Can I cry on your shoulder?: Update (Pics)

[trendsetta25]

I made a post on my site, but I knew that you guys can make me feel a little better so here it goes...

Today I went to see my stylist Tangela at Studio 709 in Brooklyn. I went in for a trim and came out with healthy ends but it's the same length my hair was back in April 2010. I'm so disappointed with my length. I'm a slow grower and have been working really hard for my hair to be at least BSL at this point.


I don't know why my hair started to shed and break (which caused a huge setback). Now I feel like I'm back to square one .

Ugh...I so want to cry. Right now, i'm just going to stick to what worked which is weave my hair for 2 months, bun for a month and then back to a weave. So in a few weeks I plan on rinsing my hair black and weaving it for the summer. I plan to relax my hair in October. I pray that the Nixion vitamins that I have been taking for 3 months now would have kicked in and my hair will be at least BSB again by October (my next relaxer).

Few facts:

• I relaxed my hair Dec 23rd
• I put a blonde semi-permanent in my hair Dec 31st
• I give myself an Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment every 8 weeks
• I deep condition weekly
• I've been bunning since February (alternating the positions of my bun...see my site)
• I limit my heat....well not really....lol. I would press my roots every week when I was 3 months post until I relaxed in May...BUT I always used a heat protectant.
• I started using Nixion vitamins in Feb (started with 2 a day and lowered it to 1 a day in the beginning of May)

Now on to the pictures...

My hair in April 2010

My hair after my relaxer on May 14th. The last time I relaxed before that was in Dec 2010.

My hair after my trim

 

[Whimsy]

Aw. Sorry she took off more than you wanted. Looks purty tho!

 

[prettypithy]

I'm sorry to hear about your setback. Your hair looks nice though and a lot of progress since 2007! I imagine being a slow grower is tough but you can do it! Do you think the blonde semi-permanent a week after the relaxer led to some of the shedding and breakage? If the weaving and bunning works for you, just focus on that and you'll be to BSB in no time! Good luck!

 

[trendsetta25]

thanks Whimsy...btw...your hair is

 

[Leesh]

Hi there, I am so sorry you are going thru this, I to am a slow grower and any setback is a tremendous slap in the face. Its sounds like you've been doing all that you need to do to keep a healthy head of hair! Altho, sometimes Dyes can be a dirty little demon! sometimes it doesn't matter what you do to take care of it and protect it from the chemicals, it can still be abrasive. Also, weaves can serve a grand purpose for PSing, but it can also be a demon in its own right. So just be very careful and keep it as simple as possible! I'm sure you'll be on track in no time!

ETA: By the way, your hair looks fabulous, those ends are beautiful!

 

[appplecidder]

Sorry to hear about your setback but your ends look much better and your hair is gorgeous : ).

Sent from my MB200 using Long Hair Care Forum App

 

[Ijanei]

Sorry to hear of you going through this but if it makes you feel any better, I am dealing with the exact same issue. It's growing but IDK it's still stuck, then the stylist "trimmed" it saying that my hair was going to continue to break off if I didn't cut the ends .... anyway...your hair looks great regardless and it looks healthy

 

[trendsetta25]

since I can't hug you all personally....here you all go


thanks so much for the encouragement.....if you have any advice...please let me know

 

[MrsHdrLe]

Just wanted to say, though you're disappointed in your length, your hair is really beautiful. There are a lot of gals 'round these parts who would love to have your hair (me included). Continue to do right by your hair and you will get there! Best.

 

[trendsetta25]

Hi there, I am so sorry you are going thru this, I to am a slow grower and any setback is a tremendous slap in the face. Its sounds like you've been doing all that you need to do to keep a healthy head of hair! Altho, sometimes Dyes can be a dirty little demon! sometimes it doesn't matter what you do to take care of it and protect it from the chemicals, it can still be abrasive. Also, weaves can serve a grand purpose for PSing, but it can also be a demon in its own right. So just be very careful and keep it as simple as possible! I'm sure you'll be on track in no time!

ETA: By the way, your hair looks fabulous, those ends are beautiful!

Leesh thanks....i thought my hair couldn't get damaged from a semi-permanent....guess i was wrong.

 

[Leesh]

@Leesh thanks....i thought my hair couldn't get damaged from a semi-permanent....guess i was wrong.

I'm sorry @trendsetta, I didn't realize you stated "Semi Permanent". Now in this case it should have been safe, because it doesn't have peroxide or ammonia, right? Maybe it was something else, another product or technique, Altho it seems as tho your doing everyhting there is to keep your hair on track. What may be a good would be to use one product and technique at a time and journal everything that your doing so you can ween out the culprit, a process of elimination of sorts!
What brand color did you use?

 

[BlaqBella]

Idk either..but the first thing that came to mind (for me) was the color could have been a culprit..idk. But i've followed your progress and I love your hair (you've done a great job)! On a good note: Your hair is more full now. Which is one reason that it looks beautiful. Remember it could have been worse and (like one poster said) any setback is set up for a comeback. You can do it! Share it with us when you do.

 

[geejay]

It looks way thicker in your latest picture. You definitely gained thickness and health, even if not the length you want.

 

[Deuces]

Ugh, I feel your pain! I am sooo frustrated with my hair right now and do not know what I am doing wrong.

However, I will say that I WISH my setback looked like that! Your hair is beautiful, girl, especially with that thicknizz lol, yes, with the z's.

 

[Zaz]

Maybe you need a bit more protein if your hair was breaking. I dye my hair so I do the aphogee 2 step every 6 to 8 weeks but I also use light proteins in between. My faves are:
Ion reconstructor
TIGI dumb blonde
Aubrey organics GPB
Hth with your retention problems

 

[trendsetta25]

Idk either..but the first thing that came to mind (for me) was the color could have been a culprit..idk. But i've followed your progress and I love your hair (you've done a great job)! On a good note: Your hair is more full now. Which is one reason that it looks beautiful. Remember it could have been worse and (like one poster said) any setback is set up for a comeback. You can do it! Share it with us when you do.

BlaqBella I definitely will....it's just so frustrating when you've been on a HHJ for almost 3 yrs and your hair is shorter than APL...especially when you try your best to do what's right

I'm sorry @trendsetta, I didn't realize you stated "Semi Permanent". Now in this case it should have been safe, because it doesn't have peroxide or ammonia, right? Maybe it was something else, another product or technique, Altho it seems as tho your doing everyhting there is to keep your hair on track. What may be a good would be to use one product and technique at a time and journal everything that your doing so you can ween out the culprit, a process of elimination of sorts!
What brand color did you use?

Leesh i used Clairol's Natural Instinct Semi-Permanent Color

this was the results....sigh...when my hair was so healthy

 

[lustrous]

OP, in the first and last comparison, though you are near the same length the thickness is different. Your last picture looks much more full and uniform in thickness. it has that "matured" length look. ( i.e apl vs FULL apl.) So progress has been made! =)

 

[keepithealthy]

I'm sorry to hear about your set back. Your hair does look purty after the cut though.

 

[curlyninjagirl]

No Ammonia Colorant: Water, Hexylene Glycol, Ethanolamine, Propylene Glycol, Soytrimonium Chloride, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Discucinate, Fragrance, Ethoxydiglycol, Oleth-15, C11-15 Pareth-9, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract, Simmondisa Chinesis (Jojoba) Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Oleth-2, Dilinoleic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Oleic Acid, Resorcinol, Erythorbic Acid, Sodium Sulfite, Oleamide MIPA, C12-15 Pareth-3, P-Phenylenediamine, Oleth-10, Panthenol, EDTA, M-Aminophenol, 1-Naphthol, P-Aminophenol, 4-Amino-2-Hydroxytoluene Developing Lotion: Water, Hydrogen Peroxide, Acrylates Copolymer, Steareth-21, Oleth-2, Oleth-5, Peg-50 Hydrogenated Palmamide, Acrylates/Steareth-20 Methacrylate Copolymer, Oleyl Alcohol, Etidronic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Simethicone Deep Conditioning Treatment with Aloe: Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glutamic Acid, Dimethicone, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, EDTA, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

These ingredients (from the color) when coupled with another chemical treatment (relaxer) + weekly heat usage may have been the cause of the breakage. Chemical damage is irreversible.

Do you have fine strands or thick? Some people with thick strands can seemingly drop an anvil on their strands and suffer virtually no consequences while, people with fine hair (such as myself) have to avoid heat and chemical treatments. I'm not bitter . HTH. HHG

 

[ebsalita]

Hi - sorry you're disappointed you will make a fine comeback if you stay at it - I understand how you feel but just wanted to say you have lovely hair many would wish for and look at the fullness compared with a year ago- so lush

 

[melissa-bee]

But your hair looks a lot thicker, so that's a plus.

 

[Bnster]

You will definitely get back to where you were soon, but with thicker ends! I know that feeling of the cutting and not seeing the progress, it will come don't worry. Wishing you a continual HHJ!

 

[kandegirl]

I feel your pain but your hair is beautiful. My hair grows when its in weaves then the ends always come out thinner then your new growth(b/c that's so healthy and hasn't had much relaxer). so it makees you wanna trim. I keep noticing I am back at my starting place. So I'm sticking to my weaving it up regimen that I've beeeeennnn using and not trimming my hair as much. And only do a good trim on the equinoxes. Not really a need to before then b/c my hair is braided up and my ends are protected under the weave. HTH

 

[trendsetta25]

These ingredients (from the color) when coupled with another chemical treatment (relaxer) + weekly heat usage may have been the cause of the breakage. Chemical damage is irreversible.

Do you have fine strands or thick? Some people with thick strands can seemingly drop an anvil on their strands and suffer virtually no consequences while, people with fine hair (such as myself) have to avoid heat and chemical treatments. I'm not bitter . HTH. HHG

curlyninjagirl I have fine strands. So nothing can repair my hair?

 

[curlyninjagirl]

trendsetta25 I think the trim was a very good start to getting back on track. Low manipulation is best for chemically damaged hair so this is a perfect time to be getting back to weaves. There's nothing that can repair damaged hair but things like protein serve to protect from further damage, i.e. breakage. And heat will only hurt your hair at this point, so I would give that a break if you can. The fragile line of demarcation comes to mind when I think of flat ironing one's roots.

 

[Charla]

I'm sorry @trendsetta, I didn't realize you stated "Semi Permanent". Now in this case it should have been safe, because it doesn't have peroxide or ammonia, right? Maybe it was something else, another product or technique, Altho it seems as tho your doing everyhting there is to keep your hair on track. What may be a good would be to use one product and technique at a time and
journal everything that your doing so you can ween out the culprit, a process of elimination of sorts!
What brand color did you use?

When i researched semi-permanent colors, it the manufacture's display in the store said you should not go more than 2 shades lighter or darker than your own natural hair color. That may be why you experienced some damage since u used blonde.
Your hair looks very pretty.

 

[My Friend]

I think your hair looks great. Your stylist did a good job.

Depending who you ask and what thread you read, those "lead" hairs may or may not needed trimming. If your a slow grower maybe look into a no trim or cut until you meet your goal challenge.

 

[Leesh]

@Charla may be right @trendsetta25 about the fact that you went blonde and that is several shades above your natural color. Also, I see that there's "Sodium Hydroxide" in the color which is the main ingredient in Lye Relaxers, that can't be a good thing! In any case, don't panic, I think a strong protein treatment and a Super, Duper Moisture DC is in order, all may not be lost! Honestly, Your hair looks very healthy now that its been trimmed, just watch it closely and be very gentle with it, be sure to continuosly do DC's and M&S Daily. And Please, come back in here and let us know how your doing with this. I'm sure it will be fine!

 

[JerriBlank]

That clairol natural instincts in black broke my hair off viciously,back when I was relaxed. It was very bad. I big chopped soon after. Some women on here had good results with it though.

 

[Uniqzoe]

While I don't have any advice for you, I can lend you a shoulder. Setbacks are never cool, but your hair looks very healthy!