I can't figure out what's going on with my hair

[MaryJane3000]

I keep finding these little one inch hair strands everywhere. Whenever I touch my hair or comb it back I end up with like 5-7 broken strands and shed hair. Some of them are really short and some are maybe 1-3 inches without a white bulb. I'm really confused as to why my hair is acting this way.

My regimen consists of me deep conditioning every week. Doing a mild protein about once or twice a month. Sometimes I deep condition twice a week and I always do this without heat. I either rollerset with lacio lacio and my redken real control leave in or I put in my antisnap leave in and biosilk leave in and apply my heat protectant and blow dry and then flat iron. I'm planning on going back to just straight rollersets and lay off the heat to see how that works but since I'm transitioning I'll more than likely bump the roots. My hair's usually down for maybe 2 days and then it's in a ponytail or bun. I oil my scalp as needed and use a daily moisturizing spritz made by matrix biolage for dry hair whenever Ifeel it's needed. I trimmed .5 inch in January.

I've also recently hennaed (two weeks ago) and last week i oiled my hair with vatika oil and amla oil and used a mixture of the powders and deep conditioned that way, followed by a cheapie HH LTR for slip.

I'm thinking I'm going to get another trim and see if that helps but I'm just really puzzled right now. I'm thinking because of the dryer climate i may need to use some heavier moisturizers so any suggestions I'm more than open to. I'm also wondering if my daily bunning is beneficial or not. I usually let my hair down when I get home so there's not too much tension on that one spot and then put in a pony tail on top of my head to sleep.

I'm also considering getting a texturizer erplexed My roots dont really shrink up they just get really really big and it's starting to irritate me. I can't find a way to make a style last long enough or wear my hair in a way that I think looks nice.

I'm also thinking about purchasing a real silk headscarf to wear nightly and see if that helps.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

Bumping for you.


Sounds like you have alot going on. You may have to go for a true moisturizing DC. I love HELTR and HECMH (color me happy) but there are times I need more. For me (because I know it's not the same for everyone), my hair (relaxed and natural) reacts to henna as it does to protein. I have to slather on some SERIOUS moisture (which is why I usually do henna glosses instead... medium amount of henna + alot of conditioner and oils.)

Hope some of the other ladies will chime in.

 

[lana]

Henna can be very drying.
Redken Anti-Snap is a protein serum that prevents breakage. It can be very drying.

For me, Herbel Essence conditioners do nothing to give my hair the moisture it needs to thrive.

Also the only way I successfully deep condition is with heat or sleeping on the conditioner overnight with several caps on my head and a scarf (to make heat).

Try using a tried and true deep moisturizing conditioner. Check the ingredients to make sure there is no protein. If you're natural and not using heat (are you?) I personally do not think you need to use protein so often.

Please get control of what's happening with your head before you move on to a chemical process. Which can often just compound the problem. You are on the right track by asking for help. We have all been there. I hope some of the other ladies will chime in and answer your questions (without telling you to just do a search on this forum).

I love Keracare Humectress Conditioner.

 

[destine2grow]

Sounds like you have a lot of protein in your regimen! When you use protein do you follow up with a moisturizer? Make sure you use a conditioner that is for deep conditioning! I say up the moisture in your regimen!

 

[MaryJane3000]

Thanks Ladies, I usually use keracare humecto or AO Honeysuckle Rose. I've done two weeks of just moisture and no protein with these products and my hair has still been acting crazy. Im going to do an amla and brahmi paste mixed with my Skala shea butter this weekend and then condition overnight with Nexxus Humectress...a lot of ladies swear by it and my hair isn't really responding to my usual moisturizing conditioners. I've noticed that my hairs broken off around my nape on the left side of my head at my nape so IDK what's going on. And I'm transitioning right now. I think getting used to the two textures is whats making it so difficult for me. While relaxed my hair thrived with a steady dose of protein so I need to adjust to the new needs of my natural hair.

 

[remnant]

bumping for more replies

 

[geejay]

Try clarifying before your next DC. You may have product buildup preventing the DC from working as well as it should.

I find applying the DC like a relaxer, getting to the new growth and making sure every single strand is coated really helps to make my natural hair manageable. Applying conditioner like I did when I was fully relaxed just gives my roots permission to take over and hold my head hostage

 

[MaryJane3000]

Hi ladies,

So I used these sample packets of nexxus humectress moisturizing deep conditioner and applied it over my hair that I left marinate in vatika oil for a night and then I slept with the nexxus humectress in and washed it out the next day and then used some diluted dove shampoo to clean my roots. I then rinsed everything out and used Infusium 23 along with my sallys brand biolsilk leave in and applied proclaim natural 7 oil plus argan oil on top. I then rollerset my hair and allowed it to airdry with no heat. I didn't even press my roots. So far so good my curls are a lil heavy but I'm finding less broken strands and my shed hair seems to have the right amount of stretch to it when I pull on them so I may be in the clear!

 

[Nonie]

Hi ladies,

So I used these sample packets of nexxus humectress moisturizing deep conditioner and applied it over my hair that I left marinate in vatika oil for a night and then I slept with the nexxus humectress in and washed it out the next day and then used some diluted dove shampoo to clean my roots. I then rinsed everything out and used Infusium 23 along with my sallys brand biolsilk leave in and applied proclaim natural 7 oil plus argan oil on top. I then rollerset my hair and allowed it to airdry with no heat. I didn't even press my roots. So far so good my curls are a lil heavy but I'm finding less broken strands and my shed hair seems to have the right amount of stretch to it when I pull on them so I may be in the clear!

JusMarieJolie I am the last person to look at ingredients or even be overly concerned about them. But I noticed that you shampooed out the moisturizing conditioner Humectress and then didn't use a moisturizing conditioner after the shampoo to ensure your strands are left moisturized. Instead you applied a protein product (Infusium 23) and from the description of Biosilk Silk Therapy it sounds like a protein as well (and I imagine Sally's version is similar). And then you sealed your hair with Proclaim Natural 7 plus Argan oil (I hate oils so no comment on whether this is good or not; I haven't used it so can't judge it).

Seems to me that you're ODing on protein which will make hair hard and brittle. This could explain your breakage. You need more moisturizing products in your regimen, and you definitely must follow a shampoo with a moisturizing conditioner.

 

[MaryJane3000]

Nonie I used the shampoo because i still had some buildup on my scalp but my hair still felt pretty moisturized (borderline mushy) and I didn't use the shampoo throughout my hair. You're probably right though, when I was still relaxing my hair it needed a lot of protein so I pretty much built my regimen around continuously inserting small amounts of protein. This method helped me get to APL, but now that I'm transitioning I think my hair needs the exact opposite. I've become pretty lazy with reading the ingredients and finding hair products, right now I'm just trying to use up my stash of goodies.

However, if anyone has any suggestions for moisturizing leave-ins I'd really appreciate it. I usually just add some of my cheapie conditioner straight to my hair and leave it in, but I think I need something without cones. My hair LOVES oils so I think I'm good with that.