I'm Really Depressed

[Lucie]

I think my hair is falling out. Not in clumps or any bald spots thank God but my hair feels 50% less than thick. Ever since I've been a DIYer I feel like my hair is not as fluffy as it used to be. I do not know if it is because I am wrapping a lot more but it seems scraggly. I was never in the habit of doing many protective styles, slept without a scarf my whole life, and don't really pay my hair much attention. I use about 5 products. 3 of them involve my shampoo, conditioner and leave-in. I use the Aphoghee 2 Min Reconstructor every week. I leave it in for hours sometimes? Could that be it?

I know you will have questions as to what I have been doing different but nothing really except for the wrapping. I am under stress but that has been my whole life off-and-on. I have what I like to call rhinocerous-tough hair. I used to dump gobs of relaxer in my hair from root-to-tip for years in HS and still had fluffy hair which is why I know I have strong hair. I am really proud of myself too for being a DIYer. If not for this board, I would have never thought I could take care of my hair past the washing and conditioning part.

I have done a trillion searches, but nothing seems to click for me. I have done a clarifying shampoo. I DC religiously. I dunno. I even thought maybe my table-top dryer is the culprit since it is not a fancy 514, possibly drying out my hair. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I know I am way too old of a member to have this issue. I should stay out of ET and OT and more time here.

Off to do a gentle rollerset. I bought some Alter-Ego conditioner today. Maybe I will lay off the 2-Min for a while. TIA ladies!

 

[nucienuce1]

Don't be sad, I think we all get a little hair crazy from this site! I hope you feel better soon. By the way your hair IS beautiful!

 

[Lucie]

Don't be sad, I think we all get a little hair crazy from this site! I hope you feel better soon. By the way your hair IS beautiful!

Thank you. I was hopping around and I saw that someone bumped up a thread about the Haitian castor oil. I have some and will start using it. I need to read up on how posters are prepooing with it because it is thick and sticky.

 

[Calia001]

i'm not in the right frame of mind because i'm in a bit of a mild depression with my hair too. but i would like to offer my support

 

[chebaby]

i hope you feel better. protein is supposed to make your hair feel thicker so if you leave the 2 minute on for hours i cant see how that would be the curl prit.
do you flat iron or rollerset? i know when i was flat ironing weekly my hair thined out a lot even though i did everything else right.

 

[Helpmeblongagain]

Maybe its the conditioner? I remember using emergencee and it having that effect bcuz I used 2 much of it and too often...I would switch conditioners 4 a while and c if there is any changes.

Dont b depressed...your hair will b fine...its gorgeous

 

[AllAboutMoi]

Wrapping can be a lot of manipulation. Are you doing the two sided wrap? If not maybe you can try that way. It seems to be less manipulation.

 

[WaistLengthDreams]

Thank you. I was hopping around and I saw that someone bumped up a thread about the Haitian castor oil. I have some and will start using it. I need to read up on how posters are prepooing with it because it is thick and sticky.

The Caster Oil sounds like a good idea! I don't have any independent advice but I wanted to let you know that hair is gorgeous. And I'm sure some LHCFer will chime in with some on point advice for you!

 

[SEMO]

I don't have any suggestions, besides using castor oil. Hopefully your hair will bounce back to full thickness soon. ((hugs))

 

[Mystic]

I totally understand about the depressed part. Today I was so depressed about my hair progress and like you, I cannot pinpoint what is causing my slow progress.

Just wanted to let you know that I totally understand. Hope the ladies will be able to help you find a solution.

 

[sharifeh]

I totally understand what you mean about hair depression. It's frustrating. I say just treat it gentler than usual, that may be all it needs...

 

[ceebee3]

Your hair may not actually be thinner it may just feel that way from the wrapping.

Also your hair may be used to your products so they may not be working the same anymore.

Maybe switch up for a few months and try a rotation. I hope that helps.

Are you seeing any broken hair?

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

I don't think it's the Aphogee...unless you've noticed increased shedding or breakage at all?
It could be the wrapping....lots of people complain of wrapping thinning out their hair. Are you cross-wrapping, or at least alternating directions?
And lastly, could it all be in your mind? Or can you take pictures to compare with one from when you felt better about your hair?
Sometimes, I get hair depressed and I think my hair looks really really bad, and I itch to chop it off. But after a couple of weeks, I look again, and it's fine.

I really hope you can find a solution to your problem. You have such beautiful hair.

 

[shtow]

Un-PC but it could be the conditioner. My hair was not happy when I was over-conditioning so I cut back on it and it improved a lot. But I honestly think DCing is overrated. All I do now is use Aphogee 2 min or Balancing moisturizer every 2 weeks while I shower.

The "mush" from over conditioning could be doing to your hair what it did to mines which was make my hair very "dull".

 

[shtow]

Also, stress is no joke. I am not a serious shedder but when I was seriously stressed last year, I washed my hair and I had, I kid you not, a handful of hair in the shower (which is a lot for me). I know stress was the culprit. I hope everything gets better for you.

 

[LunadeMiel]

I'm sorry to hear that Lucie. Stress can really wreak havoc on hair growth. I hope you find a solution. BTW I think your hair looks gorgeous.

 

[Lady Esquire]

I remember when I read Carolyn Gray's book, she has a six-week regimen. Each week she rotates a different treatment dedicated to fixing a certain hair issue, i.e. one week is to restore moisture, another is to replenish to give the hair a boost.

I followed that regimen for about a year and a half. And my hair thrived. Anyway, I stopped in order to simplify my product rotations. But the point I am making is that maybe your hair is no longer receiving the same benefits from those products. Also, you may want to experiment and revamp your routine, both with products, styles, and everyday wear and tear.

Lastly, wrapping thinned my hair out. And as soon as I stopped, my hair thickened up. Henna, Dominican Rinses, and Porosity Control are great to keep the hair under control too.

 

[MilkChocolateOne]

Un-PC but it could be the conditioner. My hair was not happy when I was over-conditioning so I cut back on it and it improved a lot. But I honestly think DCing is overrated. All I do now is use Aphogee 2 min or Balancing moisturizer every 2 weeks while I shower.

The "mush" from over conditioning could be doing to your hair what it did to mines which was make my hair very "dull".

I'll join the Un-PC band wagon. Leaving conditioner on for extended periods of time gave me mushy, weak, and thinned stretched hair.

 

[Lucie]

OMG! I responded to everyone and when I hit replied it told me to log back in. Grrr!!! I am going to rinse my conditioner out and rollerset, be back in an hour.

 

[shtow]

I'll join the Un-PC band wagon. Leaving conditioner on for extended periods of time gave me mushy, weak, and thinned stretched hair.

Yup that's the perfect way to describe what it did to mines.

 

[brucebettye]

That had happen to me recently when I felt my hair had thinned out, but it was due to some breakage. To help my hair get back thicker really quick I mixed 2 eggs with some moisturizing conditioner and left on my hair for about 30 minutes. I saw instant results and have been using this combination everyweek. Sometimes I deep condition with aussie moist afterwards for about 30 minutes or overnite to prevent protein overload, but I don't use any other products with alot of protein the rest of the week. Maybe this will help your situation. Things will get better.

 

[isabella09]

, I’m so sorry to read of your recent troubles , I really hope you start to feel better soon. I completely understand the feeling of being down about your hair and its associated frustration’s . I just wanted to give you a >massive hug< . Please take care and I’m sure you will receive fantastic advice from this thread (so sorry I’m unable to help you with this one). Wishing you the very best of luck and I know you will overcome this soon.

 

[Heavenly]

As another poster has mentioned, I think it may have to do with your wrapping action. Your regimen is simple enough, so I doubt it has anything to do with your product use.

I had some serious shedding these past few months after my last texlax at the beginning of August. I didnt change anything in my routine, and I wasn't severely stressed beyond the usual "mother-of-two-tots" kind of stress.

My hair just had started getting a thin hand to it.

I figured it had to do with my thyroid.

BUT, in the meantime, I decided to take some garlic supps and do the rosemary/jojoba on scalp massages... as well as continue my oil prepoos.

I also decided to halt a texlax until next year beginning Jan.

Also, instead of blowdrying religiously straight, I left some texture in the strands.

Lately, as in the last month or so, my hair feels thicker... and the shedding has decreased significantly.

 

[Keen]

Maybe you should add some Salons visits to your routines. When I saw your thread I thought you've been playing with scissors again.

 

[KiSseS03]

(((Hugs))) Aww Lucie, just wanted to let you know that you and your hair are beautiful. I think it would be worthwhile to look at managing your stress, your regimen really seems pretty good, so it may be something internal. Your body may be reacting to stress differently now. Just baby your hair, maybe put it up for awhile, destress and I'm sure it will be back better than ever before you know it.

Oh, and I hear you on OT and ET, I saw some progress pics that have brought me back here (to the Hair Board) where I started!

 

[*Muffin*]

I think my hair is falling out. Not in clumps or any bald spots thank God but my hair feels 50% less than thick. Ever since I've been a DIYer I feel like my hair is not as fluffy as it used to be. I do not know if it is because I am wrapping a lot more but it seems scraggly. I was never in the habit of doing many protective styles, slept without a scarf my whole life, and don't really pay my hair much attention. I use about 5 products. 3 of them involve my shampoo, conditioner and leave-in. I use the Aphoghee 2 Min Reconstructor every week. I leave it in for hours sometimes? Could that be it?

I know you will have questions as to what I have been doing different but nothing really except for the wrapping. I am under stress but that has been my whole life off-and-on. I have what I like to call rhinocerous-tough hair. I used to dump gobs of relaxer in my hair from root-to-tip for years in HS and still had fluffy hair which is why I know I have strong hair. I am really proud of myself too for being a DIYer. If not for this board, I would have never thought I could take care of my hair past the washing and conditioning part.

I have done a trillion searches, but nothing seems to click for me. I have done a clarifying shampoo. I DC religiously. I dunno. I even thought maybe my table-top dryer is the culprit since it is not a fancy 514, possibly drying out my hair. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I know I am way too old of a member to have this issue. I should stay out of ET and OT and more time here.

Off to do a gentle rollerset. I bought some Alter-Ego conditioner today. Maybe I will lay off the 2-Min for a while. TIA ladies!

Wow...You use the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor weekly and for hours?? Do you use a moisturizing DC afterward? That seems like protein overload to me, which can cause breakage which could be making your hair feel less thick. Here's an article on protein reconstructors that might be helpful.

P.S. Hope your hair feels better .

 

[Stepiphanie]

Just wanted to stop by and give u a ((hug)). Hope things get better soon, I'm still a hair novice so not many suggestions. I love the alter ego garlic, I hope it works for you.

 

[Irresistible]

Wow...You use the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor weekly and for hours?? Do you use a moisturizing DC afterward? That seems like protein overload to me, which can cause breakage which could be making your hair feel less thick. Here's an article on protein reconstructors that might be helpful.

P.S. Hope your hair feels better .

I was just'a scrollin thru waitin to see if someone would say this

Lucie, I really do think that is the culprit or at least adding to any problem

 

[30something]

I wish the BEST for you. I'm going through almost the SAME thing, and it is really starting to get to me. Usually when I get down I try to tell my self its hair.. it will grow back, tomorrow is another day. I still have a change to make good with what I have.. at least

I hope you feel better... I really do

 

[shtow]

I honestly don't think it's the aphogee 2 min in itself that is the issue. I think I remember (or I may be wrong) reading a thread in which Gym stated for some ppl it could be a moisturizing conditioner as well. Personally, although I def feel the protein effect, I find it to be more moisturizing than anything. If this was the only DC someone (especially relaxed) used, IMO it would be smart because they would not have to worry about rotating DC's. They are getting mostly moisture, with some protein consistently.

I think the culprit is using any conditioner on for hours at a time, be it a moisturizing conditioner, protein conditioner, or both.

But once again, that's just IMO.