new and can't get flowing hair!

W

wondermum

New Member
Hiya everyone, I've recently decided that I'm going to start loving my hair and taking care of it well so I've read loooads and you guys all seem to know pretty much everything! Just a prewarning about me I am very new to the taking care of my hair thing I just used to go to the hairdresser with terrible hair and come out looking amazing!

So anway... my hair has been relaxed for nearly 3 years, and have been relaxing at home (well a friend has done it) for about a year. However my hair is straight but not silky and flowing! I have tryed just about everything that I've found to get it this way but seem to be going round in circles :ohwell: I have uploaded a couple of pics on my album and if anyone could give any sort of hints where I'm going wrong it would be highly appreciated! :grin:

Ellie x
 
just bumping and adding my regimen :)


Moisturising Shampoo: Once a week (beginning of the week)
Co- Wash: Once a week (mid week)
Moisturising DC: twice a week
Clarifying Shampoo: Once a month
Protein DC: Once a month
Moisturise & Seal: Twice a day

Relax (yes only the new growth!): 12-16 weeks
Trim: After relaxer if needed
 
put my leave in conditioner, moisturising and sealing then letting it air dry... yesterday I relaxed and blowdryed and it's straight but quite stiff
 
I can tell you what I personally do. After I wash & condition, I let it air dry without any moisturizer. The leave in I use is Aphogee Leave In. it doesn't weigh my hair down. once my hair is completely dry, you'll already feel the softeness and see the swang. I don't blow dry. I put my moisturizer and seal when its dry completely and not a whole lot. I use satin rollers for curls and still get that full bouncy swang you're looking for. also rollerset/ seran wraps are really good for that full & bouncy effect.

sunnieb is also a good contact to tag you in all the relax hair threads. Hopefully she comes in here a little later. GOOD LUCK AND WELCOME!

Sent from my LG-MS690 using LG-MS690
 
You're probably using too much product after you wash. When you said "flowing hair" I thought flat-ironed hair. Are you putting in leave-in, moisturizing, sealing with oil, then air-drying and flat-ironing?

When I flat-iron (or roller set), I use a leave-in, and a dab of serum. Then, I either roller set, air-dry, or blow-dry (I rarely blow-dry because it's drying), and then flat-iron. If I roller set, I flatiron my roots only and then wrap.

Also, if I am going to use any kind of heat on my hair, I deep condition for about 30 minutes under a hood dryer. This helps infuse moisture into the hair and allows me to use less product after I wash. HTH.
 
Sorry I didn't explain myself very well!

When I first had my hair relaxed it looked like this:
IMG_0542-th.jpg


It was lovely to manage like this, however now when I relax it it looks like this:
http://images38.fotki.com/v1273/photos/0/1848670/10284224/photo-th.jpg

So while it's still straight it doesn't fall in the same way and doesn't "flow" as well. I only flat iron on special occasions now! But by the looks of things I'm definately using too much product after washing! I don't blowdry and flat iron together as flat ironing makes absolutely no difference once its blow dried! And if I rollerset I tend to leave my roots, clearly there's not been enough trial and error on my part!
 
Hiya :)
well I use mainly ORS products (no lye relaxer with the neutralising shampoo & replenishing pack, moisturiser, moisture & protein dc's, & leave in). I use Elasta QP moisturising shampoo, Tresseme clarifying shampoo & moisturising conditioner. And oil wise I use JBCO on my scalp and ends and coconut oil to seal! x
 
@Solitude I'm going to try using less product. I've already found by using smaller amounts that my hair isn't as stiff :grin:

@sunnieb I had a look at your photo's you have such amazing hair! Could a change of relaxer help at all?

Thank you all for your help finally feel like I'm getting somewhere again :cup:
 
wondermum said:
@Solitude I'm going to try using less product. I've already found by using smaller amounts that my hair isn't as stiff :grin:

@sunnieb I had a look at your photo's you have such amazing hair! Could a change of relaxer help at all?

Thank you all for your help finally feel like I'm getting somewhere again :cup:
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! :wink2:
 
Hello :wave:

Just wanted to pop in and say welcome!

Go light on your leave-in products and oils if you want some flow. :yep:
 
Just wanted to say welcome!

I don't relax my hair, but I did find that tresemme conditioners would make my hair feel blah. Not sure why it made my hair feel heavy and "coated" Maybe try a lighter conditioner like Suave Naturals.


Sent from my fancy iPhone using LHCF
 
Hello and welcome OP!
It MAY help if you switch from No Lye to Lye relaxers.
I say this because at the start of my hair journey I'd been using ORS No Lye for years and my hair just didn't 'flow' or 'swang' at all. After a long attempt at transitioning I went back to relaxing, but with a lye relaxer. I definately did feel a change in the hair that had been relaxed with the lye relaxer (had a lot of new growth to compare) and I have no problems with getting that 'flow' now. I know some people have no issues with no lye relaxers, but after switching to lye, I couldn't go back to no lye as I know they make my hair dryer.

HOWEVER, I have no doubt that the change in my hair was also down to me taking better care of it (deep conditioning bi-weekly, hot oil treatments, moisturing and sealing daily, etc). Basically moisture, moisture and more moisture.

I know you say you clarify once a month, but some need to clarify more (say once a fortnight or every three weeks) depending on the amount of product used, etc. Also, no lye relaxers cause calcium to build up on the hair (hence making it dryer, more weighed down and resistant to that flow you want to achieve.
I'd start with clarifying to get rid of any build up. After conditioning, use minimal product (lightweight heat protectant if flat ironing) so the hair isn't weighed down and see if that helps.

On the rare occasions that I flat iron, I tend to use only one product on my hair such as a heat Protectant serum. I'm not loyal to any particularly brand, but I've used Fantasia IC Heat Protectant Serum. ORS also do one.

So, a change of relaxer type may be an option but I'd say clarify, deep condition, use minimal product to style the hair, continue on the healthy hair journey for a while and see how you go.
 
Last edited:
Hello to everybody and I can't thank you all enough for the amount of help you're giving, I've been driving myself crazy with this for months!

I always thought that with the less product it was for styling products, so basically thought you couldn't overdo it on moisturiser and oil (clearly very wrong there!) do currently I use a lot less moisturiser and have started sealing with EVOO as my hair seemed to feel quite dry after an hour or so whilst using the coconut oil. Since reducing the amounts i'm starting to get a little more flow :D

I'm definitely going to start clarifying twice a month to start with and will leave changing relaxer for the moment as I'm guessing it will make it harder to see what's working and what's not.

BostonMaria is it worth changing conditioners straight away?

And also to everyone who flat irons...do you literally just use the heat protectant do you use moisturiser after or just leave it? And if you don't moisturise how do you keep your hair from feeling dry during the day?

Happy Christmas =D

xx
 
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