I BC'd my 4a/b and now..

[Ouch]

I dont know what to do with myself.

It's now about three inches short and it keeps knotting up. And this is all funny to me because its all gone and its not like I can go back in time.. and..whatever.

Anyway, I don't know what to do. Probably should've thought of that before I BC'd but I didn't think it would knot up into small little tiny knots on a few strands! After the chop, it was all good for about 20 minutes, after I combed and moisturized..then it got dry and knotty.

I see why my mom permed my hair in the first place. Perhaps I'm not capable of having long natural 4a/b hair. I mean, with these knots, how in the heck is it suppose to grow?!

 

[Shawnee66]

Maybe you need a heavier moisturizer or the shampoo is too harsh.

 

[freshlikemoi]

I feel like deep conditioning changed the texture of my hair...In other words, my hair loved the moisture. You should probably kick up the moisture if you want to kick out the knots... hehe...

 

[chellero]

Natural hair for the first time is shocking. I kept my hair braided back when I was natural for the first year. It'll get better!

 

[mzhotniz86]

I feel like deep conditioning changed the texture of my hair...In other words, my hair loved the moisture. You should probably kick up the moisture if you want to kick out the knots... hehe...

your freaking hair looks like mine when its wet lol. i hate the straggly strands i get. then i go to comb my hair and i can hear the hair popping stretching and breaking until i have a handful in my comb. this just happened yesterday .


to the op- try detangling under water . what kind of moisturizer are you using? i use bb's castor oil and i heard good things about the scurl. anyway, when your hair is still damp , put the moisturizer in and try it that way. try using a little oil with that too. i used to braid this little girls hair and she had natural 4b hair, that is how i would comb her hair out. i would take a spray bottle and some pink moisturizer ( <-- i dont use anymore) and rub it on and comb her hair out.

 

[lipyt]

I dont know what to do with myself.

It's now about three inches short and it keeps knotting up. And this is all funny to me because its all gone and its not like I can go back in time.. and..whatever.

Anyway, I don't know what to do. Probably should've thought of that before I BC'd but I didn't think it would knot up into small little tiny knots on a few strands! After the chop, it was all good for about 20 minutes, after I combed and moisturized..then it got dry and knotty.

I see why my mom permed my hair in the first place. Perhaps I'm not capable of having long natural 4a/b hair. I mean, with these knots, how in the heck is it suppose to grow?!

First of all let me say: BIG UP HAITI!!!!
Second of all:
I agree with everybody else here...But I remember when I big chopped 2 and 1/2 years ago I went in to shock when I saw I looked like a boy and I ran to get synthetic twists put in to my hair I kept the twists in for 3 maybe 4 months and when I took the twists out I had something to work with something I could braid.
now I wash my hair maybe once every 3 weeks. I usually keep my hair braided with beads (like in my little pic up there) I might take out the braids wash with head and shoulders (I feel like it gets my hair clean but doesn't strip it) and deep condition. If I'm rocking an afro, as soon as I get home, I braid my hair in 5 and wrap it up with silk. I hardly ever wear the front out becuase it is soo sensitive. So I usually conrow the front and wear afro in the back for about a week or 2 and then it's back to the braids again. I only put castor oil grease and t-tree oil in my hair and it stay so soft like cotton candy and it keeps a nice shine. I especially make sure to apply the grease and oil to my ends to keep them soft and moisterized. In the summer I always get synthetic braids so I don't have to deal with it. I think my hair appreciates that break too.
If you have myspace check out the progression of my hair (I'm to lazy to get a fotki so I use myspace) www.myspace.com/lipyt13

 

[glamazon386]

Congrats! Deep condition it overnight and see if that helps. My hair was like that at first too. It was just dry. I kept it covered up for a few months with a weave though.

 

[BrownSkin2]

I agree with the other ladies. Also try baggying with a moisturizer and sealing with castor oil overnite or for a few hours during the day. That will make a difference in the texture.

 

[LynnieB]

Another one in the chorus. I call it Big Chop Shock. not just a shock for you but the hair itself seems to go into shock too!

Even though i had about 6-7 inches when i chopped, my hair still went wild the second the scissors hit it. Hair e'rywhere, no control, it had no sense, it was dryish and my ends kept pointing up erplexed and tangly as all get up.......geebus!!

anyways, i did some good ole fashioned deep, deep conditioning, used some cantu shea butter (cause that's what i had then) and got busy braiding, coiling and twisting to calm down the situation . in fact i conditioned my hair every 3 or 4 days at first, no kiddin'!! i used aubrey's, dpr-11, ors replenishing packs like a fiend!!

The good news my dear sister is that the situation is temporary and after the 2nd or 3rd week or so, my hair really started coming into it's own and settled down (and so did i ).

get busy with your regimen and routine and stick with what your hair loves, watch your use of heat (don't over do it) and love yerself some hurrrrrr

congrats and best wishes on the natural road!!

 

[LayneJ]

Congrats on your Big chop!

Your experience sounds a lot like mine, earlier this year. After 3 weeks, I was back in the salon getting more hair cut because my ends were so dry.

I learned the hard way, but you'd be surprise how much moisture natural hair craves; I know I was. At the time, I wasn't as informed as the ladies on this board, but after talking to some people (mainly my natural stylist ), I was deep conditioning weekly, moisturizing daily, and at night, I moisturized again, oiled the ends, put my hair in 4 big twists, and that was it.

Things will get better, they really will. I just barely passed the 6 month mark, but things have been relatively easy since I've started consciously caring for my hair. Good luck!!

 

[Ouch]

Thank you all for the tips & tricks. I will be trying some them out.

I just washed with a conditioner (ORS). Applied ORS moisturizer while wet and sprayed some leave in. Also applied some of that Haitian red palm oil (or Haitian castor oil depending on who you ask lol) and did a little bit of drying with a hair dryer. Its soft now and I plan on baggying before I go to bed.

Tommorrow, I'm getting them cornrowed. Hopefully I have enough hair.

It honestly feels so good washing my hair. Its all soft unlike when I was transitioning.

 

[Enchantmt]

Congratz on your BC!! You may have product build up, so it wont hurt to clarify. Also check out qhemet products www.qhemetbiologics.com
The heavy cream was the first moisturizer that worked for me after I went natural. I would try that and the honeybush tea gel. They are both available as samples. My hair felt dry and unresponsive to anything at first, but qhemet saved my hair. To take the cheap, local route, try smooth shine curl activator for extra dry hair. If you apply it to wet hair it normally dries soft and non greasy.