3 years down the drain....

[silvergirl]

So i will admit that this is entirely all my fault. im fine with that and ive accepted that fact...

heres the short back story.. i love my natural hair, love the options that being natural gives, love playing with hair colors. now normally id just go to my moms salon to get proffesional hair colors an do it myself. and for the past 2 yrs till feb 08 my hair has been fine with colors, no side effects.

well in early march i decided i wanted a jet black color in. but in my hast instead of getting color from my mom, i decided to get a store bought color instead.. long story short.. i dont know what to do with this thing on my head.. i cant even do a decent wash an go, instead of curls, i get half curl definition . half frizz. nor can i do a decent ponytail, again its half frizz. buns dont even look good anymore

im seriously thinking of just putting in a relaxer and call myself a transitioner again... but i dont know how the relaxer will react, for all i know it could break my hair off to shoulder length or worse.. but i cant do anything with what i have right now.. if i had some more guts id really just BC and cut it all off. i just dont like short hair on myself... seriously my hair right now looks like crap...this doesnt even feel like my hair anymore..

any advise would be appreciated....

 

[ajoyfuljoy]

I'm sorry to hear this I always like reading your posts and it's always sad when another member suffers a setback.

I don't have any advice b/c I'm not experienced with color or natural hair, but I know someone is and hopefully they will give you great advice and help you nurse your hair back.

Keep your head up!

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

Have you tried deep conditioning the mess out of it?

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

Maybe you need to get some deep moisturization to the strands? Maybe even try a clear cellophane on top? I'm sorry that this happened. Do you have a pic?

 

[LiberianGirl]

I don't have any advice for you..I'm sure the other ladies do. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened.

 

[Suerte]

Okay. I want to cry. Yes it is all your fault But I won't beat you up about it. Even though I remember a PM convo ages ago with you when you had these beautiful highlights and you told me your mom did color, etc. And instantly I fell in love with your mom and your album. And now this happens.

*sigh*

*hangs head low*

Anywhoo. After you color, since you opened up your cuticles and stuff, your hair might be frizzy. I suggest a month of cholesterol or thick conditioner co-washing and overnight moisturizing and lots and lots of hot oil treatments. Lots. No gel, no heat, no manipulation other than finger combing while your hair is soaked with conditioner.

Then after that...re-evaluate.

Adding more chemicals = disaster. So please don't do that.

 

[silvergirl]

i normally dont DC, but ive been dc'ing all month. trying to get some moisture back, when my hair is wet its as if nothing has happened. its super moisturized and soft , silky as usual but when its dry ... its literally DRY horrid pile of frizz...its still feels like straw after all this Dc'ing.

 

[LunadeMiel]

((((((HUGS)))))))) I'm so sorry Silver. You are hadling this so well. Have you tried Deep conditioning?

I have really frizzy hair and what helps me the most is some raw shea butter and castor oil. Please don't relax it. You've come so far. I'm sure that you can nurse it back to health. Please don't give up. Your hair just needs some TLC right now.

Before bed I apply some raw shea butter to my hair and then seal that with some unrefined castor oil. I've slept with conditioner in my hair and that helped me a lot.

ETA: the same thing happened to me when I OD on protein. I took my hair a few months to recover. Thanks to TLC it's doing so much better now.

 

[love2praz]

I'm sorry this happened to you. I do not have any advice from past experience as natural. But I know when I have experimented with store bought color WITH a relaxer, that was a recipe for severe breakage and damage. Slapping on a relaxer is definitely not the answer.

I think you should baby your hair with moisture, deep conditioning, and co-washing.

To put things in perspective, you have transitioned, BCed, and grew your hair long and healthy in 3 years. This too shall pass...I know other ladies will chime in with some good advice for you!

Keep your head up! **HUGS** And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not put on any more chemicals in your hair right now.

 

[Ms. Plain Jane]

Have you considered using indigo?

Stay natural! If you can and want to.

 

[silvergirl]

Maybe you need to get some deep moisturization to the strands? Maybe even try a clear cellophane on top? I'm sorry that this happened. Do you have a pic?

the closest pic i have is in my march album, with experiment #2 honey and oil... it looks like that, dry and frizzy.( looks worse in real life than on camera) with the experiment # 3 pic it looks a bit more moisturized but its just weird, my hair shrunk like crazy it looks like i lost 4 months worth of growth in that pic. i think its because maybe my hair is so porous now??? it just soaked up the honey rinse and contracted into that shrunken state.

 

[MariposaSexyGirl]

i normally dont DC, but ive been dc'ing all month. trying to get some moisture back, when my hair is wet its as if nothing has happened. its super moisturized and soft , silky as usual but when its dry ... its literally DRY horrid pile of frizz...its still feels like straw after all this Dc'ing.

Have you tried just wearing regular conditioner in your hair everyday without washing it out?

 

[ekomba]

So i will admit that this is entirely all my fault. im fine with that and ive accepted that fact...

heres the short back story.. i love my natural hair, love the options that being natural gives, love playing with hair colors. now normally id just go to my moms salon to get proffesional hair colors an do it myself. and for the past 2 yrs till feb 08 my hair has been fine with colors, no side effects.

well in early march i decided i wanted a jet black color in. but in my hast instead of getting color from my mom, i decided to get a store bought color instead.. long story short.. i dont know what to do with this thing on my head.. i cant even do a decent wash an go, instead of curls, i get half curl definition . half frizz. nor can i do a decent ponytail, again its half frizz. buns dont even look good anymore

im seriously thinking of just putting in a relaxer and call myself a transitioner again... but i dont know how the relaxer will react, for all i know it could break my hair off to shoulder length or worse.. but i cant do anything with what i have right now.. if i had some more guts id really just BC and cut it all off. i just dont like short hair on myself... seriously my hair right now looks like crap...this doesnt even feel like my hair anymore..

any advise would be appreciated....

I'm so sorry to hear that Silvergirl! i so loove your mane. Dont put the relaxer just yet as you just had color. Was it a permanent color that you use? Because it can be drying and damaging. I would say too to really deep condition the hair but what you do make sure you keep a plastic back and go for 10-15 mns under the dryer with it. I did that after i messed my hair up and it reacted way better too it. A couple of deep conditioner treatments, then after you apply an anti freeze, roller set and go under the dryer until your hair goes back to normal. I just hope you did not use a permanent color though if you did just try to baby it with deep cond and treatments. hope it helps and i m sorry

 

[love2praz]

the closest pic i have is in my march album, with experiment #2 honey and oil... it looks like that, dry and frizzy.( looks worse in real life than on camera) with the experiment # 3 pic it looks a bit more moisturized but its just weird, my hair shrunk like crazy it looks like i lost 4 months worth of growth in that pic. i think its because maybe my hair is so porous now??? it just soaked up the honey rinse and contracted into that shrunken state.

Maybe you could try to get your hands on some Roux Porosity Control to see if that makes a difference??

 

[silvergirl]

Okay. I want to cry. Yes it is all your fault But I won't beat you up about it. Even though I remember a PM convo ages ago with you when you had these beautiful highlights and you told me your mom did color, etc. And instantly I fell in love with your mom and your album. And now this happens.

*sigh*

*hangs head low*

Anywhoo. After you color, since you opened up your cuticles and stuff, your hair might be frizzy. I suggest a month of cholesterol or thick conditioner co-washing and overnight moisturizing and lots and lots of hot oil treatments. Lots. No gel, no heat, no manipulation other than finger combing while your hair is soaked with conditioner.

Then after that...re-evaluate.

Adding more chemicals = disaster. So please don't do that.

trust me i feel like i want to cry ,,

i know chemicals = disaster but it cant really be much worse than what ive got going on here.

 

[love2praz]

trust me i feel like i want to cry ,,

i know chemicals = disaster but it cant really be much worse than what ive got going on here.

Trust me, chemicals will only add more harm. Please do not mess with those right now. Are you experiencing any breakage or is it just real dry?

 

[LynnieB]

the closest pic i have is in my march album, with experiment #2 honey and oil... it looks like that, dry and frizzy.( looks worse in real life than on camera) with the experiment # 3 pic it looks a bit more moisturized but its just weird, my hair shrunk like crazy it looks like i lost 4 months worth of growth in that pic. i think its because maybe my hair is so porous now??? it just soaked up the honey rinse and contracted into that shrunken state.

have you done a strand test to see for sure?

don't dark colors deposit color only? have you tried (i know, i know) a clarifying poo to remove any excesses? how about an ACV rinse (or roux's porosity conditioner) to see if that helps smooth things down?

eta: of course deep conditioner afterwards or even an overnight conditioning w/baggy.

just fishing sg, sorry if i'm not much help here.

 

[Christa438]

Im sorry to hear this. You have definitely been an inspiration of mine and still are. You may be able to battle this and save your hair. Like the other ladies, I think you should just deep condition and co-wash for a while with products that fight damage and frizz...then you can decide if you still want to start over if it doesn't help.

keep shining! though it's alright to feel down for a minute....We fall down, but we get up

 

[TaraDyan]

OMG ... I swear my heart almost stopped when I saw that it was you, Silvergirl. I absolutely love your natural hair and you've been a huge inspiration during my own transition.

I am soooo sorry this is happening to you, but please don't act in haste again and slap another chemical on it. I fear that would be a recipe for disaster. Maybe you need to rebuild both your protein and moisture levels in your strands, since your protein bonds have been broken down by the commercial color. You might want to do a protein treatment and then deep condition and see what that does for you. Just make sure you don't overload on the protein and make matters worse. I say condition, condition and then condition some more!

I really hope it gets better for you.

ETA: I also agree with everyone who says you need to clarify so you can start with a clean slate.

 

[silvergirl]

Have you considered using indigo?

Stay natural! If you can and want to.

with all these indigo and henna threads youd think i know something about them,, but i dont really know the benifits of indigo at all.. i will have to look it up, thx

 

[envybeauty]

i normally dont DC, but ive been dc'ing all month. trying to get some moisture back, when my hair is wet its as if nothing has happened. its super moisturized and soft , silky as usual but when its dry ... its literally DRY horrid pile of frizz...its still feels like straw after all this Dc'ing.

Clarify.....when I once overloaded on conditioning, I had such a silicone buildup that further conditioning only made my hair feel worse. After I clarified, my hair felt more normal again.

 

[dicapr]

Please do not relax! One of the best hairdressers I know always told me you should never relax a color, you can only color a relaxer. She wouldn't even color if you were more than 3 weeks post relaxer, because some newgrowth would be colored, but not relaxed. She said relaxing a color was a recipe for disaster.

 

[Napp]

What color did you use. something similar happened to me. i used colorsilk hair color and my hair was SO DRY. it felt unnatural. it was beyond normal dryness. What really helped was aphogee 2 min reconstruct or. i left it on and my hair felt more normal after use (i did it like 2-3 times in a day) but after a month or so the hair got matted and i had to cut. it happened 3 times. i hope you can find a solution so you wont have to cut but you may just have to. and i had texturizer at the time and i would not suggest you add that to the problem.

 

[silvergirl]

Have you tried just wearing regular conditioner in your hair everyday without washing it out?

i usually leave a little bit in, without washing it out completely.. i dont know im looking at my hair now.. its still feels/looks so brittle. ill try it again with a lil more and see how that works

 

[Lavendar]

Sorry this happened to your beautiful hair! I would definitely try weekly treatments with porosity control followed by deep conditioner. Instead of using as on the bottle, try leaving the porosity control on for about 30 minutes and then rinsing. If you hair starts to get a little mushy feeling, then try Aphogee intensive reconstructor (not the hard protein, the creamy milder one) for 20 minutes under heat, then the PC for 15-30 minutes, followed by your DC with heat for 30 minutes. Do this once a week for at least 4-6 weeks. I once used these techniques on previously colored and bleached hair and it turned my hair around. (Keep in mind, my hair is relaxed so your results may vary, but it's worth a try!) HTH!

 

[Lucie]

I am sorry this happened. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if your hair likes something is to experiment. I think clarifying will help . ((( HUGS )))

 

[silvergirl]

I'm so sorry to hear that Silvergirl! i so loove your mane. Dont put the relaxer just yet as you just had color. Was it a permanent color that you use? Because it can be drying and damaging. I would say too to really deep condition the hair but what you do make sure you keep a plastic back and go for 10-15 mns under the dryer with it. I did that after i messed my hair up and it reacted way better too it. A couple of deep conditioner treatments, then after you apply an anti freeze, roller set and go under the dryer until your hair goes back to normal. I just hope you did not use a permanent color though if you did just try to baby it with deep cond and treatments. hope it helps and i m sorry

it was permanent color erplexed. when i get the professional color stuff from my mom its always been prof. permanent color and its never caused any damage. its just this store bought one thats decided to kill my hair. but i have been dc'ing all month long, with no improvement so far.

btw what is an "anti-freeze"?

 

[poookie]

i usually leave a little bit in, without washing it out completely.. i dont know im looking at my hair now.. its still feels/looks so brittle. ill try it again with a lil more and see how that works

Hi Silvergirl

i have an idea... the other week, i relaxed my hair, and a few days later, i did a full-out hard aphogee treatment. my newly relaxed bone straight hair reverted almost 100% back to my natural curl pattern, which is 4a.

the next day, i re-relaxed it bone straight, and my hair is fine. i'm thinking, if my hair can go from bone straight back to perfect 4a ringlets with aphogee... then it should really help you get your curl definition back!

after that color you put in your hair, your protein balance is probably off, which is why your wash n go's don't look as good as they used to. so please please give a hard aphogee treatment a try (and deeeep condition after)!

 

[silvergirl]

Trust me, chemicals will only add more harm. Please do not mess with those right now. Are you experiencing any breakage or is it just real dry?

luckily i dont see any breakage. its just dry and i lost some of my curls to frizz plus i cant do anything with it..

 

[Bint Yusef]

Please do not relax your hair. I thought that would solve my color damage as well, and the stylist was like no we need to cut. I chopped from BSL to above SL. I will never get color again. It will grow back. Better to start over with a fresh new head of healthy hair. Im not one for the "salvage" team. My hair was a tangling frizzy mess. The curls were never quite right.