please help me with this mess on my head!!!!!!!!!!!

[kweenameena]

okay so I was all excited to take out my micros and deal with my natural hair. I had decided that I was going to transition and wear my hair in all these fabulous styles that I had seen in other people's albums. I've been soooo inspired and amazed by all of the beautiful naturals here. But when I took out my braids I didn't even recognize that pile of mess on my head! What am I supposed to do with this mess? None of the things that I learned are working. I just have a big tangled mess. Very tangled!!!! but anyways, I washed my hair with some indian shampoo that I've been using then I semi-deep conditioned with some Aphogee Intensive keratin reconstructor. My hair still wasn't untangling, even under the running water, so I slapped on some Nexxus Humectress and then I even used some as a leave-in! I woke up and still look like a mess. It's too short to put in a bun. And too thick! I'm soooo frustrated. I miss my relaxers
I will be trying to cornrow this mess later so I can wear a wig but it's sooo tangled that I can barely part my hair without flinching from the pain of the hairs that get pulled. And I'm tenderheaded!!!! wow! I just need to lay down. but before I go.....a little advice is greatly needed. Thanks in Advance

 

[kweenameena]

bumping for some responses, please

 

[crlsweetie912]

You probably have a gang of shed hairs that need to come out, thus the tangling. You probably should have used moisture instead of the aphogee. Slap a whole lot of moisturizing conditioner on your head and let it sit. If you have a dryer, put a cap on and just sit. Then try to detangle first with a large toothed comb and work your way down to a smaller one. HTH!

 

[Ms Lala]

I usually detangle my hair the following way
1) seperate hair into 4-6 sections , finger comb each section to get out tangles
2) wet my hair
3) apply lekair cholesterol one section at a time and detangle with a wide tooth comb shower comb
4) rinse & retwist hair (i cannot let my hair airdry while it is loose or it gets hard and matted)

sometimes I apply some cholesterol to myentire head while it is twisted and let is sit for a while to let the hair get soft than I go through
steps 2-4

I also have used Organics Carrot Oil Creme to detangle my hair but this is best to use during the week to detangle not on a wash day when you haven't combed in a while. I agree w.the previous poster that the Aphogee probably dried your hair out. IF you use the cholesterol or something else moisturizing let is sit for a while. I would put a plastic cap on a towel around it and let is sit. Natural hair tends to get hard when you try to DC under the dryer. I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[kweenameena]

You probably have a gang of shed hairs that need to come out, thus the tangling. You probably should have used moisture instead of the aphogee. Slap a whole lot of moisturizing conditioner on your head and let it sit. If you have a dryer, put a cap on and just sit. Then try to detangle first with a large toothed comb and work your way down to a smaller one. HTH!

I thought that the aphogee I was using was a moisturizing conditioner and not a protein conditioner. IDK! But I think that I might have to rewash my hair because I got sooo frustrated last night that I slapped some gel (the bad kind) on it so I could try and put it in a bun but it's tooo darn thick and short!!! ARGGGHHHHH .

Would now be a good time to try and Henna? would that help loosen the texture a bit?

oh yea, thanks for your help so far!

 

[WomanlyCharm]

Would now be a good time to try and Henna? would that help loosen the texture a bit?

oh yea, thanks for your help so far!

NO!!!! That will dry your hair out even further, you don't want that!
For now, just try the deep conditioning or cholesterol that have been reccomended. That is probably the best thing you can do for your hair right now. Good luck!

 

[KiSseS03]

I agree with the other ladies, the reconstructor probably wasn't the best thing to use because it's a protein conditioner, and what you need is moisture, moisture, moisture!

MsLala's suggestion to detangle in sections is great. You could try putting a little conditioner on your dry hair to help you seperate your hair into sections without ripping through the tangles. Then do as she said, finger comb the tangles out in the shower using lots of conditioner and then use a shower comb. This will get rid of the shed hair that has accumulated which also contributes to tangles.

This might also be a good time to do a trim, it will get rid of splits and also get you closer to your goal of being natural (if you're not ready to do the BC yet).

 

[preciousjewel76]

I thought that the aphogee I was using was a moisturizing conditioner and not a protein conditioner. IDK!

Oh no, the Aphogee "2 Minute" Reconstructor is most definitely a protein treatment, although it does have moisture in it. I'm with the other ladies; I suggest a serious deep conditioning session. I hope it gets better soon!

 

[keluric]

If I understand correctly, you washed your hair right out of braids? That's a no no. When I take out my braids, I detangle each little section of hair as I go to get out the shed hairs and any product build-up. Washing your hair without doing so would result in the tangled mess you're describing especially if you're working with two textures. I'd follow the advice that MsLaLa gave and if you ever get braids again, remember to detangle BEFORE shampooing.

 

[ThursdayGirl]

You probably have a gang of shed hairs that need to come out, thus the tangling. You probably should have used moisture instead of the aphogee. Slap a whole lot of moisturizing conditioner on your head and let it sit. If you have a dryer, put a cap on and just sit. Then try to detangle first with a large toothed comb and work your way down to a smaller one. HTH!

Huge Co-sign. Your hair needs moisture now...there are a lot of suggestions on the forum for how to moisturize your hair. I would probably get some avocado oil, cholesterol conditioner and whatever else your hair likes and put it in. Next you need to add as much slip as you can. you may want to add a little extra oil to help with some slip. Sit with that concoction on your hair for at least half an hour (I would probably go for an hour or more).

Now pay attention-this next bit is an extremely important step. Figure out when you're not going to be busy- and take your time to detangle - if you don't you could wind up with a lot of breakage.

 

[kweenameena]

Thank you wonderful women sooo much. I just had to take a long nap because I was soo tired of dealing with my hair. So I will about to deep condition and re-detangle!! Thanks sooo much cuz I was lost for a minute there!

 

[kristina]

If I understand correctly, you washed your hair right out of braids? That's a no no. When I take out my braids, I detangle each little section of hair as I go to get out the shed hairs and any product build-up. Washing your hair without doing so would result in the tangled mess you're describing especially if you're working with two textures. I'd follow the advice that MsLaLa gave and if you ever get braids again, remember to detangle BEFORE shampooing.

What she said. And just because of you I'll write out some instructions in my album when I get the chance. I learned the hard way that you never, ever wet the hair before detangling throughly and making sure all the shed hairs and knots are out. Also, especially with micros, you should use a take down spray or olive oil (or any oil I imagine) to help the hair slip out (rather than snap off) especially in matted areas around the edges. What you're experiencing now has nothing to do with being natural imho because if a relaxed person got braids they'd have the same mess.
So what now? On dry hair saturate with conditioner and oil (maybe some S-curl) and with your fingers I'd go on a mission to find knots where the base of the braid used to be. Good luck!

 

[Wildchild453]

Go to the crown and glory website, They have a great video on an effective way to detangle your hair. Yea it may take a bit of time but nothing is too much for beautiful hair

 

[SandySea]

You probably have a gang of shed hairs that need to come out, thus the tangling. You probably should have used moisture instead of the aphogee. Slap a whole lot of moisturizing conditioner on your head and let it sit. If you have a dryer, put a cap on and just sit. Then try to detangle first with a large toothed comb and work your way down to a smaller one. HTH!

I agree with this advice. If you don't comb through your hair well after braids serious tangling will result because of the shed hair getting caught up with the rest when you wash. Avoid protein for now and find the most creamy moisturizing conditioner that you can. Let your hair soften a little and then tackle it in small sections. This happened to me after micros one time and I thought that I was going to have to cut my hair. But with patience I was able to detangle and separate my hair from the shed hair. Don't be too alarmed if you end up getting a large amount of hair out while detangling--this is probably hair that shed a long time ago. With patience and the right products you will be fine. For now, try to relax because you'll need to be very gentle with your hair.