For the love of hair, I need you all...

[CheerBear]

Ok ladies, this is serious...here is the deal
a)I am currently 5 wks post relaxer...one entire side of my head is underprocessed
b)My hair is ridiculously damaged and I have lost about 3 to 4 inches of hair in the past couple months
c)I havent had a real trim since january which has contributed to the breakage problem
d)My hair is weak,very very week
e)It has now started breaking where its underprocessed from being 3 diff textures
f)I purchased Revlon Realistic reg form last night
g)I really wanna trim it right now, i hate looking so raggedy
Now I am truly afraid that I am going to go bald and everyone is yelling at me from every direction about what i should and should not be doing to my hair right now..I don't trust anyone but you OLD PROS here...

, give me all your unsolicted advice..products, techniques, whatever...and I am not going to go natural..but I willing to wait awhile before i relax again, please respone, please help

 

[Lindy]

Oh my gosh, cheerbear... I'm so sorry you're going through this!!

It sounds like you're dealing with some serious issues... the underprocessing, the weakness, the breakage... do you have a stylist that you go to on a regular basis?? I'd suggest you find a good one and go for a consultation.

You might want to start with a good trim and possibly a corrective relaxer...

I'm no expert, I can only tell you what I would do in your situation...

Good Luck!!

With the proper care, Im sure your hair will be on the road to recovery in no time.

 

[CheerBear]

I have a great one at home, but i've been away at college for 3 years and shes expensive so she doesnt fit my budget right now.....and I'm in the middle of nowhere, we have the traditional "white" stylists who i wouldnt let apply a chemical to my head under ANY circumstances, not even under the current ones, thats why I'm trying to wait as long as possible..I wont be going into CIVILIZATION until the end of August

 

[Poohbear]

how long do you wait to get a relaxer?

 

[CheerBear]

I generally wait as long as I can go without breakage..I havent gotten past 12 weeks yet

 

[Irresistible]

[ QUOTE ]
CheerBear said:
Ok ladies, this is serious...here is the deal
a)I am currently 5 wks post relaxer...one entire side of my head is underprocessed
b)My hair is ridiculously damaged and I have lost about 3 to 4 inches of hair in the past couple months
c)I havent had a real trim since january which has contributed to the breakage problem
d)My hair is weak,very very week
e)It has now started breaking where its underprocessed from being 3 diff textures
f)I purchased Revlon Realistic reg form last night
g)I really wanna trim it right now, i hate looking so raggedy
Now I am truly afraid that I am going to go bald and everyone is yelling at me from every direction about what i should and should not be doing to my hair right now..I don't trust anyone but you OLD PROS here...

, give me all your unsolicted advice..products, techniques, whatever...and I am not going to go natural..but I willing to wait awhile before i relax again, please respone, please help

[/ QUOTE ] this is gonna seem like a simplified answer to a complex problem. But i would say if your willing to go without the relaxer for a while, do that!! and in the meantime baby your hair with lots of moisture (good oils, conditioners) if you can wear your hair in some low maintenance style, like a bun (you could even do a phony pony over it if you want a change) ...braids are a good break from fussing with your hair , and when taken care of properly willl allow your hair to grow out while not having to mess with it much. but it keeps you from taking care of it intensly while in the braids too . and depending on the condition of your hair they can make matters worse. I say just do everything you can to pamper it, overnight conditining and oil treatments and no poo for a while. thats what i would do

also do reg protien treatments since your saying your hair is weak, i dont know if you can recover the damaged/weak hair, but you can help it to break/shed less while you get new healthy growth, also keep up with a good vitamin regimen....i know how your feeling, i was there a million times over

 

[Tracy]

ITA with Irrisistable...

Hang in there girl. Delaying the relaxer won't necessarily hurt as long as you do as little as possible to it. I paticularly agree about adding some protein to your regime. Weak hair loves protein. Try using a reconstructor often and follow up with a detangling moisturizing conditioner.

If you feel you need a trim, it can't hurt to get a small one - sometimes that's half the battle in getting your hair to behave less perturbed.

Baby your hair. It'll come around.

 

[patience]

The weakest part of the hair is where the natural hair ends and the relaxed hair begins. I would definitely suggest that you give your hair a break from relaxers, perms, texturizers, chemicals period for a while. Your hair is damaged and point blank needs to be cut. Walking around with raggedy looking hair is NOT attractive no matter how long it may be. I understand that half of your head is underprocessed..however, with the damage you described, you don't need to do anything harsh to your hair unless you are trying to make it fall out. Definitely deep condition your hair, trim it, pamper it. Keep the products to a minimum because they sometimes contribute to the damage that's already there and will make a bad problem worse. Increase your intake of fresh/raw fruits and veggies to get much needed vitamins and minerals, leave the junk foods alone, drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water DAILY! Healthy hair begins on the INSIDE with a healthy body! I know that you don't want to do it, but you really may need to cut off all of the damaged hair and start again. I also hope that you haven't damaged your hair follicles. If you have, you have got a serious problem.

I wish you the best.

 

[Vanessa22]

In my personal opinion, I don't find it necessary to cut it all off and start over. Like most people have mentioned on here, I think a protein treatment followed by a good moisturizing conditioner treatment should do the deed for now. In the meantime, I suggest that you do refrain from any unnecessary combing that could possibly cause extra stress to your hair. I, too, was underprocessed nearly 2 months ago, but I've been dealing with it just fine. I know the importance of deep conditioning treatments and protecting my ends as well as the demarcation line. Good luck to you, and let us know how things turn out!
HTH

 

[Boadicea]

Get a good protein treatment and a good deep conditioner and moisturizer and put your hair in cornrows or braids. That way there won't be any unecessary combing, etc. and you won't have to use heat.

 

[Guest]

Sorry to hear about your blues Sis... but it's NOT over. Let's start with a consultation from a good stylist. I would recommend someone that is into hair care... which might be an older stylist... Like another poster said... get a corrective relaxer or texturizer to even the texture of your hair. Weekly deep treatments or hot oil is a must to repair your hiar. You will also benefit from cutting any split ends and evening your hair out. Then try a body wrap or roller set to minimize heat.

Repeat this process weekly if you can... in about 3 months you will see a real difference. Just stay focused.

 

[patience]

[ QUOTE ]
Boadicea said:
Get a good protein treatment and a good deep conditioner and moisturizer and put your hair in cornrows or braids. That way there won't be any unecessary combing, etc. and you won't have to use heat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Braiding and cornrowing the hair isn't necessarily a good thing to do when hair is already damaged. Now, if she's going to ONLY use the hair on her head, that's different...I would suggest doing it with JUST your hair. However, adding hair may really dry out the hair already on your head and leave you with more damage than you started with.

 

[Boadicea]

I meant with her own hair. No extension.