how much is too much

[MsSharee06]

hi I just recently started doing own hair again after a year of going to a hair clinic. While I was shampooing I noticed a few strands of hair nothing major. I blow dried my hair with heat and soft bristle brush, I got a few strands there too, but not as much as using a comb attatchment. When I went to hotcomb my hair thats when I noticed lots of strands, all together I think I may have lost 100-150 strands of hair through the whole process. I was just wondering if this was normal, because I dont want to cause a lot of damage to my hair.

 

[*closer*2*my*dreams*]

Hey girl! I have a questions, if you're relaxed, why did you opt to hotcomb your hair? i'm assuming by hotcomb that you meant a hot pressing comb and not a flat iron? Too much heat for your relaxed tresses may have been the culprit.

Also, did you use any heat protectants or leave-ins?

 

[msa]

If it was shed hair, then it's nothing to worry about.

But since you saw the most amount of strands while hot combing, it makes me wonder if it was breakage due to the combination of blowdrying and pressing, which is a lot of manipulation and heat.

 

[MsSharee06]

hey thanks for the responses. I haven't had a relaxer since September of last year ever since I started going to the hair clinic. I was thinking that it could have been breakage, but I don't see anyshedding thining or broken areas, which really baffles me,lol. I would really like to use less heat but one thing about my hair is that ts nappy and hard to tame. I'm 4b, do you have any alternatives thats less damging than my current regimine?

 

[MummysGirl]

If you don't mind me asking.. what is a hair clinic?

 

[msa]

hey thanks for the responses. I haven't had a relaxer since September of last year ever since I started going to the hair clinic. I was thinking that it could have been breakage, but I don't see anyshedding thining or broken areas, which really baffles me,lol. I would really like to use less heat but one thing about my hair is that ts nappy and hard to tame. I'm 4b, do you have any alternatives thats less damging than my current regimine?

If you look at the hairs that come out, if it has a white bulb on the end then it's shed hair. If it doesn't, then it's breakage.

As far as a regimen goes, how often do you deep condition, condition, and moisturize? How often do you shampoo? Do you use any protein treatments? What do you use on your scalp? Any scalp problems? What was the reason for going to the hair clinic?

Since you are 4b and haven't had a relaxer since september, you're working with two different textures (new growth and relaxed hair) which means you have to be extra gentle or else the hair will pop off at the demarcation line (the point where the relaxed hair and new growth meet). That also means you have to make sure to keep that area moisturized and strong.

A simple regimen would be to wash and deep condition once a week in sections or braids. Detangle gently and slowly either while the conditioner is on (in the shower) or out of the shower on damp hair that has moisturizer on it. Braid it up (large braids like 10-15) and wear a bonnet or scarf at night. Then take the braids out in the morning and wear a bun for the rest of the week. This is just a suggestion for what you can do in the meantime while you're figuring out your regimen.

Check out the relaxer stretcher's thread. It has lots of ideas for keeping your hair healthy while you are dealing with a lot of new growth and the relaxed hair at the same time. Also check out hair breakage 101 and sistaslick's articles, they'll be really helpful.