4b Naturals how do you tame your hair?

[Lebiya]

I have 4b natural hair and I’m tempted to texturize it BUT I REAALY don’t want to ….Every 4-6 weeks I straighten it to dust/trim the ends and make it easier for the braider to braid it again (extensions)

[I’m just so FED UP with the tangling, knots at the end hard to comb hair!!! ..I don’t kno what to do. I desperately need to find a way to tame and detangle this mane. There must be a way besides texturizing

...what do ya'll do?

Do oil rinses help any at all?

 

[cmesweet]

I use the detangling and braiding technique on www.biracialhair.net

Basically, I leave in conditioner to detangle.

Also, when I braid my hair I do not braid all the way to the ends. I 2-strand twist them and they have really helped me with less knotting.

 

[laurend]

Do you ever wear your hair in twists, twistouts or braidouts? I tame my hair by washing, detangling and twisting or wearing buns. Wash and go's don't work for me so I don't mess with something that doesn't work for me. Do you braid your own hair or add extensions? What's your regime?

 

[winniebread]

I can help you. I was definitely in this position and the Lord gave me a way of doing my 4b hair and it's been working for me. I don't have time to go into details now because I have to go wash my clothes but i will post later with the details. I did go the texturizer route though and I ended up being sorry for it. I will share with you the things I learned and tell you what I do now. I have a fotki but I don't have any current pictures. In the 2003 folder I have some pics that I am now using for inspiration since my hair is no longer at that length but it will at least give you an idea of where I am headed back to (and beyond). Keep in mind that my hair is DRENCHED in loads of conditioner which is why you see the curly cues on the end if you look really close. Check those pics out in the meantime...password is tak3

 

[Lebiya]

Do you ever wear your hair in twists, twistouts or braidouts? I tame my hair by washing, detangling and twisting or wearing buns. Wash and go's don't work for me so I don't mess with something that doesn't work for me. Do you braid your own hair or add extensions? What's your regime?

My hair is in braid extensions almost ALL the time. When its not, I’m conditioning, trmming, etc just to get it braided again.


After Removal of braids I :

Clarify

Protein condition

Deep condition

Straighten, trim ends

…the next day or two I get my hair braided again. I’d also like to add henna treatments somewhere in between all this too.


I just HAATE the tangles and having to flat-iron my hair ever 4-6 weeks just to trim the ends and make it easier for the braider

 

[Nonie]

I tame my hair by keeping it braided or twisted. Even when I wear it out, I always braid it for the night. I find keeping my hair braided w/ extensions prevents knots and tangles. I however braid to the end. This keeps the hair straight so that I can go for months w/o ever using a comb. One thing I do that not many people do, is I never wash my hair unless it's braided or twisted. I think if I did, it'd coil back on itself and tangle more. If I didn't braid beyond the ends of my own hair, again the ends would coil back on themselves and I'd get tangles or knotted. The other thing I do that is kinda weird is I don't use products in my hair when I'm wearing it braided or twisted. I find this keeps the strands from sticking together, so that when I undo a braid or twist, the hairs separate w/ ease. I wash often and condition often though, and always do an ACV rinse at the end of my wash. That's how my hair gets moisturized and this simplicity seems to work for me. Baggying every night also helps me hold onto moisture.

 

[kally]

bumping for winnibreads response.

 

[AFashionSlave]

My hair is in the 4a to 4b range and I don't waste my time trying to tame it.
I just pick a hairstyle and go from there. It usually frizzes up during the week, but I don't worry about it.

There was a time period where my ends started to tangle a little more. So I went back to mixing my hair conditioner with honey, tea tree oil, olive oil, glycerin.

hth

 

[remnant]

I'm always in protective style but now i'm using another method inspired by Chicoro (www.public.fotki.com/chicoro) and www.biracialhair.net as well:

• a lot of conditionner
• water
• oil(to seal)
• and a satin scarf

and my hair is in two pocahontas braids

 

[Lebiya]

QUESTIONS - LADIES PLEASE HELP

Is there anything that will help straighten/loosen the coils just a TAD without texturizing?

What about oil rinses ....does that help detangle???


Is it OK to henna/aphogee /and deep condition while my hair plaited to avoid the knotting??...are you sure the products will washout properly?

ALSO HOW are ya'll triming your ends...do you straighten your hair first???

..I heard know of you just plait your hair and nip the ends...but this wont really work for me....my hair coils too much at the ends, and i feel like im not getting all the spit ends, but i want to hear from you ladies first

 

[Nonie]

[No text] Duplicate post (sorry)

 

[Nonie]

The only way I know to "loosen" the coils is to braid it. But I don't care about loosening the curls. When my hair is drenched with S-Curl spray, it combs so easily and the coils look so cute that I simply couldn't change that. But I do know that the reason I can go for months w/o using a comb is because the braids or twists keep my kinks somewhat stretched out so that the hair strands don't coil around each other and can be separated w/ fingers.

I do DC in braids and I've never had a problem with not rinsing the product out. I am in braid extensions and usually DC with Aubrey Organics GPB or Emergencée followed by a shampoo then a moisturizing conditioner like Elucence. I do rinse for a loooooong time after DCing and the shampooing after Emergencée helps, I think. I have never done oil rinses. Many years ago, I used to do hot oil treatments but I cannot remember what difference they made. I was relaxed then, if I'm not mistaken.

I never straighten my hair to trim. I don't usually trim it all at once either. I'm a bit strange like that. I usually look at the ends of each braided section as I rebraid one at a time and snip off the ends if they don't look tidy. Sometimes I do this randomly only trimming each section as it needs redoing; other times I'll start from the back and redo the braids one at a time dusting the ends as I go along. I just stretch the hair section so I can be sure all the hairs are about the same length then snip off about 1/4 inch from the end. Because it's curly, I probably snip off a little more than 1/4 but I reckon that I'm better off getting rid of as much of the bad ends as possible than leaving a tiny bit of split that will just continue to tear down the length of the strand. One thing I love about having curly hair is a small difference in length like say half an inch will not be the obvious, so for the sake of having healthy hair, I dust w/o caring about the hair being perfectly even. I reckon when I'm ready for a stylish cut, I can get a pro to even it out. But for now, I'm after health rather than perfection.

 

[basketballbabe03]

QUESTIONS - LADIES PLEASE HELP

Is there anything that will help straighten/loosen the coils just a TAD without texturizing?

What about oil rinses ....does that help detangle???


Is it OK to henna/aphogee /and deep condition while my hair plaited to avoid the knotting??...are you sure the products will washout properly?

ALSO HOW are ya'll triming your ends...do you straighten your hair first???

..I heard know of you just plait your hair and nip the ends...but this wont really work for me....my hair coils too much at the ends, and i feel like im not getting all the spit ends, but i want to hear from you ladies first

I do everything (in bold) in twists or braids. I have a VERY tight coils and my hair tangles VERY easy. The two things I have found that have helped me combat knots and tangles are braiding my hair and keeping my hair moisturized. The less moisture my hair has the more it tangles. If I plan to wear my hair out, I always braid up the night before, spray my hair with braid spray or a homemade spritz for moisture and wrap my hair up in a satin scarf. In the morning, I take the braids out and comb each section. This leaves me with no tangles. I wash and condition my hair in braids also. I let my hair air dry while still braided too. If I plan to trim my ends, I just cut the ends of the braids or twists. What I do is stretch the braid or twist and then cut. This allows me to see how much I'm actually cutting and makes trimming easier. So far, so good. Using these methods have allowed me to retain length since I have been natural.

 

[winniebread]

Hi there...I've been through a lot with my hair and this is what works for me:

1) I don't twist or braid my hair (takes too long and I don't feel like spending 2.5-4 hours doing this each weekend)
2) I'm only opting to straighten my hair about every 3 months
3) I condition wash my hair about every other day using a cheap conditioner
4) shampoo it about 1-2x per week on average
5) i only comb my hair when drenched with conditioner...I NEVER comb it otherwise
6) I typically only comb my hair about once per week by the way
7) After washing I towel blot and put vaseline on my hair in sections (helps weigh down curls). then I put black gel (no alcohol) on top of that and either leave my hair out, tie it in a high ponytail or whatever. If I want extra laid down roots, etc I will tie a satin scarf around it (pretty firmly) and then push the front back slightly to make sure my edges lay nicely. I leave that on for 10-30 minutes in the morning depending on how long I have. The end result is nicely defined 4b hair with smooth edges and shine. If i want extra shine I will put a little baby oil gel on my as well.
8) Important: I do not put any of these products on my scalp...just the hair. while I have tried other products, as I would prefer to only use natural ones, this combination is what works the best for my so far. however, i am experimenting with more natural products to see if i can find anything that works this well...so far nothing. since i condition wash/wash my hair every other day or so...sometimes daily...i don't run into any issues.
9) this method takes me 20 minutes or less to do (from condition wash through styling steps)...No more spending 4h to do my hair
10) This method works wonders for me and makes my 4b hair look like it's 3a/b when i do it right

I hope that helps and answers your questions.