Long term transitioners/rant

[Rei]

Seriously what the heck is your secret? Is it just genes? I am about to BC if only because I stick my hand in my hair and when I pull it out CLUMPS of hair come out. My hair has never been this unhealthy even when it was bleached Its excessive shedding, its long breakage, and it seems like it doens't matter which product I use, S-curl, redken antisnap, aveda damage remedy, sealing with EVOO, etc etc CWing every 3 days, DCing with a heat cap once a week, protein, its as if my hair stretches until it snaps when its wet (indicating too much moisture) and then is brittle as rock when its dry (indicating too much protein), I have no clue what to do but to BC. I'd try and relax again, but this has pretty much destroyed my hair, I'd still have to cut off a lot.

It just makes me mad because all i freakin want is BSL hair its not like i'm even seriously aiming for WL and I can't even get to the APL level. I can barely get over my shoulders, its been almost a freaking year and I have so little ng its scary. gahh!

I'm slapping on a lf and just being done with it erplexed my hair can do w/e it likes under there, seriously

 

[SouthernTease]

Transitioning ain't for everybody...
if it's stressing you out...
just cut it off
otherwise... you must have patience and discipline
it's not easy
I do daily co-washes... that's what helps me.

 

[Rei]

I guess I was just scared to BC because I figured, hell if I have no clue what to do with my transitioned hair, (thought I did but lately idk...) how will I handle being a natural? I wanted to give it time so that I could acclimate to my new hair but now, screw it. I guess i'll just have to look like a little boy for a while and start over again (again)

 

[Irresistible]

Seriously what the heck is your secret? Is it just genes? I am about to BC if only because I stick my hand in my hair and when I pull it out CLUMPS of hair come out. My hair has never been this unhealthy even when it was bleached Its excessive shedding, its long breakage, and it seems like it doens't matter which product I use, S-curl, redken antisnap, aveda damage remedy, sealing with EVOO, etc etc CWing every 3 days, DCing with a heat cap once a week, protein, its as if my hair stretches until it snaps when its wet (indicating too much moisture) and then is brittle as rock when its dry (indicating too much protein), I have no clue what to do but to BC. I'd try and relax again, but this has pretty much destroyed my hair, I'd still have to cut off a lot.

It just makes me mad because all i freakin want is BSL hair its not like i'm even seriously aiming for WL and I can't even get to the APL level. I can barely get over my shoulders, its been almost a freaking year and I have so little ng its scary. gahh!

I'm slapping on a lf and just being done with it erplexed my hair can do w/e it likes under there, seriously

Some people cant keep the relaxed hair while transitioning it just breaks off, but it sounds like your doing ALOT and that might be too much too, also are you sure its just the relaxed hair coming out? is it from the root, because if your shedding like that from the root I would look into health issues and nutrition, it could be a very simple answer to fix if its either of these and once fixed it will grow

 

[sunnydaze]

1-I do practically nothing to my hair. I started out bunning like in my avatar, but since doing little chops, I cannot do it and still have a full look anymore. I admire others who can still rollerset/blow out, etc 6+months into their transition, but I am not one of them. I pretty much do the same thing errday..slap some oil and gel on my hair, slick it back and throw on my phony pony or wig. I am considering getting an install just so I can have a hair down look for a couple months...

2-I use to lose globs of hair..and I mean globs. Since I am doing low maintenance styles, I was thinking I didn't need to detangle...uh wrong...that resulted in my shed hair practically dredding around itself. Now, I detangle at least once a week.Two things help with that..using a ton of conditioner and detangling in the shower with my denman.

But I think the main thing that has helped me survive 14 months post relaxer is my low maintenance hair styles..while it gets really old..I am focused on the big picture.

 

[InNeedofHairapy]

I wish I had sound advice to offer, but I am clueless when it comes to moisture/protein balance, etc;

If clumps of hair are coming out (I don't know if you mean CLUMPS-CLUMPS or just a lot of shedding) but maybe get with a dermatologist or something---if it's an abnormal amount of hair coming out

Other than that, the lady who posted above me has a great blog about transitioning that has helped a lot of people.....

But if it pains you, BC and start fresh...

 

[nodisrespect]

I'm going to have to agree with the suggestion that you may be doing too much. More questions that might help:

how often are you styling your hair? (manipulation)
are you using heat and if so how often? (heat breakage)
how often are you detangling your hair? how often are you touching your hair? I had to face up to the fact that too much hand in the hair was causing me to lose strands I shouldn't have.

For the moisture/protein wet/dry issue... have you tried using a leave in? John Frieda daily nourishing leave in, for me, always makes my dry hair soft and plushy. (But I get better results when I apply it to towel dried hair.)

For my hair also, EVOO turned out to be too heavy. If I put that stuff in my hair I would get strands and strands of shedding immediately afterwards.

There is probably nothing at all wrong with your hair. It could be that you still haven't figured out what it likes yet. Like, just because a lot of people on this message board may recommend a Redken product, if you are using it and it's not working wonders for you, you just have to find something else that works. More importantly than products though, I think would be the other things you might be doing to your hair that you haven't mentioned. Heat and manipulation, if they are apart of your routine, should be axed until you find the right products.

 

[chebaby]

i have been transitioning for 9 months and for me it has been a breeze. all i do right now is co wash daily and wet bun. i found products that work for me so my hair is always soft and moisturized. also i started drinking lots of water. i detaingle everyday so i dont have to worry about a billion taingles at the end of the week. and when i bun my hair i use a clip and not a ponytail holder so my ends dont break. i also deep condition EVERY week and use a very good moisturizing shampoo. but the best thing for me is daily co washing.
when i wear my hair straight and i see too much breakage i use mizani night time treatment three times a week and that knocks it right out.
my moisturizers are:
paul mitchells moisture mist
keracare creme hairdress(only when hair is straight)
carol's daught hair milk
coconut oil
keracare oil
silken child leave in
or i leave in the vo5 conditioner

 

[DozenRoses99]

I agree with all the suggestions that have been made. The key for me was finding the products which worked for me and sticking with them. Moisturizing products were the best thing for me. Pre-pooing with olive oil before my cond wash helped tremendously with detangling. While transitioning my hair hated protein, so I had to avoid products with protein. Also, I learned that not all conditioners are good for cond washes. The cheapie conditioners made my hair more tangled and dry than anything else.

 

[audacity.]

Transitioning ain't for everybody...
if it's stressing you out...
just cut it off
otherwise... you must have patience and discipline
it's not easy
I do daily co-washes... that's what helps me.

1-I do practically nothing to my hair. I started out bunning like in my avatar, but since doing little chops, I cannot do it and still have a full look anymore. I admire others who can still rollerset/blow out, etc 6+months into their transition, but I am not one of them. I pretty much do the same thing errday..slap some oil and gel on my hair, slick it back and throw on my phony pony or wig. I am considering getting an install just so I can have a hair down look for a couple months...

2-I use to lose globs of hair..and I mean globs. Since I am doing low maintenance styles, I was thinking I didn't need to detangle...uh wrong...that resulted in my shed hair practically dredding around itself. Now, I detangle at least once a week.Two things help with that..using a ton of conditioner and detangling in the shower with my denman.

But I think the main thing that has helped me survive 14 months post relaxer is my low maintenance hair styles..while it gets really old..I am focused on the big picture.