One hair problem after another

Meemee6223

Meemee6223

Well-Known Member
Hello all,
I am new to this site and trying to take care of my hair. My hair was about bsl for about 2 years. It was breaking at such a rate that it would stay the same length. So I decided to get it "trimmed". As always I was disappointed when I left the stylist who had cut my hair to sl and I absolutely hate the hair cut. But nevertheless I decided to make the best of an ugly situation and just start taking care of my hair. I know my hair is really damaged from heat and relaxers. I dont know where to start with all the info on the internet!

I started my hair journey about two weeks ago. I've been co washing (hello hydration) about twice a week and deep conditioning (ors replenishing conditioner) once or twice a week. Shampoo (loreal eversleek sulfate free shampoo) once a week. Moisturizing (hollywood beauty olive creme) and sealing (coconut oil) once or twice a day... I have used a protein treatment once in two weeks. It's been about a month since my last relaxer and I have about an inch of new growth in some places.

Problem is my hair is REALLY dry after I wash deep conditioner out and air dry. I put moisturizer in before it's dry... Also when I moisturize daily I notice broken ends and shedding every time. Seems like quite a bit... Is it normal this early along to see this? Should I be concerned or just continue doing what I'm doing? Sorry for the long story but I have absolutely no one around me who can answer my questions. I welcome any and all advice!

Thanks everyone!
 
*Welcome *
It could be the products you are using. Is your moisturizer water based (first ingredient is water)? Also coconut doesn't work for every1 (leaves my hair dry and hard). For sealing I recomend jbco or castor oil since it tends to have a "moisturized" benefit.
 
Oh, I was under the impression that the oils worked the same for everyone... I have castor oil so I'll try that. Thanks!
 
I think you may also need to know what is contributing to the hair breakage. I had 4 major major set backs ( 1)a hair stylist put a super relaxer on my hair. (2) I used a motion relaxer once that fried my hair. (3) I let another stylist cut my BSL hair to SL, and the 4th has hair dye destruction. Now with all these major set backs what I did was was braid my hair up and leave it alone ( sew in weave) When your hair is shedding or breaking from any over processing it is going to shed until all that damaged hair is gone, but don"t panic while the hair is breaking new healthy hair is growing. My advice would be to deep condition with every wash, use the oils that your hair responds well to, and leave it alone until it starts feeling healthy. I've been through too many times, and I have never cut my hair off (most stylist would say girl you better cut off and start over) NOT. It takes time and patience. Find a protective style that you are comfortable with, and don't bother it.
 
Yeah, I have to admit that's hard to hear (it'll shed until it's healthy) but it makes since and I needed to hear it, and in the back of my mind I knew that but didn't want to believe it! Well, I didn't damage it over night so I can't expect perfect health in two deep conditions! Lol! I know one thing. My 3 year old daughter will never get a relaxer with my help! Her hair is gorgeous by the way. Beautiful curls that stretch to her bottom! Thanks everyone!

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I was also wondering if I should put it in a ponytail and just leave it that way until I wash it again or should I take it down every day and comb out shedding hair and moisturize again?

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Maybe try adding an oil to your deep conditioner/regular conditioner? My hair would feel kind of dry after air drying and just this week I added extra virgin olive oil to my conditioner and WOW. My hair feels like butter when I rinse it out and lightly moisturized when it dries. I've tried coconut oil which is a bit of a hit and miss for my hair: sometimes my hair would like it, other times not so much. My hair loves the EVOO though and it has made a huge difference. Play around with different oils and see what your hair likes. I definitely recommend olive oil!

Oh and maybe try being cone-free for a while? Just a few weeks ago I was revisiting Aussie Moist and at first my hair felt great, but as time went by it started to feel like straw. I'm so flip-floppy with cones lol But my hair is at its best when I'm cone-free. Just a thought.
 
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My hair do not care for coconut oil either. Make sure your daily moisturizer does not have protein in it if you are experiencing dryness. Try CHI silk infusion on wet hair for air dry. I don't know if it seals (I never really understood sealing) but it has done done my hair a world of difference.
 
If you feel the dryness only after the deep conditioner, that could be the problem as well. I have never tried ORS replenishing but some people consider it a light protein treatment because of the ingredients. I would try a moisturizing deep conditioner without protein once to see if that is the problem. If it is (only), I would alternate between the 2, or stop with the ORS for a while.
 
My husband says I'm a product junkie and I'm obsessed with my hair! We were just arguing about the deep condish I've been using. I think it's leaving my hair dry because it's got protein. He says every conditioner has protein. (his hair was bsl after only like 2 years) I can't find a conditioner that doesn't have protein. I was literally at the beauty supply store for an hour scouring the shelves for a protein free deep conditioner. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'll have to sneak off and get it cause I'll never hear the end of it if he finds out I'm on the hunt for another product! Lol!

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I think I've watched too many youtube videos because I went to the store and got a tub of coconut oil and a bottle of evoo AND a bottle of castor oil and said I guess this will do for now, dumped a little of all three in my deep conditioner... I dont know which oil does what to my hair. I guess I should've tried them one at a time then decided which oils work best for me... Well, live and learn!

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Unfortunately I am one of those people who always use the same 2 products for years and I don't have access to most of the products sold in the US but I really like Aubrey Organics White Camellia or Giovanni 50:50 conditioner. I find these 2 very good.

If I had the US Aussie Moist I would probably try it with olive oil as a DC.
Some useful threads:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=523985&highlight=moisturizing+dc

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=504453&highlight=moisturizing+dc
 
Meemee6223 said:
My husband says I'm a product junkie and I'm obsessed with my hair! We were just arguing about the deep condish I've been using. I think it's leaving my hair dry because it's got protein. He says every conditioner has protein. (his hair was bsl after only like 2 years) I can't find a conditioner that doesn't have protein. I was literally at the beauty supply store for an hour scouring the shelves for a protein free deep conditioner. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'll have to sneak off and get it cause I'll never hear the end of it if he finds out I'm on the hunt for another product! Lol!

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Click to expand...

welcome to the forum and sorry to hear that you are having so many problems and man to loose all that hair in one sitting.

well if you don't mind sticking out a little money there is something that works really well on my hair and my hair is proteiin sensitive so I don't use it at all. moroccan oil their hydration mask. but it cost 30.00 but it is worth it.
 
Yeah, coconut oil ain't for everyone. It makes my hair hard. Olive oil works great for me, and Jamaican Black Castor Oil world, but can be a little heavy.

What are your strands like?

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Yeah, I'm sure there are excellent stylists out there but I'll never know it. I don't think I'll ever try my luck with another stylist. EVER! I have left with sores in my head every time I went for a relaxer. "Try to leave it on a little longer." they say. Got colors totally different than what I asked for. I'm through! I have been permanently scarred! I'll cut my own hair at home first. At least if i mess it up I'll have no one to blame but myself and I can live with that...

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What r my stands like? What do u mean? R they damaged? Yes. Some seem thicker than others. I don't know if that's from damage or if I just have different textures. They are brittle. After I deep condition and air dry my hair feels dry. After I moisturize and seal my hair feels better but still breaks. I'm about 4-5 weeks post relaxer.

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Thanks for those threads. They give me a lot of options for a moisturizing dc! I especially love it when it says "u can pick this up at your local walmart!"

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I agree that the products you're using may be contributing to your problem. If you're near a sally's I highly recommend the silk elements megasilk deep conditioner in the bronze/yellow jar. That will help address your moisture issue.

To be honest and straightforward, its sounds like you may have product build up that's causing your dry hair. Every head of hair is different but from my personal experience co washing led to product build that ultimately dried my hair out. Combining co washing with sealing, and a gycerin heavy conditioner (ors) sounds like your never really getting your hair clean enough to truly allow for proper moisturizing.

What other shampoos do you own? Do you have anything that clarifies? if so use that as your first lather and follow with the loreal shampoo and a deep moisture treatment. Hth and good luck!

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Meemee6223

I love YouTube. I watch everyone's video, but I mostly take suggestions from ladies with a similar hair situation. What works for naturals doesn't always work for me.

I would suggest starting slow with the products. Incorporate a moisturizing DC. Don't be afraid to listen to your hubby. If he has grown his hair out, he probably knows about hair. I personally suggest trying rollersetting once you get going with your journey. I do think seeing some breakage is normal until you get your moisture/protein balance under control. Also remember that the damaged hair is still damaged until it's gone. You can control splitting and breaking, but you can't repair damage. I like coconut oil, but I live in a warmer part of the country.

I'll try to come back and post more YouTube pages, but here are some great channels for ladies who are relaxed. (Traycee and Sylver2 are members here). Also, browse some fotkis and blogs for inspiration.

Traycee has a great channel - Kissseventyseven
 
I think part of my post got cut off on my phone.

More channels:

Sylver 2

Sunshyne has Hairlista/ Hairlicious Inc.

Nina Pruitt

Ulovemegz

Bulidable beauty


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Do you have thick hair naturally or are your stands very fine? What works for thick hair may be to heavy for fine hair. You should distinguish what type, thick or thin, as well.

Meemee6223 said:
What r my stands like? What do u mean? R they damaged? Yes. Some seem thicker than others. I don't know if that's from damage or if I just have different textures. They are brittle. After I deep condition and air dry my hair feels dry. After I moisturize and seal my hair feels better but still breaks. I'm about 4-5 weeks post relaxer.

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FlawedBeauty said:
Do you have thick hair naturally or are your stands very fine? What works for thick hair may be to heavy for fine hair. You should distinguish what type, thick or thin, as well.





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Click to expand...

Oh... My hair is very thick, even when relaxed. And my new growth is crazy! I am interested in seeing how my hair will respond to stretching my relaxer. But my hair is so thick that even now being 4-5 weeks post I can barely get my wide tooth comb through it. I have between 3\4 in and 1 1\2 in new growth depending on what part of my head I'm looking at. I try to moisturize it first and detangle from ends to roots but I can just hear all that cracking and breaking. I wonder if it's worth it to stretch... I have no idea how to manage all that new growth, but I'm happy to know that my hair grows that much in a month. :-D Never paid attention before.

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lushcoils said:
Aubrey's Organics Honeysuckle does contain a moisturizing protein.
Click to expand...

Wow, moisturizing protein or strengthening protein, is it light, medium or heavy protein, some oils cause dryness, some conditioners cause dryness, etc... This is just too much information! My brain hurts! I see why some people don't see great results until a year in! It takes that long to wrap ur mind around all this information! Lol! I'll have to google moisturizing proteins because I didn't know they existed!

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Solitude
I have watched a lot of ulovemegz videos just because she's so silly! I'll have to catch some of the other ones too. Thanks!

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beana said:
I agree that the products you're using may be contributing to your problem. If you're near a sally's I highly recommend the silk elements megasilk deep conditioner in the bronze/yellow jar. That will help address your moisture issue.

To be honest and straightforward, its sounds like you may have product build up that's causing your dry hair. Every head of hair is different but from my personal experience co washing led to product build that ultimately dried my hair out. Combining co washing with sealing, and a gycerin heavy conditioner (ors) sounds like your never really getting your hair clean enough to truly allow for proper moisturizing.

What other shampoos do you own? Do you have anything that clarifies? if so use that as your first lather and follow with the loreal shampoo and a deep moisture treatment. Hth and good luck!

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Click to expand...

I read about clarifying shampoos and tried one but was afraid to use too much of it for fear of making my hair drier. But I had to admit that after deep conditioning my hair felt better. How often should I clarify? Is it safe as long as I put the moisture back in my hair or could it damage my hair more. Also, is co washing a good idea or is it better to just wash once a week or only when it feels dry or greasy or when it starts itching?! Lol! I'm trying not to use any heat for a long time, other than my hooded dryer for deep conditioning, and will be wearing only protective styles. I am an empty vessel at this point! o_o Thanks everyone for helping me cause I clearly need help! Lol!

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