For those wanting long hair...

Gracie welcome :)

I would suggest u stop deep conditioning overnight. Cholesterol is protein. That's why your hair is hard. I'm not a fan of conditioning overnight because u can easily over load the hair and cause a setback.

Other than than your regimen looks good to me. I think protective styling, regular conditioning and being gentle with your hair are keys to retention and health. Also trim away any damage or split ends so you can start fresh.

Hth
 
havilland said:
@Gracie welcome :)

I would suggest u stop deep conditioning overnight. Cholesterol is protein. That's why your hair is hard. I'm not a fan of conditioning overnight because u can easily over load the hair and cause a setback.

Other than than your regimen looks good to me. I think protective styling, regular conditioning and being gentle with your hair are keys to retention and health. Also trim away any damage or split ends so you can start fresh.

Hth
Click to expand...

GASP!!! I don't remember knowing that cholesterol is protein. Wow thanks for the info! I'm waiting on the lady that use to do my hair to come back to town and I'm going to have her trim it for me.

Thank you for the welcome and your help
 
Rossy2010 said:
Now its official.. I have decided to go natural. Im about 4 month post relaxer so I will transition as long as I can while slowly cutting off the relaxed ends.. I think i will cut off an inch every 3 months.
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Rossy2010

This is GREAT news. I hope you enjoy your transition as much as I did. Please keep us posted. :)
 
I want long hair...:grin:

I'm currently edging on BSL and have decided just this morning that I will hide my hair rather that relax, until my birthday in May when the sun comes out.... hopefully!

I know if I relax in the next few weeks I'll want to wear it for 6 weeks or more. Before I realise what's happening it'll be christmas and my hair will have frostbite and I won't want to hide it, I'll want to whip it back and forth at all the nights out and celebrations. lol

I'm loving the idea of reaching mid-back sin the next year. Then I'm heading to waist length to catch up with all you veterans.:yep:

My regime is simple:
I co wash once/twice weekly, moisturise daily and protective style as much as I can.
Oh and I comb as little as possible.
I'm stretching my relaxers to 3-4months (I used to relax every 6 weeks:blush:).
I'm using much less heat, safer products,
I even give myself scalp massages now and then when I'm watching television.
And I'm coming to the conclusion that my relaxed hair likes protein and it reduces my shedding, so I shouldn't be afraid to apply it.

That's a summary of what I've learnt in my time on LHCF. Even though I registered a while ago, I'm relatively new. And also tend to go quiet during the times I'm hiding my hair under a sew in, because... it's hardly rocket science, hide it, moisturise it and leave it alone!:grin:

Thanks for all your knowledge ladies.. you've got me this far... to infinity (waist length) and beyond!
 
The only product my hair seems to like is Jane Carter Nourish and Shine. Another product with Shea butter makes my hair hard and dry. I don't understand it. And I see so many people having great results with Cantu but it nearly ruined my hair.


Right now I co-wash twice a week. I use Trader Joe conditioner and then use Kinky curly leave-in. I then use the Jane Carter curl defining cream, braid my hair and use a blow dryer with very low heat to get most of the water out. Then I gently undo the braids and go. At night I moisturize with the nourish and shine and olive oil, twist it up in big sections, tie with a silk scarf and sleep. The next day the mist from the shower and some more nourish and shine makes my curls look good again.

I can't find a good protective style I like. When I wear twists for too long my hair dreads up. :(
 
Monaleezza

You have a good regimen. Keep up the good work.

Monaleezza said:
I want long hair...:grin:

I'm currently edging on BSL and have decided just this morning that I will hide my hair rather that relax, until my birthday in May when the sun comes out.... hopefully!

I know if I relax in the next few weeks I'll want to wear it for 6 weeks or more. Before I realise what's happening it'll be christmas and my hair will have frostbite and I won't want to hide it, I'll want to whip it back and forth at all the nights out and celebrations. lol

I'm loving the idea of reaching mid-back sin the next year. Then I'm heading to waist length to catch up with all you veterans.:yep:

My regime is simple:
I co wash once/twice weekly, moisturise daily and protective style as much as I can.
Oh and I comb as little as possible.
I'm stretching my relaxers to 3-4months (I used to relax every 6 weeks:blush:).
I'm using much less heat, safer products,
I even give myself scalp massages now and then when I'm watching television.
And I'm coming to the conclusion that my relaxed hair likes protein and it reduces my shedding, so I shouldn't be afraid to apply it.

That's a summary of what I've learnt in my time on LHCF. Even though I registered a while ago, I'm relatively new. And also tend to go quiet during the times I'm hiding my hair under a sew in, because... it's hardly rocket science, hide it, moisturise it and leave it alone!:grin:

Thanks for all your knowledge ladies.. you've got me this far... to infinity (waist length) and beyond!
Click to expand...
 
nathansgirl1908

How long are you wearing your hair in twists when you hair starts to dread up?

nathansgirl1908 said:
The only product my hair seems to like is Jane Carter Nourish and Shine. Another product with Shea butter makes my hair hard and dry. I don't understand it. And I see so many people having great results with Cantu but it nearly ruined my hair.


Right now I co-wash twice a week. I use Trader Joe conditioner and then use Kinky curly leave-in. I then use the Jane Carter curl defining cream, braid my hair and use a blow dryer with very low heat to get most of the water out. Then I gently undo the braids and go. At night I moisturize with the nourish and shine and olive oil, twist it up in big sections, tie with a silk scarf and sleep. The next day the mist from the shower and some more nourish and shine makes my curls look good again.

I can't find a good protective style I like. When I wear twists for too long my hair dreads up. :(
Click to expand...
 
Allandra said:
nathansgirl1908

The longest I've worn my hair in twists was two weeks, but I didn't experience any type of dreading. I have twists in now (that have been in since September 29).

Maybe you can re-twist your hair every two days. If you braid your hair, how long can you keep the braids in without any problems?
Click to expand...

I think you're right. I just didn't know if that would be too much manipulation. My hair is fine 4a or 4b. And when I braid it, it can stay in a little longer without dreading but only by about two days. So close to a week.
 
Allandra...How many twists did you make? What did you use to twist with? How were you able to maintain twists since 9/29/12? How do you maintain at night? Do you have a problem with unraveling? I ask because it appears to be trimmed in a blunt cut or w/o layers.
 
Garner said:
@Allandra...How many twists did you make? What did you use to twist with? How were you able to maintain twists since 9/29/12? How do you maintain at night? Do you have a problem with unraveling? I ask because it appears to be trimmed in a blunt cut or w/o layers.
Click to expand...

Garner

I make 10 to 14 twists.

I use any leave in or moisturizer in my hair care product stash (the list is within this thread (don't remember which post number, I don't use the same item each time).

I use a satin / silk scarf at night to maintain.

My hair is curly / wavy, so they don't unravel, and I only twist my hair when it's wet so it curls up.
 
Okay I will join in because I want to see if I am doing something wrong or not. So I want long hair as well as everyone else. I don't want waist length but bra strap length would be just perfect for me. I am currently in between shoulder length and APL. I would like to try to reach bra strap length by December of 2013. Anyway, I just started this regimen and I am not the best at reading products and knowing what works best for my hair until I just try it. So My new regimen is as follows:

I clarify my hair on Saturday with Organic Root Simulator Shampoo and deep condition with their conditioner for 45 minutes. My hair loves this product. So much slip and moisture. Then I detangle with the conditioner in my hair rinse out and then place my hair in three to four big braids and put cantu shea butter on my hair oil my scalp and seal with vasaline. I noticed that the vasaline my hair likes as well. Daily I will braid my hair at night in two big braids and rub cantu in it and seal with vasaline and lightly oil my scalp. Every morning I will take my hair out of the two or three braids and rub oil over the hair and ends and place in a bun. I just covered my sock bun with satin scarf and I been trying to move my bun around. On Tuesdays I cowash (right now it's with white rain conditioner cause that's all I have) then I deep condition for 45 minutes again with organic root simulator. Today I messed up and used Hollywood olive oil deep conditioner and my hair didn't like it. I tried to detangle and my hair just kept sheading. I was going as gentle as possiable but normally I have slip in my hair from the oil root stimulator but I figured I would try to use this product since I brought it. Bad news the minute I placed it on and attempted to detangle with my denmen it took me forever to do so I just detangle the front and left it alone. I quickly rinsed it out after five minutes and put my organic root in my hair for 45 minutes and did my normal nightly routine. So I am nervous that I did damage to my hair. I hope not. So now It's in four braids, detangled, moisturized, oiled, and sealed. So tomorrow I will wear a damp bun and continue with the same steps as listed above. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to make sure i put everything on here to see what (besides using that horrible deep conditioner for Hollywood olive oil) if I am doing anything wrong. My hair seems to like it but I do notice lots of shedding. I comb my hair only twice a week and that's on wash days with conditioner. Oh also I just did a light dusting that took me forever to do last week and I noticed that I have very very little split ends still in my hair. It's not long it's so tiny that you have to really look to see it. Is this normal? It's only on a few strands the majority of my hair has no split ends at all. I am treating my hair so gently (besides that drama from the conditioner) I am trying not to trim again until I do my next relaxer and I haven't decided when that would be. I am about five weeks post. I almost forgot to add in the morning I spray my hair with a water and coconut oil mix and then oil my hair.
 
Growingmyhairlong

WELCOME! do you have any pictures of your hair?

this is going to sound weird....but you should track your shedding and try to learn what is normal for you. i kept my shed hair in paper towels for like 3 months so i could truly learn what was normal for me. it seemed i shed alot, but after that weird experiment, i learned my normal patterns. i shed more every 6 weeks or so and less on the weeks in between. i also know what is normal for me on wash days....how long i can go between detangling sessions, etc.

throw that awful conditioner away so that you don't mistakenly use it again.

i would also recommend detangling relaxed hair with a wide tooth comb, not a denman. especially once you have some new growth and have a fragile line between your natural hair and your relaxed hair. that line between the two textures breaks easily.

that's my opinion. do what works best for you. :)
 
havilland said:
Growingmyhairlong

WELCOME! do you have any pictures of your hair?

this is going to sound weird....but you should track your shedding and try to learn what is normal for you. i kept my shed hair in paper towels for like 3 months so i could truly learn what was normal for me. it seemed i shed alot, but after that weird experiment, i learned my normal patterns. i shed more every 6 weeks or so and less on the weeks in between. i also know what is normal for me on wash days....how long i can go between detangling sessions, etc.

throw that awful conditioner away so that you don't mistakenly use it again.

i would also recommend detangling relaxed hair with a wide tooth comb, not a denman. especially once you have some new growth and have a fragile line between your natural hair and your relaxed hair. that line between the two textures breaks easily.

that's my opinion. do what works best for you. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your advice. I threw that hair conditioner away. I will defense try to save my hair to see the comparisons. Tux again
 
nathansgirl1908, my hair is the same way regarding the shea butter products. However, I tried the whipped shea butter recipe from Naptural85 on Youtube and my hair responds to it the same way it does to the Jane Carter product. I can make 3 times the amount of the whipped product for less than half of what the Jane Carter product costs. You may want to give it a try.
 
Well I can certainly agree with @Allandra about "less is more." The one thing I have been doing in the past 6 months is leaving my hair alone. I do an almost daily cowash but I detangle it twice a week only. I still shampoo and deep condition it once a week by the way.

I don't even moisturize and seal daily anymore - I have limited these to only twice a week. I do not have SSKs or incessant split ends anymore either because of this new change in my hair regimen. I have started cutting my hair for thickness around the Moroccan lunar system and have been for 6 months now and my hair is thickening beautifully. I will continue to use this method of cutting for another 6 months before I move to cutting it for strength and length alternately for the following year, then back to thickness and so on.

I don't consider myself a product junkie anymore because I have recently cut back on a lot of products and minimized the number of shampoos and conditioners I have. I stick to only sulfate-free shampoos now and conditioners that are color friendly (for longer henna color results between treatments).

I had 2 and a half to 3 really bad years of constant manipulation of my hair that totally ruined it. Now I have committed to truly keeping it as simple as possible. I use heat only two to three times a year now for trimming only.

In place of all 50-11 sulfate shampoos I had, I am now only using KeraCare 1st lather and the Hydrating Detangling shampoos (both sulfate-free now). I am adding ENJOY and TRI Hair - Institute of Trichology shampoos and conditioners as my go-to staples along with a few of the Keracare products. Only these 3 will be in my regimen for a long while.

Thank you @Allandra for this thread. It helps to keep me focused on keeping my haircare regimen as simple as I possibly can, hence my lengthy absence from the board. Coming in too often was ruining my hair routine - I had no self-control:nono:. I was always wanting to try stuff everyone raved about and now I have those urges very much under control. Thank God!
 
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newgrowth15 said:
@Aggie, welcome back. We have missed you around these parts. LOL.
Click to expand...


Awww :bighug: newgrowth15, It's good to know I have been missed and it's even better to be back too. I have been kinda watching you all from a very loooooooooooooooong distance, trying not to post anything in case I get reeled in again into PJ world. I have been doing my best to stay out of that forbidden camp ground. I feel at ease and in control, so I will try and post more often now.

In addition, I have been busy with my new salon and spa I just opened in June of this year and looking to add additional sevices there so I may not be as active as I was before, but I will come in as often as I can:yep:.
 
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Aggie

You are so very welcome hun. It sounds like you are doing GREAT with your regimen and hair. Keep up the good work. Yep, less is definitely more. :yep:

Aggie said:
Well I can certainly agree with @Allandra about "less is more." The one thing I have been doing in the past 6 months is leaving my hair alone. I do an almost daily cowash but I detangle it twice a week only. I still shampoo and deep condition it once a week by the way.

I don't even moisturize and seal daily anymore - I have limited these to only twice a week. I do not have SSKs or incessant split ends anymore either because of this new change in my hair regimen. I have started cutting my hair for thickness around the Moroccan lunar system and have been for 6 months now and my hair is thickening beautifully. I will continue to use this method of cutting for another 6 months before I move to cutting it for strength and length alternately for the following year, then back to thickness and so on.

I don't consider myself a product junkie anymore because I have recently cut back on a lot of products and minimized the number of shampoos and conditioners I have. I stick to only sulfate-free shampoos now and conditioners that are color friendly (for longer henna color results between treatments).

I had 2 and a half to 3 really bad years of constant manipulation of my hair that totally ruined it. Now I have committed to truly keeping it as simple as possible. I use heat only two to three times a year now for trimming only.

In place of all 50-11 sulfate shampoos I had, I am now only using KeraCare 1st lather and the Hydrating Detangling shampoos (both sulfate-free now). I am adding ENJOY and TRI Hair - Institute of Trichology shampoos and conditioners as my go-to staples along with a few of the Keracare products. Only these 3 will be in my regimen for a long while.

Thank you @Allandra for this thread. It helps to keep me focused on keeping my haircare regimen as simple as I possibly can, hence my lengthy absence from the board. Coming in too often was ruining my hair routine - I had no self-control:nono:. I was always wanting to try stuff everyone raved about and now I have those urges very much under control. Thank God!
Click to expand...
 
well I have been around and I learned that I gained 3" in 5 months. that is good news for me since I only retained 3" the whole of last yr. I am wearing my hair in plaits at this time just so that I can try to retain more length, lets see what happens.
 
Hello. New to this forum. See the initials: ABL, NL, CBL, what do those all mean?
My hair is natural now, but I wear scarves because not long enough to do braids, buns and other protective styles. Was wearing a very short natural coif for a long time , then went under wigs but honestly did very little to no hair maintenance. Now ready to go full out with natural look and let it grow long. I am a mature woman with grey hair so would love to see pics of ladies like me and how they rock their natural grey. Tks much. :yep:
 

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WheelerB said:
Hello. New to this forum. See the initials: ABL, NL, CBL, what do those all mean?
My hair is natural now, but I wear scarves because not long enough to do braids, buns and other protective styles. Was wearing a very short natural coif for a long time , then went under wigs but honestly did very little to no hair maintenance. Now ready to go full out with natural look and let it grow long. I am a mature woman with grey hair so would love to see pics of ladies like me and how they rock their natural grey. Tks much. :yep:
Click to expand...
WheelerB

Those are for different hair lengths:

APL Arm Pit Length
NL Neck Length
CBL Collar Bone Length

Welcome to the forum.
 
WheelerB, welcome to the forum. Your hair is very pretty. I am not quite ready to let the grays rules, so I use henna and tea to color them a fiery burnt orange.
 
WheelerB said:
Hello. New to this forum. See the initials: ABL, NL, CBL, what do those all mean?
My hair is natural now, but I wear scarves because not long enough to do braids, buns and other protective styles. Was wearing a very short natural coif for a long time , then went under wigs but honestly did very little to no hair maintenance. Now ready to go full out with natural look and let it grow long. I am a mature woman with grey hair so would love to see pics of ladies like me and how they rock their natural grey. Tks much. :yep:
Click to expand...

newgrowth15 said:
@WheelerB, welcome to the forum. Your hair is very pretty. I am not quite ready to let the grays rules, so I use henna and tea to color them a fiery burnt orange.
Click to expand...


Welcome to LHCF @WheelerB and just like @newgrowth15, I am not ready right now for grays to take over my head and probably will not be ready anytime soon. They have been threatening to take my mane from I was 38 years old but I say "Nay!"

I also use henna followed by indigo, but if you like you can learn to use the henna and indigo in a 50/50 mixture or 75/25 respectively on your nair It will not be a very black nor a fiery burnt orange. It will be more like brownish to dark brown color instead.

The good thing about henna and indigo is you can use it often as it is a dye, but not a commercial dye. It is a natural dye that has none of the ill-effects of commercial dyes.

For more info on henna , check out the henna thread.

Then on the other hand, you may want to keep your hair that gorgeous silver in your avi. In this case I would use some products that is good for platinum colored hair. I believe you can find products of this nature in most hair product brands, for example, Kenra Platinum, Kerastase Substantif, and a few others.

I may rock my grays at age 80 or so if God allows me to live that long :yep::blush:.
 
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To the ladies that co-wash daily what benefits did you find in this versus washing less frequently? And to those of you who live in areas with cold winters does this method change when it gets cold or do you still co-wash daily? Thanks so much!!
 
Hello everyone I'm new to the forum and looking forward to learning more about you and your beautiful hair. Everyone has so many great tips they've shared.

To retain length I...
Detangle gently (always) with my hair moist & conditioner in it.
Detangle once a week to rid of shed hair & minimize tangles.
Moisturize & seal daily.
DC every week.
Trim when necessary.
Minimal heat. (So far I've used it 3 times in 2012, compared to years before when I used heat daily)
Overnight DC/pre-poo once a week.
Undo my twists with a little hair oil on my fingers. (Usually EVOO or coconut oil)

So far this is all working for me. My main style is twistouts and then I braid my hair at night & twist the ends. My hair is getting longer (currently SL) so I want to try protective styles that will keep my hair off my shoulders & minimize tangles. I love wearing my hair out but I think it's tangling more than if it would if I didn't wear it like that every day. Doing more PS's will be a newly added method I use to help retain length.
 
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