b hair I would have to agree with the youtuber. In my opinion there is so much emphasis on having definition and curls most companies are going to send their products to hair types they know it will work for.

All the products are geared to having curls and even products like Miss Jessie's that can be used on all types its still marketed to achieve a certain look not based on hair health.

I remember a product called Afro Detangler and it was sold on the growafrohairlong.com site. That seems like a product that is good for 4b hair and would have benefitted the youtuber.

:nono:Totally agree.

off topic: your hair in your siggy is beautiful :yep:.
 
I wish there were more choices. I dont find that alot of products work that well. They certainly dont wow me either. Just ok for a select few. I feel it it's a huge untapped market.

Sent from my LS670 using Long Hair Care Forum App
 
I agree with her for the most part about 4b's being slighted in a way from companies that give away free products for people to review. But I also think that there are a lot less 4b's and up who are on youtube and way more looser textured naturals on youtube. That could be a factor, no? At the same time though, if you're doing youtube videos to get free products, I think that's kind of....well I don't know what to call it.

I was so shocked when I saw all that hair. I've never seen so much hair in one detangling session :nono:. That all can't be shed hair.
 
I just had to press pause to come back here to say I was surprised to see how much hair she lost but I am grateful to Youtubers like her that are so honest about hair. Not everyone has a happy hair story.

Well, I am going back to finish watching. I hope she has a great outcome!

Okay, I just finished. I also watched the video before that one with the braids. They looked really good.
 
Last edited:
I didn't watch the whole video - just spot clicked in it. However if you're talking about that ball she held up at at about .50 seconds - that's not unusual for some types of "4b and beyond" as she calls them. As the scientific literature keeps saying this is the most "delicate" type of hair - meaning it doesn't stand up to a lot of manipulation without breaking. Type 4bs can pick and choose from just about any product line but I can't think of many "modern" products that are specifically formulated for this type of hair so the field is wide open in that regard.
 
I agree with her for the most part about 4b's being slighted in a way from companies that give away free products for people to review. But I also think that there are a lot less 4b's and up who are on youtube and way more looser textured naturals on youtube. That could be a factor, no? At the same time though, if you're doing youtube videos to get free products, I think that's kind of....well I don't know what to call it.

I was so shocked when I saw all that hair. I've never seen so much hair in one detangling session :nono:. That all can't be shed hair.

Totally agree with the bolded

but on another note, I cant agree with this youtuber about the lack of products geared for 4b hair.

before I stated usuing handcrafted/made products my entire regimen was based on commercially manufactured products which werent even geared towards afro hair .... suave, tresseme, VO5.

Ive nvr really had a problem or desire for curl definition products because of the amount of manipulation needed to detangle my hair after shingling ... when I just BCd I guess I was caught up with the whole "need" for curl definition, tried shingling a couple of times and decided the time and effort were not worth it (even kimmaytube who has 4a or there abouts hair made a vid abt this)

I think there are lots of products out there that are great for 4b hair ie: prods which impart moisture, for sealing, styling and for detangling.

what is important for all ladies of all hair types is to know and accept what their hair can and wont do or likes and doesnt like.
 
Totally agree with the bolded

but on another note, I cant agree with this youtuber about the lack of products geared for 4b hair.

before I stated usuing handcrafted/made products my entire regimen was based on commercially manufactured products which werent even geared towards afro hair .... suave, tresseme, VO5.

Ive nvr really had a problem or desire for curl definition products because of the amount of manipulation needed to detangle my hair after shingling ... when I just BCd I guess I was caught up with the whole "need" for curl definition, tried shingling a couple of times and decided the time and effort were not worth it (even kimmaytube who has 4a or there abouts hair made a vid abt this)

I think there are lots of products out there that are great for 4b hair ie: prods which impart moisture, for sealing, styling and for detangling.

what is important for all ladies of all hair types is to know and accept what their hair can and wont do or likes and doesnt like.
I didn't think she was complaining about the lack of products out there for 4b's. I thought her issue was about how companies are not reaching out to give free products to youtubers with 4b hair to do reviews and stuff and she thinks its kind of unfair :ohwell:

There are products that work nicely for 4b hair. I think people get discouraged when they don't see people with their own hair type using certain products or techniques, particularly the most underrepresented natural hair curl patterns (4b, c, z, etc), and assume that they just won't work for them or do anything to their hair. But just because your curl pattern is different, it doesn't necessarliy mean it will be bad for your hair. When a product "works" for me, it does what I expect it to do and it makes my hair feel nice and moisturized. Certainly though, certain products will not yield the same results for different curl patterns. But people need to be realistic with what their hair is capable of and be committed to that.
 
I didn't think she was complaining about the lack of products out there for 4b's. I thought her issue was about how companies are not reaching out to give free products to youtubers with 4b hair to do reviews and stuff and she thinks its kind of unfair :ohwell:

There are products that work nicely for 4b hair. I think people get discouraged when they don't see people with their own hair type using certain products or techniques, particularly the most underrepresented natural hair curl patterns (4b, c, z, etc), and assume that they just won't work for them or do anything to their hair. But just because your curl pattern is different, it doesn't necessarliy mean it will be bad for your hair. When a product "works" for me, it does what I expect it to do and it makes my hair feel nice and moisturized. Certainly though, certain products will not yield the same results for different curl patterns. But people need to be realistic with what their hair is capable of and be committed to that.

@ the bolded .... yes that is true :spinning:

I guess what I was trying to say is was that as someone wishing to show what my product can do ie: define, elongate culrs, reduce frizz etc, obviously Imgoing to want to have my products showcased by ladies with hair that will actually, show the curl, clumping de-frizzing .... without needing to use the macro setting on the camera
 
I gasped when I saw how much hair she lost and I could hear the frustration in her voice.

Most companies aren't making products specifically for 4b hair, they're more concerned with the looser textures which makes most naturals(4b and beyond) get caught up in curl definition; so glad I didn't.

I am thankful that I found products that work well for my hair, as long as my hair is clean and moisturized I'm alright!
 
omg...and she had 2 handfuls just from finger detangling...her eyes looked like she had been crying or was about to cry...i dont blame her, because if that happened to me i would be so depressed and distraught...as far as the free products, i think that 4b youtubers are so few and far between that most companies probably cant find them, and then when they do, because of the underepresentation of them they probably think they're in the minority or they dont have a large audience so its not as advantageous to send free products as it would be with other hair types that are more represented on youtube...and then like lynnerie said most products are geared towards curl definition, which is more amplified on a 3a-4a vs a 4b, even though the product might be super moisturizing or have amazing slip, youtube is all about visuals and they are going to want people see to the curls that come from their product so that people will be more likely to try it.
 
I don't think it really has to do with hair type, but more to do with popularity...I'm not 4b and I don't get sh*t, :lachen:

I agree it probably is due to the fact that there are less 4b YouTubers period.
 
I didn't think it was that much hair loss. She had twists in for 2 months, that's a lot of shed hair that's gonna come out & depending on length a ball of curly hair is going to look like alot compared to strands of straight hair.

Anywho, I don't think there are that many 4B natural youtubers out there that are popular enough/into doing product reviews to have anyone want to contact them. If you're not getting a lot views/don't have many subscribers, why would someone give you something for free to try/promote?
 
I'm subbed to her and saw this yesterday. It sure looked a lot of hair, on the face of it. But putting it into context, that's not really THAT much for 2 months. I would expect to lose like the 1st 2 hair balls in 2 months, but not the third, nuh uh... It was painful to look at.

The thing is she was talking about how matted/tangled/fused together certain parts of her hair was, and that she knew she was ripping hair out while blowdrying but that at that point, she couldn't take anymore - she just had to get through it. It's a cautionary tale for those who leave extensions in that long. I wonder how often she was moisturising with them in, and if she oiled to remove the twists/sheddies..?
 
I wonder how often she was moisturising with them in, and if she oiled to remove the twists/sheddies..?

This is such a good point. When I first joined the board and took down my weave I'd had in for 6 weeks, I followed the advice I found in Edeise's "how to care for hair in weaves" thread to a T. I only had them in for 6 weeks, but I M&S religiously, and did a 24 hour pre-poo during which time I finger detangled before I shampoo'd. My shed hair equaled only about 1/5 of ONE of those balls of hair. And I would normally lose ALOT of hair when I took down my weaves or braids. I think she lost ALOT more than is reasonable for an 8 week install.

Another thing I've noticed on YT is that it seems that you have to have some length as a 4ab/4b before you get some popularity. I've seen shorter haired 3a-4a ladies with "poppin" curls and questionable habits be more popular than shorter haired type 4s with solid regimens and healthy hair.

We live in a visual world I guess, and some folks would rather see heat damaged "curls" than healthy, supple kinks and naps. *shrugs*
 
Back
Top