HELP! My cuticle is rough

[carolb21]

Can someone please tell me what to do? I have been taking care of my hair for the past month and I just set it on big rollers, but the cuticle seems rough and raised. My hair is frizzy and a hot mess. I was wearing it in a bun and thought I would try setting it. What am I doing wrong? When i get it blown out it feels like silk. I use really good products and my hair is strong and healthy, very little shedding. Please guys can you give me some suggestions. I am thinking about weaving it back up until after the holidays and doing the C&G method to get more length. It would probably be shoulder length in four months. Thanks for all your help. Without this board I don't know what i would do.

 

[JustKiya]

Are you rinsing with cold water? I've found that washing my hair with the coolest water I can stand, and doing the final rinse with out and out COLD water helps my cuticles lay down rather nicely.

Also, you might want to try an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse, jsut in case the PH of your hair is off, and see how that helps.

Good luck!!

 

[crlsweetie912]

oh, yeah cold water is the trick! Also, are you sealing your wet hair after you moisturize, right before you roll it on the roller? Also, under drying causes frizz. Make sure your hair is completely dry and cool before you take out the rollers.

 

[carolb21]

Thanks guys, I am using the ACV, but i will try the cold water and see if that helps. When I exercise my hair starts to revert immediately, I sweat a lot. My sister thinks my hair looks great, but the frizz is driving me crazy. I will seal it really well on Saturday night when I CW and stay under the dryer. I have been air drying and maybe that is part of the problem. thanks again for all your help.

 

[gn1g]

bumping this very old thread for more advise or new product recommendation.

 

[virtuenow]

carolb21 If your hair is raised it sounds llike a porosity issue (high porosity=raised cuticle/can't retain moisture). Balancing your protein and moisture is the best thing you can do for correct your porosity.

 

[Nonie]

If your hair has high porosity, then the thing that will keep it moisturized is something that draws moisture into it (humectant) and something that seals (like a silicone product). Using the Roux Porosity Control line may help; the products are made for high porosity hair.

Cold water doesn't close the cuticle. A low pH is what will close cuticles, so not using alkaline products is how to keep cuticles from opening. But high porosity hair cuticles never fully close.

I do believe that if you relax your hair and the neutralizing solution isn't applied well or properly, then cuticles may remain raised some and so hair could feel rough.

 

[ReignLocks]

This is going to sound very "NEWBIE" but what does a raised cuticle look like? Is that another term for frizzy hair?

 

[gn1g]

This is going to sound very "NEWBIE" but what does a raised cuticle look like? Is that another term for frizzy hair?

yes it appears frizzy and each strand feels rough. there are pictures on google. the strands are not smooth.

 

[fiestynfab]

If your hair has high porosity, then the thing that will keep it moisturized is something that draws moisture into it (humectant) and something that seals (like a silicone product). Using the Roux Porosity Control line may help; the products are made for high porosity hair.

Cold water doesn't close the cuticle. A low pH is what will close cuticles, so not using alkaline products is how to keep cuticles from opening. But high porosity hair cuticles never fully close.

I do believe that if you relax your hair and the neutralizing solution isn't applied well or properly, then cuticles may remain raised some and so hair could feel rough.

Elaborate more on the bolded please.

 

[gn1g]

Nonie, I purchased the porosity control. Like you I have fine hair, how do you use the porosity control products?

 

[Nonie]

Nonie, I purchased the porosity control. Like you I have fine hair, how do you use the porosity control products?

gn1g, I don't use Porosity Control because I have normal porosity. But if I had it, I'd follow directions as written on the bottle. I'm a stickler for directions. I think most times we mess up when we try to be creative. If directions call for a shampoo of the line but I don't have that, I may substitute with another, but otherwise I will follow everything to a T.

For instance, I use AO GPB and the directions say "For deep conditioning, apply to dry hair for 15 minutes". I do exactly that. They do not say to use heat, so I don't use heat. They do not say to DC after shampooing. They say that for the product to work as a DC it must be applied to dry hair so there's no dilution and it has to be left on for 15 minutes. I follow those directions to a T and I can tell you, it's never let me down.

So just read what the bottle says and follow them.

 

[Nonie]

Elaborate more on the bolded please.

fiestynfab, when you ask someone a question, please mention them. I would never have known you asked me a question if gn1g hadn't mentioned me so that I returned to this discussion. I don't usually return to discussions I post in coz I'd never get to read other threads if I just used to stick to topics I already contributed to.

A change in pH is what opens and closes cuticles. Temperature doesn't do anything to cuticles. Heat can cause liquid inside the hair to expand and cause bubble hair which causes breakage but the scales of the cuticle do not get affected by water temperature.

An alkaline pH is what will open cuticles and an acidic pH will close cuticles. That is why when your hair is being relaxed they use a product with a high pH to open up your cuticles and allow the product to break the bonds in your hair, and then after relaxing, they apply a product with a low pH (acidic) to neutralize your hair and close the cuticle. If heat used to what opened and closed cuticles, then that's what would be used to relax hair. But all it takes is a change in pH.

I think people confuse the fact that cold water doesn't rinse off as well as hot water so their hair is still left with product so it feels slippery with cuticles being closed. If you had a serum on your hands and you rinsed with cold water, your hands would still feel a coating on them. If you rinsed with warm or hot water you'd rinse it off.

I never use cold water when I wash my hair, and yet this is my hair BARE and my strand slide past each other with ease when I finger comb. That is from finishing my wash with an ACV rinse. The acidity leaves my hair strands smooth even though I used warm water in my final ACV rinse.

 

[fiestynfab]

@Nonie, so is this the reason why aloe vera is such a good agent at moisturizing the hair? Because of its pH? I need a little help understanding these things. I've lost the elasticity in my hair, it will not hold a curl, and I believe it's due to me losing the moisture in my hair. My hair will not hold/retain moisture. What are some ways to make sure that my cuticle is opening during the deep condition process and making sure that I close them once I've completed my dc? Better yet, what are some products that could help me achieve this? Not to sound like an idiot, but I'm at my wits end trying to figure this out because I'm sick of styling my hair the curls fall within minutes. I feel like my hair has almost 0 moisture levels and it's driving me crazy. Should I try adding aloe vera to my dc and then rinsing with acv?

 

[ElegantPearl17]

I am having the same issues...I have given up

@Nonie, so is this the reason why aloe vera is such a good agent at moisturizing the hair? Because of its pH? I need a little help understanding these things. I've lost the elasticity in my hair, it will not hold a curl, and I believe it's due to me losing the moisture in my hair. My hair will not hold/retain moisture. What are some ways to make sure that my cuticle is opening during the deep condition process and making sure that I close them once I've completed my dc? Better yet, what are some products that could help me achieve this? Not to sound like an idiot, but I'm at my wits end trying to figure this out because I'm sick of styling my hair the curls fall within minutes. I feel like my hair has almost 0 moisture levels and it's driving me crazy. Should I try adding aloe vera to my dc and then rinsing with acv?

 

[Evolving78]

@Nonie, so is this the reason why aloe vera is such a good agent at moisturizing the hair? Because of its pH? I need a little help understanding these things. I've lost the elasticity in my hair, it will not hold a curl, and I believe it's due to me losing the moisture in my hair. My hair will not hold/retain moisture. What are some ways to make sure that my cuticle is opening during the deep condition process and making sure that I close them once I've completed my dc? Better yet, what are some products that could help me achieve this? Not to sound like an idiot, but I'm at my wits end trying to figure this out because I'm sick of styling my hair the curls fall within minutes. I feel like my hair has almost 0 moisture levels and it's driving me crazy. Should I try adding aloe vera to my dc and then rinsing with acv?

fiestynfab
What products are you using and what is your reggie?
Is your hair stretchy/mushy or hard/straw like?
Does your hair take a long time to get wet takes long to dry or gets wet fast but dries faster?
Do products sit on top of your hair or suck it up quickly?

 

[Evolving78]

^^^ trying to figure out if you have high or low porosity?

 

[fiestynfab]

@fiestynfab
What products are you using and what is your reggie?
Is your hair stretchy/mushy or hard/straw like?
Does your hair take a long time to get wet takes long to dry or gets wet fast but dries faster?
Do products sit on top of your hair or suck it up quickly?

shortdub78 I use shampoo, so I use Shea Moisture Shea Butter shampoo.
For conditioner, I use: ORS Replenishing Pak, GVP Conditioning Balm, or One & Only Argan Oil Restorative Masque. For leave-in, I use HE LTR leave- in and Aphogee Green Tea & Keratin Mist.
My hair feels normal (I think, lol) when it's wet, but kinda straw like if I air dry it.
It gets wet fast, and dries faster.
Products have a tendency to sit on top of my hair, but will soak in if left there long enough. Right now, it seems as if there's no such thing as a 30 minute dc for me.

 

[Evolving78]

fiestynfab
ok high porosity it is!
you need to start with weekly light protein treatments to create a filler. Follow with moisturizing dc.
you need to leave the heat alone
you can use color treated shampoos and conditioners. Ph level is low but gentle.
you need to start using a clear or color rinse.
roller setting is good with smoothing the hair cuticle. Air drying loose is not your friend.
You can add avj in a spray bottle and mist your hair before you add your moisturizer.
dry detangle your hair with an oil. Dont detangle while wet.