I have been experiencing breakage recently and I am not sure why. I come to my hair sisters to ask for help 
. My signature picture is my last length check which was in the beginning of January to give you an idea of what my hair looks like. My final goal is either MBL or WSL. Hopefully I make one of those by the end of this year.
My regimen includes:
DC'ing once a week with a mixture of evoo, plain full fat yogurt, lekair cholesterol, lustrasilk cholesterol, honey, and ceramides (grapeseed oil or safflower oil). If I am not able to do this once a week due to my protective style I will do it as soon as it take the protective style out.
Henna once or twice a month. I also shampoo my hair once a month or every month and a half with either a mix of amla and shikakai powders or Keracare hydrating detangling shampoo depending on how much buildup I have.
Detangle my soaking wet hair covered in conditioner in the shower. I generally use Suave, John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shine (got it on sale for 50 cents), or VO5 in order to cowash and detangle. To detangle I use my Denman D-4. I found that the wider rows are much easier on my natural 3c/4a hair.
After cowashing I add either Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight/Hello Hydration or Garnier Fructis Length and Strength. I put my hair into two braids or banded ponytails and pin it up over the next 24 hours to dry. After it dries I either get my hair put in cornrows, bun, or twist my hair. These styles will last between 1-2 weeks depending on upkeep. I sleep with a satin scarf every night but I have a satin pillow case for when I am too lazy. I protective style 80% of the time. I moisturize and seal every night or every other night with shea butter and either evoo or grapeseed oil. After one or two weeks I will DC, cowash, detangle, and start over.
Lately, if I plan to cornrow or twist I will lightly flat iron my hair in order to help stretch the hair. I only do this once or on rare occasions twice a month. I have a feeling this is making my ends smoother and I have not seen many SSK's since I began doing this. I fully flat iron my hair about every 3 or 4 months for length checks. Every time I use heat I use Chi Silk Infusion.
Though I am seeing breakage I am having a hard time trying to decide if it is normal breakage or not. Normal breakage (though many do not admit they experience it) signifying the hairs that you are bound to lose during styling and handling. I am going to fully straighten my hair next month to see if I have retained any length or if this breakage is actually an issue.
In the last 6 months or so I added ceramides, started the light flat ironing (I have a Hana Elite so it is not as damaging on the hair), and perhaps changed some conditioners around (started using Garnier Fructis instead of Herbal Essences and added the John Frieda as a cowash conditioner). I did not originally question the conditioners because they give me great slip. Could I be getting too much protein?
Essentially, can you ladies help me figure out why my hair is breaking?
If any additional information/pictures are needed just let me know!
. My signature picture is my last length check which was in the beginning of January to give you an idea of what my hair looks like. My final goal is either MBL or WSL. Hopefully I make one of those by the end of this year.My regimen includes:
DC'ing once a week with a mixture of evoo, plain full fat yogurt, lekair cholesterol, lustrasilk cholesterol, honey, and ceramides (grapeseed oil or safflower oil). If I am not able to do this once a week due to my protective style I will do it as soon as it take the protective style out.
Henna once or twice a month. I also shampoo my hair once a month or every month and a half with either a mix of amla and shikakai powders or Keracare hydrating detangling shampoo depending on how much buildup I have.
Detangle my soaking wet hair covered in conditioner in the shower. I generally use Suave, John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shine (got it on sale for 50 cents), or VO5 in order to cowash and detangle. To detangle I use my Denman D-4. I found that the wider rows are much easier on my natural 3c/4a hair.
After cowashing I add either Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight/Hello Hydration or Garnier Fructis Length and Strength. I put my hair into two braids or banded ponytails and pin it up over the next 24 hours to dry. After it dries I either get my hair put in cornrows, bun, or twist my hair. These styles will last between 1-2 weeks depending on upkeep. I sleep with a satin scarf every night but I have a satin pillow case for when I am too lazy. I protective style 80% of the time. I moisturize and seal every night or every other night with shea butter and either evoo or grapeseed oil. After one or two weeks I will DC, cowash, detangle, and start over.
Lately, if I plan to cornrow or twist I will lightly flat iron my hair in order to help stretch the hair. I only do this once or on rare occasions twice a month. I have a feeling this is making my ends smoother and I have not seen many SSK's since I began doing this. I fully flat iron my hair about every 3 or 4 months for length checks. Every time I use heat I use Chi Silk Infusion.
Though I am seeing breakage I am having a hard time trying to decide if it is normal breakage or not. Normal breakage (though many do not admit they experience it) signifying the hairs that you are bound to lose during styling and handling. I am going to fully straighten my hair next month to see if I have retained any length or if this breakage is actually an issue.
In the last 6 months or so I added ceramides, started the light flat ironing (I have a Hana Elite so it is not as damaging on the hair), and perhaps changed some conditioners around (started using Garnier Fructis instead of Herbal Essences and added the John Frieda as a cowash conditioner). I did not originally question the conditioners because they give me great slip. Could I be getting too much protein?
Essentially, can you ladies help me figure out why my hair is breaking?
If any additional information/pictures are needed just let me know!
