Dark Hair Moments...

[NaturalRox]

I was thinking this morning about how much my hair has come around from it's previous damage and how grateful I am that I stopped doing what I was doing! I also was thinking about my hair over the years and remembered some "dark hair moments" where it was really damaged and how I felt about it at the time. I was so frustrated because it seemed that my hair wouldn't grow when really it was always being broken off - either by my regular pressing or from going to stylists that claimed to know what they were doing with my hair (and now I know they certainly didn't!). I suppose my darkest moment was the beginning of this year when I had pretty bad breakage that was a result of highlighting my hairdresser did - along with my pressing. It was like everything came to a head and my hair just couldn't take it anymore!

I know we've all had some wild experiences with our hair, so what were your darkest hair moments?

 

[ladybug]

Mines was highligthing...i got highlights that my stylist warned me of...but i didint listen nor did i take care or moisturize my hair...so it broke off badly...and the growing out process was really bad too..imagine having bleached ends...ends are already hard to manage so my ends were color fried....never again though..

now i am okay..my stylist has nursed me back to reality and so have i with the great tips from eveyone on this site

 

[henrilou]

I had to post. My darkest moment in hair came when I took out my weave. After THREE year of consistently weaving. My hair was LONG. Well. I relaxed that same day (you would have think I had learned...) And sure enough, within 4 months the back had broken off. I literally watched as it broke off. The whole time I was in the shop every two weeks and my stylist was relaxing every 4 weeks claiming "I'll work it back to health." Well it was gone. I had to weave for TWO MORE years. And it that time it sunk in: my hair is too weak to be relaxed. Period. That is why I have NEVER had long hair since the 8th grade. And it took ALL that time for me to learn. So many years of short broken hair that was relaxed and hot-curled to death.

Now I press it every three weeks. Wrapping and wearing "up-do's" in between. Pressing doesn't seem to damage my hair in the least. It is truly healthy and strong (and long!!) I have been relaxer-free for 2.5 years now and this is the first time I have had and KEPT long hair. I would love to relax and not have to worry about "reversion" gosh I envy girls that can. But I know now that my hair cannot take it.

Question: I want to high-light just the front of my hair w/light brown pieces/streaks. Is this a big "no-no"? I do press it like I said. Also my stylist says she doesn't use bleach, but peroxide. Any tips? Suggestions?

 

[ladybug]

well my highlights were like blonde..and they were bleached so...

light brown maybe less harsh and since its not bleach it may be fine...

 

[Karonica]

Allowing someone to bleach my hair. Never again.

 

[ChoclatePrincess]

My darkest hair moment

hmmmm, I would have to say it was summer after I graduated from elementary school and my mother put a Dark and Lovely relaxer in my hair! My hair was shoulder length but after that relaxer my hair broke off so much it was up to my ear! I cried

Going to a new school and starting 7th grade was the worst. Ever since then I have a fear of Dark and Lovely products.

 

[candibaby]

mine was last year at the end of september when my mother's scissor happy stylist chopped my hair from brastrap to neck length! i was ready to kick her @$$!! my hair was my pride and joy, and to have it all go away?! uh uh, you'll never see me in that woman's shop again.

 

[PretteePlease]

1)being bald at 9 because someone my mom babysat for used my combs while playing and gave me a fungus. my hair fell out in patches and was getting shorter because the fungus was eating my hair from the root. Bald and patchy boy was I depressed. When my hair grew back the texture was like straw and it was extremely dry. Now my texture is more like the pre fungus days but dryness is still a problem. Hide your combs from company. I thought lice was the biggest problem then came fungus.
2) not knowing my own hair. I am by no means anti perm but i thought it was sad that I didn't know my natural texture or how to care for it. now i want to see how long i can grow it then i may texturize or just stay natural.

 

[Dolce_Dawn]

Msportugal, that's terrible!

My DARKEST moment was when I let a friend do my hair. She workd at a salon so I figured she was cool. NOT! I had already washed and con and I just needed her to style/curl it. Well, honey don't you know that girl not only CUT my hair, but when she curled it she only used some kind of oil sheen as a heat protectant AND never heat checked the curler!!!!! She pulled them straight out the oven onto my hair!!!!!!!

When I left the salon, my hair looked really nice. A few days later when I washed it, it all went down the drain. Literally. I cried.

 

[JenniferMD]

My cousin relaxed my hair from root to ends...my nape area broke off so bad and hair was so thin, but now I've got everything under control and my hair is loving my new regimen.

 

[UmSumayyah]

I'm having mine right now. After nine months on the board my hair grew from neck length to a little past my shoulders. Then I went to a stylist who overprocessed me, and my hair started to break.
I have cut my hair several times since then trying to get rid of the damaged hair. Each time I consoled myself with the thought that my hair was still longer than it had ever been. (Including my most recent cut--2 inches--last week). But the breakage just won't stop. I think I'll have to cut another inch or two, and at that point I'll be right back where I was in February of 2003!

 

[UmSumayyah]

Oh yeah. And I was SURE last week that it was the last cut and that I had gotten rid of all the damage. It feels right now like my hair will never stop breaking.

 

[Angelicus]

for those that haven't read my hair bio, please do.

in high school I had a friend with long hair; I'd overhear her listening to other girls talking about how bad my hair was. In my HS band, we had nicknames for every member, some called me "Troll" because I was short. Her smart self said, "Girl, they call you troll because your hair is like the treasure trolls."

some friend. Yes, it was a mess but she could have helped me

I am happy I started taking care of my hair. Mine is longer and than hers now and she calls me for tips.

 

[Karonica]

Umsumyyah, I can totally relate. I kept getting trim after trim after trim, and ended just going to the salon to get mine hacked down to 2-4 inches, but guess what??? No mo' breakage.

 

[BlackButterflyz]

My darkest hair moment was back in the summer of '98 when I got these golden highlights (they looked so pretty too!!!). Everything was fine when I was at home but then I went away to school in PA and watched the hardwater eat away at my hair

Within a year you wouldn't even know that I had highlights cuz they all broke off. I think my hair went into shock for a year after that cuz it stayed the same length no matter what I did. I am soo scared of any hair color process now (I won't even get a rinse, I'm soo traumatized)

 

[Tracy]

I'm having one now. I FINALLY overdid it with the color. And the color is still WAY uneven (stems from a bad decision I made before I left NY). Note to self and to the board - one cannot dye and re-dye the lengths of one's hair 15-20 times over and have a relaxer!

Lesson learned. I still love color, but I'm going to grow/cut out what I have and start fresh...with T&T Bronze.

My hair is REALLY frizzy and unmanageable. Even rollersets are unruly. I'm giving Bride of Frankenstein. Think Infusium commercials.

So - Umsumm I feel your pain.

Karonica, I pray for your courage.

And God PLEASE let me find a good stylist!

I'm hoping I only have to cut it to shoulder length but I'm going to do it in stages.

 

[Karonica]

Ahh Tracy.

I always tell people that if you need a cut, just don't cut it, but get it cut into a style. That way, you'll have more fun experimenting with the new shape of your hair.

Once you do it, you will be so happy, and your hair will seem like it's growing in super fast - well, mine is.

And my hair curls up now!!

After all that processing, all my length fell flat and stringy and I couldn't do my wet-n-wavy anymore.

Now I have a curly puff.

 

[Tracy]

Yeah - my hair has ceased to curl also...

I agree about the style. I've been looking for one, but the main problem is the stylist. If I were in NY a cut would be no thing...but here....

I just don't know hon, I just don't know.

 

[DahomeyAhosi]

My darkest moment came after going to a salon run by women who tried to sell me any service just to make some extra cash. My hairstylist used cheap relaxers and didn't fully neutralize my nape leading to heavy breakage. Had to cut it all off and this is when I went natural.

 

[ubavka123]

Highlights for sure! I got my hair cut into a healthy bob slightly below chin length. I was so happy! Of course, I got bored and decided I wanted to cut a little more and get highlights. I got the highlights well after my retouch, but my delicate hair just could not take it and broke off slowly but surely. I was so angry. I decided to go natural. I spent over a thousand bucks basically living in Khamit Kinks getting my hair braided! They are expensive, but I wanted my braids done right. After 9 months or so, I realized that if I kept braiding, no matter how gentle they were to my hairline, that I was not going to have any hairline left, so I stopped. I went back to relaxing at the same shop and when I complained to the owner of my breakage after the highlights, she said, "yeah, that's why you are supposed to come back and get special conditioners and things so that your hair doesn't break off." WTF? My stylist never told me this. At this point, I was HOT, and I told her that I was not informed of this and she just shrugged her shoulders. My hair has since grown back and I will never get highlights again. I am also seriously thinking about never stepping foot in another salon again. As someone else on the board once said (was it Dolce Dawn?)and I paraphrase, if anybody is going mess up my hair, it's going to be me! Why should I keep paying to be messed up? They basically withheld info from me because I go every two months and not every week or two weeks. That was just wrong. They should have told me how to care for myself at home and not create this dependence on them. Well, now I know a lot better than I did then. I mean, my stylist is still telling me that one side of my hair is longer than the other because I sleep on that side more! Hah! I rarely sleep on the side that is shorter. So, now what? Oh well...