New 4b Subscriber who is ready for healthy hair!!

[MRJ1972]

Hello Everyone!!!!

After only a few weeks of lurking, I am a new subscriber to LHCF. I am ready for a healthy hair journey for myself and my teen-aged daughter. I have loads of questions but I wont bombard you guys right away. I will start with a brief background, although I don't have all the LHCF terminology and acronyms memorized yet!!! LOL

Current state of hair:
Our Hair is overall 4b-relaxed, ( although my daughter is probably 4a in the front) We have stretched our relaxer for 8 weeks ( my stretch is a little bit longer in the back of my head due to sew ins, so the back is @ 5 months stretched)

Hair Issues:
My hair has been damaged from glue-in weaves and improper micro braid removal...It is currently very thin, and I have lots of broken hairs in the top of my head. My hair line is thin and broken, My nape is thin and broken as well and will not hold a relaxer for more than 1 week without reverting back to its natural 4b(z) state. Oily, but lots of breakage and shedding. Current length - SL

My daughters hair was damaged due to what I believe was relaxer residue and the back of her hair broke off like it had been shaved. ( The stylist denied these accusations although she had just given her a relaxer a few days before) This happened in Feb 07 and to date that section of her hair has not grown longer than 1/2 inch..Very Dry hair and itchy scalp..Current length - NL


Products used:
I have always used Kera Care and Design products before finding this website, but I have since purchased some additional products based on some of the hair regimes that I have read:

Aphogee 2 min Reconstructor
ORS hair mayo
ORS replinishing pack
Silk Elements hair mayo
Kera Care Masque
Porosity Control
V05
Profectiv Mega Growth
Beyond the Zone Heat Protectant
S- Curl (for my new growth)
EVOO added to pre-poo
NTM Leave in, Masque, and reconstructor


I still have a LOOOOONG list of other products that I would like to try!!!!

Current Hairstyles

Self- Partial Sew-in..Hairline, nape and top are out; normally worn in ponytail
Daughter- Neck length bob-cannot get hair to grow back to SL length due damage set back

My regime
After reviewing a few regimes, I have adopted the following regime for both of us -( My daughter now only goes to the salon for relaxers, I dont go to the salon at all anymore-since i wear half sew-ins- and I relax my own hair which i have probably overprocessed )

Pre-poo -Aphogee 2 min reconstructor, EVOO for daughter, none for self
Shampoo- Kera Care Moisturizing Shampoo
Deep Conditioner- ORS Replinishing Pak and Porosity Control
Leave in - GVP-Paul Mitchell - The conditioner, Infusium 23
Moisturizer- Profectiv Mega Growth, or Kera Care Moisturizing Hairdress
V05 - co wash for daughter
Style
Daughter -Under the hood dryer with wrap or bun or air dry bun, although a lot of hair pops off when trying to get it into the bun wet. No setting lotion
Self- Air dry and then blow dry and flat iron hair that is out of weave.

Goals:

Short Term
Self- APL, thicker, no breakage
Daughter - SL, less dryness and itching, thicker

Long Term
Length- BSL ( both) (we have never been longer than a little past SL)
Healthy
Thick
No breakage


**I welcome any suggestions and comments***
**Once I figure out this website, I will post pictures**

 

[theprincess098]

Welcome to the board!!!!

 

[ShaniKeys]

Welcome MRJ1972 to LHCF planet! The hair gurus will be here in no time to help you out. I'm a 4a/b natural myself and I was just wondering: do you plan to stay relaxed (you and your daughter) or are you transitioning?

 

[FunJoy!]

First of all, you need a moisturizing DC, and probably a good trim for you both, I did a trim at the beginning and cut direct heat out of my hair's life entirely. I virtually have NO split ends because of this. DC'ing can really help to get hair in an utmost healthy state, I do it two times a week and my hair couldn't be happier, some hair, like mine, LOVES PROTEIN,and the aphogee 2 minute is a miracle it makes my hair soft & strong, I use it once a week because I use so many moisturizing things that I need a strong protein to keep balance. Another suggestion is low manipulation, I only comb my hair 2x a week, on wash say and co-wash day, I have much more retention this way, these are just a few of the tips and if you have any specific questions, feel free to just quote me and ask!!!

YOUR HAIR JOURNEY & YOUR DAUGHTER'S WILL BE SUPER FUN! Bon Voyage!

 

[FunJoy!]

By the way, I'm 3c in the front entirely with a bit of 4a, but I treat my hair like a 4b would.

 

[Platinum]

:welcome3: I'm sure some of the Hair gurus will chime in with advice. Happy hair growing to you and your daughter!

 

[Ivy Santolina]

Welcome aboard! I'm confident you both will be successful in achieving your hair goals.

 

[Liberianmami26]

welcome i wish u and your daughter the best of luck your regimen seems good except for some things.

How often are u blow drying/flat ironing the front of your hair cuz a lil too much might make your hair thin out

for your daughter if her hair cant go into a bun easily i wouldnt force it cuz too much tension and the hair would probably start to break off i did it all thru high school.
and have u ever consider putting your daughter in cornrolls u kno the ones with extension im not sure how old she is but its less damage than micro braids and i knew this girl that did a lot of cornrolls and it grew her hair out.

keep up the stretching that will get u far and when yall relax u will love the body, keep up the protective stylin i have seen weaves grow a lot of people hair in real life u could prolly try a full i know it doesnt look as natural but your hair is completely covered and as long as u moisturize the hell outta your hair underneath the weave u wont have a problem.

sorry for the long post

 

[MRJ1972]

First of all, you need a moisturizing DC, and probably a good trim for you both, I did a trim at the beginning and cut direct heat out of my hair's life entirely. I virtually have NO split ends because of this. DC'ing can really help to get hair in an utmost healthy state, I do it two times a week and my hair couldn't be happier, some hair, like mine, LOVES PROTEIN,and the aphogee 2 minute is a miracle it makes my hair soft & strong, I use it once a week because I use so many moisturizing things that I need a strong protein to keep balance. Another suggestion is low manipulation, I only comb my hair 2x a week, on wash say and co-wash day, I have much more retention this way, these are just a few of the tips and if you have any specific questions, feel free to just quote me and ask!!!

YOUR HAIR JOURNEY & YOUR DAUGHTER'S WILL BE SUPER FUN! Bon Voyage!

Thanks for the reply!!!

My daughter's hair was cut into the bob - right below ears originally-because of the damage in the back, but I just cannot get the back to grow AT ALL, so once the other hair starts growing it will look thin again in the back...I also think that any growth that she has obtained is interrupted by the dryness of her her hair, so I am working on fixing this..What type of moisturizing conditioner do you use?

I on the other hand, have only trimmed at my ends but the hair is just thin in general..Even the hair that was braided up in the sew-in, but I think I pulled this out when i started combing before moisturizing when I took out the braids...I am learning!!!

 

[MRJ1972]

Welcome MRJ1972 to LHCF planet! The hair gurus will be here in no time to help you out. I'm a 4a/b natural myself and I was just wondering: do you plan to stay relaxed (you and your daughter) or are you transitioning?

We are going to stay relaxed...I tried to transition her once before because I like her natural hair better, but of course she talked me into letting her get another relaxer and then we ended up in this predicament...If she wants to try again, I can probably do it, since I have learned so many great tips on this forum....But I will definitely stay relaxed, I have no patience with my hair

 

[back2relaxed]

Welcome to the boards! A few suggestions. On your daughter, maybe wait to relax just that area, maybe you can just relax it every other relaxer. This may give it a chance to grow and not be irritated by the relaxer. Baby that part of her hair. Like the pp said, maybe get her some cornrows, and hold off on chemicals in her nape. Also make sure that portion is thoroughly moisturized 1-2 times daily with a good moisturizer(b&b, ors olive oil) or whatever moisturizer you use. She may need to see a dermatologist since the back area where the damage occurred is so dry and itchy, could be dermatitis or something. Just a few thoughts...hope that helps(hth)

 

[MRJ1972]

welcome i wish u and your daughter the best of luck your regimen seems good except for some things.

How often are u blow drying/flat ironing the front of your hair cuz a lil too much might make your hair thin out

for your daughter if her hair cant go into a bun easily i wouldnt force it cuz too much tension and the hair would probably start to break off i did it all thru high school.
and have u ever consider putting your daughter in cornrolls u kno the ones with extension im not sure how old she is but its less damage than micro braids and i knew this girl that did a lot of cornrolls and it grew her hair out.

keep up the stretching that will get u far and when yall relax u will love the body, keep up the protective stylin i have seen weaves grow a lot of people hair in real life u could prolly try a full i know it doesnt look as natural but your hair is completely covered and as long as u moisturize the hell outta your hair underneath the weave u wont have a problem.

sorry for the long post

I only flat once and blow dry after the wash, but I had NEVER used a heat protectant until now and I always had the flat iron SUPER HOT, plus I would just slap relxer on the part of my hair that was out when it got kinky without any type of technique, so I am sure i have overprocessed it also

I have put corn rows in my daughter's hair with extensions previously (she is 14 now) and that is what i plan to do for the next few weeks, at one time however, her hair was so fragile that it would break when I braided it and then i would let her tell me what she wanted to do with her hair, but it is much stronger now and doesnt break as easily, so cornrows should work for her...i told her that i was going to work on growing her hair...she thinks that i have lost my mind since i have been lurking on this forum!!

 

[MRJ1972]

Welcome to the boards! A few suggestions. On your daughter, maybe wait to relax just that area, maybe you can just relax it every other relaxer. This may give it a chance to grow and not be irritated by the relaxer. Baby that part of her hair. Like the pp said, maybe get her some cornrows, and hold off on chemicals in her nape. Also make sure that portion is thoroughly moisturized 1-2 times daily with a good moisturizer(b&b, ors olive oil) or whatever moisturizer you use. She may need to see a dermatologist since the back area where the damage occurred is so dry and itchy, could be dermatitis or something. Just a few thoughts...hope that helps(hth)

I am learning A LOT from this forum..I have just started babying and moisturizing that section so I have hoping for improvement...and it's just crazy because she had previously been going to the salon and I expressed my concern with that part of her hair but no one ever gave me any suggestions on what i could do at home...

 

[FunJoy!]

Thanks for the reply!!!

My daughter's hair was cut into the bob - right below ears originally-because of the damage in the back, but I just cannot get the back to grow AT ALL, so once the other hair starts growing it will look thin again in the back...I also think that any growth that she has obtained is interrupted by the dryness of her her hair, so I am working on fixing this..What type of moisturizing conditioner do you use?

I on the other hand, have only trimmed at my ends but the hair is just thin in general..Even the hair that was braided up in the sew-in, but I think I pulled this out when i started combing before moisturizing when I took out the braids...I am learning!!!

Well, My staples are:

Daily Moisturizer for hair: NTM Silk Touch or Hairveda Whipped cream
Daily Sealant for hair: Pure Shea Butter
Daily moisturizer for ends: Elasta QP Mango Butter
Daily Sealant for ends: Shescenit Seyani Hair Butter
Deep Conditoners:
-Avanti Silicon Mix (LOVE IT)
-ORS Replenishing Pak
-Lustrasilk Shea Butter Cholesterol.
Leave Ins:
-Lacio Lacio
-Rusk sensories smoother Leave In

I alternate and just use whatever I want but all these are incredible moisturizers and I will use them until they stop making it!

HTH!

 

[Ladybelle]

I'm fairly new too and still learning, so I can't really give you any advice other than to keep at it until you find what works for you. LCHF is sure to be beneficial. It already has been for me!!

 

[darlingdiva]

Welcome aboard!!! You've definitely come to the right place.

 

[Ivy Santolina]

My daughters hair was damaged due to what I believe was relaxer residue and the back of her hair broke off like it had been shaved. ( The stylist denied these accusations although she had just given her a relaxer a few days before) This happened in Feb 07 and to date that section of her hair has not grown longer than 1/2 inch..Very Dry hair and itchy scalp..Current length - NL

Hi again. I was thinking of your daughter's hair and I believe since her scalp was damaged from the relaxer she may need oatmeal rinses to alleviate the irritation and itchiness. If my scalp is feeling sensitive I halt applying all hair products and "wash" it and final rinse it with an oatmeal tea. I also gently massage my scalp with Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) and EVOO. I continue this treatment until the symptoms subside and I believe my scalp is healed.

Oatmeal contains saponins so it will clean the hair and scalp. There's no need to use any other cleansing agents. Oatmeal and coconut oil contains anti-inflammatory (cooling) agents. Plus, they will help moisturize the skin and hair. The last time I used this treatment I had a reaction to a stinging nettle hair rinse. I have since discovered that I am allergic to stinging nettle in some aspects. For some reason the extract doesn't bother me but the herb sure as heck does. "Fasting" from all hair products and only using the oatmeal tea and oils helped me recover with out any lasting damage.

I make my oatmeal tea my adding 1 Tbs of non-instant oatmeal to a quart of just boiled water. I make two batches. One for the wash and one for the final rinse. The "washing" batch I let sit until warm then strain. The "final rinse" batch I let sit until completely cooled then strain.

With a color applicator bottle I apply the "wash" to my scalp and massage it in. I rinse with lukewarm water. I then apply more, gently massage, then let that sit for 5-10 min - depends on patience level. Without rinsing I apply the rest to my hair then rinse again with lukewarm water. I rinse my hair well because I want to make sure I get all of the dirt and product residue out of my hair.

The final (cold) rinse is the 2nd batch of oatmeal tea. I would apply all of it to my hair then squeeze it out. Then I t-shirt dried my hair. When my hair was mostly dry, I massaged the oils into my scalp and applied a little of bit of the oils to my hair to seal the moisture in.

Through out the week I would sparingly apply and massage more oil into my scalp at night before bed. If my hair felt too greasy then I did another oatmeal wash.

When I had the stinging nettle reaction I fasted my hair for 2 weeks.

HTH.

 

[snugglez41685]

Welcome to the board!

 

[MRJ1972]

Hi again. I was thinking of your daughter's hair and I believe since her scalp was damaged from the relaxer she may need oatmeal rinses to alleviate the irritation and itchiness. If my scalp is feeling sensitive I halt applying all hair products and "wash" it and final rinse it with an oatmeal tea. I also gently massage my scalp with Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) and EVOO. I continue this treatment until the symptoms subside and I believe my scalp is healed.

Oatmeal contains saponins so it will clean the hair and scalp. There's no need to use any other cleansing agents. Oatmeal and coconut oil contains anti-inflammatory (cooling) agents. Plus, they will help moisturize the skin and hair. The last time I used this treatment I had a reaction to a stinging nettle hair rinse. I have since discovered that I am allergic to stinging nettle in some aspects. For some reason the extract doesn't bother me but the herb sure as heck does. "Fasting" from all hair products and only using the oatmeal tea and oils helped me recover with out any lasting damage.

I make my oatmeal tea my adding 1 Tbs of non-instant oatmeal to a quart of just boiled water. I make two batches. One for the wash and one for the final rinse. The "washing" batch I let sit until warm then strain. The "final rinse" batch I let sit until completely cooled then strain.

With a color applicator bottle I apply the "wash" to my scalp and massage it in. I rinse with lukewarm water. I then apply more, gently massage, then let that sit for 5-10 min - depends on patience level. Without rinsing I apply the rest to my hair then rinse again with lukewarm water. I rinse my hair well because I want to make sure I get all of the dirt and product residue out of my hair.

The final (cold) rinse is the 2nd batch of oatmeal tea. I would apply all of it to my hair then squeeze it out. Then I t-shirt dried my hair. When my hair was mostly dry, I massaged the oils into my scalp and applied a little of bit of the oils to my hair to seal the moisture in.

Through out the week I would sparingly apply and massage more oil into my scalp at night before bed. If my hair felt too greasy then I did another oatmeal wash.

When I had the stinging nettle reaction I fasted my hair for 2 weeks.

HTH.

Thanks, I may not have expressed myself clearly but her entire head is dry and itchy and has always been this way, even as a little girl, the only thing that has helped has been the kera care dry and itchy scalp treatment -i put the conditioner directly on her scalp for 5 minutes and then rinse- but she says that it burns- and doing the pre-poo mixed with EVOO...the itching has improved somewhat...she has suffered FOREVER with an itchy scalp but I will have to try the oatmeal on the back to see if that will help...

 

[anon123]

I can't give any advice on relaxed hair, but welcome from another 4b!

 

[Ivy Santolina]

Thanks, I may not have expressed myself clearly but her entire head is dry and itchy and has always been this way, even as a little girl, the only thing that has helped has been the kera care dry and itchy scalp treatment -i put the conditioner directly on her scalp for 5 minutes and then rinse- but she says that it burns- and doing the pre-poo mixed with EVOO...the itching has improved somewhat...she has suffered FOREVER with an itchy scalp but I will have to try the oatmeal on the back to see if that will help...

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I'm glad the EVOO is helping with the dryness and itchiness. One thing I am confident about is that you will find the solution on this forum.

 

[Liberianmami26]

I only flat once and blow dry after the wash, but I had NEVER used a heat protectant until now and I always had the flat iron SUPER HOT, plus I would just slap relxer on the part of my hair that was out when it got kinky without any type of technique, so I am sure i have overprocessed it also

I have put corn rows in my daughter's hair with extensions previously (she is 14 now) and that is what i plan to do for the next few weeks, at one time however, her hair was so fragile that it would break when I braided it and then i would let her tell me what she wanted to do with her hair, but it is much stronger now and doesnt break as easily, so cornrows should work for her...i told her that i was going to work on growing her hair...she thinks that i have lost my mind since i have been lurking on this forum!!

yeah most on this board would not recommend flat ironing more than 1x a week so thats good, so u just need to start with the heat protectant. i use the one by nexxus and i know a lot of people use chi silk infusion and one by tressemme and some even said coconut oil so just moisturize a lot and as someone else said be gentle with the combing this has helped me a lot since i been visiting here right now i only comb and detangle on wash days cuz i am 6 months post relaxer yesterday and its a jungle in here but i straighten last monday and my hair just felt so healthy and full of body and i only been doing this whole hair care thing for six months so these ladies kno wat they are talkin bout just keep reading thats how i picked up a lot of ideas and techniques that my regimen is set now and im still learning new things dont worry your daughter will come around just remember the number one rule MOISTURIZE and a lot and u will be in good shape in no time