I need a lot of help

[trinidarkie1]

Hey ladies,
I have a real big problem with my hair and I am at a loss for solutions.
I always had long thick natural curly hair, I am a black caribbean woman and the weather always made my hair grow.
I was never really into using gel and other harsh stuff on my hair.
I permed my hair 7 years ago, and for the last 3 to 4 years my hair is half the length if not less and it is very unhealthy, it doesnt seem to be growing, it is extremely thin. I dont have a history of baldness in my family, so I didnt understand why the front of my hair was so bad. I would wrap it and stuff and regulary go to my hairdresser.
I have my hair in wool braids right now and I put oils in my hair everynight and of course I use my silk scarf to keep it neat.
I am so afraid to go natural, the look does nothing for me especially if that means that I have to start over from scratch, so I just add extensions all the time.
Does anyone know how in the world I can get my good hair back?
I NEED a LOT of help

 

[katie]

I take it you are from Trinidad.Are you still living there?Or did you move and the climate change started wrecking your hair?

 

[candycane]

Welcome trini.

You indicated you have your hair in "wool braids". Does that mean the extensions are made of wool? If so, that could be a huge problem. Wool not the best for our hair. It's very drying and has a tendency to cut into the hair.

Candycane

 

[soulchild]

The thinness and breaking seems to be from perming. I know you're afraid of going natural, but that seems like your best bet right now.

 

[sabie19]

I'm currently going natural and I did not cut my hair to go through my process. I oil my scalp and grease the ends every night. I also have a family history where mostly everyone even my mom has hair 3 inches or more past their shoulders. I've been thinking that maybe with some people hair, perms are not the best thing especially if you don't treat your hair correctly. Also, you should use jojoba oil. I've been using it on my ends and it helps me to retain more hair length. Wild growth hair oil is also good. You can do a search on their product. Since, I am in braids right now, I don't use it that often so I won't get build up. Also, check your diet. For your hair to stay nice and healthy, you have to feed it healthy food. Braids are a good idea but give your hair a rest in between. Continue the work. If you have any more questions, you can pm me.

 

[sweetcocoa]

I had to stop relaxing to get my hair back on track. After being natural for 2 years I'm now texturizied. That break made all the difference for me. Also I had to stop wrapping my hair all the time(only sometimes) and stopped using direct heat. I did start flatironing again about 4 months ago and my hair didn't like it...so I'm back to no direct heat...and frequent shampooing or rinsing.

 

[Cameos]

Hello Trinidarkie,
Welcome

I hope this helps

I think your extensions maybe a problem. I had extensions before and I found that it put lots tension on my relaxed hair causing it to weaken and shed or break.
I am from the caribbean as well and I have also found that our humid climate causes lots of build up. I now wash and deep condition my hair twice a week and it has made a big difference...along with regular protein treatments and the tips from this board i.e. no heat and Apple cider vinegar rinses.
Another tip I have recently learned is to keep my ends moisturize to prevent split ends.

 

[trinidarkie1]

[ QUOTE ]
katie said:
I take it you are from Trinidad.Are you still living there?Or did you move and the climate change started wrecking your hair?

[/ QUOTE ]

I am from Trinidad and I live in Minnesota now, cold of course, my scalp is always dry and itching and my hair seems to come out in graps when I comb it out... with the root ends quite visible..
I have no clue what kinda vitamins to take or anything..
someone told me that they think it's internal..

I have wool braids in now and I want to take them out so badly but my hair underneath is in a MESS. So I am keeping it through thanksgiving break then they come out for sure.
I really think I want to dedicate some time to treat it.
*sigh*

 

[katie]

The same thing happpened to me when I left Trinidad and came to Canada.My first 2 winters completely messed up my hair.
This is my 3rd winter now and I am hoping my hair can get through it with my new hair care knowledge.(I found out about this board this summer)
I don't know much about caring for braids tho.Maybe you can do a search on setting up a braids regime?

About the vitamins,lots of ladies take MSM or biotin.You can even try a hair vitamin from a health food store.And try to drink lots of water.I try for 2 litres a day.
ALso,I recently discovered scalp massages and they have really helped me up my growth rate.Do a search on this board about them.
Hope this helps.

 

[trinidarkie1]

Thanks a lot, I am going to GNC in a few minutes to see what I can find and also to Walmart to look for those things that someone told me about as well.. hope i can get some semblance of great hair again soon *pout*

 

[jainygirl]

bump

 

[trinidarkie1]

Okay so I just came back from GNC and I got Primrose oil, A woman's multi vitamin thingy and some hair nails and skin tablets as well..
Then I got some aura rosemary and mint shampoo and conditioner, some Aphogee damage treatment.. the one that you have to let dry in your hair before rinsing..
and I got some Soft and Beautiful 3 in 1 hair moisturizer, leave in conditioner and oil.
How dat sound?

 

[trinidarkie1]

I've been following up on my routine.. well actually not really *hangs head in shame*
I relaxed my hair about 2.5 weeks ago, but I dont intend to re do it for a while.. might get it braided sometime in Feb. and keep it in till May..

 

[trinidarkie1]

Okay so it's been a while since I posted in here.. sorry!!!

Anyway, my new news..
My last relaxer was May 20th..
I cut my hair in March and it's just growing back..
It's just about 2 inches below my ears.. I want to get a gf to take some pics so I can post them on the site..
Does anyone have a treatments that I can use to steam my hair.. I am having a hard time finding an inexpensive sit under hair dryer.. it's like $60 in sally's *frown*