First Steps...any advice

[jeanessa]

I have been a member for awhile, but not very active. I've read a lot but it seems overwhelming and hard to get started. When I first started reading, I started wearing a phony pony to protect my hair and it has grown obscenely from nape length to APL, very nearing BSL, with very little effort on my part.

I want to wear my own hair down sometimes and in protective styles that would be good in a corporate environment.

My lone salon experience was when I was 6 years old, my moma decided that I needed something she wouldn't have to deal with so she told the stylist to give me jheri curls. At six. I went home with a jheri curl and by the time I woke up in the morning, I was bald...like Vin Diesel bald. Okay, there were a few wisps of hair up top, but my brother took care of them with an electric shaver. I have more stories like this that I could tell, but I won't bore y'all.

What advice would you have for a girl like me who was not taught good haircare techniques, gets by wearing a phony pony and has a head full of extremely full APL 4b hair that she is very, very afraid of?

I want to conquer that fear, though, and have the kind of hair that I admire (full of body and bouncy)...any advice?

 

[My Friend]

Hello and welcome. Congrats on your growth without really trying

The experts will chime in and give you great advice.

 

[Day Dreamer]

I am new to this hair care thing as well but what i can offer is something that i have learned over the past few months. Keep your hair moisturised. I believe that I have 4b hair as well and my biggest problem is getting enough moisture.

Aside from this I know that all the ladies here are more than willing to offer advice. HHJ

 

[brucebettye]

What do you want to do with all that hair? Wear it straight, curly, afro, braidouts, or twistouts? Is it permed or natural?

 

[jeanessa]

What do you want to do with all that hair? Wear it straight, curly, afro, braidouts, or twistouts? Is it permed or natural?

I want to wear it straight and possibly in buns to protect it.

Right now, I perm the new growth every 3-4 months or so, but it's very overwhelming.

 

[jeanessa]

I am new to this hair care thing as well but what i can offer is something that i have learned over the past few months. Keep your hair moisturised. I believe that I have 4b hair as well and my biggest problem is getting enough moisture.

Aside from this I know that all the ladies here are more than willing to offer advice. HHJ

Thank you! I have bookmarked Sistaslick's fokti and am making a list of products to buy (shampoo, clarifying shampoo, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioner and moisturizer. And I'm watching lots of youtube videos, too.

Buying stuff is the easy part, though.

 

[ceebee3]

It seems like you already know how to retain length. If you want to wear your hair out more often and have it bouncy and full of body, I would suggest you start out by learning to rollerset.

If you're relaxed you can get the desired look without using any direct heat at all.

I love rollersets and once you master them, you'll have many different healthy styling options.

I wouldn't buy too many products, you don't need a lot to keep your hair healthy.

I would focus on deep conditioning treatments and protein reconstructor as needed.