PAGING OVERPROCESSED HAIR MEMBERS FOR HELP

[deborah11]

My hair was overprocessed 4 weeks ago at an expensive/ renowed beauty salon. I posted about my dilemna a few weeks ago but i then stayed away from this board for the last few weeks because i was just too depressed and dispondent to deal with this issue. Initially, i thought i would just cut all my hair off because of the thinning and breakage. i changed my mind and decided to see what the next couple of months brings before i make any decisions. MY QUESTION: i am considering not getting a touch up for at least 3-4 months to give my hair an opportunity to thicken back up at the roots and to also give it a chance to get a break from relaxers and to help it heal from all the "hair hell" from this years catastrophies. DOES this make sense? has anyone else with overprocessed hair ever done this before? it's been 4 weeks since i got the last relaxer that overprocessed my hair. it looks like i have anywhere from 1/2 to 1 inch of new growth in different places. i am not getting much breakage right now but i am extremely careful, keep my hair moisturizeed and i am wearing it up everyday. your thoughts are appreciated. thanks so much for your help and responses. deborah

 

[Tracy]

Deborah,

First let me give you a hug (((deborah))) - I feel your pain.

Let me also say I think your instincts are dead on - laying off your relaxer - not only to let your roots thicken up but also to avoid any further over-processing by overlapping and relaxing any overprocessed hair again. I hink you should also watch how you handle the ahir right now and be sure to condition with protein as often as possible.

What kind of conditioning have you been doing since your bad expereince? And how have you been styling your hair? What do you do after washing? How often do you wash? Styling is going to be key in stretching out a relaxer for another 3 or 4 months......

 

[pebbles]

Hi deborah,

I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Try doing deep protein conditioners once a month, and try to wash and deep condition your hair as much as possible. My favorite deep conditioner is UBH conditioner by Cathy Howes. You can also try Mizani Moisturfuse or Nexxus Humectress. They're excellent as well. Don't lose heart; it's going to be o.k. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[AmilLion]

I feel your pain Deborah. Currently my hair is overprocessed. What I suggest, using as much moisture in your regimen as possible to help keep what you have on your head until the new hair grows in. I use a moisturizing shampoo, a mild protein conditioner every week followed with a moisturizing conditioner. I use a leave in conditioner rather than setting lotion and roller set my hair. My hair retains enough moisture so that I do not need to apply products during the week. However, being that it is getting cold where I live, I have incorporated spraying leave in conditioner on my hair every night after wrapping my hair. I wash my hair every 5 days.

This has helped my frizzy, limp, and dry ends tremendously. My hair is much more vibrant and has the appearance of healthy hair while I gradually trim the overprocessed hair. In Sept, my hair was overprocessed and since then my hair has grown a little about 3". I will be trimming, 1" every other relaxer.

 

[deborah11]

tracy, thanks so much for your response and for the hug. lawd knows i need it. you are so knowledgeable!. i am using protein conditioners every week, followed by a moisturizing conditioner, mostly humectress. the protein conditioners that i use are CPR and GBC by aubrey organics. in terms of shampoos, i alternate between Nioxin cleanser , scalp therapy , elucence products. 1 week use nioxin, 3-4 days later elucence. i also like the noxin strength and structure reconstructer which i will use if i am not going to do a protein conditioner. i don't want to over condition. 2 weeks ago i used aphogee treatment which seemed to help a lot. i try to wash my hair evey 4 days. i moisturize every day 2-3x's with cathy howse's DEW followed by a light natural oil or sweetcoco's shea butter recipe, which i love. thanks sweetcocoa! i roller set after i wash--no blowdryer/ no heat. probably as my hair gets thicker at the roots, i will use a ceramic flatiron to straighten that part out. i wear my hair up eveyday (yucks!!!) so i won't have to comb or manipulate it. i hope that i am on the right track and that i will see a difference in a couple of months.

 

[deborah11]

pebbles, thanks for your response. i actually have the UHC by cathy howse but have never used it. i am a pj. do you mix anything else with the conditioner or just use straight from bottle like it is. let me know about your experience with it because i might give it a try . thanks oh by the way, your hair s beautiful!!!

 

[deborah11]

thanks for your response, amillion. which specific products do u use. thanks. deborah

 

[pebbles]

Thanks Deborah for the compliment.

That conditioner is my favorite deep conditioner. I use it everytime I wash my hair. What I really like about it is the tingling effect it gives my hair. I'm addicted to it.
I don't mix it with anything. I have been using it twice a week, every week for the past 2 months and it has done wonders for my hair. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Tracy]

Your routine sounds excellent Deb. I would lay off the rollersetting if you begin to notice a lot of shedding once you start getting more growth. Also you can begin to decrease the frequency of those protein treatments to every 2 weeks soon - in about 3-4 weeks. Alternating between mositure and protein more evenly will help retain the moisture/protein balance you are building the foundation for right now.

I also would NOT use a flat iron at any time during the wait process. Heat can only hurt. I know you think you're doing a good thing helping to manage the two textures and in other circumstances this would be true. But when the hair is so delicate your best bet is not trying to take the ends straight and match the new growth to that - it's a better idea to airdry the hair so the ends match the curlier new growth instead.

Try airdrying ina ponytail and wearing it in a bun after another 3-4 weeks or so.

IMO this is a safer bet than adding heat to an already precarious situation....

 

[pebbles]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I also would NOT use a flat iron at any time during the wait process. Heat can only hurt. I know you think you're doing a good thing helping to manage the two textures and in other circumstances this would be true. But when the hair is so delicate your best bet is not trying to take the ends straight and match the new growth to that - it's a better idea to airdry the hair so the ends match the curlier new growth instead.

Try airdrying ina ponytail and wearing it in a bun after another 3-4 weeks or so.

IMO this is a safer bet than adding heat to an already precarious situation....

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with Tracy. That's excellent advice. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[deborah11]

wow tracy. thanks. i won't use the heat. never looked at it this way but this certainly makes sense. thanks again. i also had planned on scaling back on protein treatments in a couple of weeks, just as u have suggested. i will keep you posted. deborah

 

[AmilLion]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
thanks for your response, amillion. which specific products do u use. thanks. deborah


[/ QUOTE ]

Shampoo - Elucence Moisturizing Shampoo
Protein - Motions CPR
Moisturizing Conditioner - Mizani Moisturfuse
Leave-in Conditioner - Arosci
Daily Dress - Ultra Black Hair Dew/or Shea Butter mixture

 

[free2bme]

Hi Deb11,

Your story is my story. Went to an xpensive so called reputable salon and they jacked up my hair. Call me dry haired, limp haired, breaking haired ... they all apply.

However in the past 2 1/2 weeks, I ahve noticed improvements b/c I have been conditioning like my life depended on it and not playing with my vitamin regime. So there is definately hope.

My routine:

Pre-condition overnite or at least 2 hours with a medley of olive oil, castor oil, jojoba oil &amp; shea butter, warmed in the microwave for a few seconds. I apply the warmed oil to the entire hare shaft concentrating on the ends. I cover my head with 3 shower caps and let it marinate! ( I got the multiple shower cap tip from Londondiva)

I then wash hair with a moisturizing shampoo (elucence)

I then use a deep moisturizing conditioner.(aubrey's island creme spice, hair mayonnaise, all soft heavy creme)

Last week I did an intensive protein conditioner whih has helped a lot so now I focusing on moisture. I got it from Sally's. It's called Neutral Protein filler. The ingredients are superior to the Aphogee stinky stuff (IMHO)
It's very potent, u mix it with 2 parts water.

 

[nita4]

Deborah, I'm feeling you girl...I was there this past Summer. But the advice given and your routine looks excellent. Follow it through and have patience. Do your research for your next touch up and search for someone who is into hair health, check out their head and ask lots of questions before you get anything done. My hairdresser made me wait 10 weeks before she would even touch me. Told me to go home and condition my hair, protein followed by moisture. I kept my hair pinned up, but I do that anyway. But when you have to it is yucky. My hair is doing better now. Be specific when talking hair dressers and tell them exactly what you want. If they don't respond to your liking - don't let them touch your hair. SC's shea mixture is wonderful and jeri juice works well on up do's, to help retain moisture, and to extend touch up times. Best to you.

 

[NayNay]

I know this is an old topic, but I wanted to add that I have noticed a Positive difference in my hair. It is overprocessed and use to break terribly. It still breaks (the ends only) but it has stopped a lot. My hair was the WINTER BLUES (ie looking bad but I am at 1.5 months without a relaxer) so I went to a DR salon and had it set and let them blow the roots only (I KNOW bad girl) /images/graemlins/confused.gif but can I tell you I can tell the difference in my hair. I have been into the healthy hair routine since July of this year and the hair down to my ears is healthy, even, and unbroken. The hair at the ends is uneven and you can tell the overprocessed hair BIG TIME in comparison to the healthy hair. I am very excited and I attribute it to the lack of heat and the stretching of my relaxers (every 3 months). This gives me some proof and hope that this new routine is working!!!! Hopefully by next year I will have chopped off all the old and have an ENTIRE head of healthy hair!

 

[nita4]

Ditto NayNay. I feel the same way. I still have I overprocessed hair that I'm going to gradually cut off. Patience, conditioning, no heat except for conditioning and I think the extended time between relaxers really helped and of course reading these post. Picking up tips from the ladies has really helped my hair alot. My silver lining is...now I know and I won't do it again!! /images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[beana3]

ok, my hair has suffered tremendously ever since my last year in HS. I mean before that i "looked" great but i knew the truth, my hair stayed the same length from 11th grade to 12th grade, it didn't budge!!! (after i went from an ear cut in 10th to below shoulder length in 11th.. major growth)
So these past two years i've been abusing it further, even when i came to the boards i still abused it (i thought i was helpingit too, i kept using EVERY product anyone raved about.. that hurt my hair a lot). Just this past monthhave i gotten a grip on my routine..i mean its actually working. It took my a year to find the right combo of products.
NE wayz... my hair looks tore up at the ends.. I just feel like cutting 3or 4inches off my hair now!!! Instead i think i'll just cut an inch every month. Deborah sdont get discouraged, by march i'm sure your hair will be fine. (march/april are my dated months to measure my progress)
Just remember our hair has gone through YEARS of abuse, from relaxers, uncaring stylists, and so forth. The damage will take some time to repair, but it WILL get there!

 

[DDTexlaxed]

This is my story too! OmG I luv u guys! I also had to change my hair habits. I've been doing pre poo treatments, cond washes, deep cond. treatment - I put honey, castor oil, and msm powder in my cond. Airdrying is very new to me and i did this for 3weeks... last week I usedmy blow dryer for 5min b/c I was going out.... still a big triumph for me and my hair. I now roller set my hair w/ ORS olive oil...Did this last wk and experienced the softest curls ever.....Surge, ORS temple balm....this helped my edges and hairline. Sorry 4 the long post, but I wasnt 2 help as many as I can! Happy growing!

 

[keylargo]

this is a good thread. thanks for bringing it back