I'm about to give up and go back to sew ins.

[mischka]

A few months ago my hair was well on its way to BSL now I have knocked myself back up to slightly before APL. My hair is constantly breaking. I will have clumps of hair coming out that is from the root length long - like seven or eight strands in a bunch! And not to mention I'm still mad that my hair is so much looser now from heat damage from ONE flat ironing experience.

I wore sew ins while I transitioned and my hair was super thick, long, healthy, and cut into even layers. Ever since I decided to chuck the sew ins and rock my curls my hair has suffered because I can't figure out what it needs. The most I can figure is it requires extreme low manip but I am trying to get my exercise routine back together and running frequently with the way I sweat my hair is always dry and hard. I have recently stopped shampooing and just do a deep condition on the weekend but I am still seeing breakage.

I'm not super upset because I'm not bald (yet) but I could probably be heading that way soon. I'm getting frustrated because trying to take care of my hair myself is doing nothing but setting me back. I really don't want to wear sew ins anymore (not to mention my stylist, who does absolutely excellent work, takes about 7 hours to complete it and costs over 200 dollars), I want to rock my natural hair. But I'm getting nowhere and it's getting really discouraging.

 

[Platinum]

I'm sorry to hear about this. I read when you said that you don't really want to go back to sew-ins. Have you tried wearing a bun? Have you considered braids?

 

[hothair]

I had this problem when I used protective styles to grow my hair. My hair grew a lot, but when I decided to wear it out I had no idea how to handle it and so got breakage. This happened a few times till I came up with what works for "my" hair and so far I've been happy with my progress.

What styles do you enjoy wearing your hair in? Look for people with similar texture/structure hair and augment your reggie to theirs, stick to the regimen for at least 3 months without switching up unnecessarily. You will get there but going back to weaves will just delay you getting to know your own hair.

 

[HauteHippie]

Is it a shedding issue, a retention issue or both?

Are you babying your ends? I wasn't up until like 2 weeks ago and... my hair got a little shorter... in like a 2-3 week period. I looked in the mirror, screamed and started moisturizing my ends.

When I could run daily my hair would be HAH if I didn't keep of moisturized... but because I ran I didn't want a bunch of products sweating into my face and ruining my skin (now wear a band).

The water from washing helped me and I probably could've DCed more. Maybe more DCs would help. Last summer (my first summer down) I was constantly spraying water/aloe or Aussie Hair Insurance into my hair and it kept my hair soft. Also, "oiling" my ends. Oiling per se doesn't exactly work for me, so I seal my ends with Jane Carter nourish and shine and that works.

I've only had one crazy shedding experience. I stuck a needle in a couple of odorless garlic oil pills and put it in the deep conditioner in my hand before applying it to my hair. It seemed to stop shedding so much.

Also, maybe two french braids while at the gym can make retaking easier?

I'm not a hair stylista, so that's all I got!

Hope that helps!

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Mobile G2

 

[Myjourney2009]

A few months ago my hair was well on its way to BSL now I have knocked myself back up to slightly before APL. My hair is constantly breaking. I will have clumps of hair coming out that is from the root length long - like seven or eight strands in a bunch! And not to mention I'm still mad that my hair is so much looser now from heat damage from ONE flat ironing experience.

I wore sew ins while I transitioned and my hair was super thick, long, healthy, and cut into even layers. Ever since I decided to chuck the sew ins and rock my curls my hair has suffered because I can't figure out what it needs. The most I can figure is it requires extreme low manip but I am trying to get my exercise routine back together and running frequently with the way I sweat my hair is always dry and hard. I have recently stopped shampooing and just do a deep condition on the weekend but I am still seeing breakage.

I'm not super upset because I'm not bald (yet) but I could probably be heading that way soon. I'm getting frustrated because trying to take care of my hair myself is doing nothing but setting me back. I really don't want to wear sew ins anymore (not to mention my stylist, who does absolutely excellent work, takes about 7 hours to complete it and costs over 200 dollars), I want to rock my natural hair. But I'm getting nowhere and it's getting really discouraging.

mischka

Because you have worn sew-ins for so long. You havent figured out yet how much your hair sheds.

Also I would suggest having a blood panel done. If the iron is low then the hair will shed a lot.


What do you use on your hair?

I honestly don't think anyones hair hair has to be super low manipulation. If you cant even comb your hair without getting a lot of breakage then lets find the culprit

 

[LadyRaider]

Try DCing twice a week instead of once, even if one of them is not as elaborate.
Try, as someone already said, braiding your hair up when you are at the gym/running.
Try wearing braidouts/twistouts when you want to wear your hair down when yo are not at the gym.

 

[lollyoo]

Personally,
I will go back to what works till you reach your goal.

 

[Evolving78]

you will just have these problems again. you need to figure out what is going to work for your hair. i am on that mission now.

 

[mischka]

Is it a shedding issue, a retention issue or both?

The water from washing helped me and I probably could've DCed more. Maybe more DCs would help. Last summer (my first summer down) I was constantly spraying water/aloe or Aussie Hair Insurance into my hair and it kept my hair soft. Also, "oiling" my ends. Oiling per se doesn't exactly work for me, so I seal my ends with Jane Carter nourish and shine and that works.

I am having shedding and breakage. I have never seen my hair shed from the root in clumps like this, never in my life. And then I have short broken off hairs every time I rinse after deep conditioning, more than I think is normal.

@mischka

Because you have worn sew-ins for so long. You havent figured out yet how much your hair sheds.

Also I would suggest having a blood panel done. If the iron is low then the hair will shed a lot.


What do you use on your hair?

I honestly don't think anyones hair hair has to be super low manipulation. If you cant even comb your hair without getting a lot of breakage then lets find the culprit

You know what I think has caused the shedding? That fcking megatek. It took me awhile to connect the increased shedding to usage with megatek. When I finally cottoned on, I stopped using it. It's been almost a month maybe and while the shedding is probably less it hasn't stopped completely.

It doesn't make sense to me either that my hair has to be entirely "no manipulation." I don't know what's causing it though.

Try DCing twice a week instead of once, even if one of them is not as elaborate.
Try, as someone already said, braiding your hair up when you are at the gym/running.
Try wearing braidouts/twistouts when you want to wear your hair down when yo are not at the gym.

I wear my hair braided or in a bun. I think when I first stopped wearing sew ins and was wearing a bun all the time my hair was probably still growing a bit. I had about a month where I was washing my hair too much because I was going out a lot and would just co wash in the shower to style it easily (easier to style when wet, can get very unmanageable while dry). It wasn't until after that that I realized I was starting to lose length. This is also when I started using that stupidass megatek thinking it would be better because it was protein.

 

[Evolving78]

try the black tea rinse for the shedding

 

[gabulldawg]

I kind of know how you feel. I wore half wigs for a couple months and my hair has never been healthier. Now I'm worried about messing it up. I'm paranoid about it rubbing on clothes and everything else. I'm also trying to up my workout routine, and even though I'm relaxed it's hard for me to look cute with my regular hair. I sweat a lot during workouts.

I say all that to say maybe you should go back to sew ins. I wouldn't consider it "giving up" if you did. A lot of people use some type of weave to grow their hair. I think I will probably alternate between some type of weave and wearing my real hair until I get to my goal.

 

[Myjourney2009]

Anytime a growth aide is used it will increase the shedding because the stages have been sped up. It will stop as soon as the megatek is completely out of your system.

What are the other products you are using?


you say you co wash, with what?

what are you Dc'ing with? If you have breakage after rinsing then this is not the one for you.

It might not have been the washing that was causing you to lose length, it might have been how you were handling your hair to put it in the buns. Ther are plenty of people here that co-wash freqently and they do not have breakage. It has to be eithier your technique, products or a combination of the two that is causing the breakage

 

[Myjourney2009]

OK I saw you were using Giovanni Shampoo and conditoner, are you still using those? how are they working.

 

[Minty]

giovanni shampoo is not the most gentle, moisturizing product on the market. They can give your hair lockjaw.

I hope you find a solution - try not to feel down about it.