Discouraged 4a/4bs... this thread's for you!!!
- Thread starter AJamericanDiva
- Start date
AllAboutTheHair
New Member
See, you are making me want to get a relaxer just so I can go a year without getting a retouch to watch it grow...I have relaxer envy, it goes and it comes...but natural is best for me (sigh).
Anywho, this is AllAboutYOU, your hair is beautiful, you GROW GUUURRRL!!
Anywho, this is AllAboutYOU, your hair is beautiful, you GROW GUUURRRL!!
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AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
tryn2growmyhair said:
Out of the 5 times I got braids from March 2003 to present, I've done 3 of them myself... this includes these that I'm sporting now. Broken edges and not being sure that ALL of my hair was in the braids was one of the reasons I went back to doing it myself. No one will love and care for my hair better than me. That's for sure. I put braid pics in the LHCF gallery. As far as protective styling goes, I do braids from time to time. When not in braids, then I do loose buns or any style that will allow me to haved my ends confined within my hair, protected from the elements. I keep the hair lubed, especially the ends. I know if I can maintain the ends, I'll accumulate length. When I wash my hair, I airdry... even if the hair is put into 1-5 loosely braided plaits. See pic that's in my album that says one plait braidout. The further I go post relaxer, the NAPPIER I get and I don't wear my hair down. I'll comb it once a week. The key is to be able to control the two textures. I don't wear it straight as it's saturated with S-curl and a light oil. I make sure to soften up the new growth. Even in that one plait braidout pic it looks like my hair isn't straightened. I only comb out the roots when the hair is being washed and has a really good moisturizing conditioner on it. Heck! One of my protective styles will be to plait up my hair and then tie my head with a scarf. I make a bun with the scarf and put on one of my Kangols or fedoras and call it a day. I don't work in corporate America, so I can get away with this. When things really get unbearable, I spray my new growth with Better Braids UnBraid spray. It makes the roots soft and easy to detangle. HTH.
I should also add... if you find that you're doing all sort of stuff to stretch your relaxer and it isn't working, then it's better to go ahead and relax rather than risk losing your hair. Every head has its OWN limit. What works for one might not work for another. I've learned this the hard way.
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AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Kitty18, KeyLargo, AllAboutTheHair and Hairlover!
As far as having relaxer envy, as you stated, you know natural is best for your hair. What you can do for special events is to get it pressed or flatironed. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!
As far as having relaxer envy, as you stated, you know natural is best for your hair. What you can do for special events is to get it pressed or flatironed. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!
tryn2growmyhair
New Member
AJamericanDiva said:
Thanks so much for the tip, AJD. I stretched out my relaxer to 14 weeks this time and I will never, EVER do this again. 8 weeks is the limit for me, esp. because I do work in corporate America, so I can't use some of the nifty tricks that others do to extend relaxers. I can put my hair up, but I have to comb it every day or people start looking at me funny, LOL! I worry that extending the relaxer might have defeated all of the work that I have done to grow my hair
. How did you learn to braid hair, BTW? Your hair always looks superneat.
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
You made it to 14 weeks. At what point did it become unbearable and you start seeing breakage?... 10 weeks? 12 weeks? Who relaxes your hair? Stretching the relaxer FOR ME, serves to ensure there is less room for overprocessing because there's an adequate amount of new growth. My hairdresser has been "disappearing" to the Dominican Republic for long periods of times, hence that contributed to the wait. Matter of fact, I couldn't wait any longer this relaxer and went to someone else. Although the last relaxer pics look good, it wasn't without a lot of aggravation... i.e. matted head of hair once they neutralized my hair and was ready to set, among other things that'll get my blood to boiling if I bring it back up again. You better believe that I'll probably be one of those that self-relax.
I learned to braid from Robin's video on www.growafrohairlong.com.
I learned to braid from Robin's video on www.growafrohairlong.com.
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
I still have people PMing me asking if I had long hair as a child. People! I had short, dry, nappy hair as a baby. I know it's hard to undo all the many years of brainwashing, but we CAN grow our hair long. I've attached a baby photo below and added more to the Picturetrail album. The link is below where it says Transitioning album. Go to My First Album or something like that. I don't think I'm adding anymore stuff to the yahoo album.
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onepraying
Healthy Hair Quest..
tryn2growmyhair said:Thanks so much for the tip, AJD. I stretched out my relaxer to 14 weeks this time and I will never, EVER do this again. 8 weeks is the limit for me, esp. because I do work in corporate America, so I can't use some of the nifty tricks that others do to extend relaxers. I can put my hair up, but I have to comb it every day or people start looking at me funny, LOL! I worry that extending the relaxer might have defeated all of the work that I have done to grow my hair
How did you learn to braid hair, BTW? Your hair always looks superneat.
Have you considered rollersets? They really help me in my stretching. Check out My Rollerset. I'm not sure how many weeks I am here....maybe about 10 or 11 weeks.
There is also a pic of my hair at 13 weeks post! You can't hardly tell. It's in my How to section.
~op~
tryn2growmyhair
New Member
onepraying said:
Rollersets make my hair break even more. They really abused my fragile hairline and lead to a shower of hair coming out during the week. I think that I will stick to airdrying with oils and creams and relaxing ever 8 weeks and see how that works.
onepraying
Healthy Hair Quest..
tryn2growmyhair said:
Were you really wanting to stretch your relaxers? If so, I'm sorry that it was unsuccessful for you.
We'll pray that you get an abudance of growth during those 8 weeks then.HHG-
~op~
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
tryn2growmyhair said:
Stick with what works for you. One of my hair inspirations, "Jane Doe" (see My Photos- Hair Inspirations) relaxes every 8 weeks and has no problems. She said she starts to get breakage if she goes past that, so you should be OK as well... just as long as you're not overlapping on the relaxed bits!
Stretching out the relaxers don't speed up the rate of growth, only lessens the chance of having setbacks from chemical mishaps.....
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tryn2growmyhair
New Member
Thanks AJD and Onepraying.
Yes, One, I tried to stretch to 14 weeks and I am now experiencing breakage. My hair is difficult to comb and I have been trying not to comb it too often until my relaxer. It is also matted at the roots. Never, ever again
.
AJD, thanks for your words of support. Yes, I will be sticking to 8 weeks. Jane Doe's hair is gorgeous? Is she a type 4? Is she mixed? What tips did she share with you about how she got her hair that long? Its beyootiful. Do tell, girl.
Yes, One, I tried to stretch to 14 weeks and I am now experiencing breakage. My hair is difficult to comb and I have been trying not to comb it too often until my relaxer. It is also matted at the roots. Never, ever again
.AJD, thanks for your words of support. Yes, I will be sticking to 8 weeks. Jane Doe's hair is gorgeous? Is she a type 4? Is she mixed? What tips did she share with you about how she got her hair that long? Its beyootiful. Do tell, girl.
tuffCOOKiE
Well-Known Member
How do you feel about CON washes? I think I'm gonna try it out for a month to see whats good. There are plenty of shampoos that are mild and i DO put a lot of oils in my hair but i still feel that after a wash its too dry. I do roller set every wash though... could that be the cause of my dryness? I feel that it'd be dryer if i left it to air dry..
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
tryn2growmyhair said:Thanks AJD and Onepraying.
Yes, One, I tried to stretch to 14 weeks and I am now experiencing breakage. My hair is difficult to comb and I have been trying not to comb it too often until my relaxer. It is also matted at the roots. Never, ever again
AJD, thanks for your words of support. Yes, I will be sticking to 8 weeks. Jane Doe's hair is gorgeous? Is she a type 4? Is she mixed? What tips did she share with you about how she got her hair that long? Its beyootiful. Do tell, girl.
To be quite honest with you, I never even asked "Jane" her hair type. I'd have to explain it all to her as she's not into the hair thing like I am. However, she did say that her hair never grew past shoulder length until she started frequenting Dominican salons on a weekly basis for the wash and sets and relaxers. Heck! She asks me for tips! "What, asking me for tips?" Hey! I guess it's about maintenance now....
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
tuffCOOKiE said:
Hey, Gurl!
I find that when I am really a good many weeks away from my last relaxer, I manipulate my hair less as I have two different textures to deal with. What are you using as a moisurizer? Do realize that oil and moisture are two different things. I moisturize my hair with SCurl and then seal in the moisture with a light oil. This is very crucial with it being so cold here in NYC. What products are you using in your hair currently.... also what's your regimen?
L
lkg4healthyhair
Guest
AJamerican, I too am having post pardom shedding.It has gotten better since using nexxus keraphix weekly but my edges are just horrible. they are very thin. Since you had the same problem...what did you do to bring them back. They look great in your last photos.
Your hair growth is amazing. I had braids during my pregancy and my new growth was great and the new texture was good also. When I took them out I finally hit past my shoulder. I was thinking about putting them back in for the next 3 months but I am afraid it will make my hair line worse.
Your hair growth is amazing. I had braids during my pregancy and my new growth was great and the new texture was good also. When I took them out I finally hit past my shoulder. I was thinking about putting them back in for the next 3 months but I am afraid it will make my hair line worse.
L
lkg4healthyhair
Guest
AJamerican, I too am having post pardom shedding.
It has gotten better since using nexxus keraphix weekly but my edges are very thin. Since you had the same problem...what did you do to bring them back? They look great in your last photos.
Your hair growth is amazing.
I had braids during my pregancy and my new growth was great. When I took them out I finally hit past my shoulder. I was thinking about putting them back in for the next 3 months but I am afraid it will make my hair line worse.
It has gotten better since using nexxus keraphix weekly but my edges are very thin. Since you had the same problem...what did you do to bring them back? They look great in your last photos.
Your hair growth is amazing.
I had braids during my pregancy and my new growth was great. When I took them out I finally hit past my shoulder. I was thinking about putting them back in for the next 3 months but I am afraid it will make my hair line worse.
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
Hey Gurl... I take it you have a somewhat new baby as you're complaining about postpartum shedding, so let me say, "Congrats!" I wanted to do a back to back braid-a-thon, but when I saw my hairline after I took out my 1st set of postpartum braids, I figured it was best to give it a rest. Leaving it alone was the best remedy. I didn't put any unnecessary pressure on it and gave it a lot of TLC. I believe it was July/August when I took out those braids. I put in my own braids just January, if I remember correctly. I was sure to braid gingerly around the hairline with no tension pulling on it whatsoever. It will grow back in. Just give it time. Take a break from the braids if it's going to result in tension along your hairline. Try a different protective style. I know I didn't wear my hair back for some time. I preferred hairstyles that swooped down across my big ole' forehead. See the album.
L
lkg4healthyhair
Guest
Thanks AJ...yes my baby is 3 1/2 months. I just read that the shedding may stop around 4-6 mths after.... 
I am now wearing my hair in a very loose bun on the top every day. I think I will hold off on the braids and see how it goes going back to the salon weekly.
Thanks
I am now wearing my hair in a very loose bun on the top every day. I think I will hold off on the braids and see how it goes going back to the salon weekly.
Thanks
hottopic
Well-Known Member
Shatani said:did you do it?? i did mine yesterday....nothin fancy, relatively big braids in the back and cornrows in the front...looks pretty good!
how did yours turn out?
I did mines myself..The girl did not come through....But it came out really good. I am shocked....
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
I wanna see pics!!! 
I'm trying to take out my braids, but it's trying with the baby constantly seeking my attention. 
I find I definitely lose less hair when I braid it myself! Like I said...no one will love your hair more than you. 
I'm trying to take out my braids, but it's trying with the baby constantly seeking my attention. I find I definitely lose less hair when I braid it myself! Like I said...no one will love your hair more than you. tryn2growmyhair
New Member
AJD, I could not agree with you more on this. how did you learn how to braid your own hair again? I think that I would most like to learn how to do cornrows, so I could do a healthier version of the cornrows that Susan Taylor of Essence wears.AJamericanDiva said:no one will love your hair more than you.
AJamericanDiva
Well-Known Member
Bumping for my 4a/4bs who need encouragement. My regimen is in my journal.
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