I had my analysis call on Monday. I had the service done for my 11yo DD's hair.
I got the slides about ten minutes before my call came and I had a chance to look them over.
Turns out I was wrong about a few things when it came to DD's hair. I thought her hair was extremely fine when it's actually just fine-medium at .028-.055 in diameter. She had splits and mid shaft splits, most of it in the last three inches. Jenn suggested I trim her hair at 1/2" every eight weeks until the three inches is gone and after that every three months. There were also SSKs and she reminded me that I need to keep the scissors (she stressed that they be HAIR scissors, which I use) close so I can cut them out instead of tearing them out. She also wants me to use my fingers MORE and combs LESS.
I thought DD's hair was low porosity. Turns out it is normal-high porosity and I saw the raised cuticles on the slides to prove it. So ladies, that hair in the glass test--
, not accurate.
As for recommendations, she thought all of the shampoos I listed were nice and mild and actually suggested that I stop cowashing and use shampoo weekly focusing on the scalp. She said that cowashing thins the hair over time and doing a coconut oil prepoo will protect against dryness. She told me that I will see a MAJOR difference in DD's hair once I start using a mild protein treatment every two weeks and suggested their Protein Hair Strengthener, which I'll purchase soon. I have so many things here that I want to use, maybe I'll use them up on me and get the new stuff for DD. She said to use my fingers close together (STOP using the Denman) and rake through the hair in small sections at least ten times and I'll see her hair start to accept the conditioner more than before. She said to do the protein then DC with moisturizing conditioner after. I use Jane Carter spray leave in and she said I could use that as a refresher but I need a thicker leave in and she suggested their Coconut Hair Milk or Aloe My Hair. I'll be getting one of those soon too. She wants me to rake the l/i the same way as the conditioner.
She also told me that twists and flat twists are better than the corn rows I do a lot. She said they pull the hair less and follow the natural curl pattern more. She said that when I flat iron not to have the temperature at more than 300 degrees because of the delicate nature of DD's hair.
I told her that DD has eczema and also is an athlete and has to wear a bun for her sport in season, so we talked about increasing her water intake, rinsing her hair of sweat throughout the week, probiotics, and using gel. She said to make sure to have a good l/i under the gel to protect the hair and decrease the drying effects.
I'm so glad I did this. I'm really looking forward to seeing a turnaround in her hair.