My first post :-) Ladies, please Help!

[pureenergy77]

Hi everyone, I joined the site a couple of weeks ago, and I am so excited! I've been trying to wait until I uploaded pictures of my hair to post, but I couldn't wait any longer. I just got a relaxer put in after 7 years natural and my hair is breaking off very badly. Breakage and overprocessed hair is the reason I went natural in the first place. Well, my hair was almost BSL in November 05. I never used to press my hair and barely used a blow dryer when I was natural, but I wanted a change so I pressed my hair. It was a disaster!! The whole right side of my hair was permanently straight after one pressing with a too hot flat iron. I have very fine hair and didn't realize the extent that my hair couldn't handle heat. I was lost after this happened, and just kept on pressing my hair over and over or wearing ponytails to hide the texture difference. I also got micro braids (which further damaged)...to make a long story short my hair totally broke off down to the roots in a lot of spots in my hair. I literally burnt my hair off and didn't realize it!

My hair now is very thin looking due to the breakage. I got it cut to around shoulder length. I should have just cut all my hair off and started over, but I'm trying to salvage what's left of my hair. I got the relaxer so I would at least not be tempted to use heat because of the texture difference. I know probably not the smart solution...Anyway, I am going to do a Aphogee Treatment tonight to hopefully curb some of this breakage. Everytime I touch my hair it breaks. I have been reading the boards and have not been combing, stopped wrapping even though my stylist told me to wrap it, have not been using ANY heat, have been doing the baggie method every night, and did the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor treatment last week (did not help). I bought the vitamins in my sig and Nexxus Therape/Hemectress for moisture and the protein treatments I mentioned. I'm even scared to put my hair in a bun because my stylist said no ponytails or tugging on my hair (so that eliminates braiding and weaves!). If I can't wrap and can't do a bun, what am I supposed to do?? erplexed I've been wearing it up in a clip so my ends won't touch my back, is that bad also?

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am trying to stop this breakage before I have no hair left. This relaxer is terrifying me right now.

 

[FlawedBeauty]

Is your hair very dry? Your hair sounds just like mine did, breaking off at the slightest touch. How often are you washing and what poos, conditioners and moisturizers are you currently using? Also do you deep condition at all?

 

[Cooyah]

First, take a DEEP breath. It will be ok, but it won't be ok immediately. Your hair will need time to recover and grow healthy.

Reading some of the stickys will be very helpful. Also search for Sistaslick's post on moisture and protein balance. Staying away from heat and chemicals will be your best bet for now as they will only aggravate the problem. Research the archives as they will give plenty of information on damage and how to properly curb further damage. HTH

Courtesy of DSD a/k/a Dontspeakdefeat.

If you are new here, and would like a starting point, this is the best you can find!! It's absolutely complete. http://journals.fotki.com/dontspeakdefeat/newcomer/ Also, I normally wouldn't post a link to someone's album, but DSD is my girl, and her album is excellent! If you have a question, the odds are great that you'll find the answer here. http://public.fotki.com/dontspeakdefeat/

 

[determined_to_grow]

Hi pureenergy
It's kind of hard to determine whether your hair is lacking moisture or protein. Sisterslick created a thread that you should read on hair breakage http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=84746. I think you should follow her insstructions on determining the reason for your breakage. Then once your hair is in a healthier state use protective styles such as braids. Continue taking your vitamims because they help- in maintaining healthy hair.

You mentioned that you were going to wash your hair tonight - try airdrying if you do a search in the archives there is a thread that teaches you how to airdry short hair - i believe the key to that is making sure that the roots are flat.

I think you should leave the relaxers alone for awhile and determine what's best for your hair... HTH

Hi everyone, I joined the site a couple of weeks ago, and I am so excited! I've been trying to wait until I uploaded pictures of my hair to post, but I couldn't wait any longer. I just got a relaxer put in after 7 years natural and my hair is breaking off very badly. Breakage and overprocessed hair is the reason I went natural in the first place. Well, my hair was almost BSL in November 05. I never used to press my hair and barely used a blow dryer when I was natural, but I wanted a change so I pressed my hair. It was a disaster!! The whole right side of my hair was permanently straight after one pressing with a too hot flat iron. I have very fine hair and didn't realize the extent that my hair couldn't handle heat. I was lost after this happened, and just kept on pressing my hair over and over or wearing ponytails to hide the texture difference. I also got micro braids (which further damaged)...to make a long story short my hair totally broke off down to the roots in a lot of spots in my hair. I literally burnt my hair off and didn't realize it!

My hair now is very thin looking due to the breakage. I got it cut to around shoulder length. I should have just cut all my hair off and started over, but I'm trying to salvage what's left of my hair. I got the relaxer so I would at least not be tempted to use heat because of the texture difference. I know probably not the smart solution...Anyway, I am going to do a Aphogee Treatment tonight to hopefully curb some of this breakage. Everytime I touch my hair it breaks. I have been reading the boards and have not been combing, stopped wrapping even though my stylist told me to wrap it, have not been using ANY heat, have been doing the baggie method every night, and did the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor treatment last week (did not help). I bought the vitamins in my sig and Nexxus Therape/Hemectress for moisture and the protein treatments I mentioned. I'm even scared to put my hair in a bun because my stylist said no ponytails or tugging on my hair (so that eliminates braiding and weaves!). If I can't wrap and can't do a bun, what am I supposed to do?? erplexed I've been wearing it up in a clip so my ends won't touch my back, is that bad also?

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am trying to stop this breakage before I have no hair left. This relaxer is terrifying me right now.

 

[Cooyah]

As we all know, breakage, growth and hair health go hand in hand-- because with breakage, health and growth potential are greatly reduced.

I've shared this info on the Ezboard site I frequent (and some others), and I've decided to share a bit of what I've been writing with you all too. Some of you will recognize alot of this because I've been saving many of the posts I've done on various boards. Please excuse the millions of typos as well-- I haven't had the chance to go through and truncate the repetition or correct for spelling. Forgive me ahead of time, it is still a work in progress and this is only an excerpt.

I believe this information will help the newbies, and the vets sort out their breakage issues and give them some useful background information so that they can get a better sense of the direction they should aiming product and technique wise. Ladies, feel free to add to this thread. We want to share and provide each other with as much information as possible.

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Breakage and Shedding​

Understanding the difference between breakage and shedding is an important part of any healthy hair regimen. Many people use these terms interchangeably to refer to any hair that falls from the head. In its truest sense, shed hair is hair that has reached the end of its growing cycle and naturally falls from the scalp along with its root attached. The root is a tiny white bulb on the scalp originating end. If a hair does not possess this white bulb, then it is not a naturally shed hair, rather, a broken one. Shed hair tends to be longer in length than broken hairs which are generally short pieces of varying lengths. If you have stretched your relaxer for a great number of weeks, your shed hair will have the curly new growth present on the area next to the bulb, and you will be able to see where the relaxed hair begins. Some find that garlic shampoos or products with garlic extracts help curb shedding. But remember, shedding is a natural, internal process and may not respond to topical, external treatments. So don't be alarmed if nothing works for you. Changes in diet, hormone imbalances, birth control pills, and pregnancy can also affect the rate at which hair is shed.

Breakage on the other hand is not natural, and is an indication of an imbalance of important forces within the hair strand. Broken hairs do not fall naturally from the head, but are typically a sign of mishandling or abuse. The proper treatments, will help stop breakage in its tracks.

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Protein and Moisture​

Scenario 1: Kim's hair is breaking like crazy and feels like a brillo pad. Every time she touches it, pieces seem to just pop right off. Snap, crackle, pop. Combing is impossible without tons of little hairs covering her sink and back. Her hair feels hard and rough even when wet. She's given it protein treatments because the product says its supposed to stop breakage in its tracks and rebuild the hair, but so far nothing is working and her problem is getting worse.

Scenario 2: Trina's hair is breaking like crazy as well. Her hair feels dry, looks dull, and is very weak. Her hair is too weak to withstand simple combing. It feels extra stretchy when wet and almost follows the comb as she pulls through to detangle. She has deep conditioned and done hot oil treatments on her hair once a week. Since her breakage began, she?s stepped up the conditioning but her problem has gotten worse.

Both of these women have issues with breakage, but the solutions to their individual problems require two very different approaches. Before you go shopping for your hair care product arsenal, you must understand the difference between protein and moisture and what they mean for your hair. Protein and moisture are the key cornerstones of great hair care. Maintaining a proper balance between these two entities is critical for the healthiest hair growth possible. The two scenarios above perfectly illustrate what happens when the balance between protein and moisture is tipped too far in either direction. This section will teach you to effectively recognize the difference between protein based and moisture based problems and help you can organize your hair regimen to effectively combat these issues as the arise.


Protein

Protein is what gives the hair its strength and structure. Hair is about 70% keratin protein by nature. Protein is found most prevalently in products like instant conditioners (bargain brands like Suave and V05), leave in conditioners, protein conditioner treatments, and even some moisturizers.


Moisturizers

Moisturizers are products that are water-based and nourish your hair deep within the strand. Water is the ultimate moisturizer so waterbased products are best for really getting the best moisture benefit. Products with moisturizing properties tend to be your conditioners and other water-based products. Moisturizers may also be protein-based, but these protein based moisturizers do not have the moisturizing benefit that moisture-based moisturizers have. Good moisturizers will not contain ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, or lanolin. These are cheap product fillers. Be wary of products that claim moisturizing benefits and contain these ingredients. There is nothing moisturizing about them! Petrolatum and mineral oil are sealants and have the potential to suffocate the hair and scalp and seal out the moisture it needs.

Sealing in your Moisturizers:
Our hair naturally contains moisture, but because our hair is also naturally porous, keeping the moisture inside is a difficult task. Sources of outside moisture, or external moisture supplementation, are a must for black hair. Water molecules and moisture from these supplemental moisturizing products easily pass into the hair shaft, but they pass out just as easily. The moisture you apply needs to held in by something. Oil.
A light coating of oil on top will help seal the moisture inside. Oils are made of large molecules. These molecules are too large to absorbed by the hair strand. Applying oils to the hair and scalp will coat them and trap moisture that is inside on the inside and moisture that is outside on the outside. The key is to lock in the moisture within the strands with your oil. If you use oils without a moisturizer or before one, the oil will seal the moisture out of the hair strand and lead to eventual dryness. This technique of moisturizing and sealing has really been helpful to me and is a resonating hallmark of my regimen. Moisturizing success is all in the order in which you apply your products.

REMEMBER! Oils DO NOT Moisturize.
Perhaps a words like "nourish" would be better than moisturize. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me to recommend a good oil that moisturizes, I would be rich! Oil alone will not and cannot moisturize within the hair shaft. An oil can only coat the outside of the strand, and give it shine- the illusion of moisture. Again, the molecules that make oil are much too large to penetrate through all of the cuticle layers. The cuticle layers can be as few as 6 layers or many as 15 or more layers thick. Oil molecules are hydro-phobic which means they repel and do not readily mix with water. Remember, if you apply an oil product to your hair before you have added a moisturizing product, you have created a seal on your hair strand that water and moisture cannot penetrate.

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When the Balance Tips, You Must Wet Assess​

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Hair is not exempt from this old adage. Growing out your hair is a constant battle between maintaining an even protein and moisture balance. Breakage is the result of the hair chemistry being thrown off balance. Remember Kim and Trina from the beginning of the section? Hair that is shifted too far on either side of the balance (too much protein or too much moisture) will break.

The Importance of Wet Assessment​

Though health assessments can be performed on dry hair, determining your cause of breakage is often easiest on wet hair. Hair in its wet state exudes the basic properties of hair---elasticity and strength, excellently. In fact, these qualities are often exaggerated on wet hair. Thorough and frequent wet assessments will help you maintain your hair's health and condition.

Hair in its optimal condition will not break when wet unless undue stress is placed upon it through aggressive combing or detangling. A balanced and healthy hair strand will stretch and break only under undue, or unusual types of pulling stress. Balanced hair will feel soft and supple, yet strong while wet. When you comb through it when wet, it should resist excess stretching and will hardly break if you are careful. Over time, and with trial and error, you will be able to tell what is normal stress for your hair.
If your hair does indeed break when wet, the way the hair breaks under these conditions will give you a sure indication of whether more moisture or protein is required to regain the proper balance. --continues--

good starting point

 

[determined_to_grow]

LOL- cooyah great minds think alike- i was just to lazy to post it!!!

good starting point

 

[pureenergy77]

Ok...I'm taking a deep breath now...

I have only washed my hair once, since I just got the relaxer on the 8th and I did a deep conditioner (the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor). I sat under the dryer and then wrapped and air dryed. My hair is not dry and it has good moisture. It is just really weak. I read the posts on the moisture/protein balance already. I know it will take time to get my hair healthy again, but I am just trying to take action now. I keep having flash backs of when I was a kid and I had long, long hair...then I got a relaxer and it all broke off...

 

[determined_to_grow]

Pure maybe you should consider stopping relaxing your hair or texlaxing or phyto???

Ok...I'm taking a deep breath now...

I have only washed my hair once, since I just got the relaxer on the 8th and I did a deep conditioner (the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor). I sat under the dryer and then wrapped and air dryed. My hair is not dry and it has good moisture. It is just really weak. I read the posts on the moisture/protein balance already. I know it will take time to get my hair healthy again, but I am just trying to take action now. I keep having flash backs of when I was a kid and I had long, long hair...then I got a relaxer and it all broke off...

 

[pureenergy77]

Flawed beauty, when your hair was breaking off like mine, what did you do to solve the problem, and about how long did it take to stop breaking? Can you recommend some specific products for me? I have only used the Aphogee shampoo and reconstructor once so far.

 

[pureenergy77]

Determined, I actually requested my stylist to texlax my hair since it was virgin hair. She seemed to not really comprehend the idea very well and said she doesn't usually relax hair bone straight anyway. Looks pretty bone straight to me though, but that could be because I'm just used to my natural hair. I definitely won't be getting another relaxer for at least 4-5 months.

 

[crlsweetie912]

Ok...I'm taking a deep breath now...

I have only washed my hair once, since I just got the relaxer on the 8th and I did a deep conditioner (the Aphogee 2 min reconstructor). I sat under the dryer and then wrapped and air dryed. My hair is not dry and it has good moisture. It is just really weak. I read the posts on the moisture/protein balance already. I know it will take time to get my hair healthy again, but I am just trying to take action now. I keep having flash backs of when I was a kid and I had long, long hair...then I got a relaxer and it all broke off...

That's not a deep conditioner. That's hardcore protein. Maybe you have od'd on protein and need moisture to counteract the protein?

 

[ichephren]

Since you have denatured your hair strands by burning your hair and relaxing it, you need a polymeric protein treatment. First make sure that you do not have hard water, or wash your hair with distilled water. I would do a series of emergencee treatments followed by a deep conditioner until it stops breaking. Then follow up with milder proteins like keraphix at every wash(at least every 5days) until my hair gets "healthy". I would bun the hair until it gets healthy, meaning not breaking, moist and strong. Weak hair needs to be left alone or it will break even more.

 

[RainbowCurls]

I keep having flash backs of when I was a kid and I had long, long hair...then I got a relaxer and it all broke off...

I think a lot of us have had this flash back.

Welcome to LHCF!

I think as it's breaking your hair needs protein. BUT, if you have already used a lot of protein, it'll need moisture.

Comb your hair when wet and loaded with conditioner.

To style your hair, you could try doing braidouts so you won't have to manipulate it much.

 

[FlawedBeauty]

Flawed beauty, when your hair was breaking off like mine, what did you do to solve the problem, and about how long did it take to stop breaking? Can you recommend some specific products for me? I have only used the Aphogee shampoo and reconstructor once so far.

My breakage was severe and I have only been a member of the forum since 9/5/06 and already it has almost completely stopped. However, I'm not sure we have the same issue because you are saying you have good moisture and my hair was breaking off because it was so dry and I was literally putting an iron to my head every morning

Here is what I am doing now.

I stopped ALL use of heat.

I am no longer going more than one day without washing/conditioning. Before the forum I think I was only washing like maybe 2x a month, as I too was a victim of the old tale that black hair should not be washed a lot because it would dry out!

I deep condition with ORS Replenishing Pak once a week. I let it sit on my head for 45 min - hour w/o heat.

I would love to say that I can suggest something but all of the products I am using are for moisture since my hair was so dry and damaged, and since u say u have it my products may not be much help. But here's the rundown :

*Elucence Moisture Benefits Poo and Conditioner
*Elucence Volume Clairifying Poo
*Elucence Extended Moisture Repair Treatment
*DuoTex (protien conditoiner which you may need to strengthen up your hair if u r not lacking moisture)
*ORS Replenishing Packs for deep conditioning
*Protectiv Break Free Strengthener
*ORS olive Oil Moisturizing Lotion

I used Aphogee a long time ago, the one that makes your hair rock hard, and my hair couldnt handle it and made it worse. Too strong I suppose.
HTH

 

[pureenergy77]

Wow, thanks ladies. I think I was about to do more damage by doing the Aphogee Treatment tonight or...does that have the same effect as the Emergencee? What's a good deep conditioner to use?

So, I should bun my hair instead of using the big clip?

 

[FlawedBeauty]

OH AND I FORGOT ONE...NI DON'T COMB OR BURSH. ONLY TIME I WILL COMB IS IN THE SHOWER WITH A SHOWER COMB WHILE CONDITIONER IS IN

 

[joyous]

This thread may be able to help you. [thread]17553[/thread]

 

[pureenergy77]

Thanks Perfect...

Flawed, that gives me some hope. I think my hair is more damaged from the inside out though as Ichephren brought up. I'm not going to use the Aphogee Treatment (you have officially scared me away from it). I'll go buy the Emergencee instead. I have been using Vitapointe on my ends and ORS olive oil as a moisturizer.

 

[FlawedBeauty]

I really like the ORS Replenishing Packs for deep conditioning. They are only like 1.49, maybe cheaper where you are. when i am donw washing i do two twists on each side and i secure the ends up with one of those flat clips that pop open and shut, similar to the popping action the combs on clip-in-hair have.

 

[pureenergy77]

Thanks everyone, ironically, I have read every thread that has been recommended and I am still confused because of the different products and methods that are mentioned. Maybe it's just information overload! I will just go ahead and try something tonight and see what happens. I have already spent almost $150 between the hair products I purchased and the vitamins, and it looks like I need to buy a few more things. I will post some pictures of my hair tonight.

 

[remnant]

Thanks everyone, ironically, I have read every thread that has been recommended and I am still confused because of the different products and methods that are mentioned. Maybe it's just information overload! I will just go ahead and try something tonight and see what happens. I have already spent almost $150 between the hair products I purchased and the vitamins, and it looks like I need to buy a few more things. I will post some pictures of my hair tonight.

Pureenergy77 maybe you should print your thread and note the most suggested methods and products and try it Don't rush, be patient and consistent and it will be OK!