HI !!! im new to LHCF n need advice!!

[sweetsuccess]

hey yall.
boy do i have hair issues and need help! under my bathroom sink are hair products for dayyyyyss.
it all began from a permanent color that wasnt taken care of right... and dried out my hair having a perm break all my edges and leave patches. then i started taking biotin and cleansed my hair of all the color and basically cut it off. its been a year and 3 months since that snip.. (jan 2007) and it still above shoulder length. im desparatly wanting to go back to my bra strap length as before and fall into short hair depression all the time. before i was blaming my slow hair growth on stress.. but now im just upset. my current regimen shifts from mizani and keracare products.... do sunsilk tlc hydracare. then i blowdry and flat iron after my wash.. n wrap it every night... without putting any more heat til the next wash. one week i do myself.. then the next i go to the dominican salon.. then the next week myself n been doing that for the last 2 months. what am i doing wrong????
p.s. when you guys talk about pin ups and cowashes ... what exactly do u mean? i cant imagine washing my hair and not blow drying and flat ironing.. id look a mess !!!

-new girl

 

[Vshanell]

First of all welcome to LHCF!!!

I think you may be using too much direct heat. Since you are blowdrying and flat ironing that may be too much stress on your hair. I know you might thing you'll look a mess if you don't but believe me you won't. Start off slow and cut out one of those heat steps.......try rollersetting, wet wrapping, or braiding it and sitting under the dryer then flat ironing. The hood dryer is indirect heat and much better for your hair.

Always use a heat protectant when you flat ironing. I think you will see a huge difference if you cut out some heat. Feel free to check my album for ways to pre-straighten your hair before flat ironing. Once you get a little more experienced you could try a silk wrap which would straighten your hair without direct heat (my avatar is a silk wrap and my hair is natural). That is in my fotki as well.

Oh, and co-washing is where you use conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo. It's much less drying than some shampoo's.

 

[mscocoface]

Hi and welcome.

I agree with Pokahontas on the heat and cowashing. It is going to be a mental shift for you not to use so much heat. Look at it as a challenge for the next 90 days. If you can get that far in challenging yourself then the rest of the year and beyond should be a breeze.

Find some different styles you can use that do not require heat. Protective styles or protective custody (I read in a thread this past week ), could be very beneficial for you.

I think deep conditioning also may be very helpful also once a week or every other week.

Just those few things you should begin to see healthier hair.

 

[CHECKMATE!]

First of all welcome to LHCF!!!

I think you may be using too much direct heat. Since you are blowdrying and flat ironing that may be too much stress on your hair. I know you might thing you'll look a mess if you don't but believe me you won't. Start off slow and cut out one of those heat steps.......try rollersetting, wet wrapping, or braiding it and sitting under the dryer then flat ironing. The hood dryer is indirect heat and much better for your hair.

Always use a heat protectant when you flat ironing. I think you will see a huge difference if you cut out some heat. Feel free to check my album for ways to pre-straighten your hair before flat ironing. Once you get a little more experienced you could try a silk wrap which would straighten your hair without direct heat (my avatar is a silk wrap and my hair is natural). That is in my fotki as well.

Oh, and co-washing is where you use conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo. It's much less drying than some shampoo's.

what she said...protective styling as well

 

[TrendySocialite]

I agree with pocohantas.

do macherie's rollersetting on the weeks you self-style. avoid the direct heat for 3-6 months and you should see a difference. Or you may want to bun for the week you self-style and wear it out when you get it done at the salon.

you also may want to consider a MN mixture if you are itching for some length. There are mixed reviews on this board with growth aids like MN, but they work for me.

I would suggest DC'ing every wash. Make sure you moisturize before applying heat. Also, make sure your flat irons are clean every use.

These are my suggestions...

 

[sweetsuccess]

thank you guys!!!!

well first, what is protective styling? my hairs too short to put in a ponytail or in a bun.. i guess im going to go purchase a hair dryer this afternoon... what conditioners do you guys recommend to cowash with? i am so ready to begin whatever regimen and journey i have to to promote my hair growth.. i have no problem stretching my perms.. my last recent.. but i normally do them every 3months if not, longer.

my protective serum that i use is the chi infusion silk.. i put that in my air before blow drying then get straight to flat ironing... is that bad? i feel that the infusion silk does wonders... ima use that before i start roller setting and sitting under the dryer... is there something else i should put on my hair after sitting under the dryer before i flat iron it?...

and how often should i be cowashing.... one shampoo n dc wash once a week? then cowash inbetween?

thank u guys for ur advice n help.. its highly appreciated.

-newgirl

 

[Christa438]

Hi Sweetsuccess.. Welcome to the family! I am kinda new too. Pokahontas gave great advice....no surprise. I also wasn't seeing any growth until I cut down on heat (I really cut the heat out except for conditioning treatments under the hooded dryer) and when I started stretching my relaxer for 2 1/2 months+. Except for too much direct heat, it seems like everything you're doing is right. I also love co-washing with herbal essences line. Some women cw daily, every other day, or just twice a week. It may help if u added some other vitamins or multi-vitamins.
HTH

 

[Mook's hair]

A protective style is usually defined as a hairstyle that allows your ends to be safely tucked away KEeping them off of your clothes and safely protected from UV Rays, or other environmental harm.
Here is the link that tells everything about protectiive styles.
Click here: showthread protective+styling

The 12 most popular are buns & braids.

 

[sweetsuccess]

alright.. so its official..
im going to cut down on my heat..

no more flat ironing for me.
im going to go out and invest in a hair dryer this weekend..
as far as cowashing is concerned.... what do i do when im done? leave it wet and walk out the door?

what do you guys do?? please break it down for me.. i kno u do the protective do's.. (which by the way, thanks for the link!!!) ... but as far as doing a cowash 2 times a week.. how do i wear it? ..

ima put up a pic soon enough. thankks for all the support, i feel welcomed n loved.

-new girl

 

[mscocoface]

alright.. so its official..
im going to cut down on my heat..

no more flat ironing for me.
im going to go out and invest in a hair dryer this weekend..
as far as cowashing is concerned.... what do i do when im done? leave it wet and walk out the door?

what do you guys do?? please break it down for me.. i kno u do the protective do's.. (which by the way, thanks for the link!!!) ... but as far as doing a cowash 2 times a week.. how do i wear it? ..

ima put up a pic soon enough. thankks for all the support, i feel welcomed n loved.

-new girl

Take a look at some of the fotkis. Check out mine I have quite a few protective cutody styles. Also check others to see what may work for you.

Hold on....there has to be something you can find in all of these 50-11 thousand pictures and tutorials. Hang in there.

 

[TrendySocialite]

Since you feel your hair isn't long enough for protective styling, at the very least you need to eliminate the blow drying. Mold or wet wrap your hair then finish styling with the flat iron.

DC whenever you wash. I am not sure of your hair type or texture, but I think you should wash at least once a week.

I co-wash about 3-4 days after my regular wash....so essentially i wash 1/2 way through the week.

Conditioners depend on your needs. I would probably suggest a moisturizing conditioner first. If that doesn't seem to improve your texture, then try a protein. Go to fotki.com and look for sistaslick's album. She has some great articles on hair care, including one on conditioners.

I would start with a simple regimen that consists of the following:

pre-poo
poo and/or co-wash
DC
low heat and mani styling (wrap, rollerset, rollerset wrap, etc.)

Try this for a month, then start building from there. I will tell you the info on the board can be overwhelming at times. But start with a pretty simple regimen. Try different products and kinda go from there.

You should be able to search on all of these things on the board. Search either using google or the search tool on the boards.

 

[Tenacious]

First of all welcome to LHCF!!!

I think you may be using too much direct heat. Since you are blowdrying and flat ironing that may be too much stress on your hair. I know you might thing you'll look a mess if you don't but believe me you won't. Start off slow and cut out one of those heat steps.......try rollersetting, wet wrapping, or braiding it and sitting under the dryer then flat ironing. The hood dryer is indirect heat and much better for your hair.

Always use a heat protectant when you flat ironing. I think you will see a huge difference if you cut out some heat. Feel free to check my album for ways to pre-straighten your hair before flat ironing. Once you get a little more experienced you could try a silk wrap which would straighten your hair without direct heat (my avatar is a silk wrap and my hair is natural). That is in my fotki as well.

Oh, and co-washing is where you use conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo. It's much less drying than some shampoo's.

Hey Pokahontas! What's a "silk wrap"? I'm interested!

 

[Vshanell]

Hey Pokahontas! What's a "silk wrap"? I'm interested!

You rollerset your hair, wrap it after itr dry and cover with saran wrap, sit back under the dryer for 15 min. When u take it down it will b straight like u flat ironed it. Check my fotki.

 

[sweetsuccess]

You rollerset your hair, wrap it after itr dry and cover with saran wrap, sit back under the dryer for 15 min. When u take it down it will b straight like u flat ironed it. Check my fotki.

do you put any leave in or any moistorizer between taking out the rollers and wraping it before you put the saran wrap?! or just leave it be .. n get back under the dryer?

 

[sweetsuccess]

Since you feel your hair isn't long enough for protective styling, at the very least you need to eliminate the blow drying. Mold or wet wrap your hair then finish styling with the flat iron.

DC whenever you wash. I am not sure of your hair type or texture, but I think you should wash at least once a week.

I co-wash about 3-4 days after my regular wash....so essentially i wash 1/2 way through the week.

Conditioners depend on your needs. I would probably suggest a moisturizing conditioner first. If that doesn't seem to improve your texture, then try a protein. Go to fotki.com and look for sistaslick's album. She has some great articles on hair care, including one on conditioners.

I would start with a simple regimen that consists of the following:

pre-poo
poo and/or co-wash
DC
low heat and mani styling (wrap, rollerset, rollerset wrap, etc.)

Try this for a month, then start building from there. I will tell you the info on the board can be overwhelming at times. But start with a pretty simple regimen. Try different products and kinda go from there.

You should be able to search on all of these things on the board. Search either using google or the search tool on the boards.

thanks arr.. im gona try that... keep it simple.. your right.. the board is very overwhelming when your new...

so my new regimen will be :

prepoo once a week b4 wash
wash and dc once a week
co wash in between
then do silk wraps which pokahontas mentioned below... (sit under the dryer with a roller set... take it out, wrap it, put saran wrap, than sit back under the dryer) ... that isnt much heat at all .. right??
then voila !! n if i need any lil touch ups il just use a lil flat ironing that one time than im done til the next poo.

is that decent enough? or should i eliminate or replace anything? ...

oh and plus take my pills. right now ive been taking two 5mg biotins every day.. prenatal pills, and a bcomplex pill. im thinking about going to gnc n buying the ultra nourish.. i read that on someone elses post.

what pills do you guys take??

-new girl

 

[Vshanell]

do you put any leave in or any moistorizer between taking out the rollers and wraping it before you put the saran wrap?! or just leave it be .. n get back under the dryer?

Yes, I can't believe I forgot to add that. I apply a small amount of moisturizer and a very little oil, then wrap it and cover with one layer of saran wrap. http://public.fotki.com/Pokahontas/straight-hair/silk-wrap/

 

[Vshanell]

thanks arr.. im gona try that... keep it simple.. your right.. the board is very overwhelming when your new...

so my new regimen will be :

prepoo once a week b4 wash
wash and dc once a week
co wash in between
then do silk wraps which pokahontas mentioned below... (sit under the dryer with a roller set... take it out, wrap it, put saran wrap, than sit back under the dryer) ... that isnt much heat at all .. right??
then voila !! n if i need any lil touch ups il just use a lil flat ironing that one time than im done til the next poo.

is that decent enough? or should i eliminate or replace anything? ...

oh and plus take my pills. right now ive been taking two 5mg biotins every day.. prenatal pills, and a bcomplex pill. im thinking about going to gnc n buying the ultra nourish.. i read that on someone elses post.

what pills do you guys take??

-new girl

That sounds good to me.

I take Biotin 5,000, B-50, Pantothenic Acid (B-5), and One Source Multi-vitamin.

 

[Vshanell]

thank you guys!!!!

well first, what is protective styling? my hairs too short to put in a ponytail or in a bun.. i guess im going to go purchase a hair dryer this afternoon... what conditioners do you guys recommend to cowash with? i am so ready to begin whatever regimen and journey i have to to promote my hair growth.. i have no problem stretching my perms.. my last recent.. but i normally do them every 3months if not, longer.

my protective serum that i use is the chi infusion silk.. i put that in my air before blow drying then get straight to flat ironing... is that bad? i feel that the infusion silk does wonders... ima use that before i start roller setting and sitting under the dryer... is there something else i should put on my hair after sitting under the dryer before i flat iron it?...

and how often should i be cowashing.... one shampoo n dc wash once a week? then cowash inbetween?

thank u guys for ur advice n help.. its highly appreciated.

-newgirl

The Chi serum is good to use when flat ironing and using it to rollerset should be great and give your hair extra protection.

As for co-washing that would be your preferance on how often you do that. It's not something you really have to do......personally it dosen't benefit me, I just do it when I wear wash n' go's because I don't have to use heat afterwards for those. You should be fine just moisturizing and sealing with an oil until your next shampoo.........unless you want to co-wash through the week but I think it'd be a hassle since you wear your hair straight.

Since you're going to be wearing your hair straight most of the time I wouldn't worry about co-washing in-between because then you'll have to use heat again or rollerset again which would be too much manipulation......for me at least. I hope I'm making sense.

 

[onyxcabelo]

Hey!!! It sounds like you've already received some excellent advice, so just stopping in to say, "Welcome" !!!

 

[Allandra]

Welcome aboard.

 

[sweetsuccess]

thank you u guys!!! .. ive posted a pic in my sig... i need help for my may 2008 goal of SL and my aug/sept goal of APL ... are those realistic??

is it better to stick to the same products in my week by week regimen.. or am i able to switch up my products and still keep it healthy?

 

[NeeSee]

Hello and welcome.

 

[TLC1020]

to LHCF

Protective styling or low manipulation styles where you do little to no combing or brushing. You want to do little to your hair as possible.. Less is More

 

[Vshanell]

thank you u guys!!! .. ive posted a pic in my sig... i need help for my may 2008 goal of SL and my aug/sept goal of APL ... are those realistic??

is it better to stick to the same products in my week by week regimen.. or am i able to switch up my products and still keep it healthy?

I think that is very realistic. Your hair looks very nice and in good health so it looks like you're off to a great start.

I don't think you have to stick with the same products to have results but do find some solid staple products and work towards coming up with a solid regimen, that is more important.

 

[sweetsuccess]

I think that is very realistic. Your hair looks very nice and in good health so it looks like you're off to a great start.

I don't think you have to stick with the same products to have results but do find some solid staple products and work towards coming up with a solid regimen, that is more important.

thank you.. yes, ive finally got my hair to a healthy state.. but i do have some issues.. my left side is breaking layers.. while my right side has grown out my layers beautifully.. i duno what to do as far as thats concerned. and yes, today im finally going to do the silk wrap i learned from you... [wishing for the best!] but what do u recommend as a night time regimen? do u wrap your hair? is wrapping good or bad??