Hair Texture

[pinkcar2222]

Is there anyway to change the texture of your hair at all. My hair is always coarse, dry, stiff, has no shine etc. I have been to 2 stylists and told them my issues and they both said and I quote -
" it's just the texture of your hair "
Do I have to deal w/ this ' bad hair "? I just don't get it????? My hair is all thin at the ends (due to prior poor maintenance ) but I am trying to grow and gradually cut it off.

By the way I do:

deep condition w/ moisture and protein in rotation
co wash and regular poo in rotation
moisturize ( still looking for a moisturizer that is best for me )
protein treat
clarify
stretch relaxers at least 7 weeks

What .. oh what can a lady do?????

just take a look at what i am dealing with here
http://public.fotki.com/pinkcar2222/the-awful-beginning/

please anyone w/ suggestions post - post - post
By the way I have asked before but if anyone can suggest a moisturizer and oil that i can use to help combat this stuff let me know. My hair soaks up everything I put on it and gets dry again, especially my new growth.
right now i have:

ors carrot oil
b&b moisturizer w/ castor oil and aloe
s-curl
b&b mayo and honey
i am now trying conditioners as moisurizers ???
wgo ( which is ok )
castor oil
HELP YA'LL !!!!!

 

[hothair]

Hiya, do you have a set regimen, I ie short of extreme hair breakage or a fire things you do regularly. My hair suffered extreme dryness which wasn't helped by the fact I colour (I still colour BTW) having a regimen and sticking to it helped LOADS. Also adding glycerin to my moisture mix and or conditioners had me convinced.

 

[BrownSkin2]

How do you wear your hair? I'm no expert, but the best way for me to retain length is to leave it alone in protective styles (braids, twists, cornrows, sew-in weave, or buns. Perhaps you can stretch your relaxers more. 7 weeks is not long at all for retouches. I'm sure the ladies on here will chime in and give you some excellent advice.

 

[pinkcar2222]

Thanks much for your replys I am bout desperate.
I only wear falls and wigs becuz my hair looks a mess.

As far as a regimine I do have a hair journal that i keep and write down what i do for my hair .. I don't have it on point yet but I think I am getting there.

The reason why i get the relaxers every 7 weeks or so is cuz my new growth is such a different texture from my relaxed hair. It's easy to pop and break off. But if there is something I can do to combat this new growth I will try to stretch longer. How long is a safe stretch? I am 4B relaxed.

 

[LiLi]

Are you using a no-lye relaxer?

Also, you say that you use a clarifier. You should really get a chelating shampoo. To me, your hair looks like either you have a lot of buildup or you are using a no-lye relaxer along with a lot of buildup.

Also, your hair may not like all of those heavy oils. My hair used to look the same way and once I stopped piling all of those oils on it and used a chelator when I switched products or every other week, it looked much better. Also, conditioner washes were too much for my hair. I had to use shampoo.

Try knocking some things out and see if it lightens up the texture of your hair.

If you are using a no-lye, a lye relaxer will silken your hair up so much that you won't think it's yours.

Just some things to think about ... I hope you get everything straightened out.

Also, be careful with those falls. Sometimes, they can do more damage than good if you are wearing them continously.

 

[pinkcar2222]

Well I get my relaxers done at a salon and I believe they are using a LYE relaxer.

What is the difference between a chelating poo and a clarifying poo? Where can I get a chelatig poo from?

Do you recommend any products I can try since you went thru a similar situation?

I just washed my hair w/ poo, did a protein no heat condish w/ ORS MAYO and egg and did a no heat moisture condish right after w/ LOREAL TRIPLE MOISTURE.

I am fresh out the shower w/ freshly washed hair... any suggestions on what I can do right now ( literally ) ...

I will wait to see if I get any post suggestions before I get in my hair ...

 

[BeautifulFlower]

Your stylist are right. Your hair texture is genetic. However, I myself have a rough, dry, stiff texture as well but there are things you can do about it.

Just because your texture is genetic, dont believe that your potential is minimized by your genetics.

I believe your best bet is to moisturize at night using the baggie method but do the whole head. Your hair should be soft in the morning and you can wear this under your wigs. Pay alot of attention to your ends. If you can wear a phony pony, use the baggie method on your ends under the phony pony. The key is moisture at all times. I hope this helps a little.

And reduce heat. It wont be fun but its worth the sacrifice in the end. Do your research and you will find that no only are you not alone but their have been alot of girls on here that used to have your problem but now have flourishing hair.

 

[♦K.O♦]

Is it possible that your hair is overprocessed and overly porous?

 

[pinkcar2222]

YES ... i found out that it is over processed. I was getting relaxers every 4 weeks thinking that was o.k. cuz my new growth was soo unruly.
Since learning about stretching I have been trying to stretch. I started in June as you may have seen my beginning in my fotki.

June 12th - relaxer
July 27th - relaxer
Sept 15th - relaxer
No October relaxer yet

But still in a struggle

 

[♦K.O♦]

YES ... i found out that it is over processed. I was getting relaxers every 4 weeks thinking that was o.k. cuz my new growth was soo unruly.
Since learning about stretching I have been trying to stretch. I started in June as you may have seen my beginning in my fotki.

June 12th - relaxer
July 27th - relaxer
Sept 15th - relaxer
No October relaxer yet

But still in a struggle

Then this may be your problem. Overprocessed/over-porous hair hair cannot hold moisture and doesnt have shine.

Continue to baby your hair, stretch your relaxers, and see if your hair's texture changes. I suspect it will.

 

[shunta]

Then this may be your problem. Overprocessed/over-porous hair hair cannot hold moisture and doesnt have shine.

Continue to baby your hair, stretch your relaxers, and see if your hair's texture changes. I suspect it will.

I so agree with this. It appears to be over-processed; just continue to baby it, wash at least once a week, and deep condition it regularly. Make sure you find out exactly what relaxer your stylist is using and also if its lye or no-lye. It may take several months to nurse it to good health, but it can be done. Minimize heat if you already havent (especially direct heat). Make sure to moisturize daily. Also, if it were me, I'd clip the dead ends off and start fresh. Good luck! HTH.

 

[hondahoney007]

Hey pink, I feel your pain. I went thru the same thing with my hair in Sept.(check my fotki). My hair would soak up everything and the next minute my hair would be dry as a bone. My hair would break off every time I combed it. I think my problem came from the hairdresser mixing 2 different relaxers (Affirm & something else) at the same time. She had 1 tub of Affirm but when she came from the back the little tub was overflowing like she added another relaxer and then she added the activator. This happened about 2 months ago. I went back for a wash & set the following week and told her how my hair was breaking off and she told me that because I have a permanent color in my hair and using a relaxer my hair is weak. Mind you I have been growing this color out since April of this year. My other touch ups didn't break my hair off when she did it.(Those times I bought the relaxer with me to the salon). That's what makes me think it was her mixture this time. I usually get a touch up 8-10wks. I got a touch up last wk(used my relaxer), she trimmed my ends for the 2nd time within a months time. I started using ORS Olive Oil moisturizer (it seems to be ok) twice a day. My hair is no longer breaking when I comb it. I put it in a bun and leave it alone. I sleep with a scarf every night. I just started using the Silicon Mix leave in. This leaves my hair soft and bouncy. I think that phase my hair went thru is over. You can get thru this phase also. Its easier said than done but it can be done. I was going crazy. I think I back on track to BSL in 08. Welcome to the forum.

 

[pinkcar2222]

O.k.... thanks much .. I know it hasn't been that long for me and yes it will take months to accomplish good results.

I guess I needed some help and encouragement. It just seems like I will never have a nice head of hair .. long or not .. I just want it to be healthy first and foremost.

It's just very hard and frustrating for me which then involves that damn low self esteem creeping in.

I will keep trying to do more of the right instead of the wrong for my hair and see what happens.

I will look into the chelating poo and maybe some porosity control to see how that works. ( sigh )

 

[gymfreak336]

O.k.... thanks much .. I know it hasn't been that long for me and yes it will take months to accomplish good results.

I guess I needed some help and encouragement. It just seems like I will never have a nice head of hair .. long or not .. I just want it to be healthy first and foremost.

It's just very hard and frustrating for me which then involves that damn low self esteem creeping in.

I will keep trying to do more of the right instead of the wrong for my hair and see what happens.

I will look into the chelating poo and maybe some porosity control to see how that works. ( sigh )

Just keep at it pink. As your hair gets healthier, it will feel better and better. If you don't see the texture changes you like, then it might be your texture but that is okay. All hair types have advantages and disadvantages. Please belive those with pin straight soft hair are some where talking about how they wish their hair was different too.

 

[lollyoo]

i agree about hair been over processed.
i will suggest bi weekly deep conditioning- keracare humecto in a tub is a good moisturising conditioner
the second deep conditioner (light protein), mix this light protein conditioner with a moisturising one like keracare.
try this for 2-3wks.

The reason i said light protein is you dont want to over do the protein to cause breakage so may be lay off ORS mayo for now.

elasta qp oil recovery is good moisturiser- that is not as oily as the others, use this at least 2-3 times a day- bed time, morning and may be mid day.

you need to do the biweekly conditioning it really does help by 4 weeks you see result, so one ven said she had to do this for 8 weeks to get hair top notch.

my guess is that you may not be using conditioner that is completely moisturising no protein. please try and read ingredient list

 

[pinkcar2222]

all i can do is smile to that .. thanks