New growth in dred-like knots...again!!

[abcd09]

Wow I am so frustrated and disheartened right now.

My new growth, which is 17 weeks post relaxer is in dred like knots, especially at the crown of my head. I had this problem in May with protein overload (at 11 weeks post), but I did not use protein yesterday. BeforeI tell what I did, let me say that my hair was not in knots before this week.

Before routine:
Pre-poo overnite with ORS. Hair is soft by morning. Wash out, then ACV rinse, wash, condition, braid.

Day before yesterday: Used Neutralizing Shampoo to get (lots) of build up from cowashing, skipped the ACV, conditioned with ORS, braid.

Now my hair was a teeeny bitt angly, and I thought maybe it was because I skipped the ACV. I had detangled, probably not as thorough, but it was tangle free before washing again. This wash, I did a pre-poo with grapeseed oil, Aubrey Organics, and safflower oil, and coconut oil. I washed it out, ACV rinse, conditioned- it was tangle free BUT I had lots of white build up and it looked nasty. I HAD to get it out. I put Suave Clarifying shampoo on the strands, stroked them, rinsed, checked the mirror and saw they were still there, like embedded in my hair. So I did it again, and washed it out for 10-15 minutes. I did an ACV rinse, conditioned, and my roots have been tangled in knots since. I DO NOT scrub my scalp so that my hair is piled and intertwining. I kept it hanging down to avoid tangles. I used a fine tooth comb (tried the tangle teezer on one piece of hair, but that took out a lot of hair) after a wide tooth to make sure no knots were in. My hair is STILL tangly and KNOTTED at the roots. Some are like closely knitted spider webs. I am bummed as heck. Last time with the protein I lost A LOT of hair and length. I am so discouraged, I worked hard, VERY hard to get my hair health back in line. I cannot take these setbacks and I dont know what to do. I dont want to say my hair is my life, but Ive been wishing I had a different texture for weeks now so I wouldnt have to worry about KNOTS and MATTS. I cant do it. Im trying not to freak out and have a panic attack. I can feel the knots as we speak. And my heart feels HEAVY

 

[choctaw]

don't touch it until some one familiar with those products and long stretches responds to your post. Hold on, there must be a way to use moisture and oils to dissolve the matting ... folks take out dreads with cowboy magic and other products so its not permanent.

 

[beana]

I'm prone to knots and tangles too. I've found that a really good moisture DC helps when my hair starts to stick together. I detangle before i wash and prepoo with oil. I also wash my hair in 6 sections and that has helped tremendously.

It sounds like you're clarifying and using protein often which may be making your hard and difficult to manage.

Also what is your hair goal? Are you stretching or transitioning? If you are stretching just to meet a "X weeks post" goal, i'd assess your personal limit of time in between relaxers. Would you consider wearing a weave or 1/2 wig for a while? Maybe dealing with your hair as little as possible is best for you right now. HTH

 

[Boujoichic]

What ORS product are you using? Both the hair Mayo and the Replenishing Pack have Protein. You may need to do a moisturizing DC if you are not opposed to cones Aussie 3min Miracle Moisturizing has a lot of slip would be good for detangling your roots. Leave it on with a plastic cap for about an hour should melt thise tangles.

 

[abcd09]

I'm prone to knots and tangles too. I've found that a really good moisture DC helps when my hair starts to stick together. I detangle before i wash and prepoo with oil. I also wash my hair in 6 sections and that has helped tremendously.

It sounds like you're clarifying and using protein often which may be making your hard and difficult to manage.

Also what is your hair goal? Are you stretching or transitioning? If you are stretching just to meet a "X weeks post" goal, i'd assess your personal limit of time in between relaxers. Would you consider wearing a weave or 1/2 wig for a while? Maybe dealing with your hair as little as possible is best for you right now. HTH

I havent clarified in, well, maybe 6 weeks. This was my first time. I also havent been using protein at all since my protein disaster last May. I only started using Aphogee two min on my ends about two weeks ago, because they were getting soft.

It would be nice to get a weave, but I dont think my tangle prone hair would do great in it, and any type of traction and pulling makes my hair rub out and scalp hurt easily. I'm not stretching for a goal. I'm pretty much being forced to because I am not anywhere near home and don't know where to go for a relaxer. I am a student in a new city, so no money and no salon. I dont even know any black women in this city so I can't ask anyone where to get a relaxer etc. I'm afraid to walk into a random salon, because I've had experiences where people are just plain ignorant on haircare, and have caused too many problems, so I'd prefer a recommendation from someone with experience. I think maybe deep conditioning, blowing out and pressing the roots might be good, and then leaving it alone until I get a relaxer, which god knows when I can get time and extra cash to get back home to do it.

I've been using ORS orange pak without any problems until I clarified and used the grapeseed, aubrey organics honeysuckle, and safflower oil. (the Aubrey products didn't have ANY slip for me. So strange.) I'm aware ORS replenishing has some amounts of protein in it, but it didnt mess with my roots until I did that routine two days ago. I'm also wondering about ceramides, and could they have done this?? I think I'll try the Aussie though. I'm so nervous. I dont want to lose all that hair again. I'm trying not to detangle, but the knots are driving me insane. i'm afraid itll become even more tangled.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. It makes me feel better that I'm not stressing out on my own, and makes me feel like I'm not crazy for being upset about hair.

 

[la mosca]

I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. I am stretching right now (going for 6 months this time), and I definitely experienced tangling and matting in past stretches. Two changes in my regimen have eliminated that problem for me: discontinuing use of the ORS Replinishing Paks and investing in the Ouidad Double Detangler comb. I now use Silicon Mix and or/V05 Moisture Milks conditioners, which give me the slip I need to avoid the matting issues. (Nairobi Humecta-Sil works great as well.) ORS would work beautifully for a while, but over time, it left a waxy, heavy build up on my hair that made it very tangly.

 

[abcd09]

^^Thanks. It's interesting that ORS might be the problem. Like all of a sudden it stopped working. Strange.

 

[la mosca]

^^Thanks. It's interesting that ORS might be the problem. Like all of a sudden it stopped working. Strange.

I know. I had a similar experience with Creme of Nature shampoo. I thought I just had extra unruly hair that wouldn't tolerate stretching until I figured out the offending products. It took me a while to fully remove the buildup, too.

 

[beana]

oh ok, i misunderstood your post. I have very tangly hair too and know how frustrating it is! In the past ive trimmed inches off just because my hair seemed to "comb easier". How are you drying your hair?

**In my experience** blow drying and flat ironing works well on my hair because it keeps my strands separated in between wash days. Airdrying seemed to encourage mats and tangles and rollersets were too much manipulation for me after 4 weeks... i;d lose lots of hair.

So, if you're not opposed to it, maybe you could try blowdrying on medium and flat ironing to see if that helps.

 

[abcd09]

oh ok, i misunderstood your post. I have very tangly hair too and know how frustrating it is! In the past ive trimmed inches off just because my hair seemed to "comb easier". How are you drying your hair?

**In my experience** blow drying and flat ironing works well on my hair because it keeps my strands separated in between wash days. Airdrying seemed to encourage mats and tangles and rollersets were too much manipulation for me after 4 weeks... i;d lose lots of hair.

So, if you're not opposed to it, maybe you could try blowdrying on medium and flat ironing to see if that helps.

Thanks. I've been air drying. I've air dried a lot in the past 3 years, and roller set before that. I just air dry in plaits for the most part. I bet this is the reason why, at 17 weeks, I'm getting mats all of the sudden. It's just so sudden that it feels like I did something wrong product wise. I never really got my blowdrying technique down. My hair gets so dry and seems to hate heat unless it's sparingly or rollerset. I'll try it on saturday, though 9with extra care) with the aussie and ceramides and see what happens.

 

[Angelicus]

My hair grows that way also. I wash my hair in at least four sections. I do the crown and glory method and that is what keeps my hair from locking. Hope that helps.

 

[abcd09]

My hair grows that way also. I wash my hair in at least four sections. I do the crown and glory method and that is what keeps my hair from locking. Hope that helps.

What method is this???

 

[renren]

How often do you wash your hair with shampoo and how often do you use ACV on your hair?

I ask this because it seems as though it my be drying out your hair. Maybe I misread your post.

 

[steffiejoe]

What method is this???

It's when you wash your hair in braids/plaits. This helps to cut down on tangles.
mskibibi has a vid on it.
YouTube - Video Request - How I wash in braids

 

[abcd09]

How often do you wash your hair with shampoo and how often do you use ACV on your hair?

I ask this because it seems as though it my be drying out your hair. Maybe I misread your post.

I only shampoo once every two weeks. I think clarifying dried it out, but conditioning didn't do anything for it. It's confusing since it's not like I could walkaround with visible build up. I needed to get it out. Also, I acv every wash to make the cuticle lay flat. I diluted it pretty well, so not sure why things that worked alright suddenlymade it knot.

thanks for the method. Whatsweird is I will wsh in plaits and the hair inside the plaits will knot anyway. It'll be like 15 strand knots everywhere despite washing in this way. It's very strange, like webbing or velcro. I thought pc would fix it, but it doesn't.

 

[renren]

I only shampoo once every two weeks. I think clarifying dried it out, but conditioning didn't do anything for it. It's confusing since it's not like I could walkaround with visible build up. I needed to get it out. Also, I acv every wash to make the cuticle lay flat. I diluted it pretty well, so not sure why things that worked alright suddenlymade it knot.

thanks for the method. Whatsweird is I will wsh in plaits and the hair inside the plaits will knot anyway. It'll be like 15 strand knots everywhere despite washing in this way. It's very strange, like webbing or velcro. I thought pc would fix it, but it doesn't.

Have you tried deep conditioning with a moisturizing conditioner mixed with a humectant like honey or glycerin? That always makes my new growth soft... im sorry this happened to you chic... if you dont want to go through the process of conditioning again maybe you can just spray some s-curl on your new growth and put a plastic cap on ur head for the night...

I hope this helps...

 

[MaryJane3000]

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. For me it was the clarifying shampoo. Any shampoo with sulfates will tangle my new growth like its nobodies business.

First think you need to do is find a cheapie conditioner that has tons of slip. Always use that conditioner as like a 3 minute quickie at the end of your routine. After I deep condition I always coat my hair in my cheapie to give me the slip I need for detangling.

To fix what you're going through now I would use the Lustrasilk Aloe Cholesterol conditioner. IMO it's amazing when it comes to detanging the hair.Wet your hair up let that sit on it for a little while and then rinse it out and put a cheap quick conditioner like HE Break Free on your hair. Then use the water pressure in the shower to help you detangle your hair.

HTH!

 

[abcd09]

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. For me it was the clarifying shampoo. Any shampoo with sulfates will tangle my new growth like its nobodies business.


HTH!

If shampoo does this to you, what do you use to get the build up out?

 

[abcd09]

update: tried using the aussie on my hair. left it on for an hour or two. new grwoth felt softer. tested on area to see if ceramides (sesame) was tangling my hair. jury isnt out on that yet. but anyway, rinsed the aussie out, hair felt soft. decided to do an oil rinse with coconut, jojoba, and a teeny bit of castor oil. my hair felt kinda hard washing it out. it was after that when i put on the aussie again for condioning and my hair got HARD. it was tangly and awful. i dont know what to do. tangly as heck. sick of it.