HELP!!! I guess i just wasn't ready...*PICS*

[tking21]

I've been natural before, and it was somewhat of a disaster. I would rip a comb through dry hair use pink oil lotion and gel to smooth down my edges... the whole shot. I finally decided relaxed hair would be easier after doing research here on LHCF. After being relaxed for about...4 months i decided that even though it was hard to tame, I LOVED my natural hair. I transitioned smoothly for a year before I did my BC. Now that its a month after my BC my hair is dry and frizzy... even when wet it stills feels super dry and brittle. My regimen consists of co washes every 2-3 days, deep condition once a week, daily scalp massage with Beemine growth serum, daily moisturize with honeyquat and water mixture sealed with a little bit of shea butter and i wear a bun everyday, because its the only way my hair looks decent , whenever I do try to wear my hair out it gets brittle. Has anyone else experienced this sort of extreme dryness??? Could I possibly be confusing dryness with texture??? This is really starting to irk me because the main reason I went natural was because I really would like to wear my hair down.
The first picture is wet hair saturated with leave in conditioner and sealed with shea butter. The second is my dry hair and the third is the top of a bun.

 

[Crackers Phinn]

Try washing your hair with either baking soda or a clarifying shampoo. When I was natural, co-washing only was a no-no. I needed to wash my hair with shampoo otherwise the buildup was too much.

 

[TexturedTresses]

your hair is beautiful. have you considered that you might have hard water?

 

[Neith]

I've been natural before, and it was somewhat of a disaster. I would rip a comb through dry hair use pink oil lotion and gel to smooth down my edges... the whole shot. I finally decided relaxed hair would be easier after doing research here on LHCF. After being relaxed for about...4 months i decided that even though it was hard to tame, I LOVED my natural hair. I transitioned smoothly for a year before I did my BC. Now that its a month after my BC my hair is dry and frizzy... even when wet it stills feels super dry and brittle. My regimen consists of co washes every 2-3 days, deep condition once a week, daily scalp massage with Beemine growth serum, daily moisturize with honeyquat and water mixture sealed with a little bit of shea butter and i wear a bun everyday, because its the only way my hair looks decent , whenever I do try to wear my hair out it gets brittle. Has anyone else experienced this sort of extreme dryness??? Could I possibly be confusing dryness with texture??? This is really starting to irk me because the main reason I went natural was because I really would like to wear my hair down.
The first picture is wet hair saturated with leave in conditioner and sealed with shea butter. The second is my dry hair and the third is the top of a bun.

How often do you clarify your hair? 3 cowashes plus a deep conditioning in a week may lead to build up over time.

For some people (including me), just co washing too often dries the hair out. Why not try co washing less/deep conditioning more? For me personally, if I deep condition every time I co wash, then there are no problems - not that I'm telling you do that, just explaining how my hair behaves.

Also maybe look into the honeyquat. From what I understand it's a powerful humectant. Sometimes the more powerful humectants can suck moisture out of the hair.

Don't worry, it takes time to really figure out the best regimen for you

 

[shae101s]

umm...u know if you're doing all this moisture stuff and your hair is still feeling dry it may be on a moisture overload and need protein...Also, maybe the moisture products you are using are the kind for your hair. Try out raw shea butter, or even shealoe blends..See how those can help, maybe try doing oil rinses, or after your co-washes make sure u use a super moisturizer then seal with oil like EVOO or Castor Oil.
Hope this helps.

 

[tking21]

hmmm these are all things that i never really thought about. I co wash my hair so much because I work out six days a week and my hair feels disgusting if I don't keep it rinsed. I never really thought about hard water because my hair was fine when I while I was transitioning, but I guess I can't completely rule it out. As far as protein goes, I've always been one to kind of side step the protein. I had a HORRIBLE experience with a hard protein treatment while I was relaxed lol. I guess it's time to look into some softer protein alternatives. Does anyone know of a good protein conditioner?
Thanks for your suggestions ladies!!!!

 

[kblc06]

I've been natural before, and it was somewhat of a disaster. I would rip a comb through dry hair use pink oil lotion and gel to smooth down my edges... the whole shot. I finally decided relaxed hair would be easier after doing research here on LHCF. After being relaxed for about...4 months i decided that even though it was hard to tame, I LOVED my natural hair. I transitioned smoothly for a year before I did my BC. Now that its a month after my BC my hair is dry and frizzy... even when wet it stills feels super dry and brittle. My regimen consists of co washes every 2-3 days, deep condition once a week, daily scalp massage with Beemine growth serum, daily moisturize with honeyquat and water mixture sealed with a little bit of shea butter and i wear a bun everyday, because its the only way my hair looks decent , whenever I do try to wear my hair out it gets brittle. Has anyone else experienced this sort of extreme dryness??? Could I possibly be confusing dryness with texture??? This is really starting to irk me because the main reason I went natural was because I really would like to wear my hair down.
The first picture is wet hair saturated with leave in conditioner and sealed with shea butter. The second is my dry hair and the third is the top of a bun.

Your texture looks A LOT like mine, and from the way you describe, it behaves similarly too. I recently began sealing my hair with vaseline (after moisturizing with leave-in) and it has made a huge difference in moisture retention. If I would wear my hair out, by the end of the day half of my hair would have split ends. Since you like to cowash and want to do wash n gos, I would suggest visiting teri's website www.biracialhair.org ; her method is excellent. If you are not using shampoo, you may want to try clarifying your hair to see if that helps with your moisture issues. I would also limit the cowashing as well-they tend to dry my hair out. I just usually wash every 4-5 days and DC

 

[kblc06]

hmmm these are all things that i never really thought about. I co wash my hair so much because I work out six days a week and my hair feels disgusting if I don't keep it rinsed. I never really thought about hard water because my hair was fine when I while I was transitioning, but I guess I can't completely rule it out. As far as protein goes, I've always been one to kind of side step the protein. I had a HORRIBLE experience with a hard protein treatment while I was relaxed lol. I guess it's time to look into some softer protein alternatives. Does anyone know of a good protein conditioner?
Thanks for your suggestions ladies!!!!

I love Joico K-Pak shampoo and conditioners. It helps maintain my hairs moisture-protein balance

 

[tking21]

It's funny that you mention Teri's method, i just used it tonight lol. I think I wil try to limit how much I co-wash, maybe just a little rinse after I work out. I think my main issue might just be tweakng my regimen. My current regimen is almost exactly the same as my transitioning method which worked wonders for my hair.