Newbies let get together and get results.. All r welcome

[Galadriel]

My texlax came out great! I will take pics tonight (I plan to flat iron on Saturday, will also take pics of that as well). I LOVE the thickness and waviness of my hair

 

[Galadriel]

Here are my pics from my recent texlax. I co-washed w/ Infusium 23 Frizzologie (but I think it has cones ) and also Nature's Gate Daily Herbal Conditioner (LOVE the smell!). I then sprayed a leave-in wheat protein conditioner, and then added ORS olive oil moisturizer and coconut oil.

 

[TaurusAngel]

Well, this weekend i did a pre-poo for the first time. It contained mayo, i had no eggs so mayo was the next best option for protein, then i added evoo, and a little honey. I mixed it in a bowl and put it all over my hair and covered it with a shower cap and let sit for 1 1/2 hours. it dripped a little, mind you, this was my first time so i'm still perfecting it. and then, i washed it out, did a co-wash with Dove Mosturizing Conditioner then i did a dc for 15 mins. after i towel dried i used a goody's detangling comb. I was amazed i had very little shedding. my hair combed out smoothly. I then let it air dry and flat ironed it. my hair felt so thick and shiny. I will take pictures. but i have so much body. I've continued using my Carrot Oil by Africa's Best to oil my scalp and my MN mixture. But i was happy with my results.

 

[SUZIEq]

This sounds great! Like u said I know your hair must have loved this!!

Well, this weekend i did a pre-poo for the first time. It contained mayo, i had no eggs so mayo was the next best option for protein, then i added evoo, and a little honey. I mixed it in a bowl and put it all over my hair and covered it with a shower cap and let sit for 1 1/2 hours. it dripped a little, mind you, this was my first time so i'm still perfecting it. and then, i washed it out, did a co-wash with Dove Mosturizing Conditioner then i did a dc for 15 mins. after i towel dried i used a goody's detangling comb. I was amazed i had very little shedding. my hair combed out smoothly. I then let it air dry and flat ironed it. my hair felt so thick and shiny. I will take pictures. but i have so much body. I've continued using my Carrot Oil by Africa's Best to oil my scalp and my MN mixture. But i was happy with my results.

 

[All_Me]

I dont know if everybody had a chance to go to my fotki or not but yall this is HARD work!!! I thought trying to exercise and lose weight was gonna be a fight but keeping up with any type of reg is hard. I'm still trying to find out what works for my hair. MTG keeps my hair real oily so once I finish the bottle I may try something else, unless my NG is just the bomb, then I will keep using it . Condition washing 5x a week is also causing me to use alot of products but after the gym my hair feels yuk! I started off as a product junkie but now I need to buy conditioner in BULK! Anyway below is my pics. I'm looking at yall starting pics like ... wow their hair is already beautiful. Me my hair needs 911! The starting pics is dated as 1.23.07. In a few weeks will be my 1 mth progress. I will take a pic but after that I will only take a pic every 3 months... or should I?

 

[SUZIEq]

I have read your regimens and want to develop one for myself. But need a little help or clarification:

PREEPOO: Is this always oils or conditioners???
SHAMPOO: 2xs per week?
CONDITIONER: deep conditioner 2xs weekly? Can also be done daily?
MOISTURIZE: daily?

Newbies, do you pattern your regimens after experienced members? If so, can u share their info? Thanks!!!

 

[noemi]

I have read your regimens and want to develop one for myself. But need a little help or clarification:

PREEPOO: Is this always oils or conditioners???
SHAMPOO: 2xs per week?
CONDITIONER: deep conditioner 2xs weekly? Can also be done daily?
MOISTURIZE: daily?

Newbies, do you pattern your regimens after experienced members? If so, can u share their info? Thanks!!!

Prepoo: This is a "cosmetic" step..It makes the hair softer and sometimes can act as coating on the hair to lessen the effect of poo. So it can be oils, conditioners, it should be moisturizing..

Shampoo:Use shampoo as much or as less as your hair tells you it likes/dislikes it. I shampoo twice because I use a lot of product and I like to DC twice a week too. But, this is after much trial and error that I discovered my hair liked twice a week poo/DC

Conditioner: You can do daily/every other day CW, if you hair likes it. I wouldn't recommend daily DC because it can cause moisture overload and cause breakage. If you find that twice a week DC is too much, try using a protein based DC for one of those DC. Overall, once a week DC usually is sufficient for healthy hair. Again trial and error will help you determine what your hair needs.

Moisturize: You don't have to daily if you don't need it. I did in the beginning twice a day, but now every other day once a day. No matter how much you moisturize, seal with an oil.

In the beginning of my journey, I did pattern my reggy after members, but through trial and error, I tweaked it. I think its good to do in the beginning so that you have a baseline or general consistency in your routine. Consistency=results. HTH

 

[SUZIEq]

Thanks noemi, this helps and clarifies a lot!!

Prepoo: This is a "cosmetic" step..It makes the hair softer and sometimes can act as coating on the hair to lessen the effect of poo. So it can be oils, conditioners, it should be moisturizing..

Shampoo:Use shampoo as much or as less as your hair tells you it likes/dislikes it. I shampoo twice because I use a lot of product and I like to DC twice a week too. But, this is after much trial and error that I discovered my hair liked twice a week poo/DC

Conditioner: You can do daily/every other day CW, if you hair likes it. I wouldn't recommend daily DC because it can cause moisture overload and cause breakage. If you find that twice a week DC is too much, try using a protein based DC for one of those DC. Overall, once a week DC usually is sufficient for healthy hair. Again trial and error will help you determine what your hair needs.

Moisturize: You don't have to daily if you don't need it. I did in the beginning twice a day, but now every other day once a day. No matter how much you moisturize, seal with an oil.

In the beginning of my journey, I did pattern my reggy after members, but through trial and error, I tweaked it. I think its good to do in the beginning so that you have a baseline or general consistency in your routine. Consistency=results. HTH

 

[Galadriel]

Ok, I'm still getting the hang of adding pics, but I think this one is better than using the thumbnail size pics.

 

[LivingDoll]

Okay y'all, I know I'm a lil late, but this weekend, I pre-pooed with NTM Daily Conditioner under my sewn in weave for 45 mins, then applied a plastic cap. While prepooing I prepared a diluted mixture of NTM Moisturizing Poo, Peppermint Oil (2 drops) and one tbsp EVOO and 3 parts water (I used an old large won-ton soup container because it's a good size and the lid is tight enough to allow me to shake up the mixture without leaking). In the shower I applied the diluted mixture, working into my scalp. I then shampooed my hair once more with about a quarter size of the NTM Poo at full strength and rinsed for about 3-4 minutes. I applied more NTM Conditioner to my hair under the weave, then rinsed that as well for about 3-4 minutes. Afterward, I rollerset the weave and sat under my soft bonnet for about 1 and 1/2 hours. It was still slighly damp so I removed the rollers and pinned the curls. Put on a satin bonnet and went to bed. The next morning my hair was dry. I applied a little Profectiv Root Health and NTM Silk Touch Leave In to my scalp. I then sealed with Vatika Oil. The set turned out great.

 

[cocopuff06]

Hi everyone!

I'm brand new to this site, brand new to having my hair out! Just took my braids out last week after having micros back to back for over a year. My plan was to wear my hair out for a few days and then go back to the braids but I have somehow been convinced by friends and family to leave my hair out I started doing some searching on natural hair care (since I am now natural) and thats when I stumbled upon this site . This is very very overwhelming, so much to read and learn! So far I have learned that heat and wrapping are dangerous! And that's all I know from my earlier relaxer days! Need help!!!

Definitely want to join this challenge and could certainly use some tips for maintaing natural, 4b, barely shoulder length hair!

A few pics:

 

[LivingDoll]

Hi everyone!

I'm brand new to this site, brand new to having my hair out! Just took my braids out last week after having micros back to back for over a year. My plan was to wear my hair out for a few days and then go back to the braids but I have somehow been convinced by friends and family to leave my hair out I started doing some searching on natural hair care (since I am now natural) and thats when I stumbled upon this site . This is very very overwhelming, so much to read and learn! So far I have learned that heat and wrapping are dangerous! And that's all I know from my earlier relaxer days! Need help!!!

Definitely want to join this challenge and could certainly use some tips for maintaing natural, 4b, barely shoulder length hair!

A few pics:

:welcome3:Girl, you're hair is too cute! I love it! As a newbie, I learned by reading, reading, reading...it took weeks but I finally have a good grasp on the concepts. I also found information from LHCFers macherieamour, sistaslick, mochamadness, kinikakes and sareca really helpful and informative. We're all pretty much in the same boat but we'll all share what we know! What we don't know, the veterans will definitely tell you. Everyone here is sooo great, just ask!

 

[FindingMe]

Ok, I'm still getting the hang of adding pics, but I think this one is better than using the thumbnail size pics.

your texlax came out the bomb! i wanna try this. do you comb relaxer through new growth, use a bottle? what's your precedure? do you have highlights? the color is lovely, too!

 

[FindingMe]

Hi everyone!

I'm brand new to this site, brand new to having my hair out! Just took my braids out last week after having micros back to back for over a year. My plan was to wear my hair out for a few days and then go back to the braids but I have somehow been convinced by friends and family to leave my hair out I started doing some searching on natural hair care (since I am now natural) and thats when I stumbled upon this site . This is very very overwhelming, so much to read and learn! So far I have learned that heat and wrapping are dangerous! And that's all I know from my earlier relaxer days! Need help!!!

Definitely want to join this challenge and could certainly use some tips for maintaing natural, 4b, barely shoulder length hair!

A few pics:

I see why!!!! Your hair is GORGEOUS!! No tips for ya', but welcome!!

 

[clmacky]

Is that CandyC in the UK? I was reading some of her stuff and wanted to try these oil rinses and powders as well!! I have a regimen that's working well right now for my overall hair health, but I was contemplating kickin' it up a notch to try to add some speedy growth. I was wanting to try the ayurvedic stuff, but am too chicken... I'm not good with potions and concoctions...

BTW, I LOVE your hair!!!

Thanks I'm really trying this year to take care of it and not allow my stylist to cut if off (trimming )

Yeah I was looking for the thread to verify but I can't find it. It could be CandyC...oh well, someone knows what I'm talking about. Ayurvedic eh? I'm not at that level of really experimenting with stuff. I'm sticking with the K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Sista) concept for now.

 

[TaurusAngel]

This sounds great! Like u said I know your hair must have loved this!!

It did, and still is. I would highly recommend this. I plan on doing it in another 2 weeks because they say u shouldn't over protein. So i'm spreading them out. But this weekend i'm just going to do a co-wash.

 

[TaurusAngel]

Hi everyone!

I'm brand new to this site, brand new to having my hair out! Just took my braids out last week after having micros back to back for over a year. My plan was to wear my hair out for a few days and then go back to the braids but I have somehow been convinced by friends and family to leave my hair out I started doing some searching on natural hair care (since I am now natural) and thats when I stumbled upon this site . This is very very overwhelming, so much to read and learn! So far I have learned that heat and wrapping are dangerous! And that's all I know from my earlier relaxer days! Need help!!!

Definitely want to join this challenge and could certainly use some tips for maintaing natural, 4b, barely shoulder length hair!

A few pics:

Welcome. I agree. u have gorgeous hair.

 

[Galadriel]

your texlax came out the bomb! i wanna try this. do you comb relaxer through new growth, use a bottle? what's your precedure? do you have highlights? the color is lovely, too!

Thanks! I used the sprush from Sally's BSS

I very gently smoothed the relaxer onto my new growth (but not too much). My hair is dyed, but I was so crappy w/ it that it looks like a highlight job
But thanks for the compliment!

ETA: the color I used was from the Garnier line, the one that's made specifically to lift dark hair one or two levels (I chose a medium brown color). I really like this brand and it doesn't seem to dry my hair as much as other dyes I've used in the past.

 

[ivyQuietstorm]

I WANT IN TOO!!!

I am a newbie and until now it seems like everyone is going 50 mph and I'm at about 15! I've tried to jump in on other topics, but basically I got the cold shoulder . You just don't know how bad I have been wanting to converse with some folks on my level. Anyway, enough chit-chat, here's the scoop:

I have managed to put together a regimen and it needs a little tweeking, but here goes:

My hair is 4a/b natural...neck length (unstretched)
Hair Goal: SL (Unstretched) Dec '08

Regimen for the past week (I wash 2x's per week):

Pre-poo with EVOO, honey, and a few drops of peppermint oil. I have been doing this for 1 hour, but I pre-poo'd overnight last night.

Co-Wash Main & Tail Moisturizing Conditioner which I may have to get rid of because the third ingredient contains alcohol which is not helping my moisture problem.

DC with Nexxuss Humectress 1 hour under hood dryer on low. I think it's okay. It's nothing to write home about, but since I bought it...I'm using it.

Moisturize: Glycerine and Water, Seal with Castor Oil.

Everyother night I apply Carefree Curl Gold and seal with castor oil for moisture. My hair is so thirsty.

Apply no heat and wear a wig daily with my hair braided underneath.

I'll post pictures tonight before I hit the hay. I'm suppose to the 2" of perm cut off this weekend before my journey gets deep. But you'll see.

 

[Galadriel]

Hi everyone!

I'm brand new to this site, brand new to having my hair out! Just took my braids out last week after having micros back to back for over a year. My plan was to wear my hair out for a few days and then go back to the braids but I have somehow been convinced by friends and family to leave my hair out I started doing some searching on natural hair care (since I am now natural) and thats when I stumbled upon this site . This is very very overwhelming, so much to read and learn! So far I have learned that heat and wrapping are dangerous! And that's all I know from my earlier relaxer days! Need help!!!

Definitely want to join this challenge and could certainly use some tips for maintaing natural, 4b, barely shoulder length hair!

A few pics:

Welcome Coco! I wish I would have learned earlier on the havoc that too much heat can wreak. But at least we're learning!

 

[Galadriel]

Hi Ivy!

How has the overnight prepoo been for you? I've only done it for a couple of hours at most.

 

[unique4lyfe33]

i am a newbie and i would like to join in on this challenge. my hair is currenlty on my neck (as u can see, profile pic) and my short term goal is to have it shoulder length. i also purchased some mtg whitch i will be using when it arrives. But i am not sure how i will be using yet. if anybody has any advice please let me know.

 

[ivyQuietstorm]

Hi Ivy!

How has the overnight prepoo been for you? I've only done it for a couple of hours at most.

Well, that's kind of hard to say considering I had a little set back. I fell madly in love with glycerin and water. I got so excited because I had some moisture that I applied to much! My hair was so sticky that it took me forever to get that stuff out not to mention, I had a ton of breakage that I did not have before!

I'm so upset and hurt because breakage is not the direction that I want to go in. I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING THE WRONG WAY!! I know this whole process is trial and error, so why do I feel so bad about this setback?

Looking for a shoulder to lean on!

 

[ivyQuietstorm]

i am a newbie and i would like to join in on this challenge. my hair is currenlty on my neck (as u can see, profile pic) and my short term goal is to have it shoulder length. i also purchased some mtg whitch i will be using when it arrives. But i am not sure how i will be using yet. if anybody has any advice please let me know.

Hi unique4lyfe! Here's to happy hair growth!!

 

[lnana04]

Hey everyone...just checking in. I washed, DC, and rollerset my sis hair again tonight. I pre-pood, and oil rinsed for the first time and I like how her hair felt afterwards. I said her hair was shedding at first, but that was a mistake, I meant breaking...and it's still breaking a lot. All of the broken pieces seem to be the same length, so I see its going to take a while for us to get it under control. Anyway, here is a pic.

 

[HotRibena]

My fellow newbies - I'll call this one "lessons learned":

So I've been doing my ayuvedic method for the past month with great success...no more shedding or breaking and my hair was feeling as strong as ever. I did feel though that my hair was not holding moisture and hit the threads looking for the answer . I did the porous test (I think that strand is still bobbing somewhere), I did the stretch test (I couldn't figure that one out) and I did the "run your fingers along some strands test" (uh?) - well, my "conclusion" was that I needed to clarify as I had been using so many oils and moisturizers. I went and ordered some "special" natural clarifying shampoo and was excited to see it in the mailbox today.

Well, I used that shampoo and thought "uhm, my hair feels a little different"...I then proceeded to condition it as usual..."uhm, there's no slip happening here" - no problem, I'll just condition again - maybe a little longer. After rinsing and before I even towel dried, as I looked in the mirror I said "OMG I have got a MAJOR problem here". That mess was so tangled and mangled...I couldn't comb it, run fingers through it, or part it - it was snapping and popping all over the place . I started spraying stuff in it, rubbing stuff in it and praying that it would somehow normalize...naw...that hot mess just sat there staring back at me in the mirror.

It was time for a major DO OVER. I grabbed my oils and powders and started mixing like a mad woman. I then jumped back in the shower and proceeded to conduct my usual regime and I am happy to say that all is well and back to normal.

The lesson for us newbies is that this healthy hair thing is a game of trial and error and unfortunately we may have to experience the errors to find out which products work best for our hair.

Oh yeah...anybody want a bottle of Qhemet Biologics Egyptian Wheatgrass Cleansing Tea?

j

 

[ivyQuietstorm]

My fellow newbies - I'll call this one "lessons learned":

So I've been doing my ayuvedic method for the past month with great success...no more shedding or breaking and my hair was feeling as strong as ever. I did feel though that my hair was not holding moisture and hit the threads looking for the answer . I did the porous test (I think that strand is still bobbing somewhere), I did the stretch test (I couldn't figure that one out) and I did the "run your fingers along some strands test" (uh?) - well, my "conclusion" was that I needed to clarify as I had been using so many oils and moisturizers. I went and ordered some "special" natural clarifying shampoo and was excited to see it in the mailbox today.

Well, I used that shampoo and thought "uhm, my hair feels a little different"...I then proceeded to condition it as usual..."uhm, there's no slip happening here" - no problem, I'll just condition again - maybe a little longer. After rinsing and before I even towel dried, as I looked in the mirror I said "OMG I have got a MAJOR problem here". That mess was so tangled and mangled...I couldn't comb it, run fingers through it, or part it - it was snapping and popping all over the place . I started spraying stuff in it, rubbing stuff in it and praying that it would somehow normalize...naw...that hot mess just sat there staring back at me in the mirror.

It was time for a major DO OVER. I grabbed my oils and powders and started mixing like a mad woman. I then jumped back in the shower and proceeded to conduct my usual regime and I am happy to say that all is well and back to normal.

The lesson for us newbies is that this healthy hair thing is a game of trial and error and unfortunately we may have to experience the errors to find out which products work best for our hair.

Oh yeah...anybody want a bottle of Qhemet Biologics Egyptian Wheatgrass Cleansing Tea?

j

Hey girlie! Sorry to hear about your mishap, but I'm glad to know that you are back on track!! That's most important. We just gotta pick up, dust ourselves off, and get right back in the game.

 

[BeautifullySo]

Well, that's kind of hard to say considering I had a little set back. I fell madly in love with glycerin and water. I got so excited because I had some moisture that I applied to much! My hair was so sticky that it took me forever to get that stuff out not to mention, I had a ton of breakage that I did not have before!

I'm so upset and hurt because breakage is not the direction that I want to go in. I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING THE WRONG WAY!! I know this whole process is trial and error, so why do I feel so bad about this setback?

Looking for a shoulder to lean on!

I'm so sorry about your set back. I know how feels (I'm there right now). It'll get better.

 

[FindingMe]

I WANT IN TOO!!!

I am a newbie and until now it seems like everyone is going 50 mph and I'm at about 15! I've tried to jump in on other topics, but basically I got the cold shoulder . You just don't know how bad I have been wanting to converse with some folks on my level. Anyway, enough chit-chat, here's the scoop:

I have managed to put together a regimen and it needs a little tweeking, but here goes:

My hair is 4a/b natural...neck length (unstretched)
Hair Goal: SL (Unstretched) Dec '08

Regimen for the past week (I wash 2x's per week):

Pre-poo with EVOO, honey, and a few drops of peppermint oil. I have been doing this for 1 hour, but I pre-poo'd overnight last night.

Co-Wash Main & Tail Moisturizing Conditioner which I may have to get rid of because the third ingredient contains alcohol which is not helping my moisture problem.

DC with Nexxuss Humectress 1 hour under hood dryer on low. I think it's okay. It's nothing to write home about, but since I bought it...I'm using it.

Moisturize: Glycerine and Water, Seal with Castor Oil.

Everyother night I apply Carefree Curl Gold and seal with castor oil for moisture. My hair is so thirsty.

Apply no heat and wear a wig daily with my hair braided underneath.

I'll post pictures tonight before I hit the hay. I'm suppose to the 2" of perm cut off this weekend before my journey gets deep. But you'll see.

Awwww.......Well we're here for you! Welcome!! I'll keep checking to look for pics. I love the fact that you use some natural products on your hair!! I am trying to get more into that! It sounds like you have a good regi, though!!

 

[FindingMe]

Well, that's kind of hard to say considering I had a little set back. I fell madly in love with glycerin and water. I got so excited because I had some moisture that I applied to much! My hair was so sticky that it took me forever to get that stuff out not to mention, I had a ton of breakage that I did not have before!

I'm so upset and hurt because breakage is not the direction that I want to go in. I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING THE WRONG WAY!! I know this whole process is trial and error, so why do I feel so bad about this setback?

Looking for a shoulder to lean on!

Girl, I know. I was SO discouraged this week as it seemed like everything I was trying to do was just not taking me further towards my goal and I just felt...STUCK. erplexed I didn't even do my weekend wash...I just let my hair do whatever...

THEN, to make it worse, I started reading this thread that talked about how hard the water is where I live and how bad that is for your hair and basically the only solution is to get a water softener system to treat the water in your house that costs like thousands of dollars and how people were tallking about how they were using bottles of distilled water they bought from the store and i started thinking ,like "ok...how far am I really trying to go with this hair thing? Can't I just take what I have and go on on...?" whew...

I just kind of felt overwhelmed, erplexed like you know how they say a little learning is a dangerous thing, I just felt like I was reading too much and trying to do too much and it was taking me in another direction from where I want to be. I started to feel bad about trimming all my growth off from the past 2 months bc I wanted my hair to look clean and even. But I just had to sit down and realize that I am trying to grow my hair strong and healthy for me and that what I do may not work for everyone and vice versa.

I think we are all so new at this, we need to cut ourselves some slack and realize that it is going to take some trial and error on our part before we get it right and that we allow ourselves to mess up sometimes and be ok with that. I mean, we all want to be on here reporting that we have over an inch of growth every month and show pics in our FOTKIs with our hair hanging down to our butts, but the reality is that we are new at this and we have a lot to learn and we just need to go at OUR pace and not try to keep up with the vets and others who have been doing this for a few years.

ivyQuietstorm, keep your head up! We are still learning and we WILL get better at this, I promise!!! I mean we are better than we were before (even with our minor setbacks), so we only have room to go up!!!