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I think my Afro days are over. :(

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natural_one

natural_one

Well-Known Member
I have been trying my best to deal with the SSKs but I am starting to lose too much length. I am getting SSKs in the middle of my hair now and I dont know what to do. I know I am not relaxing, so I think I am going to have to start straightening on a permanent basis..Or do you ladies have any other suggestions??? I am at my wit's end :sad::sad::sad:
 
Check out the heavy sealing thread (hope thats the name) i'm at the same place you are but i find that staying on top of my moisturizing and sealing game minimizes knots for me so check it out. Haven't started the heavy sealing myself but i'm gonna start next week when i take my braids down.
 
Afros absolutely never worked for me. My hair would be a knotted mess :nono:

You might want to consider some protective styling and once in a while doing an afro or other "out" (twist-out, braidout) style.
 
Khaiya said:
Check out the heavy sealing thread (hope thats the name) i'm at the same place you are but i find that staying on top of my moisturizing and sealing game minimizes knots for me so check it out. Haven't started the heavy sealing myself but i'm gonna start next week when i take my braids down.
Click to expand...

Thanks...I'll look for that one.
 
natural_one said:
I do...I wear twists pretty often and braids, but even when I take down my twists or braids my ends are tangled..
Click to expand...

We posted at the same time...

What works for me is adding shea butter to my ends - or a heavy oil everyday or every other day. And also twisting all the way down to the tip. Keeps the hairs from knotting up on themselves.
 
protective style and braid and twist your hair up at night after wearing a fro. Never sleep on loose hair, keep your hair stretched out 100% of the time. Also limit your fro wearing for 2-3 days a week.
 
This week I am going to try a twist out and see how that goes..I just know I can't do anymore wash and go's....My hair is sooo knotty right now. :(
 
natural_one said:
I do...I wear twists pretty often and braids, but even when I take down my twists or braids my ends are tangled..
Click to expand...

Try some perm rods or rollers on the ends while your hair is wet. They won't have a chance to shrink up as much. You probably know this already, but start t undoing braids/twists from the bottom, not the top.

I dont' wear my fro a lot. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I enjoy my other styles a lot. If I ever cut my hair again, I will wear it a lot tho.
 
ms-gg said:
protective style and braid and twist your hair up at night after wearing a fro. Never sleep on loose hair, keep your hair stretched out 100% of the time. Also limit your fro wearing for 2-3 days a week.
Click to expand...

That's what we did in the '70's, the guys and the girls, plait it up at night, 'fro it out in the morning.

I wish I had remembered this a few years ago when I was natural. :perplexed SSK's sent me back to relaxers. :ohwell:
 
jamaica68 said:
try oil rinsing.
Click to expand...

I tried oil rinsing for a few weeks and I think I was doing it wrong because even after I co-washed I still had tons of oil in my hair. One day I was out and my SO wiped behind my ear because he thought my hair was still wet but it was actually oil running down! :lol:
 
I agree with others on sealing. I have to seal my ends *daily* or they can be a knotted, tangled mess. Keeping my hair stretched, moisturized and seal is key for me when it comes to avoiding SSKs.
 
I think my biggest issue with sealing daily is having oily/greasy hair. I hated having oily hair when I was relaxed..I want my hair to be touchable..ah well, I got to figure out something cause i dont want to go back to a relaxer.
 
Take it as you want, but I will say that not every texture can be worn out all the time for maximum growth retention and for maximum hair health. It just won't happen. People with less kinky hair can get away with wearing their hair loose more often than someone with hair like mine. There are just certain facts of life that you have to accept. Having to wear my hair in protective styles more often than someone with Tracee Ellis Ross hair is just something I have come to terms with.
 
ms-gg said:
Take it as you want, but I will say that not every texture can be worn out all the time for maximum growth retention and for maximum hair health. It just won't happen. People with less kinky hair can get away with wearing their hair loose more often than someone with hair like mine. There are just certain facts of life that you have to accept. Having to wear my hair in protective styles more often than someone with Tracee Ellis Ross hair is just something I have come to terms with.
Click to expand...

I totally agree, no matter what i do to my hair, afros and puffs will never be a regular style for me, i just get way too many unnecessary knots, tangles and breakage.
 
How do you wash your hair? I know I used to get crazy knots washing my hair loose and letting it dry on its own. Once I at least let it dry in twists or braids, I had less knots.
 
afrofaithful said:
How do you wash your hair? I know I used to get crazy knots washing my hair loose and letting it dry on its own. Once I at least let it dry in twists or braids, I had less knots.
Click to expand...

I do wash my hair loose and let it airdry...I am going to try all the suggestions in this thread over the weekend and see what type of difference it makes.
 
^^NOOOOOOOOOOO! Wash and airdry in braided sections to cut down on the knots! And how often are you deep conditioning?

I also, butter-up my air dried hair before twisting. If needed, I add castor oil to the ends after spraying with Oyin Juices & Berries. If you're a type four, you'll always have knots; it's just how our hair is. You can however, cut down on them and prevent moisture loss by sealing in moisture.
 
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natural_one said:
I think my biggest issue with sealing daily is having oily/greasy hair. I hated having oily hair when I was relaxed..I want my hair to be touchable..ah well, I got to figure out something cause i dont want to go back to a relaxer.
Click to expand...

I gave up oils about 6 months ago, because my hair just seems to absolutely hate them. Made my hair feel like greasy hay. Since that, there are only two instances where I see a lot of SSKs: When I'm lazy about my daily moisturizing and when I where my hair "out".

I'm always braided up, moisturized and ends tucked away (this really helps me retain moisture.) :yep:
 
You've gotten a lot of good advice but if you're still having issues, you may consider dusting. I don't get SSKs, I don't use products, I twist and wear them for many weeks and I wash my hair in twists. And when I undo my twists, they unravel as easily as you see in the vid below and strands slide apart as easily as in the finger combing vid below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jff-Uqfb_SA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5iU4NgNGgI

I know there are people who can get away w/o dusting regularly. Usually such people have thick strands. But for the rest of us, splits that we can't see start to wreck havoc on our hair. I have seen time and time again people post that they know it's time to dust when their ends act funny. That doesn't surprise me at all. I personally just never let mine act funny coz I get to them before they have a chance to do so.
 
natural_one said:
I tried oil rinsing for a few weeks and I think I was doing it wrong because even after I co-washed I still had tons of oil in my hair. One day I was out and my SO wiped behind my ear because he thought my hair was still wet but it was actually oil running down! :lol:
Click to expand...

Yeah I think you were using too much oil.:lachen:I usually use castor oil(heavy) or vaseline on my ends when sealing.

As someone already mentioned, also try washing and conditioning your hair while in big twists. Your hair will tangle less which means less knots.
 
all this great advice plus ceramides, they made a noticeable difference on my SSK! (no matter when you use them, pre poo, Dc or seal... ceramides are in oils like sunflower, grapeseed, hemp, wheat germ... but I think oil rinsing with a ceramide oil could be a nice one)
 
Curlykale said:
all this great advice plus ceramides, they made a noticeable difference on my SSK! (no matter when you use them, pre poo, Dc or seal... ceramides are in oils like sunflower, grapeseed, hemp, wheat germ... but I think oil rinsing with a ceramide oil could be a nice one)
Click to expand...


I have not tried grapeseed or wheat germ but oil rinsing with sesame, sunflower or hemp is :lick:
 
You may just need a little dusting. Then straighten your hair with rollers or a light flat iron (air dry in puffs first) this will help lay your cuticles down.
 
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