It's like my hair was glued together

[anon123]

Ew, it was awful. I just got finished putting in a set of box braids and man am I glad to have that done. But I wanted to actually do semi-neat parts this time so I wouldn't look crazy so I had to do all these parts to make boxes. Oh my goodness, it was like my hair was glued together. I keep thinking of how to describe it. Um, imagine all your hair was immersed in some really thick honey or maybe a slightly less sticky version of that substance on fly sticky traps, and you were trying to separate the hairs out of that. Except the honey/glue was just other hair! My hair is always pretty sticky, but it was just crazy this time.

The funny thing is that my hair felt really good. I thought to myself that maybe the reason I wasn't getting "soft" hair like everyone else was that I didn't put enough product on. So I put in more. My hair sucked it up, no visible film or anything. It started after washing, I put Qhemet Burdock Root Butter Cream on small sections and twisted it and left to dry. After doing 1/2 the braids I was too tired to finish that day so I put a puff in the middle and the next day I just spritzed it with Oyin Juices and Berries. Yesterday as I was trying to separate it I thought some of the Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship conditioner I just bought would help since it's so heavy on the -cones and silky feeling. It + a little water helped a bit, but as soon as it dried (really fast) my hair became even stickier! It was unreal. To give you an idea, I won't even tell you how long it would take to do a horizontal row part, but even after the horizontal part was made and I just had to make a vertical part of about an inch to get a box, just separating the hair for that little box took 1-2 minutes!

Anyone else get sticky hair from product use. I'd rather my hair feel its normal regular "dry" than to be this sticky. Yuck.

 

[ladylibra]

this happened to me a few times... seems like mixing too many products together causes a bad reaction on my head. or maybe it was just using too much on my head at once. i dunno, but it was awful... my fingers got all tangled up in the knotted mess and i really start debating whether or not to do a 2nd BC...

 

[tada1]

argh...i can just imagine what you had to go through. I get irritated if i have to detangle more than 2 or 3 sections of my hair in a single session.
Sticky hair will basically make me flip!

im sorry you had to go through that. I hope there was low/no breakage though. yo hair is fiiiiine

 

[anon123]

thank you. i always have breakage, though I try to be as gentle as i can. it was a test of patience! it definitely could have been worse. i'm going back to minimal product use and using some heat weekly in the form of a blow dryer to help manage this hair.

 

[RosesBlack]

I get that if I mix using this V05 leave in before I airdry then when my hair is dry using anything else.

I can't stand that I will rewash I can't deal with that feeling.

 

[Jetblackhair]

This happens to me with castor oil.

 

[hothair]

My sister gets this! I think its product overload with infrequent clarifying - but she says her hair felt better then than just after clarifying (she was on a no-shampoo reggie)- but she had to use some hardcore clarifying shampoo to get the gunk off! I think if you clarify more frequently u can use as much product as you like...

 

[*Happily Me*]

my hair sticks together especially the at root. it's like my hair wants to dread. It's dreads sooo easily. :/

I cant make parts with a comb. i have to gently make a finger part and that takes efffort because the hair is matted, stuck together and very tangled. I cannot run my finger through my hair without it getting stuck multiple times. My hair is very dense and thick. This happens even with a relaxer

I was thinking about going natural... but I don't think I'll be able to do it. I can only see the problem getting worse.

this happens with and without product. I've just accepted that it comes with having thick hair. i dunno... :/

 

[anon123]

my hair sticks together especially the at root. it's like my hair wants to dread. It's dreads sooo easily. :/

I cant make parts with a comb. i have to gently make a finger part and that takes efffort because the hair is matted, stuck together and very tangled. I cannot run my finger through my hair without it getting stuck multiple times. My hair is very dense and thick. This happens even with a relaxer

I was thinking about going natural... but I don't think I'll be able to do it. I can only see the problem getting worse.

this happens with and without product. I've just accepted that it comes with having thick hair. i dunno... :/

Your hair is gorgeous! If you go natural, I feel sure that particular difficulty will get worse, yes. Yeah, my hair is always sticky. That's why I was putting on so much product, in the hopes that it would help things get more slippery and help me out. I am not good at making parts; it's really difficult to part at the roots. First I make a general separation of hair with my hands. Then I make a semblance of a part with my finger. Then I use the rat tail comb to try to clean the part and I can only do this 1/2" at a time! Ah well, whatcha gonna do? It's that good locking hair! I was hoping that if I comb it more thoroughly more often and force parts down to the root more often that it would get easier. No? I know a few thick haired naturals who have completely given up on combs and just use their fingers and/or keep their hair stretched all the time so it's possible to finger detangle. I know it's possible because I did it for a month myself, but I'd have to wear protective styles like 90% of the time for it to work.

Hothair, yes! Just like your sister my hair was feeling better. But yikes, it was stuck together. Is using a regular shampoo enough for clarifying, I wonder, or do I have to add baking soda?

 

[AfroKink]

Your hair is gorgeous! If you go natural, I feel sure that particular difficulty will get worse, yes. Yeah, my hair is always sticky. That's why I was putting on so much product, in the hopes that it would help things get more slippery and help me out. I am not good at making parts; it's really difficult to part at the roots. First I make a general separation of hair with my hands. Then I make a semblance of a part with my finger. Then I use the rat tail comb to try to clean the part and I can only do this 1/2" at a time! Ah well, whatcha gonna do? It's that good locking hair! I was hoping that if I comb it more thoroughly more often and force parts down to the root more often that it would get easier. No? I know a few thick haired naturals who have completely given up on combs and just use their fingers and/or keep their hair stretched all the time so it's possible to finger detangle. I know it's possible because I did it for a month myself, but I'd have to wear protective styles like 90% of the time for it to work.

Hothair, yes! Just like your sister my hair was feeling better. But yikes, it was stuck together. Is using a regular shampoo enough for clarifying, I wonder, or do I have to add baking soda?

That's how I have to make my parts too.

I had a similar problem about a year ago. It felt like my hair strands were fused together. Here is the thread I started. The responses told me basically to do what I was already doing. Which made me more frustrated. I think I ended up ripping out a lot of hair, and leaving it in twists for a while.

Lys

 

[Jhuidah]

With regards to the sticky hair issue, I noticed that the Oyin Greg Juice/Frank Juice/Juices and Berries can get sticky. I usually only use it on wet/damp hair. I also tend to dilute it--mixing it 1:1 with spring or distilled water in a spritz bottle is the perfect dilution (for me, anyway). Plus you get twice the product for half the price! It's a great product though--it's been a staple for years and years. I haven't found anything to replace it.

 

[lovinmylocs]

With regards to the sticky hair issue, I noticed that the Oyin Greg Juice/Frank Juice/Juices and Berries can get sticky. I usually only use it on wet/damp hair. I also tend to dilute it--mixing it 1:1 with spring or distilled water in a spritz bottle is the perfect dilution (for me, anyway). Plus you get twice the product for half the price! It's a great product though--it's been a staple for years and years. I haven't found anything to replace it.

I've noticed the same thing with Oyin Juice and Berries. I've started diluting mine as well to help with that sticky feeling.

I was on a no shampoo reggie for a while but that wasn't working. I now shampoo once per week to help with that feeling. Also some leave-ins make it worse.

 

[anon123]

Hmm, that Juices and Berries is pretty sticky. I had used it before without this much problem, though. I think it was the combo that exacerbated its stickiness.

That's how I have to make my parts too.

I had a similar problem about a year ago. It felt like my hair strands were fused together. Here is the thread I started. The responses told me basically to do what I was already doing. Which made me more frustrated. I think I ended up ripping out a lot of hair, and leaving it in twists for a while.

Lys

Hmm. Yeah, they were trying to stick to each other all along the length. It wasn't really knots, it was tangles. Slowly I could work them out and there was no shed hair in the center and no knot; they were just all interlocking. erplexed I'm definitely backing away from a lot of product use, that was bananas.

 

[dinaaike]

This has only happened to me two times. Once when my porosity was off and my hair COULD NOT stay moisturized. I had to pull my hair apart like velcro . Then there was another time when I was using expired glycerin. I literally put the comb down and looked in the mirror confused ; my reflection didn't have an answer then either. It was like my hair had a little bit of slip, but was so tacky to the touch that it was trying to keep hold of everything I put in it. I came very close to panicking.

Now that my porosity is fine and I have fresh glycerin and the difference is so obvious there's no comparison.

 

[anon123]

This has only happened to me two times. Once when my porosity was off and my hair COULD NOT stay moisturized. I had to pull my hair apart like velcro . Then there was another time when I was using expired glycerin. I literally put the comb down and looked in the mirror confused ; my reflection didn't have an answer then either. It was like my hair had a little bit of slip, but was so tacky to the touch that it was trying to keep hold of everything I put in it. I came very close to panicking.

Now that my porosity is fine and I have fresh glycerin and the difference is so obvious there's no comparison.

porosity, you say. is this correctable by acv? i did that strand test where it's supposed to float on water, isn't that a porosity test? i don't know what's going on here.

 

[JustKiya]

porosity, you say. is this correctable by acv? i did that strand test where it's supposed to float on water, isn't that a porosity test? i don't know what's going on here.

ACV can help, as can citric acid, and that French Perm Stabilizer stuff that people are raving about. Almost anything acidic, basically.

 

[dinaaike]

porosity, you say. is this correctable by acv? i did that strand test where it's supposed to float on water, isn't that a porosity test? i don't know what's going on here.

The water test is for porosity, yes. I tried the ACV and it didn't work for me at all. Maybe I didn't do it right . Anyway, the best way to know is if your hair strands feels rough to the touch when you feel them from root to tip, and when you can't keep them moisturized no matter what you put on them. Even with the expired glycerin, my hair was moisturized, it just turned into tentacles that wouldn't let anything go! If you JUST got your product, it should be fine. If it's been sitting for a long while (as in, you forgot when you bought it) then it might not work.

I don't think people know that products that don't necessarily spoil, like glycerin, can still expire. They might not grow fungus, but they'll probably be a lot less effective, and have lesser qualities magnified (like stickiness).

HTH!

 

[*Happily Me*]

porosity, you say. is this correctable by acv? i did that strand test where it's supposed to float on water, isn't that a porosity test? i don't know what's going on here.

at first i thought i was porosity and raised cuticles, but i've switched to PH balance shampoos and started using more natural products.

my hair just gets tangled. I've accepted it.

:/

I was thinking about relaxing, because i have about 2 - 3 inches of new growth (even though i texlaxed in jan, it was just a 5 min job, and it barely did anything to the new growth that was there alreaday). I rinsed my hair yesterday then I took some time detangling with my fingers and i thought "i really would be a shame to relax this again". I'm really starting to like my newgrowth and naps. I just need to get a hold of the knotting.

Thanks for the complimeent mwedzi. I imagine my hair looking very similar to your hair if I were natural. I also stalk your posts about your hair just in case i decide to change sides

 

[anon123]

at first i thought i was porosity and raised cuticles, but i've switched to PH balance shampoos and started using more natural products.

my hair just gets tangled. I've accepted it.

:/

I was thinking about relaxing, because i have about 2 - 3 inches of new growth (even though i texlaxed in jan, it was just a 5 min job, and it barely did anything to the new growth that was there already). I rinsed my hair yesterday then I took some time detangling with my fingers and i thought "i really would be a shame to relax this again". I'm really starting to like my newgrowth and naps. I just need to get a hold of the knotting.

Oh, it's no doubt about it, my hair is always tangly. It's just its nature. It was just this particular time it was much more grippy than usual.

I like the feel of my hair, too. I love everything about my hair except tangles, and the best way to avoid them is to prevent them by wearing braids or cornrows or something all the time which in turn takes away one of the qualities I love about my hair: its look when out. Oh well. Even when I'm in twists my hair tangles some, haha. Braids and cornrows are really the best for keeping tangles away, but I don't want to wear those all the time.

Anyway, next time this happens (though I hope it doesn't happen again), I will try that acv rinse. I tried it once before, but I wasn't paying attention to this issue since I was using it to try to remove buildup (which it totally didn't).

Thanks for the tips, y'all.

 

[AfroKink]

I wonder about the effectiveness of the water test for determining porosity. My cuticles are well open, and I always pass the water test. Are there other tests of porosity?

Lys

 

[a_ caribbean_dream]

Hi everyone. I HAD to revive this thread!

My hair has been sticking to itself for a few months now. I have tried clarifying, very low manipulation and "my strands still stick together like velcro" as someone mentioned earlier in this thread. When I clarify my hair becomes a dry tangled mess.

I am seriously a hair stylist's worst nightmare. I can barely comb my hair using my fingers.

I was wondering if anyone has conquered this problem?

PS. what is a porosity test?

 

[a_ caribbean_dream]

BUMP***********

 

[anon123]

are your leave-ins heavy in -cones?

 

[a_ caribbean_dream]

are your leave-ins heavy in -cones?

I am not using any heavy leave-ins with cones anymore but a few months agoI did. I recently stopped using products with cones all together.

I have noticed that my hair is ALOT more manageable and soft but it is still VERY stuck together. seperating my hair horizontally is killer.

my wash days are nightmares.

 

[anon123]

I am not using any heavy leave-ins with cones anymore but a few months agoI did. I recently stopped using products with cones all together.

I have noticed that my hair is ALOT more manageable and soft but it is still VERY stuck together. seperating my hair horizontally is killer.

my wash days are nightmares.

Is it stuck together only at the ends, or from root to tip?

 

[a_ caribbean_dream]

Is it stuck together only at the ends, or from root to tip?

It is stuck together from root to tip but it is worst from root to mid shaft than it becomes a little easier as you get the tips.