Can "Heat Trained" 4b natural hair grow?

dlove

dlove

Active Member
Ladies,

Heat Trained: Hair that has been straightened and has lost the original tight 4b pattern. It is usually easier to press and straighten with hair like this.

After repeated once a week straightening for 2 months, my old nappy 4b hair has changed...My curl has loosed. It looks like 3 something hair. To be honest with you, I like it. From what I've read here on the board, my hair has been reconstructed. The heat loosened the bonds of my hair and it is somewhat heat processed.

I'm wondering if my hair will eventually start to break off like
over processed relaxed hair.

If you have experienced this and are able to retain length...
ENCOURAGE ME please.



BTW: I really want to keep pressing weekly because my DD does not like my medium size afro and my father said I look like I'm on welfare when I wear my natural. He says"that's not a good look on you".
 
I think you can retain length, you would just have to treat it as heat natural hair, like relax people do, I would do more protein treaments and moisturizing deep conditioners, since heat can dry your hair, I will make sure i'm doing a lot of deep conditioners and if you press or flat iron, i wouldn't blow dry, but use rollers to stretch it out, so there will be less heat damage, but I think length can be retained, if you look at all those little girls you get there hair pressed every two weeks, their hair is really long.
 
:lachen::lachen::lachen::nono::nono: That is funny but not cool!!

Anyway to answer your question, my hairdresser has straight hair (like a relaxer) from heat. She only straightens the root since every where else is straight. She has thick and long beautiful hair that keeps growing. If you like the straight look and can deal with the shedding (if that happens) then I don't think you have anything to worry about. Your hair will grow.

dlove said:
Ladies,

Heat Trained: Hair that has been straightened and has lost the original tight 4b pattern. It is usually easier to press and straighten with hair like this.

After repeated once a week straightening for 2 months, my old nappy 4b hair has changed...My curl has loosed. It looks like 3 something hair. To be honest with you, I like it. From what I've read here on the board, my hair has been reconstructed. The heat loosened the bonds of my hair and it is somewhat heat processed.

I'm wondering if my hair will eventually start to break off like
over processed relaxed hair.

If you have experienced this and are able to retain length...
ENCOURAGE ME please.



BTW: I really want to keep pressing weekly because my DD does not like my medium size afro and my father said I look like I'm on welfare when I wear my natural. He says"that's not a good look on you".
Click to expand...
 
Seximami I have been looking at your siggy and was wondering if that was "The Game" holding that stay together sign? it sure does look like him being younger.

I am sorry I know OT!
 
seximami said:
can i see a pic of your hair?

and sure is can grow....but it can also break too be careful:look:
Click to expand...


Here are the pictures: I am wearing a twist out. Heat damage? What do you think?
 

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^^^^^ I am wearing a twist out in the pics above.

I guess I am concerned about is my hair breaking off because it has less keratin. But then, those who are relaxed maintain long tresses when their hair is chemically altered. The relaxed hair has a layer of the cuticle dissolved so the hair lays straight.
 
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I think it can - my mother has been natural for over 30 years and uses a hot comb and hot rollers - daily! And the only moisturizer that I've ever seen her use is Blue Magic Grease. Maybe she's just a freak of nature but her hair looks strong and healthy.
 
Just be good to your hair..it is possible to just maintain it at a certain length. For 6 years of HORRIBLE hair care practices, my heat trained hair has been at APL.
Right now I am laying off the heat, to get it to a certain length and then I will continue to heat train it.
 
dlove said:
Ladies,

Heat Trained: Hair that has been straightened and has lost the original tight 4b pattern. It is usually easier to press and straighten with hair like this.

After repeated once a week straightening for 2 months, my old nappy 4b hair has changed...My curl has loosed. It looks like 3 something hair. To be honest with you, I like it. From what I've read here on the board, my hair has been reconstructed. The heat loosened the bonds of my hair and it is somewhat heat processed.

I'm wondering if my hair will eventually start to break off like
over processed relaxed hair.

If you have experienced this and are able to retain length...
ENCOURAGE ME please.



BTW: I really want to keep pressing weekly because my DD does not like my medium size afro and my father said I look like I'm on welfare when I wear my natural. He says"that's not a good look on you".
Click to expand...


Stay encouraged, that is how my hair is. It used to be very curly, now not so much just a little. That is because before April 09' I used to straighten once a week. Now I only do it on special occasions, and now whenever I straighten I amazed myself. If you can try to take a short break from straightening, your hair will thank you. Check my fotki. :yep:
 
It is possible, but once a week souns like sooo often. But my cousin is a press and curl girl and she has the longest hair in our family. It always looked nice to me, though I haven't seen it at its new reported "booty length". She is type 4 (4b i think) natural and she claims trained hair.
 
I would say be extremely cautious. Before comming to LHCF I had heat trained hair and I thought it was a good thing. Heat trained hair=damaged hair. The hair has been damaged by heat which is why it changes in curl pattern. The only problem is that the damage does not occur evenly all over the hair. Often some areas of the hair will stay straight and some will revert. To me it is too much work. You can still straighten often but I would say remember to use heat protectant. In my case the varying textures eventually lead to some breakage and I had to cut my hair off anyway because some hair was bone straight and other parts natural..so when I just wanted to wear a wash and go it looked horrible.
 
Of course it can grow. Hair is going to continue to grow out of your scalp regardless of how much heat you use on the length of it.

With heat straightened hair you have to keep up with the rest of your regimen. Most of the naturals I see on here only use heat on freshly washed and deep conditioned hair with a heat protectant. In order to retain length while using heat you have to really baby your hair.

Heat does weaken and break the bonds in your hair which means it's technically damaged. But, heat use generally has a temporary effect. Though once you get to the point where your hair is straight without it you might have a problem.
http://www.hair-science.com/_int/_en/topic/topic_sousrub.aspx?tc=ROOT-HAIR-SCIENCE^INFINITE-TRANSFORMATIONS^PLAYING-SHAPES&cur=PLAYING-SHAPES

Keep up with your dc'ing and using a heat protectant and you should be fine. I think flat ironing once a week is way too much personally. I got my hair pressed from ages 12-20 and once my hair was "trained" it stayed straight for 3-4 weeks as long as I wrapped it at night. Obviously, you probably want to wash your hair more than I did but once a week flat ironing is just going to equal more damage, IMO.
 
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Good question.I have been natural for over a year now and I just statrted getting my hair straightened like 2 months ago and I have gotten it done every 2 weeks. Each timeI've gotten it done, it was easier to the previous, and when I wash it, I have some curls. So is this a bad thing?
Dlove, have you noticed more damage to your hair? My hair has been shedding a lot and I am hoping that is due to the change in the weather. Also, how do you moisturize your hair when straightened?
 
just take extreme care of it. dc often and reduce heat use. do you wrap your hair at night? when i was younger, that's all my mother used to do and my hair can't take all of that. i got my hair straighten once last year, and i ended up looking like MJ from Thiller Years. that's why i cut my hair off again. if it works for you then go head. most of my cousin's clients are natural and get their hair pressed every two weeks. the rest of the time they wear weaves or weave ponytails. she has a lot of shoulder/apl clients though.
 
I think it can. It all depends on the amount of heat. Too much is too much, and what works for some may not work for others. My hair does better with light heat and limited use of heat. My crown area is heat trained and it has a texturized appearance when wet. The roots are thicker, and so it is impossble to wear a wash n go because of the different textures and shrinkages. So, if you want the natural look heat trained is a pain, but doesn't prevent retention of length. Well, that is my guess and hope anyway. I'm staying away from heat until June.
 
I guess my hair would be heat trained since I have never had a relaxer in my life and have been wearing it pressed since a little girl (but not bone striaght as a little girl- but never wet and styled either. It was always smoothed out with heat and worn in soft braids, etc). I don't ever wear my hair as a wash and go anyway so it's ok.
Washing and pressing my hair every two weeks works like a charm for me. The women in my family are natural and do the same (some wash less often-once a month). The heat usuage is overrated. I have thick hair and it is very healthy after all these yrs. I love the low maintenance too. Your hair will stay straight for soo long if you want, once trained. When I learned about this site and tried the no heat reggi- it only backfired and I loss inches of hair which was a huge deal- my hair was long b4 experimenting:wallbash::perplexed:nono:. I'm not knocking everyone's regi on this site but you GOTTA do what your hair tells you to and not always mimic. But I won't discredit the tips on this site- I love lhcf!
 
dlove said:
Ladies,

Heat Trained: Hair that has been straightened and has lost the original tight 4b pattern. It is usually easier to press and straighten with hair like this.

After repeated once a week straightening for 2 months, my old nappy 4b hair has changed...My curl has loosed. It looks like 3 something hair. To be honest with you, I like it. From what I've read here on the board, my hair has been reconstructed. The heat loosened the bonds of my hair and it is somewhat heat processed.

I'm wondering if my hair will eventually start to break off like
over processed relaxed hair.

If you have experienced this and are able to retain length...
ENCOURAGE ME please.



BTW: I really want to keep pressing weekly because my DD does not like my medium size afro and my father said I look like I'm on welfare when I wear my natural. He says"that's not a good look on you".
Click to expand...

I'm sure it can grow if you keep it conditioned, every week might be too much, only time can tell. Also, if you want to press your hair every week then you should do it because you like it and not because folks are insulting you into doing so, that's just sad.
 
dlove said:
Ladies,

Heat Trained: Hair that has been straightened and has lost the original tight 4b pattern. It is usually easier to press and straighten with hair like this.

After repeated once a week straightening for 2 months, my old nappy 4b hair has changed...My curl has loosed. It looks like 3 something hair. To be honest with you, I like it. From what I've read here on the board, my hair has been reconstructed. The heat loosened the bonds of my hair and it is somewhat heat processed.

I'm wondering if my hair will eventually start to break off like
over processed relaxed hair.

If you have experienced this and are able to retain length...
ENCOURAGE ME please.



BTW: I really want to keep pressing weekly because my DD does not like my medium size afro and my father said I look like I'm on welfare when I wear my natural. He says"that's not a good look on you".
Click to expand...
my father said I look like I'm on welfare when I wear my natural:funny:
 
I had awful breakage from heat damage ( i know a lot of people on LHCF don't take heat damage seriously because of a few examples on board) but my hair was awful. I upped my hair treatments, used great products. To no avail, it just kept breaking and breaking. It had to go.
 
msa said:
With heat straightened hair you have to keep up with the rest of your regimen. Most of the naturals I see on here only use heat on freshly washed and deep conditioned hair with a heat protectant. In order to retain length while using heat you have to really baby your hair.
Click to expand...

The bolded above is what my hairdresser told me. She said that as long as you straighten ONLY freshly shampooed and conditioned hair, you won't have a problem with breakage or thinning ends.

She also said that you should never touch up your style at home after three days...no curling irons or flat irons after the hair has gone for three days without being washed.
 
OP, did your hair lose its natural curl pattern due to flat ironing very often or just a few times but at a very high temperature?
 
Heat trained hair can and will grow. I went to a salon to get my 4b natural hair pressed and curled with a hot comb and curling iron every two weeks from 8th through 10th grade. My hair never broke, it was always extra straight/full/thick/shiny/strong... grew to a nice length...always got a barrage of compliments...folks not believeing that i could get my hair that straight w/out a perm yadda yadda yadda.

HOWEVER...please believe me when I say that my natural texture was obliterated. If you like the look of certain natural hair styles (twists, coils, uniform wash and go's, puffs) say goodbye to those options if you consistently press your hair over a long period of time. These styles will NOT look the same post heat stretched/trained/damaged hair.

If you never plan on wearing your natural texture, and prefer straight hair, then this may be the route to go. I for one have vowed to never let a pressing comb touch my tresses again bc i refuse to rock a puff where half of my hair is straight, a fourth of it is wavy, and a fourth of it is kinky, LOL.

Also, keep in mind that i never pressed my hair myself. I faithfully went to a hairdresser who deep conditioned my hair, knew when the comb was too hot to place on the hair, and used certain products.

All of the natural girls i knew who ever pressed their hair always had midback length or longer hair...these were black girls...4b hair type.
 
When I was younger I had heat trained hair and it grew to BSL length with blue magic hair grease, pressing comb, and my mother washing my hair every two weeks. It can be done just only press your hair every two weeks not every week and it should be fine. My hair fell out once I got a perm when I was 13 from a shop. Boy did I cry!!!
 
After reading about Taren loosing her curl pattern on youtube and on a thread here on lhcf, I wanted to revisit this thread to encourage myself and others.

To date: I am APL - well last 2 inches in the back and my hair is thriving. My hair continues to retain length and I only press twice (b day and Christmas holidays )a year, no more than 4.

Thank you ladies.
 
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