My hair will be in a holding pattern for a year...

[MSCHICHI]

This is the result of damage after I went natural.

It took a while to figure out what to do with my hair even after I went natural, and made some mistakes I am going to have to fix. I just cut 2 inches off, going from 17" to 15", and in about 3 more months I am going to cut off 3 more. Four months after that, I am going to cut another 2. After that, I will probably just take off an inch or so a year until it is perfectly even and the color is out. This will leave me about the same length for a year, ending up at 16" by this year's end. I will still reach bra strap top, 2 years from now, even without vitamins. With vitamins, I hope to get to the bottom of my bra strap in the same time.

I didn't start going on hair boards until about 1 year and 9 months after I started growing it out. Even after, it took a while to build up knowledge about hair, and more importantly, to STOP doing all the wrong things to my hair out of habit. What contributed to the breakage was:

1. Tearing through my curls out of frustration

2. Overprocessing due to lots of coloring and bleaching (This was a catch-22, being coloring was the only thing that helped me deal with my hair after The Big Chop, and kept me from getting a relaxer. But, it damaged my hair because I had to experiment so much to get the right color. Lately, I have been thinking my hair might be too fine to maintain a permanent color at all)

3. Not keeping it moist enough when it was curly, or oiled enough when it was pressed.

4. Heat damage and breakage from improperly pressing (it took a while to figure out how to press it again, and I am great at it now)

I have to even out the layers created when my hair grew out from scratch anyway, so I am not too upset. Also, when you know better you do better, and I did the best I could at the time. What matters, is that I am still going to meet my goal and have hair I can sit on. Just thought I would share! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pebbles]

Hi Mschichi,

I'm glad to hear that you have discovered what to do to get your hair back on track. Sounds like you have a good solid plan and I don't see what can stop you now from achieving a healthy, beautiful head of natural hair. Good luck girl! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Faith]

Hi Mschichi,

I have a few questions for you, what do you do now/what method do you use to prevent your hair from breaking from the hotcomb? How were you doing it before (when it was breaking)? And what are you doing differently now? Thanks /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[londongirl3]

I was on the verge of getting a relaxer this weekend. I did tear through the curls but not much broke off, probably a quarter of an inch or so.

I get very frustrated with the curls though braiding has helped. I hear that as natural hair gets longer it gets easier to manage so maybe at the end of the year I will be like you.

Thanks for the encouragement. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MSCHICHI]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
what do you do now/what method do you use to prevent your hair from breaking from the hotcomb? How were you doing it before (when it was breaking)? And what are you doing differently now?

[/ QUOTE ]

I almost gave up pressing, it was so hard to get it right. Most of the time for the past 6 months I had been putting it in a ponytail with some activator. But I wanted something that I wouldn't have to wash everyday in the icy winters up here. I also wanted to know how to do it so I would be able to have the straightness of a relaxer from time to time, without the chemical damage or permanent effects of it.

This will probably be a little long, but here goes:

The first thing I was doing wrong, was what I did to my hair before I even got to the pressing. I wasn't using a heat protectant(I hadn't found or heard of one that really worked yet at the time). I wasn't letting my hair air dry(I was trying to do everything the same day), or bonnet dry(I didn't have one). So I was blowdying my totally wet hair on hot, with a blowdryer and a vent brush. This was too much heat and manipulation.

Now I wash the night before. I apply a bit of oil, Infusium 23(always!) Lustrasilks Straight Effects(I think Hair Culture is the same thing) and Sally's New Image Damage Free Thermal Active Conditioning Styler. I set my hair by parting it in 4 sections and making 4 individual braids. I then put a fine net on it and let it dry as much as it can overnight. This allows the curls to not only loosen in the braid set, but mostly air dry. You can also let a braid set finish drying on medium or cold with a bonnet dryer if you have it. The next morning, I blowdry each section on medium with a wide tooth comb-instead of a brush. I keep each section pinned separately, and as I press, I start from the back sections, and work my way up. Don't press sections that are too large, as you need more heat, and that leads to more manipulation and damage.

The next thing I want to try is washing my hair the first morning and setting my hair by using 1 or 2 ponytails, and giving it that whole day and night to dry. This will loosen the curls even more, and eliminate the need for any heat. I also want to get a blowdryer with a cold blast function, and blowdry each section on cold the next morning, to loosen the curls more.

Now the pressing:
I was using an electric pressing comb. It didn't get hot enough, and the teeth were too wide, so it pulled my hair out. I had to pass over each section several times before it would get straighter, and it still wasn't that straight. I asked Robin from growafrohairlong.com about it (she is a beautician) and she suggested the Lustrasilk, and to use free-hand combs with an oven. When I started doing that, the combs got really hot and I didn't know what to do, so I would let it cool off too much. I felt like I was playing hop-scotch with my combs, too hot or too cold. I would either let it get too cold, which would pull my hair out, or too hot, and it would burn my hair. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

So I figured out the temperature would stay perfect if I let it warm up in the oven first, then place the comb on top of the oven(make sure the handle isn't on the hot surface, just the comb.) I let them rest on top of the oven during to whole time I am pressing, and if I need it to heat up quickly, I just stick it in the oven for a few seconds. I have a tiny hairline comb(which I sometimes use in hard to reach sections in the middle of my head) and a fine tooth regular sized comb. I also got a large Jilbere flat iron. I take a small section of hair and spray the length with Optimum oil sheen and Fantasia Hair Polisher. I apply Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil Hair Treatment on the ends only. I then press the roots with the comb, then flat iron the length, then run the comb down the same section(if I need to) for perfect straightness. Very few passes with a hot instrument(if the heat is regulated) leads to little to no damage.

After I finish my whole head, I go through with my tiny comb for any curly spots I may have missed. I then apply a little olive oil with several drops of lavender oil mixed in, and this covers just about all of the smoky smell.

After my press, I look just as if I have a fresh relaxer, with lots of body. I usually wear it up in a loose bun.

At night I apply castor oil on the length(only because it is so cold)and Hollywood Beauty Castor Oil Treatment on the ends. I wrap it or put it in 4 loose pincurls, and cover with a satin scull cap, and cover that with a scarf to secure it. You can also use a pair of silky pantyhose to cover your hair instead of the satin scully, just put the opening over your head, and wrap the legs around to secure. In the summer, you should only need to use some oil sheen all over, and a touch of olive oil or castor oil for the ends.

I lightly touch up my hairline and roots about halfway through the time period of that press. I go longer than 2 weeks, but I have no scalp problems.

I don't have access to the internet at work, so I won't be able to respond back unless it is at night. If you have any questions, or something wasn't clear, I will try to reply back as soon as I can. HTH /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Faith]

Wow, thanks for that detailed response. I appreciate it. I hear you on everything you said. I'm just not sure about using those stove irons/combs. I'm afraid I will melt all my hair off..lol! I think I will stay away from the stove ones and try a ceramic iron instead. I had thought of rollersetting my hair to straighten it out. Have you ever done that? The braid thing leaves kinks in my hair that can be only be removed with intense heat or water/liquid of some kind (which then makes it curl up again). Well I have two options I could try: 1. rollersetting 2. blowdrying on cool. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks again /images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[nita4]

Wow MsChiChi,

Thanks for your detailed post!! As one who is beginning to use this process periodically in order to grow my relaxer out you gave some wonderful pointers.

 

[MSCHICHI]

Faith,

You're welcome!

My ceramic Jilbere iron actually gets most to all of the curl out, so that is my safety net. I just use the comb to get the roots really well, and the length extra straight-one pass only after the Jilbere. The comb shouldn't be too hot if you leave it on top the stove as I did. I am too afraid to lose my natural curls to use a too-hot comb on my hair. I hope somebody comes out with a heat-controlled ceramic comb! That would be too perfect.

I used to rollerset my hair all the time when I was growing up, but I was relaxed back then.

I can't roller set right now, because I haven't invested in a hood dryer. Since a rollerset would probably be like getting a soft press on my natural hair, I might be better off sticking with the braid-set, flat-iron and press for now. My hair reverts really fast with a soft press, but reverts very little if at all if I do my hair as I described, more like a medium press on already loosened curls. Also, most people ended up with some crinkling somewhere, which I would end up having to press out anyway. It would probably be worth it even if it wasn't completely straight, as it would cut the amount of heat I would have to put on it.

It is still a great idea though. I will probably try it anyway, as I love the last rollerset pic I saw on the board.

Definitely let me know how your rollerset turns out, and if I need to run out and get a hood dryer!

 

[MSCHICHI]

No problem Nita /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I hope the process works out well for you, and that this will keep you from making the same mistakes I did. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Faith]

I should clarify. I would do options 1 and 2 and flatiron afterwards. My hair would be no where near a soft press after I rollerset or even after I blowdry. I wish /images/graemlins/grin.gif