How to stretch without breakage? -PICS-

[ellemarie]

I guess I should start over b/c I had to start a new membership the other day. This post is very long but I'm in need of desperate help!!!

Here's my story...

I transitioned from June 08' from over processed. I started baggying my ends at night starting June as well and I went basically the rest of year without any trims b/c the baggying kept ends blunt and healthy ever since my last trim.

I got lazy and texlaxed just the hair that was natural in February 09'. And then again in May 09 to the new growth.

For about two months last year while transitioning, i was wearing wash and go's consistently. then after that i was just doing my usual blow-out and flat iron. I used CHI's iron guard and the silk infusion and redken's butter treat for DC as a ritual. For the past three months though I've been breaking in the front. I wanted to grow my bangs out but its hard now b/c I keep having to trim them due to breakage/split ends. I treat the front with the same regime as the rest of my hair so I don't understand

I do believe it's b/c of the new growth since my last texlax and the two diff textures that will explain the thinning in my petty permed ends. For the past two weeks I just been putting my hair back in a curly ponytail but it doesn't look right lol, b/c i still have some permed ends...

I just got a REALLY good trim last month, my friend wants me to big chop b/c i still have over 2 inches left of permed hair but im not ready b/c i have different sides and layers that have longer permed ends and it wont look right. I have my hair trimmed assyemmetrical right now.

But you can tell the difference with the pictures in May and the pictures I just took today. It's not as soft as it use to be back in May and it didn't have as much split ends.

I also touched up my hair with Blue Black dye 2 weeks ago also. I had the bottom of my hair auburn blonde so I dyed all of that black but it dont break as much in the back then i do the front of my hair. My curls are looser in the back and softer.

I'm so frustrated =( pay day is this week lol so what products would help me ??? I plan to go straight to the store and go on a spree in Sallys.

I hear such great things about Apoghee (ms?) and Nexxus. I recently brought Nexxus heat protectant but other than that what specific products would i need? I need something that would soften my hair after a protein treatment or keratin leave-in's.


May

Today

 

[ellemarie]

omg i didn't think it would be this long of a post.

=\

 

[Smiley79]

Although I can offer no advice....I love your hair and that half black half blond was so cute! Ok let me bump so someone can come in here and answer you question. There are tons of support threads for those who are stretching...check out the Sylver2 Stretching Challenge...she is such and inspiration to those who want to stretch.

 

[msa]

I really like your haircut and your hair looks healthy to me. But since you did just do a dye job it may be a good idea to do a protein treatment...even if it's just the aphogee 2 min. I don't know if a hard protein treatment is a good idea right now because I'm not sure how soon after a dye job you should do that. Do a little research around the board, I'm sure there are threads about it.

 

[ellemarie]

Although I can offer no advice....I love your hair and that half black half blond was so cute! Ok let me bump so someone can come in here and answer you question. There are tons of support threads for those who are stretching...check out the Sylver2 Stretching Challenge...she is such and inspiration to those who want to stretch.

thanks lol. i been missing the blonde/black two-tone too.
im gonna check her out

 

[ellemarie]

I really like your haircut and your hair looks healthy to me. But since you did just do a dye job it may be a good idea to do a protein treatment...even if it's just the aphogee 2 min. I don't know if a hard protein treatment is a good idea right now because I'm not sure how soon after a dye job you should do that. Do a little research around the board, I'm sure there are threads about it.

thanks im gonna look for threads with that treatment

 

[LatterGlory]

______________________________

 

[Calia001]

creme of nature has really raised the bar on their products. get any of their deep conditioners and you will be all set after the protein
also try porosity control. my hair was breaking like twigs and that made a VAST difference. my hair retains moisture much better now.

and your eyes are soo pretty! lol

 

[ellemarie]

Aubrey Organics White Camellia Conditioner.

Afro Detangler.

Oyin Juices and Berries.

I did mostly W&G during my stretch (I am 11 months post)and the above helped... look at the first couple of pages of my visitor messages for more details.

I have started to roller set now will relax in about 1-1.5 months.

The Afro Detangler for me has been really awesome no matter the style... reduced my breakage about 90% with one week of daily use.

awesome. im gonna try that asap. thanks.

 

[ellemarie]

creme of nature has really raised the bar on their products. get any of their deep conditioners and you will be all set after the protein
also try porosity control. my hair was breaking like twigs and that made a VAST difference. my hair retains moisture much better now.

and your eyes are soo pretty! lol

lol thanks!

 

[hothair]

Sorry didn't read thru the entire post. My 2 cents:

1. You've got gorgeous hair.
2. Nexxus humectress/humectin is a great moisturising conditioner for use after hard protein.
3. Since you lighten, you should do a hard Aphogee about every 6-8 weeks.
4. Do protective/ low mani styles and baby your demarcation line.
5. Do a search for Sylver2's stretch method- or check ou her fotki.
6. Not everyone can stretch keep an eye on when your hair doesn't/ can't take it and make that your maximum stretch time.

Good luck

 

[ajoyfuljoy]

I was waiting for some horrible pictures and I didn't really see any. In fact, I think your hair looks pretty good. Looks like you have some straight ends on the bottom of your hair but that is all I noticed.

I cosign on the Aphogee two minute. I am mostly relaxed and have been using it for over a year every week. It is my hair's lifesaver.

 

[nikki2229]

I just wanted to say that your hair looks pretty and healthy.

 

[Dani.Nicole]

Protein and deep conditioning are not the only things you need. It would be best if you laid off the heat for a little while too. Maybe every 2 weeks you can use heat and rotate doing protective styles. That hair dye is probably what's making your hair so weak also. If you can DO NOT DYE YOUR HAIR AGAIN until your hair is strong enough to handle that kind of harshness. I use Clairol's Natural Instincts semi-permanent dye and works great! The black has not rinsed out my hair at all since I dyed it about a month ago.

These are just little things that make a huge difference

 

[ellemarie]

thanks alot guys!

 

[tmhuggiebear]

Don't know if I will be much help to you since I'm sorta dealing with the same issue but I figured I'd put my two cents in.

Like many of the girls have state before, aphogee 2 step has been great. My last relaxer was May 22nd and I haven't really experienced much breakage with it. I try to use it every 4-6 weeks since my hair is fine.

P.S. Your so called "bad" pictures still look beautiful and didn't seem nearly as bad as I expected. You must be doing something right.

Good luck!