NEED YOUR HELP...Taking my braids out...need advice

[Opulence]

when i take my braids out I will be 40 weeks post relaxer. I need step by step instructions on what to do. Do I need to prep my hair the week before? (FYI: I don't plan on relaxing it yet).

ladies this is the first time I have ever stretched this long and this is the beginning of my healthy hair journey so I really want to start off right. I know my hair will be in a delicate state when I remove the braids so I want to make sure I treat it accordingly. Here is what I was thinking. PLEASE give me your suggestions or thoughts. I don't have a big product arsenal so suggestions for brands would be great. If something sounds crazy let me know. Thanks in advance for your help

Here goes....
· The week before I will wash my braids with a clarifying shampoo to remove build up and use minimal hair products that week to avoid buildup
o Any suggestions on good clarifying shampoos? Does this step even make sense or is it even necessary?
· Week later - Immediately after taking out my hair I plan on sectioning it in fours and lathering it in conditioner and oil
o Any suggestions on conditioners and oils to use? should I wash it first?
· I plan to keep the oil and conditioner in my head overnight
· The next day I was going to run some errands with the conditioner and oil in my hair
· That afternoon I would
o wash my hair with a clarifying shampoo
o do a protein treatment and sit under the dryer
§ suggestion for a protein treatment
o wash out protein treatment and sit under dryer with deep conditioner and oil - how long should I sit under dryer?
§ suggestion for a deep conditioner
§ suggestion for a conditioning oil that is good after a protein treatment

o wash that out and do an Indian oil/powder treatment
§ suggestions for a good Indian oil/powder treatment
§ should I just do one or the other or can I do both or at the same time?
o shampoo with regular shampoo
§ shampoo suggestion
o condition
o wash
o moisturize and style
§ good moisturizer
§ what style would be best for 40 weeks post?
· Rollerset?

HELP HELP HELP LADIES!

 

[onelove08]

I cannot add to what you already have. I am natural, maybe someone else will chime in? What you already have sounds great! Do you plan on relaxing soon?

 

[Opulence]

i really don't know yet. I never thought I could do the natural "thing". But I also never thought I could do a 40 week stretch so...you never know. My wedding anniversary is in november so if anything I may relax or texlax then...we'll see

thanx!

ladies I'm waiting! 23 views and only 1 reply...come on!

 

[TheQueenBeeMaya]

I really can't add anything, what you have sounds pretty good!

 

[Nonie]

Hey Opulence, I'm clueless on what needs to be done with relaxed hair. My advice to people who have questions is to refer to the braid regimen on www.growafrohairlong.com and follow what Robin does to a T, since she's relaxed and has experience with braids. I don't know if she stretches for more than 2 months, but I would imagine her advice on how to handle the hair with new growth would be helpful.

Good luck in finding your answers.

 

[SugarPie]

bumping for u

 

[crlsweetie912]

WHEW...that's a really long list. A lot of it depends on what exactly you want to do with your hair once you take the braids out...You wrote a lot but didn't say.
Answers below in Red....

when i take my braids out I will be 40 weeks post relaxer. I need step by step instructions on what to do. Do I need to prep my hair the week before? (FYI: I don't plan on relaxing it yet).

ladies this is the first time I have ever stretched this long and this is the beginning of my healthy hair journey so I really want to start off right. I know my hair will be in a delicate state when I remove the braids so I want to make sure I treat it accordingly. Here is what I was thinking. PLEASE give me your suggestions or thoughts. I don't have a big product arsenal so suggestions for brands would be great. If something sounds crazy let me know. Thanks in advance for your help

Here goes....
· The week before I will wash my braids with a clarifying shampoo to remove build up and use minimal hair products that week to avoid buildup

I say DON'T clarify. That's a really long time to be in braids/post relaxer...clarifying with all that shed hair mixed up with yours is a recipe for disaster/matting....

o Any suggestions on good clarifying shampoos? Does this step even make sense or is it even necessary?
· Week later - Immediately after taking out my hair I plan on sectioning it in fours and lathering it in conditioner and oil
o Any suggestions on conditioners and oils to use? should I wash it first?

What deep conditioner do you normally use? You will need something really heavy with a lot of "slip" I love my baby daddy motions moisture plus and it's cheap and easily available. I would go with olive oil for the same reasons...
DO NOT WASH FIRST....DON'T LET WATER TOUCH YOUR HEAD AFTER REMOVING THE BRAIDS TILL YOU HAVE DETANGLED AND RID YOUR HAIR OF ALL THE SHED HAIR...OR YOU WILL HAVE A MATTED TANGLED MESS THAT WILL PROBABLY NEED TO BE CUT.

Sorry for the all caps but NUMEROUS people have made this mistake and have suffered damage.
· I plan to keep the oil and conditioner in my head overnight
· The next day I was going to run some errands with the conditioner and oil in my hair
· That afternoon I would
o wash my hair with a clarifying shampoo
o do a protein treatment and sit under the dryer
§ suggestion for a protein treatment
o wash out protein treatment and sit under dryer with deep conditioner and oil - how long should I sit under dryer?
§ suggestion for a deep conditioner
§ suggestion for a conditioning oil that is good after a protein treatment
Again, I wouldn't clarify because I would be afraid of matting and tangling. At this point, the most important thing is MOISTURE. I wouldn't do hard protein treatment until your next wash. Some mild protein, maybe Aphogee 2 minute or Motions CPR if you feel you have to use a protein. But I would concentrate on moisture first. Deep conditioning is up to you. I would go for maybe 1/2 hour under dryer then 1/2 after that...

o wash that out and do an Indian oil/powder treatment
§ suggestions for a good Indian oil/powder treatment
§ should I just do one or the other or can I do both or at the same time?
I don't know anything about indian oils/powders, but that seems to be a lot to do with all the other stuff you have listed here...
o shampoo with regular shampoo
§ shampoo suggestion
I would use CON green or something like elasta shampoo. They both get good reviews here and are moisturizing.

o condition
o wash

these two above seem like extras...why would you need to wash and condition again?
o moisturize and style
§ good moisturizer
again, what do you normally use? I love lacio lacio as a leave in, but it's not really a moisturizer. Organics liquid hair mayonnaise is a good one too..
§ what style would be best for 40 weeks post?
· Rollerset?
I would rollerset, but the new growth may be daunting if you aren't used to rollersetting. I personally would do a rod set because the rods allow me to get my roots pretty straight. Or maybe a twistout or braid out that's simple and not a lot of manipulation or heat required for it to look good.

HELP HELP HELP LADIES!

HTH...

 

[tkj25]

DO NOT WASH FIRST....DON'T LET WATER TOUCH YOUR HEAD AFTER REMOVING THE BRAIDS TILL YOU HAVE DETANGLED AND RID YOUR HAIR OF ALL THE SHED HAIR...OR YOU WILL HAVE A MATTED TANGLED MESS THAT WILL PROBABLY NEED TO BE CUT.



I'm going to strongly second this suggestion. Please, after taking down braids, do not clarify/wash/no-poo your hair before you've THOUROUGHLY detangled it.

After taking out your braids (tools -- fingers, spray bottle w/water or water & a little conditioner, hair clips, denman d12):

divide your hair in 4 parts.

in each part, spray hair, take section of hair & finger separate it at the base -- lightly pulling sideways -- continue finger separating to the end of the hair. i find finger-separating helps to loosen any build-up at the base of the section & to gradually detangle hair -- avoiding undo breakage. if you have a particularly troublesome spot of build-up bust out the spray bottle, spray thoroughly & then finger separate.

now with the base loosened, the hair sprayed, & finger-separated, gently, but THOROUGHLY comb/detangle each hair section from ends to base.

when all the sections in one part of your hair are done, spray that part, clip it away, & move on to the next of you 4 parts.

once all 4 parts are detangled, then it's safe to pre-poo, wash & DC or do as i do (saving time) & move right to no-pooing/DC (but please do what works for YOUR hair, if you need a pre-poo, listen to your hair & do it.)

during your wash/no-poo, just make sure to unclip one section at a time, apply product, finger smoothing in one direction, re-clip, & let it sit. (depending on how dirty my hair feels, sometimes i no-poo once & rinse, then no-poo/DC & let it sit)

i no-poo/DC my hair for @ 20-30 mins -- in other words, i just take a long shower & let the product marinate. some good DC's are aubrey organics gpb, rosa mosquetta, or honeysuckle rose.

finally, rinse, apply moisture spray & leave-in and style to your liking ...

that's my basic process. hope it, or some form of it, will work for you.

 

[Mook's hair]

OK, I am just now seeing this thread today. I don't know if you've already taken them out. But I'll answer anyway.

Here goes....
· The week before I will wash my braids with a clarifying shampoo to remove build - NO, don't clarify. Use a diluted moisturizing shampoo. Something like Cream of Nature or Trader Joe's Nourish Spa or Aussie Moist. Don't clarify until after you've taken the braids down and deep conditioned.
up and use minimal hair products that week to avoid buildup - YES this is good

o Any suggestions on good clarifying shampoos? Does this step even make sense or is it even necessary? See above - I have used deep brilliance it is my favorite clarifying poo.
· Week later - Immediately after taking out my hair I plan on sectioning it in fours and lathering it in conditioner and oil - I think it is good to prepoo with oil. Olive Oil Amla Oil Light, Avacado Oil & Coconut oil
o Any suggestions on conditioners and oils to use? Olive Oil Amla Oil Light, Avacado Oil & Coconut oil should I wash it first? - Nope, Wash it after. And make sure you use a conditioner that is made for deep conditioning. Not one of the Cheapies like suave or Vo5
· I plan to keep the oil and conditioner in my head overnight -be sure to add the conditioner first and then the oil. And get your scalp pretty good with the oil.
· The next day I was going to run some errands with the conditioner and oil in my hair - Overnight will be more than enough
· That afternoon I would
o wash my hair with a clarifying shampoo - OK
o do a protein treatment and sit under the dryer - I don't have experience with those kinds of protein treaments so I can't comment.
§ suggestion for a protein treatment here are some threads that will help you to figure this out.
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/search.php?searchid=7031381
o wash out protein treatment and sit under dryer with deep conditioner and oil - how long should I sit under dryer?
§ suggestion for a deep conditioner
§ suggestion for a conditioning oil that is good after a protein treatment see above listed oils

o wash that out and do an Indian oil/powder treatment - No, do not do the indian powder treatment and protein close together. Do one or the other.

o shampoo with regular shampoo use a moisturizing shampoo.

o condition

o moisturize and style

§ what style would be best for 40 weeks post? A Braid out.


HELP HELP HELP LADIES!

 

[Opulence]

ladies thank you so much this is exactly what I needed. I feel so much more confident now! I noted EVERYTHING you said. I don't want any disasters I'll be sure to start a thread with my results.

Again, thank you so much. Sugarpie...you're name is so fitting...that was so sweet of you to bump the thread for me. it certainly helped.

I'm open to more suggestions if anyone has any.