major heat damage on natural hair...

[pureebony]

well after thinking that pressing my hair would be a good option to combat tangles i keep getting at the end of my hair i went to a salon and got a press... I should have known everything was going wrong when they not only combed my hair from the root then applied no form of heat protection on my hair before using a stove iron through my hair twice then a very hot ghd straightener. After 4 days my hair still smells burnt.... im very upset. He also cut my hair from collar bone to neck length.

I need help ladies what do i do? some parts of my hair are permanently straight too.

I was thinking that I should wait till the end of the year before teturizing my hair as its the only way I can think of combating the knots I keep getting without heat damage.

Any advice would be so much appreciated.

 

[msa]

So sorry to hear about the heat damage. The only thing you can do now is diligently take care of your hair. It smells burnt because it was burned, which means it has incurred a lot of damage. Eventually you may have to cut some or all of it. Also, I wouldn't chemically process hair that has been damaged so you may want to rethink the texturizer.

I suggest doing protein and moisturizing DC's twice weekly and protective styling to keep your ends protected. If you're going to use oils, try to use the nourishing ones that penetrate the strand (coconut, olive, & avocado).

As far as the knots and tangles you were getting at your ends...what type of hairstyles do you usually wear and how often do you detangle thoroughly? I get the most knots when I let my shrink completely for days on end and not detangling well only makes it worse because the shed hair creates more tangles.

I've found that detangling with a regular sized or fine tooth comb on wet hair that has been saturated with coconut oil really helps me when I've been wearing a shrunken puff for weeks. I do it in small sections and it taks patience...sometimes I'll detangle for an hour, just to be sure I've gotten it all.

Also, wearing styles that stretch out your hair helps as well, like twistouts. Last, make sure you are paying special attention to moisturzing your ends so that instead of knotting up, they slide right past each other.

 

[Bigghair]

I think you need to baby your hair and deep condition it frequently. I think you will have to eventually cut off the burned pieces, but try conditioning first. Sorry that this happened to you.

 

[prettynatural]

I would just want to add that, is it necessary to have your hair very detangled? I would suggest finger combing because natural hair does not need a lot of detangling for natural styles. It may cut back on the desire to detangle and less stress. Our hair is curly and it coils together that is how it is mean't to be. You can work around it with good condition washes, moisturizing. Good luck!

 

[hothair]

Sorry to hear about this- don't panic, try a mild protein treatment, up your DCs, for the tangling and knotting BKT helped my sis and I massively. Good luck

 

[The Savvy Sistah]

Sorry to hear that but the same thing happened to me last November. I have thin, fine natural hair and the hot comb with the oven was toooooo hot for my hair. So the whole front section and some of the back is straight and it looks thin. (The photo at the bottom is from that painful day).

Over the past 6 months I've been cutting the heat damaged hair and making sure I baby it and deep condition no less than once a week. The 2 minute Aphogee protein treatments have been helping too.

It will take a little time but it will get back healthy again. Every time I see those straight pieces I miss my natural hair. So if you want to get back to your natural texture I would say gradually cut it.

We need to get a support thread for heat damaged naturals and put together a challenge for the next 7 months. I have about 4 inches left in the front to cut off (I've cut off about 3 since November).

Be encouraged!

 

[pureebony]

I think we should start a thread naturals who have experienced or are experiencing heat damage from reckless hands, what do you say?

Its sad when you think about all the progress you have made then its all ruined.

 

[msa]

I think we should start a thread naturals who have experienced or are experiencing heat damage from reckless hands, what do you say?

Its sad when you think about all the progress you have made then its all ruined.

I think there is one somewhere...

Well I just searched and I thought there was a heat damage support thread, but I guess not. This thread might be helpful to you though.
Straight Hair Naturals Support Thread
http://longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=196649