How can i keep my hair from breaking

[ngodigydi]

hey guys,

I am new to this site. I need help in taking care of my hair. I've been braiding and weaving my hair for about 5 years without relaxing. I relaxed my hair and i think it was a big mistake. before relaxing my hair, my hair was all natural and very very thick. I was not very long though, just a lil past sholder length, but that was before relaxing. I thought relaxing was the best thing to do because i wanted to stop wearing weave and start taking care of my hair. this was a bad idea, i forgot why i've been wearing weave for so long: I CAN NOT TAKE CARE OF MY HAIR!!

When i relaxed my hair, i let them put any relaxer in my hair, my hair had crazy breakage. My hair did not come out as long as expected after relaxing. Everyone that knew how my hair looked before relaxing was shocked.

Now, my hair breaks like crazy, its limp and has no body. It is not thick at all. everytime i comb it, it breaks. I do not know what i have done to my hair, it was so beatiful before.

I came to this website for help, but i do not understand any of the terms, its frustrating. Like what is the BAGGY METHOD? Can someone please explain, it seems like its working for alot of people.

I am thinking about going back to wearing weave. Its very hard taking care of your hair, I envy all you girls that are doing it.

This is what im doing now to take care of my hair, may be someone can tell me what i am doing wrong:

- i take Biotin 5000 mcg evryday plus i take 2 teasspoon of nature's plus(source of life) liquid vitamin

- I comb my hair alot and have it down alot.

- i apply supper grow to my hair like 4 times a week.

- i go to the dominican hair salon every 2 weeks to get a wash and a roller set

- i forget to wrap it at night before i go to bed


I do not feel like my hair grew that much this summer. it breaks too much. Please someone tell me what i can do, you guys do not understand how bad i am in taking care of my hair. I just want it stronger and healthier. I want to start simple.

 

[locabouthair]

first thing, stop combing your hair so much. you're manipulating it too much and more hair will come out. and you should be using a big tooth comb. try to comb no more than twice a day, once would be best. have you tried finger combing?

you said you apply super grow? is this a grease or an oil? if it is know that greases and oils do NOT moisturize the hair. all they do is sit on top of the hair which leads to dryer hair and more breakage. if you are not using a proper moisturizer, which should be water based, this is probably what's causing your breakage. moisture is very important. if the hair is dry it will break off and seem as if the hair is not growing.

the baggie method is a method used to keep the eds moisturized and therefore promotes healthier ends and allows you to retain length. you apply your water based moisturizer and seal the moisture in with an oil and you place asmall plastic bag maybe a ziplock overyour ponytail and place a rubberband over the bag. this will allow moisture to stay in and preventing your ends from drying out.

not wrapping your hair isn't bad. but make sure you are using a satin scarf of sleeping on a satin pillowcase or else your hair will lose any moisture because of the different fabrics rubbing on it.

do you remember when you had a protein treatment? keeping a balance of moisture and protein is crucial to prevent hair breakage.

and don't forget that healthy hair starts with a healthy body. eat nutritious food and drink lots of water.

And stay away from direct heat (curling irons, flat irons, blowdryer, etc)

at the top of the page there should be thread that same you're favorite sticky's. I highly suggest that you read the thread for the newbies and the moisture/protein balance thread and also the breakage thread. Those should be able to answer any other questions you might have.
HTH

 

[SerenityBreeze]

hey guys,

I am new to this site. I need help in taking care of my hair. I've been braiding and weaving my hair for about 5 years without relaxing. I relaxed my hair and i think it was a big mistake. before relaxing my hair, my hair was all natural and very very thick. I was not very long though, just a lil past sholder length, but that was before relaxing. I thought relaxing was the best thing to do because i wanted to stop wearing weave and start taking care of my hair. this was a bad idea, i forgot why i've been wearing weave for so long: I CAN NOT TAKE CARE OF MY HAIR!!

When i relaxed my hair, i let them put any relaxer in my hair, my hair had crazy breakage. My hair did not come out as long as expected after relaxing. Everyone that knew how my hair looked before relaxing was shocked.

Now, my hair breaks like crazy, its limp and has no body. It is not thick at all. everytime i comb it, it breaks. I do not know what i have done to my hair, it was so beatiful before.

I came to this website for help, but i do not understand any of the terms, its frustrating. Like what is the BAGGY METHOD? Can someone please explain, it seems like its working for alot of people.

I am thinking about going back to wearing weave. Its very hard taking care of your hair, I envy all you girls that are doing it.

This is what im doing now to take care of my hair, may be someone can tell me what i am doing wrong:

- i take Biotin 5000 mcg evryday plus i take 2 teasspoon of nature's plus(source of life) liquid vitamin

- I comb my hair alot and have it down alot.

- i apply supper grow to my hair like 4 times a week.

- i go to the dominican hair salon every 2 weeks to get a wash and a roller set

- i forget to wrap it at night before i go to bed


I do not feel like my hair grew that much this summer. it breaks too much. Please someone tell me what i can do, you guys do not understand how bad i am in taking care of my hair. I just want it stronger and healthier. I want to start simple.

Welcome


I am sure a lot of women will chime in with their advice. I would suggest a heavy protien treatment along the Aphogee line. This can be purchased at Sally's beauty supply store. All heavy protien treatments, esp Aphogee, need to followed up with a good moisturizing conditioner. I started out using Mizani Moisturefuse.

How long did you wait after taking out your braid/weave and relaxing - I have read that its best to wait about a week.

Baggying is putting your favorite moisturizer on the ends of your hair and wrapping them in a plastic bag (sandwhich bag) and locking in the moisture so your ends become more soft and supple. I have a link in my fotki of baggying ends.

A great start on hair care is reading sistaslick's "The Fine Art of Protein and Moisture Balancing for Black Hair Care" .

Many women practice protective styling - where we wear our hair up to avoid brushing of ends on shirts/clothes and avoiding daily manipulation while we are trying to acheive our hair goals.

As you read on, you will learn that acheiving your hair goals is about hair retention. Keeping the ends of your hair (the oldest hairs) protected and moisturized.

How do we protect them? Up dos, sleeping on satin pillowcases, etc.

How do we moisturize them? Every day using water based moisturizer on ends, deep conditioning every week with a good moisturizing conditioner.

Good Luck!

 

[anahnamuslyyours]

Looks like you've gotten some good advise, and I hope you've checked out the threads that were suggested and also some of the stickies at the top of each page of the board. Being a newbie can be overwhelming because there are so many threads and so many different things to consider trying. You're not alone; there are a ton of newbie threads and everyone here is always willing to help. Here is another one I recommend - it was created recently and a bunch of threads were mentioned and/or linked there as well.

Also, taking care of your hair is not only a process, it is something that most people have to take time and practice doing. For me, it took me several years of trying different things before I was comfortable enough with my hair to do anything to it. I still don't do too much anything fancier than a wrap, but believe me, after the way I was mistreating my hair, figuring out how to wrap it properly was my saving grace. It's all about what works for you and getting into the habit of things or perfectly your technique. Not everyone can take care of their hair well overnight, so don't feel like you should be able to either. Take you time, have patience, and ask for help when you need it - there are plenty of people here who have been or are where you are and can offer tips and advise.

 

[jrae]

Welcome!

I'm not going to add much to the great advice you've been given except to say "treat your hair like silk" (stop handling it so much - when you do be gentle and patient with it) and focus less on growth aids and more on taking care of what you've got.

 

[bablou00]

Welcome to the board!!! I agree w/ what everyone else said. I too was natural and decided to relax. My hair was in braids for the longest time and I didnt know anything about moisturizing, protein, protective styles, and so on until I started lurking in Aug when I first relaxed. What has helped me the most is stretching (helped bring back the thickness), no combing, little to no heat, buns and up dos, no big cuts, moisture, protein and investing in good shampoo and conditioners. I know it sounds like a lot but all this has really helped. My hair is hella thick now when just last year it was stringy, thin and looked like there was no hope. I focused more on health then length and absorbed all the information on here and more. Good luck w/ your progress. I know how you feel when you want it to happen over night but believe take your time w/ your hair and appreciate what you have. Please stay away from the comb, scissors and heavy handed stylist.....