Drying And Styling Techniques For Fine-haired 4a/b/c Naturals??

[Crystalicequeen123]

Hey ladies!!

I feel like there's a TON of information for naturals, but not as much information for FINE-haired naturals in general.

Unfortunately not ALL of us have thick, coarse, BIG, high-density hair......yet, this is primarily what I typically see when I peruse websites, YT tutorials, articles on natural hair, etc. I'm like: "what about us type 4 ladies who DON'T have thick natural hair?? What are WE supposed to do???"

I feel like with my fine natural hair (it runs in my family unfortunately) I'm somewhat limited. Especially when it comes to drying my hair, styling it, and retaining length. Let me explain:

Since I'm a fine-haired natural:
-my hair is more prone to tangles, knots, ssk's
-I can't wear certain styles too often because then the hair will thin out (ie. wearing buns all the time)
-I can't wear my hair out as much anymore because I find that wearing my hair free and out leads to more...you guessed it....tangling and thus breakage
-I can't even be a straight-haired natural and keep my hair straight to minimize knots and tangles because heat used over a continual basis will lead to more THIN hair and breakaage

*sigh*

So therefore this begs the question....what are us FINE-haired naturals supposed to do??

I feel like I'm caught between a rock and hard place , because while I prefer to use heat sparingly on my hair (in fact for the first 2 years I went natural I NEVER used heat...not even a blowdryer), my fine natural hair just does NOT like air-drying. I find that air-drying causes my hair to feel "crispy" and hard, and it breaks more often too. It's so difficult to manage....even if I have air-dryed it in braids or twists.

Twists are a nice protective style, but yet again...because my hair is FINE, when I do twists on my hair they just don't look full. If I do them on wet or damp hair, they can look downright scalpy. When I blowdry and then twist, my hair looks more full and thick (don't ask me why lol).

Which leads me to blowdrying. Honestly?? My hair LOVES blowdrying! My hair dries nicely, it has less tangles, it feels soft, and it's SO much easier to manage. HOWEVER....I know that I cannot afford to blowdry, flat-iron, or even roller set my hair too often because eventually (maybe not at first) my hair will start to thin out even more due to the heat.

So how do you fine-haired natural ladies dry and style your hair? I feel like I'm not retaining as much length as I should simply due to the fact that my hair is fine/thin. I don't even have a high-density of fine hair. I have LOW density. Now that my hair is a little longer (collar bone length) I want to do more protective styles. But again, which styles would be good for a FINE-haired natural?

I just feel so torn...

 

[Prettymetty]

Can you braid it up and wear a wig? That's what I do with my fine 4b hair. When my hair isn't straight I keep it in about 12 plaits and I redo them every 2 weeks. My hair actually retains length better when It's stretched

 

[Jace032000]

I'm a fine haired natural as well. I've been rocking the keratin for almost two years so I don't have to worry about flat ironing too much, reversion or blow drying. The keratin coats the hair with protein and makes each strand look and feel stronger so I just do regular deep conditions, pass through on the flat iron once every three weeks and voila my fine hair looks nice, full and healthy. I started out at shoulder length and I'd say I'm about MBL now.

 

[charmtreese]

I feel your pain OP!

I style my hair in twist and twist outs mostly. I fake the funk of full thick hair by twisting my hair while it's still damp in small medium sized twist. This way my twist outs appear fuller and I don't have to separate and fluff as much.

As my hair gets longer the time it takes to twist is increasing. I'm either going to have to stretch wash days to every two weeks, or come up with a different styling option.

 

[Misseyl]

My hair is fine also but once it grows back, I'll see if I'm bothered much about it's thickness. Sometime if you have length, you won't stress too much about thickness.

 

[sizzle]

I'm a fine haired natural as well. I've been rocking the keratin for almost two years so I don't have to worry about flat ironing too much, reversion or blow drying. The keratin coats the hair with protein and makes each strand look and feel stronger so I just do regular deep conditions, pass through on the flat iron once every three weeks and voila my fine hair looks nice, full and healthy. I started out at shoulder length and I'd say I'm about MBL now.

Lucky you! I wanted so much for the keratin treatment to work for me but it just broke my hair off. The hair is thin. So back to square one

 

[yaya24]

Fine haired 4b.

I tension blowdry with EVERY wash.

My go to style is a flat twist out on stretched hair.

Once the twist out style looks ugly I just pin it into an updo and M&S. Redo/M&S the pinned back as needed until the next wash day.

 

[imaginary]

I FEEL your pain op. You've just described me and my hair to the T.

What has been working for me so far is to:

1. Wash in the shower. I realize I have more control over keeping my hair stretched vs. when I wash in the laundry room sink and I get less SSK's. This is the most annoying for me because I am not a fan of the jumping in and out of the shower.

2. Doing regular protein treatments, not DC-ing for too long and only using heat for maybe 10mins. I got this idea from komaza advice from here on the boards. Turned out they really were making my protein treatments less effective and my hair definitely feels stronger.

4. Air drying (wait hear me out) along with stretching my hair. By banding the roots with a hair tie, twisting the rest and then gathering everything into one ponytail, I get a good enough stretch to then do medium twists after it has dried. By doing it this way, it's sort of like when I blowdry and twist because my hair does look fuller by starting out on stretched hair.

That sounds like a lot and my routine will probably end up changing in the future, but this is what has been working for me for the past few months. I'm going to experiment with other ways to stretch my hair though because I still haven't managed to defeat my SSK's and again I'm super styling challenged. I may look into keratin treatments in the future but I dunno it seems so risky to me

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

Can you braid it up and wear a wig? That's what I do with my fine 4b hair. When my hair isn't straight I keep it in about 12 plaits and I redo them every 2 weeks. My hair actually retains length better when It's stretched

I like the versatility of wigs, but I just HATE wearing wigs! They're so uncomfortable to me. Even loose wigs that aren't tight along the edges annoy me. I think I just hate fake hair on me. Even when I wore a fabulous sew in weave last month (human hair btw), my scalp itched something fierce from day one! Ever since I went natural 5 years ago my scalp just doesn't like hair that is not my own lol.

I'm a fine haired natural as well. I've been rocking the keratin for almost two years so I don't have to worry about flat ironing too much, reversion or blow drying. The keratin coats the hair with protein and makes each strand look and feel stronger so I just do regular deep conditions, pass through on the flat iron once every three weeks and voila my fine hair looks nice, full and healthy. I started out at shoulder length and I'd say I'm about MBL now.

Is keratin treatment a chemical service? I just don't know much about it. I know some women were doing something called a Brazilian blowout years back,but I heard that over time it wasn't good for the hair.

I feel your pain OP!

I style my hair in twist and twist outs mostly. I fake the funk of full thick hair by twisting my hair while it's still damp in small medium sized twist. This way my twist outs appear fuller and I don't have to separate and fluff as much.

As my hair gets longer the time it takes to twist is increasing. I'm either going to have to stretch wash days to every two weeks, or come up with a different styling option.

Wow....your hair can be twisted damp and turn out okay? Mine always has to be pretty much dry before my twists will show any thickness at all. I feel like over time my natural hair has actually gotten thinner over the years. Maybe it's just my imagination,but I swear, my hair has been the same length since late 2013. Now it is true, I did move to a warmer,dryer climate with harder water,and the first year I moved out here to CA I couldn't figure out why my natural hair was acting funky. It was only until early this year that I began to figure out that I needed to change up my techniques for my new surroundings. I got a shower filter, did more chelating treatments, used a little more protein, and started moisturizing my hair more often and doing more protective styles. I just started last month.

I'll see if I notice a difference.

Fine haired 4b.

I tension blowdry with EVERY wash.

My go to style is a flat twist out on stretched hair.

Once the twist out style looks ugly I just pin it into an updo and M&S. Redo/M&S the pinned back as needed until the next wash day.

Thanks you guys for all the tips! Have you found that your hair has thinned out over time with using heat/blow dry every wash day?

I would love to use it every wash, but I'm scared of the drying out and thinning out of my hair.

 

[almond eyes]

I am just waiting for the length as well. My hair is high density though. With my hair once the length comes the styling is easy.

I just keep my hair in big braids, braid outs, wig it or roller set. I know what you mean some wigs can look horrid but I also think sometimes we can get too self conscious about the wigs. But I hear you wigs on fine haired women must be used sparingly to prevent breakage along the hair line.

I have to stretch my hair first before I can style it which means putting it in big braids to let them dry after washing and then gently putting it into my twists, big braids, cornrows, roller set etc.

I wouldn't dare touch a keratin treatment. I've done all the treatments known to man kind and with my fine hair it leads to breakage city. Some women are fine medium so they can perhaps take some of these blow dry/blow fry treatments better.

I have to say I met a young woman today who has fine hair and she told me that she has a great hair dresser who is very gentle with her hair and only lets her blow out her hair once a month but the rest of the time puts her in roller sets. She has no breakage from what I could see and her hair was swinging. She said that her hair does revert very quickly but then she knows how to style it when it does without putting heat. So you may have to spend the money and find a good hair dresser who will work with your goals. Her hair dresser said no to blow dry on fine hair weekly. She alternates with roller sets which can have the same effect of a blow dry when done properly.

I don't like twists on my hair because it always comes out thin looking. I never do twists on wet hair that is too much manipulation for me.

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[myronnie]

@imaginary

What do you use to band your hair and how big are your sections?
I'm a fine haired natural also and have experienced the same problems.
Washing in twists has really allowed me to retain more length by avoiding tangles.

 

[imaginary]

@imaginary

What do you use to band your hair and how big are your sections?
I'm a fine haired natural also and have experienced the same problems.
Washing in twists has really allowed me to retain more length by avoiding tangles.

I use the regular ouchless bands but I wouldn't recommend them because I always end up snagging my hair. I was eventually going to try those satin hair ties, they seem like a gentler option.

 

[Ivonnovi]

Speaking of "Banding" hair, for the past years I have been using the tops from knee-highs as hair bands. I put these under scrunchies and more decorative barrettes.
These are ouchless, [I am very tender-headed], easy to adjust the tension on, and IMHO more "breathable" than other products I've tried. I started using these when deployed to the desert; I should add that they are durable too.
THE BIG PLUS IS THAT THEY DON'T DAMAGE THE HAIR WITH constant use; in my case it was constant buning.

 

[yaya24]

@Crystalicequeen123
Tension blowdrying with every wash has not thinned out my hair.

 

[coolsista-paris]

hey my girls!!!!
i havent been posting in a long time.
So here I am again natural. i was natural for 5 years then relaxed december 2013. Immediatly transitionned from there.... This transition was Wayyyy EASIER as i know what my hair need.
No heat reggies never worked for me, it even messed up my retention.
What works:

-i wash every 2 weeks in winter i might go up to 3... i will try and see).
wash day : 6 sections, spray water on a section, add apoghee 2 min reconstructor+ an oil (i detangle at this moment) , then let it sit a while.'
rinse + co wash then either condition with aussie 3 min / or just oil rinse with amla oil (amla oil makes my hair just sooo soft and takes any knots out and keeps moisture , its not greasy)
i dry with a coton t shirt. then i add cantu shea leave in + heat serum on damp hair.
when its damp almost dry, I tension blow dry. done hair is moisturied well for some time.

when i want to air dry , i do everything the same, but i band it with normal hair bands. hair is very stretched and no knots, almost as if i blow dried it (become of the serum i guess)...
I will shampoo once a month.

Girls: DUST YOUR HAIR: i saw retention ONLY when i started using heat safely + dusting !

 

[coolsista-paris]

OoH let me share what i did today. washed , blow dried and got my hairstyle done for work.

i big chopped in july. Im now 21 months post relaxer .

blow out


style for work:

 

[coolsista-paris]

ok....i tried to make them smaller.....Sorry ladies. good night

 

[Shelew]

I'm a fine haired natural as well. I've been rocking the keratin for almost two years so I don't have to worry about flat ironing too much, reversion or blow drying. The keratin coats the hair with protein and makes each strand look and feel stronger so I just do regular deep conditions, pass through on the flat iron once every three weeks and voila my fine hair looks nice, full and healthy. I started out at shoulder length and I'd say I'm about MBL now.

I had a keratin treatment a few weeks ago so to hear this is refreshing because so far no regrets. But still kinda worried the good feeling won't last. Glad to hear it has been working for you for two years. It's doing great for me now but still early. If it continues this will be the best thing I have done to prevent reversion and add strength and weight to my hair.

 

[Jace032000]

I had a keratin treatment a few weeks ago so to hear this is refreshing because so far no regrets. But still kinda worried the good feeling won't last. Glad to hear it has been working for you for two years. It's doing great for me now but still early. If it continues this will be the best thing I have done to prevent reversion and add strength and weight to my hair.

Yes, everyone I talk to still cannot believe that I've had a keratin after 2 years. I've heard horror stories. My thing is that as long as you take care of your hair, properly DC and moisturizer daily (or every other day in my case) you will be fine.

I had a minor set back when I stopped doing these things. The Keratin can fool you by making you think your hair is healthy and beautiful. You'll feel like a million bucks and may slack on your routine---(or at least that's what I did). But don't give in---keratin treated hair needs TLC because it is coated with pure protein so moisture is crucial and oil (my favorite is pure jojoba oil because it penetrates the hair shaft) locks in the moisture.