Where do I start?!

[yoMOCHA]

I am veeery new to this. I leave for college (Clark Atlanta University) in a little more than two weeks, and I want to learn how to take care of my hair on my own before anymore of my hair falls out. I'm not exactly sure what kind of hair I have, but I do have a fotki profile with pretty recent pictures of my hair (about a week old). My hair is very thin and dry and I also have 2 or 3 bald spots that idk how to get rid of. Please take a look at my album (link below). If anybody has any words of wisdom they'd like to offer, I would definitely appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

http://public.fotki.com/mochaMINAJ/july-2009-before-i-start/

 

[NerdSauce]

Hiya! And welcome!

I am by NO means an expert. Also, I have natural hair..but judging by the patching you've experienced (and witnessing a cousin experience similar problems)..the first thing I would recommend you do is absolutely see a dermatologist. Whatever they say to you.... "no more relaxers" will probably be on the list. It seems like you need to be really, really gentle with your hair. I don't know if you need protein, or moisture, or both (probably both), but if you search porosity and protein-moisture balance some of Sistaslick's articles should come up, and those will help you get familiar with the sort of things you're going to need to be thinking about.

I hope someone comes along with more useful information :/ I know hair is not what you want to be worrying about when you go to school.

In the mean time, post what you already do :] And good luck, both with your hair and at school :]

 

[yoMOCHA]

I really do appreciate that. I've been planning on seeing a dermatologist before I leave for school, so I will definitely set an appt now. I've been trying to stray away from getting relaxers. My last one was on April 30th. I'll also do the protein search. Thanks for helping! And thanks for the good luck wishes!

 

[Platinum]

Hopefully, some of the hair gurus will chime in to help you. Good luck and happy hair growing!

 

[SweetSpirit86]

Ooh, honey. The bald spots, what happened with those? Is that a result of breakage (possible wig combs?), chemical damage, or a medical condition? I'm no hair expert either, but I think it's doable. Most of the rest of it just looks like it's dry in general. Looks like my hair before I learned how to moisturize it (before I came to LHCF...I lurked for awhile and kept relaxing before I actually registered lol). My ends stayed damaged, and I often didn't know WHAT to do with my NG until I got a relaxer, so I'd wet it and it'd lay down in a bun lol.

Have you thought of what type of styling you want to aim for? If it turns out you want to go natural, I'd just shave it all off if that's something you're comfortable with. My big concern about that, though...is if the bald spots will fill in or not. I would hate for you to cut it all off and when your hair grows back in other places, those stay empty. Back at square one.

RedPanda hit it on the head with the PC, and overall gentle maintenance. I hope you get it all sorted out.

 

[Dominican09]

I will tell you what worked for me...

My relaxed hair was thining on the sides and at the crown erplexed...actually the crown was becoming noticeable by others especially after I started to transition to natural...so it was time to let it go and I BC...almost two months later my sides and crown are completely filled in ...I cowash daily, DC weekly, ACV treatment monthly, supplements, MT and aloe vera juice to the scalp nightly and NO HEAT!! Hope this helps you.

Also, to add what others have said...please visit a dermatologist.

 

[Jhuidah]

Just wanted to say that I went to CAU for two years (before I transfered elsewhere). It was a fun experience. I bet you'll love it!

 

[Ronnieaj]

Hi, and Welcome!!! Post your routine for us, so we know what you're doing now, so we can get you straight before you head off to CAU.

 

[MontegoBayBaby]

Yes please post your routine. Specifically, how frequently do you relax? Deep condition? Products you use and how often? Really worried about the bald patches and want to try and help.

 

[Keshieshimmer]

Yes please post your routine. Specifically, how frequently do you relax? Deep condition? Products you use and how often? Really worried about the bald patches and want to try and help.

I agree!

Good luck. I can't wait til your hair is healthy and full!

 

[KinkyRed]

I really do appreciate that. I've been planning on seeing a dermatologist before I leave for school, so I will definitely set an appt now. I've been trying to stray away from getting relaxers. My last one was on April 30th. I'll also do the protein search. Thanks for helping! And thanks for the good luck wishes!

Yea, I'm going to give it my best to stop relaxing myself also. My last one was in June. My hair is really starting to kink up, but I am determine to learn to love my hair in its natural state. Good luck with your journey.

 

[yoMOCHA]

Yes please post your routine. Specifically, how frequently do you relax? Deep condition? Products you use and how often? Really worried about the bald patches and want to try and help.

I relax at a minimum, every 6 weeks (although sometimes I wait longer). Its been 12 weeks since my last relaxer. I get a DC everytime I goto my hair dresser, but I don't visit her consistently. Sometimes I see her twice a month. Sometimes I see her once every two months. I wash my hair 1-2 times a week and I use SoftSheen-Carson's Stay Strong Shampoo & Conditioner.

 

[yoMOCHA]

Ooh, honey. The bald spots, what happened with those? Is that a result of breakage (possible wig combs?), chemical damage, or a medical condition? I'm no hair expert either, but I think it's doable. Most of the rest of it just looks like it's dry in general. Looks like my hair before I learned how to moisturize it (before I came to LHCF...I lurked for awhile and kept relaxing before I actually registered lol). My ends stayed damaged, and I often didn't know WHAT to do with my NG until I got a relaxer, so I'd wet it and it'd lay down in a bun lol.

Have you thought of what type of styling you want to aim for? If it turns out you want to go natural, I'd just shave it all off if that's something you're comfortable with. My big concern about that, though...is if the bald spots will fill in or not. I would hate for you to cut it all off and when your hair grows back in other places, those stay empty. Back at square one.

RedPanda hit it on the head with the PC, and overall gentle maintenance. I hope you get it all sorted out.

The breakage in the back is from pressure due to doing my phony ponies and buns waaaay too tight. My hair was too week to handle that and just kept falling out. My edges came out because I wore a cap done by a gay guy who used too much bonding glue. Plus I had just gotten a relaxer so it just fried my edges off because of the heat under the cap. I would like to either go natural or start using texturizers instead of relaxers but I am afraid to bc because of the bald spots. It wouldn't look too good, lol and I am very self-conscious about my hair.

 

[Ronnieaj]

Are you deep conditioning with your weekly washes? If not, I would start deep conditioning with every single wash you do until you start getting more growth. You're relaxed so you'll need moisture and protein, though how much protein will depend on how your hair reacts to it. I'd start with a medium to strong protein treatment (eg Nexxus Emergencee or something like that), followed by a really moisturizing treatment, minimize your heat usage--airdrying and learning to rollerset will be very helpful. You'll really have to keep the new growth moisturized, because I think, looking at your pictures, that you should try to go at least another 6-9 months before relaxing again, if you choose to.

When I went to law school I got severe thinning at my hairline and a nickel-sized bald spot on the back of my head, from stress primarily (apparently all the women in my family have this problem under severe stress) and the chemicals didn't help. It wasn't until I went natural that my hairline fully filled back in. If you want to stay relaxed, I think that's okay, but you have to allow your hairline to fully grow so you don't lose it at the next relaxer.

 

[Solitude]

Hi yoMOCHA,

As others have stated, I would suggest no more relaxers, at least not for a very long time. I had a quarter-sized bald spot a few years ago (don't know the cause) - maybe stress, I personally believe it was from birth control. I didn't relax my hair for 6 months, and I stopped putting chemicals in my body (BC) and the spot filled in completely. After that I used Phytorelaxer Index 1 to texlax, before I knew what texlaxing was.

I also massaged the spot daily with doo gro oil. I wore my hair down daily, so it wasn't tension from ponytails that caused it. I wore wide cornrows as well for protective styling while stretching, but cornrows were in back then.

For you, I would suggest DCing 1-2x weekly and using half-wigs for protective styling. I usually don't make product suggestions, but Aphogee 2 min or Nexxus Emergencee to strengthen your hair every other week might help. I don't like Aphogee's hard core protein treatment; too hard core for me. Also, limiting heat from flat irons will help. If you continue to relax, try learning how to rollerset to straighten, or pinning your hair up and doing buns to give it a rest from heat styling. ETA: there are a ton of helpful styling videos for short hair on youtube that helped me learn how to pincurl and do updos!

Weekly moisturizing DC's and moisturizing your hair at least every other day until it starts to retain moisture better.

Good luck! Happy hair growing.....

 

[SEMO]

Welcome to the forum.

Like others, I'm no expert (esp. not for relaxed hair), but maybe you could try a sulfur based hair product (like Sulfur 8 or Boundless Tresses) to help with the re-growth. Maybe even some castor oil on the scalp applied gently (it's a really thick oil) and massaged in would help thicken the hair that's currently there and help camouflage the bald spots.

Also, I agree with the others on putting the relaxers on hold. And with increasing the frequency you deep condition and moisturize your hair.

Sorry I don't have more advice. Good luck to you with your hair and at college.

 

[Bunmi]

Welcome yoMocha. I'm glad you made it to the forum. As I'm sure you already see, you will get a lot of support and good advice here.

 

[SweetSpirit86]

The breakage in the back is from pressure due to doing my phony ponies and buns waaaay too tight. My hair was too week to handle that and just kept falling out. My edges came out because I wore a cap done by a gay guy who used too much bonding glue. Plus I had just gotten a relaxer so it just fried my edges off because of the heat under the cap. I would like to either go natural or start using texturizers instead of relaxers but I am afraid to bc because of the bald spots. It wouldn't look too good, lol and I am very self-conscious about my hair.

Ok, so it's more likely it's not going to end up permanent. *phew* I think I read somewhere here that texturizers are the same as relaxers. You just leave them on for a shorter amount of time. If that's the case...I'd stay away from those too for awhile.

 

[yoMOCHA]

I bought a few products last night.

Re-Gro:
Stregthening Shampoo
Intensive Conditioner

Aphogee:
Deep Moisture Shampoo
Balancing Moisturizer
Two-Step Protein Treatment
Gloss Therapy Polisher Spray
Keratin & Green Tea Reconstructurizer

Nexxus:
Emergencée Strengthening Polymeric Reconstructer

Cream of Nature:
Chamomille & Comfrey Nourishing Conditioner

 

[isabella09]

to the forum

 

[xcuzememiss]

I'd stay away from the creme of nature bcuz of the sulfates. Try the original formula in the green and white bottle or elasta qp cream conditioning shampoo

 

[loulou82]

Welcome to the Forum!

What are the ingredients in the Re-Gro Intensive Conditioner? As already mentioned, you need to balance moisture with protein and many of the products you bought are protein-based, especially Aphogee.

 

[jerseygurl]

I bought a few products last night.

Re-Gro:
Stregthening Shampoo
Intensive Conditioner

Aphogee:
Deep Moisture Shampoo
Balancing Moisturizer
Two-Step Protein Treatment
Gloss Therapy Polisher Spray
Keratin & Green Tea Reconstructurizer

Nexxus:
Emergencée Strengthening Polymeric Reconstructer

Cream of Nature:
Chamomille & Comfrey Nourishing Conditioner

Welcome yoMocha and I'm glad to see you getting into your journey. Looking at your stash I see two protein treatments (aphogee two step and nexxus). They are both good but DO NOT use both at the same time. And don't use them too often, it will worsen the problem. And also you need a very good moisturizing DC after the protein treatment. Do you have a dryer?

@ the bolded, the balancing moisturizer doesn't really do much for our hair type. I've used it and it was a waste of my money. I would suggest you buy a good moisturizing deep conditioner, for me I like Sally Beauty Supply GVP conditioning balm, Lustrasilk cholesterol plus conditioner, Pantene deep conditioning mask. You should do your homework and research moisturizing deep conditioners.

@ the shampoo, I would suggest you look for a sulfate free shampoo or one that says moisturizing on it. You only need a clarifying shampoo and a moisturizing shampoo. Some ladies have stopped using them entirely, it's up to you.

Stay away from relaxers as long as you can until the bald patch grows in. It will make matters worse.

Welcome and keep us posted

 

[tarheelgurl]

Hi! Welcome! As a student you are going to be busy so I would try to develop a simple routine that's easy. I agree with those that said to back off the relaxers for a while. Maybe you can try cowashing instead of washing with shampoo and try to get that protein/moisture balance. I am by no means an expert but keeping it simple has worked best for me. Good luck in school!

ETA: I like Nexxus Humectress and cheapy cholesterol as DCs.