BIG MISTAKE!! now I feel bald

[kisz4tj]

I started taking out my cornrows this evening, when I was done I thought I shouldn't comb my hair, I would use creme of nature detangling shampoo and deep condition with a protein treatment to minimize the shedding. My hair became so matted in the shower, it's never felt like this before after 45 min of trying to be delicate, I just said the heck with it and began to comb roughly to get the knots out. I gathered up all the hair I loss, I feel horrible, the clump is 5 inches long and 4 inches wide. I don't know how it's gonna look once it's dry, I'm so embarassed, all this preaching I've done to my friends and family about good hair care and I go and do something so stupid. Looking back now I know I should have at least finger combed it. I'm so disappointed in myself, instead of rushing to see how much growth I attained I should have taken my time, it feels so thin. I gonna be sick

 

[CurlyCrly]

Live and learn. It will grow back.

 

[miss_brown]

Kisz4tj -
I'm so sorry to hear about your hair.

The same thing happened to me a couple years ago, right after I first went natural. I had these braids in for three and a half months (I was studying abroad and not about to let anybody in Italy touch my hair)

So anyway, when I got home, I decided I was going to hurry and take then out and then jump into the shower as if my hair was still Jhirmack bounceback relaxed...lol. Well, the same thing that happened to you happened to me except it was my mom combing out the knots, she was yelling at me the whole time for not exercising better judgement, I was crying for most of the time, and I lost more hair than that. Believe me, it was a sight to behold.

Anyway, I say all this to say that it will get better, your hair will grow back, and now you've learned an invaluable lesson. You have to detangle your hair after removing braids because of the potential matting. In the meantime, try to think of this as your opportunity to start over and get your hair healthier than ever. You may need to trim some of the frazzled ends off (at least I did), but if you get on a good vitamin regimen (including B5 so that you can thicken up your newgrowth too), you'll see your old length again in no time. Be patient, and God bless.

 

[KinksnCurlz]

Speaking from experience, your hair will grow back. Don't fret, it's probably not as bad as you think it is.

 

[tekmommie]

Kisz4tj,

I'm sorry to hear about your hair.

Continue to take care of, and pamper your hair like crazy!! There is no need to be embarrassed, we are here for support. I'm sure we can all remember a time (or two for myself) where we have done something that we absolutely knew better than to do, but for some crazy

reason or another we did it anyway. So don't be sick over it(cuz it won't help), just do what you know you should, okay??

Post here/talk about it as much as you need to help you feel better, we are here to support each other in good times and in bad times.

Hey who knows, you may have helped someone who did not know this, maybe that's the silver lining!!

It's going to be okay, big hugs and prayers to you!

 

[Armyqt]

Sorry to hear about your setback. I know how disheartening they can be. One thing I want you to remember is, since your hair has been put away in braids, it wasn't allowed to shed as when wearing it out. Even though your hair was matted and tangled, half of what came out was probably shed hair. Give your hair lots of TLC and you will see, it's probably not as bad as you think it is. Chin up girl

 

[Lindy]

Kisz4tj,

How long have you had your braids in?? If I'm not mistaken, you colored your hair with Textures & Tones not too long ago, right? Well, with color treated hair you have to be EXTRA EXTRA careful, in general, and ESPECIALLY if you're going to wear braids. Remember that color treated hair (usually)= drier hair. Because of all the horror stories I have heard, and because of my daughter's experience with braids, I would NOT EVER put braids in my hair. My hair strands are real thin, so I can imagine how matted & tangled my hair would be. I just feel there are easier & more healthy ways of achieving growth without the breakage so many people get after taking the braids out.

Im so sorry this happened to you!! Keep on conditioning; I'm sure your hair will be fine!

 

[kisz4tj]

Thanks Everyone, I feel a little better after reading your posts, I guess some of it is "normal" shedding.

I'm on a vit regimen, I take biotin, b complex, evening primrose, flaxseed oil, and ultra nourishair.

Tekmommie & Armyqt, when you say extra tlc and pamper, what specifically do you suggest I should do? I normally rinse 3-4x week and deep condition 1x week, I keep my ends moisturized every day with scurl or carrot oil, I use WGO about 3x week.

Lindy I had my braids in for 2 weeks, and you're right I did the color, but I think I did a good job moisturizing my hair while in the braids, I rinsed 3x a week and I used scurl 2x a day. My hair was very soft and moisturized when I took out the braids.

Thanks again for the support, it's good to know that I can vent and share my setbacks with my hair sistahs.

 

[Armyqt]

[ QUOTE ]
Tekmommie & Armyqt, when you say extra tlc and pamper, what specifically do you suggest I should do? I normally rinse 3-4x week and deep condition 1x week, I keep my ends moisturized every day with scurl or carrot oil, I use WGO about 3x week.


[/ QUOTE ]

What you're already doing is great for keeping the moisture in your hair. Make sure you do a protein treatment to strengthen the hair (about every 2 wks). If you can squeeze in another deep conditioing day, it would be a plus, but not absolutely necessary. Just ensure you keep the hair very moisturized and stay away from styles that put stress on the hair. Good luck, I know everything will turn out well for you

 

[Leshia]

[ QUOTE ]
I started taking out my cornrows this evening, when I was done I thought I shouldn't comb my hair, I would use creme of nature detangling shampoo and deep condition with a protein treatment to minimize the shedding. My hair became so matted in the shower, it's never felt like this before after 45 min of trying to be delicate, I just said the heck with it and began to comb roughly to get the knots out. I gathered up all the hair I loss, I feel horrible, the clump is 5 inches long and 4 inches wide. I don't know how it's gonna look once it's dry, I'm so embarassed, all this preaching I've done to my friends and family about good hair care and I go and do something so stupid. Looking back now I know I should have at least finger combed it. I'm so disappointed in myself, instead of rushing to see how much growth I attained I should have taken my time, it feels so thin. I gonna be sick

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is the same reason why I lost that baseball amount of hair about two months ago. I FEEL your pain girl. I was almost to the point of hurling. You probably just lost most of what you accomplished during the braided stage, but I'm sure you don't look "bald". I, too, have learned that hard lesson. NEVAAAA again. Hugs to ya girlie.

 

[HOTCHOCOLATE]

[ QUOTE ]
I started taking out my cornrows this evening, when I was done I thought I shouldn't comb my hair, I would use creme of nature detangling shampoo and deep condition with a protein treatment to minimize the shedding. My hair became so matted in the shower, it's never felt like this before after 45 min of trying to be delicate, I just said the heck with it and began to comb roughly to get the knots out. I gathered up all the hair I loss, I feel horrible, the clump is 5 inches long and 4 inches wide. I don't know how it's gonna look once it's dry, I'm so embarassed, all this preaching I've done to my friends and family about good hair care and I go and do something so stupid. Looking back now I know I should have at least finger combed it. I'm so disappointed in myself, instead of rushing to see how much growth I attained I should have taken my time, it feels so thin. I gonna be sick

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel your pain. The same thing happened to me. I cried like a baby. I had cornrows w/extensions and I did not know that I had to make sure the extensions and shedded hair was out first before washing. My hair still isn't as thick as it was(1 yr ago). And to make matter worst, the next day I went and got a retouch. If it's really bad, you might want to think about cutting off the damaged part and start giving your hair plenty of TLC. It will grow back with time.

PS I don't remember if you're relaxed/natural, but if relaxed I wouldn't perm for at least a month.

 

[kisz4tj]

Hey Hotchocolate, that was my next concern re: touchup, I was just thinking I need to ask if I can get one, at this point I'm 14 weeks post relaxer and a sistah could use some creme right about now. For a whole month another 4 weeks?!

 

[kisz4tj]

Armyqt, I'm going to take your advice and deep condition 2x this week. I did a protein treament during this whole fiasco, so you think I should wait 2 weeks before another one, or is this week okay for another one?

 

[Armyqt]

Does your hair 'feel' strong? If so, you can wait another week before doing a protein treatment. Which one did u use? If it was a mild protein, it would be okay to do another one this week if you like. If it was a heavy protein, I would wait a bit. Too much protein can dry out the hair and lead to breakage. The key here is to acheive and maintain a proper balance of strength and moisture which equals elasticity and tensile strength (hair that can withstand breakage). Listen to your hair and decide which way to proceed.

 

[kisz4tj]

To be honest, I don't even know. I haven't really combed it since the shower, I let it airdry and I wore a curly ponytail. Today I have a bun, I've been finger combing and not applying much stress, so I don't even know if I have pieces of hair that are badly broken, I skurrred to look. But I will tonight. I used Fantasia IC 1 minute intensive/protein reconstructor, I sat with gold heating caps for about 30-45min.

 

[Kengne]

<font color="blue">So sorry kisz {{{{{group huggg}}}}...

All I can say is for future to minimize hair loss, try picking out the shed hair with your fingers, rather than combing it thru. I did this after taking down kinky twist extensions. After each braid came down I would gently ply loose the dirt clump, separate the braid section and rake through with my nail. Lemme tell you....I only lost this *snap!* amount of hair..I'd say the equivalent of 1/2 the density/size of a cotton ball.

Truss me..I've NEVER lost this little amt of hair before. But then again..my hair is natural so the point of demarcage btween the new growth &amp; braided hair was stronger than if the braided had been relaxed.

But hopefully..this techniqe can be applied successfully by you in the future. Take care and happy hair growing!

 

[kisz4tj]

tank ya tank ya, reading everyone's posts has really been a picker upper, last night I washed with creme of nature and sprayed infusium and a leave-in, along with vit e oil on my ends. I'll deep condition tonight, oh...and of course last night I finger combed.

 

[kisz4tj]

Well I relaxed my hair last night, The creme was calling my name......I just had to I was on the verge of transitioning so I used QP Elasta mild which I like VERY much, bone straight and I didn't leave it on too long, it did not burn and I have no scabs. This is going to be a keeper. I air dryed with the mango butter which I've heard so much about and my hair feels butter soft, I still can't really tell if my hair broke off significantly but I guess if I can't that's a good sign, I should have a better idea after a rollerset.

 

[Lindy]

Congrats on your successful touch-up!!!

 

[AJamericanDiva]

Also, what you may want to try next time is Unbraid Spray made by the same people that make Better Braids spray. I find that it helps to dissolve any clumps that you find at the roots of braids and softens the hair. I gently break up the knot with a small toothed comb and then have no problem. I had braids in for about a month and a half and lost very little hair when taking them out. Hope this helps. Glad the retouch went well. Continue with the pampering.