Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ???

[Blacktresses]

I just want to cry everyday. My thin spots are filling in but my ends appears to be falling off

. I conditioner wash everyday with VO5 Clarifing Conditioner and follow it with Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I Then seal the end with Sweet Almond Oil Butter and Aloe Vera Gel. I then, put my hair in a bun with a velet scrunie. I thought doing this routine everyday would bring me closer to healthy hair. <font color="red">Does anyone know what I am doing incorrectly ??? </font> .

On major wash day, I do a 2 hour coconut (virgin) oil treatment with a plastic cap. I then rinse with water. Next, I use Nexxus Emergencee, rinse with water and use the Aloe Chlorestol to quince the protein dryness. Next, I use the QP DPR-11 Remoisturizer followed by Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I will leave the Kenra in all nite with a plastic cap until the next day and rinse.

I thinking maybe... I need to use one of the Profectiv Breakfree products what do you think ??? Help....I can't take this anymore!!!!!!!!

 

[sassygirl125]

Are you using FOTE Aloe Vera Gel? That one made my hair feel hard and crispy. Or the velvet may be sucking up all of your product. If it isn't that, it could be that you need something heavier for your ends. Profectiv Healthy Ends is pretty heavy. But I prefer regular hair grease or Vaseline because they are cheaper.

 

[Aalize]

When was the last time you had a trim? It seems like you use way to many products, esp ones that serve the same purpose.

ditto on the velvet scrunchie thing

 

[inthepink]

I wouldn't use a gel as a moisturizer on your ends. Gel has a tendency to be drying no matter what kind it is. Just use the shea butter and that's it.

Could it possibly be that you're doing a bit too much to your hair? Maybe simplifying your routine would help.

For conditioner washes - use a moisturizing conditioner instead of a clarifying conditioner. Use something like Suave Coconut or St. Ives or any other good "cheap" moisturizing conditioner. I wouldn't recommend Kenra just b/c it's so expensive to use everyday. But, just ONE conditioner.

How often do you have major wash days? Is the Nexxus product a major protein treatment? I wouldn't do that every week...maybe once a month but I have never used any serious protein on my own hair. Maybe you are sensitive to protein? There are other methods of keeping hair strong without strong proteins. Aussie 3 Minute Miracle is one. Got2B also makes a conditioner in an orange that is very mild protein.

It looks like on your wash day, you're using 4 different conditioners. That seems like a bit much. Maybe try washing with a gentle shampoo. Then, deep conditioning with maybe Kenra or the cholesterol using low heat. See my thread about Ouidad's Deep Conditioning Routine.

I really think it could possibly be product overload that is causing an adverse reaction. Sometimes less is really more.

 

[lsubabiedee]

i think the cowash with a clarifying conditioner daily is too much

 

[miss_brown]

[ QUOTE ]
lsubabiedee said:
i think the cowash with a clarifying conditioner daily is too much

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too.

Sometimes it's hard for naturals to do the daily CO thing because of the hair we lose in the detangling process (i.e. it may do more harm than good because your scalp will be clean but your hair may thin out because of the constant detangling). This seems to be esp. true for type 4s. I suggest you cut down the everyday CO washes to every 2 or 3 days to give your hair a break. Just tie the bun down on the days in between. I'd also cut out the clariying conditioner and sub in a cheap moisturizing one like V05 Strawberries/Cream.

 

[CocoaButterflyy]

I think you are using too many products and I agree with lsu that the conditioner wash with a clarifying conditioner is too much to do daily. The claryfyin process from what i've seen doesnt nede to be done every day. On your major wash day you are using alot of different things and they may be canceling each other out. Try to limit it to one good conditioner and not so much protein

 

[SVT]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

I totally agree with everyone else.

Ditch the aloe vera gel on the ends. Even pure aloe has been known to be drying to the hair.

Ditch the daily clarifying conditioner. Go with a moisturizing conditioner for daily use. Save the clarifying for when you have product buildup.

 

[SVT]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

[ QUOTE ]
blacktresses said:
On major wash day, I do a 2 hour coconut (virgin) oil treatment with a plastic cap. I then rinse with water. Next, I use Nexxus Emergencee, rinse with water and use the Aloe Chlorestol to quince the protein dryness. Next, I use the QP DPR-11 Remoisturizer followed by Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I will leave the Kenra in all nite with a plastic cap until the next day and rinse.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmmm. I think you could skip the cholesterol and go straight to the super duper moisturizing conditioners.

IMO, the cholesterols aren't really protein or moisturizing conditioners. They're more like suped up oil moisturizers and that oil coating might be preventing the DPR and Kenra from penetrating effectively. I haven't used a jar of cholesterol in years but that's my impression of them.

 

[Carefree]

[ QUOTE ]
Aalize said:
When was the last time you had a trim?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wanted to ask the same thing. Also I tried pure aloe to the ends of my twists this week and I hated it - had my ends feeling all dry. I had to rinse and add shea butter - now they feel much better.

 

[lsubabiedee]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

[ QUOTE ]
SVT said:
[ QUOTE ]
blacktresses said:
On major wash day, I do a 2 hour coconut (virgin) oil treatment with a plastic cap. I then rinse with water. Next, I use Nexxus Emergencee, rinse with water and use the Aloe Chlorestol to quince the protein dryness. Next, I use the QP DPR-11 Remoisturizer followed by Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I will leave the Kenra in all nite with a plastic cap until the next day and rinse.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmmm. I think you could skip the cholesterol and go straight to the super duper moisturizing conditioners.

IMO, the cholesterols aren't really protein or moisturizing conditioners. They're more like suped up oil moisturizers and that oil coating might be preventing the DPR and Kenra from penetrating effectively. I haven't used a jar of cholesterol in years but that's my impression of them.

[/ QUOTE ]

i totally missed the cholesterol thing...but yeah, cholesterols dry my hair out something horrible too! but i think there is some proteins in the conditioners...i see keratin listed on all mine...but i dont know....

 

[Ayeshia]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

[ QUOTE ]
lsubabiedee said:
[ QUOTE ]
SVT said:
[ QUOTE ]
blacktresses said:
On major wash day, I do a 2 hour coconut (virgin) oil treatment with a plastic cap. I then rinse with water. Next, I use Nexxus Emergencee, rinse with water and use the Aloe Chlorestol to quince the protein dryness. Next, I use the QP DPR-11 Remoisturizer followed by Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I will leave the Kenra in all nite with a plastic cap until the next day and rinse.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmmm. I think you could skip the cholesterol and go straight to the super duper moisturizing conditioners.

IMO, the cholesterols aren't really protein or moisturizing conditioners. They're more like suped up oil moisturizers and that oil coating might be preventing the DPR and Kenra from penetrating effectively. I haven't used a jar of cholesterol in years but that's my impression of them.

[/ QUOTE ]

i totally missed the cholesterol thing...but yeah, cholesterols dry my hair out something horrible too! but i think there is some proteins in the conditioners...i see keratin listed on all mine...but i dont know....

[/ QUOTE ]

see now my lustrasilk moisturizes really well. mines has no keratin in the ingredients. Lekair has keratin

 

[nurseN98]

[ QUOTE ]
miss_brown said:
[ QUOTE ]
lsubabiedee said:
i think the cowash with a clarifying conditioner daily is too much

[/ QUOTE ]

Me too.

Sometimes it's hard for naturals to do the daily CO thing because of the hair we lose in the detangling process (i.e. it may do more harm than good because your scalp will be clean but your hair may thin out because of the constant detangling). This seems to be esp. true for type 4s. I suggest you cut down the everyday CO washes to every 2 or 3 days to give your hair a break. Just tie the bun down on the days in between. I'd also cut out the clariying conditioner and sub in a cheap moisturizing one like V05 Strawberries/Cream.

[/ QUOTE ]
yeah, everything she said

I can't CO wash everyday either. And like others said, maybe you need a heavier product on your ends. Personally, I'm a big fan of butters (shea, avocado, cocoa) I noticed that when I started sealing with these, my ends got a lot healthier. And don't be scurred, slather whatever you use on real good and work it in. Good luck!

 

[lsubabiedee]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

[ QUOTE ]
ayeshia said:
[ QUOTE ]
lsubabiedee said:
[ QUOTE ]
SVT said:
[ QUOTE ]
blacktresses said:
On major wash day, I do a 2 hour coconut (virgin) oil treatment with a plastic cap. I then rinse with water. Next, I use Nexxus Emergencee, rinse with water and use the Aloe Chlorestol to quince the protein dryness. Next, I use the QP DPR-11 Remoisturizer followed by Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. I will leave the Kenra in all nite with a plastic cap until the next day and rinse.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmmm. I think you could skip the cholesterol and go straight to the super duper moisturizing conditioners.

IMO, the cholesterols aren't really protein or moisturizing conditioners. They're more like suped up oil moisturizers and that oil coating might be preventing the DPR and Kenra from penetrating effectively. I haven't used a jar of cholesterol in years but that's my impression of them.

[/ QUOTE ]

i totally missed the cholesterol thing...but yeah, cholesterols dry my hair out something horrible too! but i think there is some proteins in the conditioners...i see keratin listed on all mine...but i dont know....

[/ QUOTE ]

see now my lustrasilk moisturizes really well. mines has no keratin in the ingredients. Lekair has keratin

[/ QUOTE ]

aha! so true!

 

[Blacktresses]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

Bump....

 

[Blacktresses]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

Thank you all....sniff...sniff....

Your support means the world to me....

Sassygirl125
I tried the Profectiv Healthy ends. OK...I tried it on dry hair. Can anyone say disater???? I will try it on wet hair next time.

Aalize, Carefree

I currently can't trim my hair due to the longer hairs covering up the short places. I haven't trimmed in a year. But I plan to do a trim in December '04.

As far as the FOTE Gel is concerned, it is the only consistant thing that works with the scarf trick. I think I may plan to add some olive oil to it to counteract the dryness problem ( a girl can dream....right).

I agree with you all about the daily conditioner wash. The only thing is that after appling products for the day, the next day my hair does behave the same way.....go figure... This is Y I use the clarifying condititioner. But...I think a need to makeup a better product and drop the clarifying conditioner.

 

[Blacktresses]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

Bump

 

[ms_kenesha]

Re: Naturals, What Do You Use To Keep Your Ends ?

I needed to see this. Yesterday I redid my flat twists that I had used FOTE Aloe Vera Gel and the ends were crispy dry when I combed them out *some of this may be due to the T&amp;T dye on them* so I sprayed my hair with my distilled water/conditioner mix and moisturized with CD's Hair Milk and then used a little FOTE to flat twist again. The difference is amazing my twists look shinier and more moisturized.

I am looking for a good creamy, thick conditioner to use once a week under the dryer...any suggestions? *I might try the Lustrasilk*

 

[nijilah]

I wash or conditioner wash (depending on what my hair needs) every 2-3 days, more likely every 3 days. This keeps my hair from getting dry. In between the washes, at night, I apply a creamy leave-in and a moisturizer (either creamy or buttery -- like shea butter and sometimes just plain vasaline) to the ends, then put my hair in 4-6 plaits. At least once per week, but sometimes twice, I deep condition my hair. I also do a pre-shampoo treatment with mayo (1 hour) or ghee butter (overnight) at least every other week. I clarify my hair using a shampoo with SLS, and then doing an ACV rinse, about every other week or once per month. Try to use the clarifier only when you need it. I find that if I am shampooing more often, then I don't need to clarify. But if I am doing a lot of conditioner washes, then I need to clarify more often.

 

[babyblue]

I basically agree with everyone else your doing too much. Your using too many conditioners at one time. for the day you conditioner wash use a moisturizing conditioner (suave products are good I recommend the humectant or the awapuhi, or clairol daily defense tender apple or pantene hydrating curls). Please dont use the Nexxus Emergencee to often. Natural hair doesn not need all that protein that relaxed hair does. All that protein from the nexxus and the kenra conditioenr can be contributing to your dry ends. So fall back on your protein use. Also aloe gel or any gel on the ends can be drying so lay off on that and only use gel sparingly only to make your edges sleek.
So what u should do on wash day since it sounds like your on a no poo regimen is to wash with 1 conditioner ONLY and use 1 leave in ONLY. After doing so you can apply your almond oil butter to your ends. Thats it. dont do anything else. Also instead of washing daily do every other day or at least twice a week. Your hair will respond better when you start to simplify your routine.

 

[FlowerHair]

I use olive oil, jojoba oil and shea butter on my ends. And I henna every now and then, and since I started doing that I don't have split ends anymore. I can't co wash every day either. I wash 1-2 times a week.

 

[carletta]

[ QUOTE ]
lsubabiedee said:
i think the cowash with a clarifying conditioner daily is too much

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree w/ everyone too! I tried to do this everyday too and my hair just couldn't handle all of that manipulation &amp; products. you might want to decrease your co/wash to 2x a week or 1x to see if that helps. Also stick to just 1 or 2 conditioners. " hope this will work sweetie " keep us posted !

 

[Innocent_Kiss]

Everyone gave some really good suggestions. I agree with not washing every single day. Try every three days or something. Why? Well, with highly textured hair, washing daily can cause damage to your tresses. Water stretches your coils/curls out and repetively stretching/shrinkage can be too much over a long period of time when you do that everyday. If you think your hair needs to be clean, try cleaning your scalp with diluted witch hazel instead

Make sure to moisturize afterwards. Watch the products you are using also because they can leave residue leading you to wash daily. The daily co washes never worked for me because conditioners are designed to leave some type of coating on the hair. I have hard water in my area so a daily dose of minerals and cholorine from the water, along with the conditioner left my hair limp. Keep it simple and you should be fine!

I recommend trimming your ends, though! I tried holding on to mines for length and ended up with really damaged hair. Plus not trimming can cause knots which make detangling a real hassle. HTH and God bless!

 

[Sweetyb]

This thread just saved me from posting one of my own. A lot of great advice here. For the past month or so, because I had been working out vigorously, I conditioned-washed every night and continually got good results. But last week my hair started laughing at me and defying me. I bought shampoos, I cut down on CW's, I AVC'd, cholesterol'd. Nothing works n-e-more. My hair is a thick, hard &amp; cottony mess. But I will take the advice of this thread and see what I can do.
EDIT: now I remember, I started using my conditioners as a leave-in 3 wks ago... Hmm....

Good luck blacktresses! You'll be alright