THEN & NOW: before LHCF, what "bad habits" were you doing to your hair??

[Lavendar]

*Bleached highlights over most of my hair....horrible!
*Blow-drying
*Using a curling iron everyday
*Relaxing every 5 weeks
*Excessive brushing

 

[NYLegalNewbie]

- no weekly DCing
- no cowashing (even though I go to the gym 5 times a week, on average)
- flat iron 3 or 4 times a week (sometimes TWICE a day if I was going out that night!)
- blow dryer on HIGH
- NO protective styling
- kept weaves in too long
- did not use weaves properly
- not going to stylists who knew how to promote the health of my hair
- wrapped in the same direction every single night
- using a stocking cap rather than a satin scarf erplexed

 

[LivingDoll]

My major offenses were:

• Shampooing once every two weeks.
• Relaxing with any ole thang (lye/no-lye, whatever was in the closet)
• Scratching my "dandruff" (which was really product buildup) up with a small toothed comb
• Greasing my scalp
• Not using a leave-in moisturizer
• Not sealing
• Using oil and no moisture
• Using quickie conditioners
• Never deep conditioning
• Trimming with regular paper scissors
• Curling more than once a week, on dirty hair
• Using Spritz and sprays with SD Alcohol
• Not reading product ingredients
• Allowing stylists to do what they wanted
• Paying crazy $$$ to get my hair jacked up
• Chair hopping...going from salon to salon in search of someone and something better...now I DIY.

And I had the nerve to complain about dryness!

 

[lollyoo]

Relaxed my hair from root to tips every 3 months, deep condition only with moisturising conditioner ( did not know protein) and everytime i detangle my hair will stretch badly that I ended loosing lots of hair during detangling sessions. No leave-in conditioners
I was combing my hair 2-3 times a day, also when I was in braids usually 6 wks i dont wash my hair. No satin bonnet or pillowcase

 

[MrsJersey]

I used to hate my hair and I treated it as such. I never deep conditioned it. I wore it out everyday, which consisted of flat ironing it everyday on high. I wore micros for like 5 years straight with out a break and I did not take care of my actual hair while it was braided at all. Needless to say my hair behaved like it was treated. Now that I show my hair the love, it shows

 

[LivingDoll]

I used to hate my hair and I treated it as such. I never deep conditioned it. I wore it out everyday, which consisted of flat ironing it everyday on high. I wore micros for like 5 years straight with out a break and I did not take care of my actual hair while it was braided at all. Needless to say my hair behaved like it was treated. Now that I show my hair the love, it shows

My Dear Sis did that and now she's bald in a few spots. She was just diagnosed with Alopecia. I'm glad you stopped when you did!

 

[StarFish106]

Hmm let's see,

*victim of the Pink oil (but never finished the bottle)
*blow dried my hair after speaying in peroxide straight. Figured if SunIn would lighten it a little, the peroxide would lift it more. Ah high school
*used every other kind of scarf but a silk one
*Mix Seabreeze w/ Clarifying shampoo to really get my scalp clean (would use another shampoo afterwards because hair was sqeaky clean.

Yes I have done some doozy's

 

[tocktick]

how shameful that i selected 4 out of 6 .

flat-iron almost daily with no heat protectant
same for blow-drying
"razor" thinning my hair
letting people apply relaxers to my entire head
no conditioning of any kind
letting braiders put them in too tight
not washing my hair frequently enough
only "moisturisers" i applied were pink oil or grease

as a natural mistakes i've made were: pulling knots out instead of cutting, not DC'ing enough, playing with my hair too much, detangling too rough, combing too often, not enough protective styling. i am taking steps to correct those mistakes though. they are not as bad as what i used to do as a relaxed head.

 

[SimpleKomplexity]

-using lil bitty combs to make my edges look "tight"
- Shampooed every 2 weeks
-Kept braids in for about a month but never greased oil or even oil sheened my hair
-used weave glue right after a relaxer
-kept cutting my hair cuz stylists said that would make it longer
-kept weave ponytails in mah hair even though they made me get nasty sores from the bobby pins
-used clear gel cuz brown gel was bad but clear....cant go wrong right?
-pink oil model basically...the whole line...i was in the cult lol

 

[Piscesgirl718]

These are some of my bad habits. I am trying to work on them.

• Being lazy and washing my hair every 2 weeks instead of every week
• Not DCing, let alone with heat, every time I shampoo
• Not taking the time to properly detangle my hair
• Flat ironing/blow drying w/o heat a protectant
• Neglecting my scalp
• Not moisturizing my hair everyday
• Using the wrong type of scarf
• Being too rough with my hair

 

[TigerSong]

*cracks knuckles* Where to begin?

Washing my hair next to never because it looked horrible when I washed it at home. Basically it only got washed when I went in for my relaxer every 6-8 weeks.

Letting my stylist comb relaxer from root to tip - no wonder she always had to cut off damaged ends.

Pink oil "Moisturizer"

Aquanet

Always gettin' crazy with the heat - I'd curl my hair all the time (You could just smell it burning *sizzle*) and blowdrying it on high with the small tooth comb attachment just snatching out the tangles. My hair would look so dull and poofy I looked like a black Pomeranian dog!

Of course I'd slick some Dudleys hair oil in all over my scalp then from root to tip - this is on blow fried hair with no moisture because of course water was the enemy - keep it away from my hair at all costs!

I'd try one product line after another - with no clarifying in between. My hair just got duller and duller.

I thought DCing was some sales gimic I was outsmarting

I thought cutting my ends would make my hair grow - couldnt figure out why my mom's hair kept right on growing even though she never cut it - must be the native american in her, I thought.

I used no-lye relaxer and one time burned all my hair into one big scab basically.

My breakage was so bad that I was embarassed to stay overnight at people's homes because I shed enough for a midget's toupee every time I combed my hair. My bathroom floow was always COVERED in hair, my clothes were always covered in hair, my bed pillows (no silk or satin sleeping gear either- too much trouble) and it wasn't long strands of hair. I had litlle inch long bits of hair flying off left and right.

I used the small toothed comb, and the largest comb I could find - the teeth weren't set any wider - it was just huge, with jagged seems that you could HEAR ripping out my hair.

I actually thought that the more hair came out when you combed, the better because it was old dead hair that was keeping new healthy hair from growing in. Reaaaaalllly Bright.

I was the worst on wet hair - just wrack, wrack, wrack, combing thru from roots to tips and ripping out the (many) knots.

Had a cycle, braids - taking down braids and being ashamed of my awful hair, getting a weave - taking out the weave and missing the long hair, get a relaxer, wait forever to wash it again, go back, get braids - lather rinse repeat.

I thought conditioners were worthless, had never heard of protien and daily moisturizers were something for only people with "good hair".

I would "press" my hair with a curling iron every day and I had this cheap little flatiron with mean teeth that blew steam on my hair. My hair always ended up damnp, disgruntled and no tone bit straiter than when I started.

Had the NERVE to wear my frizzy, poofy, fried, overprocessed hair down all thru college, and pull it back in my little 3/4 inch knot at the back of my head whenever it wasnt down.

Sealing? What's that? Vitamins? Give me more scalp-tight braids that hurt when they are put in and pull my hairs out by the roots!

And yes I too am guilty of the Sea Breeze on the scalp incident.

I've been with LHCF since november and my hair is already down to the back of my neck when it was barely and inch past my ears when I started. Shoulder Length here I come!

 

[Extremus]

*cracks knuckles* Where to begin?

Washing my hair next to never because it looked horrible when I washed it at home. Basically it only got washed when I went in for my relaxer every 6-8 weeks.

Letting my stylist comb relaxer from root to tip - no wonder she always had to cut off damaged ends.

Pink oil "Moisturizer"

Aquanet

Always gettin' crazy with the heat - I'd curl my hair all the time (You could just smell it burning *sizzle*) and blowdrying it on high with the small tooth comb attachment just snatching out the tangles. My hair would look so dull and poofy I looked like a black Pomeranian dog!

Of course I'd slick some Dudleys hair oil in all over my scalp then from root to tip - this is on blow fried hair with no moisture because of course water was the enemy - keep it away from my hair at all costs!

I'd try one product line after another - with no clarifying in between. My hair just got duller and duller.

I thought DCing was some sales gimic I was outsmarting

I thought cutting my ends would make my hair grow - couldnt figure out why my mom's hair kept right on growing even though she never cut it - must be the native american in her, I thought.

I used no-lye relaxer and one time burned all my hair into one big scab basically.

My breakage was so bad that I was embarassed to stay overnight at people's homes because I shed enough for a midget's toupee every time I combed my hair. My bathroom floow was always COVERED in hair, my clothes were always covered in hair, my bed pillows (no silk or satin sleeping gear either- too much trouble) and it wasn't long strands of hair. I had litlle inch long bits of hair flying off left and right.

I used the small toothed comb, and the largest comb I could find - the teeth weren't set any wider - it was just huge, with jagged seems that you could HEAR ripping out my hair.

I actually thought that the more hair came out when you combed, the better because it was old dead hair that was keeping new healthy hair from growing in. Reaaaaalllly Bright.

I was the worst on wet hair - just wrack, wrack, wrack, combing thru from roots to tips and ripping out the (many) knots.

Had a cycle, braids - taking down braids and being ashamed of my awful hair, getting a weave - taking out the weave and missing the long hair, get a relaxer, wait forever to wash it again, go back, get braids - lather rinse repeat.

I thought conditioners were worthless, had never heard of protien and daily moisturizers were something for only people with "good hair".

I would "press" my hair with a curling iron every day and I had this cheap little flatiron with mean teeth that blew steam on my hair. My hair always ended up damnp, disgruntled and no tone bit straiter than when I started.

Had the NERVE to wear my frizzy, poofy, fried, overprocessed hair down all thru college, and pull it back in my little 3/4 inch knot at the back of my head whenever it wasnt down.

Sealing? What's that? Vitamins? Give me more scalp-tight braids that hurt when they are put in and pull my hairs out by the roots!

And yes I too am guilty of the Sea Breeze on the scalp incident.

I've been with LHCF since november and my hair is already down to the back of my neck when it was barely and inch past my ears when I started. Shoulder Length here I come!

Dang. .........

 

[Piscesgirl718]

I actually thought that the more hair came out when you combed, the better because it was old dead hair that was keeping new healthy hair from growing in. Reaaaaalllly Bright.

When I was a kid, I used to believe this too for some reason. Don't really know why though.

 

[cupcakes]

1. no moisture... because i didnt want my hair 2 be "greasy"
2. blowdry every 2 weeks cuz i loved the bone straight look
3. comb every 30 minutes.. idk why
3. wash every 2 weeks
4. preceise relaxer
5. deep condition once in the blu moon

 

[SoforReal]

I used to hot curl and flat iron my hair like crazy.

 

[mscocoface]

I hope I am not the only one.

I would be good and fanatical and then just go the total opposite with my hair.

Even when I was thinking I was doing something good I would be oh sooo wrong in some areas. (Hair grease, pink oil, lack of washing, weaves, weaves and more weaves)

When I was young I knew the benefits of egg and mayo in conditioning the hair and my hair would grow.

Then I would not care anymore or get so busy with life and just torture my hair with heat, heat and more heat, no conditioning.

Then back again with doing the right thing.

I think I was a sybil when it came to my hair. So I have been seeing the psychologist LHCF and the support group there and I am now cured of my duplicitousness (sp?).

I am now of one mind in dealing with my hair.

Signed

mscocoface (once known as Sybil)

 

[Queen V]

It's really pitiful that I was able to check all of the first five options in the poll...

 

[Mrs.Green]

I relaxed root to tip, super tight ponytail, no moisture whatsoever *not even grease* and washed every two weeks, used super hot heat blowdry and golden hot curling iron.

I'm surprised i'm not bald.

ETA: Also relaxed every 4-8 weeks

 

[godsflowerrr]

I was the one who abused curling irons on a daily basis...lol...oooh just the thought of it now makes me wanna cringe!!!!!

 

[ajacks]

I used Pink Oil moisturizer.

I never washed my own hair, I only got it washed when I went to the salon which was every 4-6 weeks.

If I had a sew-in weave or braids I didn't wash it at all for the whole time which was usually 6-8 weeks.

I would part my hair apply Natural Oasis and flat iron each section at like 400 degrees while listening to my hair sizzle.

 

[PeggyFair]

Fortunately for me, I had a mom who kind of taught me how to take care of my hair, so I have never experienced breakage but I did:

1. During the early 90s, when the big hair(the hair standing up look) was in, I used to shampoo once a week, and get my hair spritzed up to make my hair stand up.

2. I used to grease my scalp and my hair with hair grease and I would sometimes use pink oil moisturizer.

3. When I was 12 years old, my mom wouldn't let me have a perm so I said to myself "I'll show her", and spent a couple of dollars at the bss on a bottle of liquid Vigorol, the shampoo-in relaxer. So I shampooed it in just knowing I was going to have some straight hair....followed the directions to T...and when it did not come out straight, I put a SECOND application on my hair...needless to say my hair was wooly for the next 6 months, but it didn't break off.

Other than all of this, I had good hair habits. I washed at least once a week and never overdid it with the heat.

 

[Platinum]

erplexedRemoving braids and weaves then relaxing my hair the same day.
erplexedRelaxing again next day because the 1st relaxer didn't straighten well.
erplexedLetting the braiders make the braids extra tight, thinking it would help the style last longer.

 

[TwistedRoots]

Pink oil, spritz...crimp iron....process for one style...

I was also a fan of extreme "white girl" hi lites and low lites...don't know what I was thinking....