Possible Solution of Why I'm Not Retaining Length...

[Hairsnob]

I've been on this board a few years now and each year I'd go through the same thing. My hair would grow, it'd shed like crazy or break off and I'm back at square one. I should be BSL by now and I'm still not quite APL. I tried everything and my ends just never wanted to stick around. Heat or no heat, extra moisturizing, extra DCing, extra low maintenance, etc... I just didn't have the retention I should have been seeing.

So I just had a thought come to me over the weekend when I went to pin my hair up. Sulfur is my problem (ETA: for the chewed ends, not shedding)!! Over the years I was using a Sulfur mix on my scalp on and off and I saw CRAZY new growth and each time I'd be thinking, oh, I can't wait to relax and see my length. Instead, I'd see chewed up ends.

Okay, so you're thinking how does Sulfur affect my ends? Well, I was pinning my hair up and tucking my ends into my hair and suddenly stopped and said oh no, my ends can't get pinned into my scalp because the Sulfur will get on them and dry them out. Uggh!! All this time I was pinning my ends into my scalp and they were just laying in Sulfur all day and night!!!

So now I'm HOPING that this will be the answer to my problem. Anyway, let me know what you all think about this. I halted the Sulfur until I figure out a way to protect my ends better because I pin my hair up daily.

I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks!

 

[locabouthair]

I'm not sure about the sulfur but I can tell from your siggy you've made good progress.

 

[alive]

i think you're on to something. i don't know all the science behind how sulphur works but i can't see it being much help to the ends. please keep us posted

*cheers to better retention*

 

[havilland]

i would def keep the sulfur off your ends. do a light trim and just stick to a regimen that has low chemicals....no sulfate shampoos. no growth aids on your hair. no complicated moisturizers or oils. use things with simple ingredients that you can easily identify, since the sulfur may have cause a breakdown in the hair that could be aggravated by the addition of another chemical. stay away from mixes, etc. give your hair a rest and let simple products restore your hair. then you can start fresh.

 

[cbanks67]

Your hair may be very sensitive to chemicals. My hair was so I had to stop using sulfur because it caused wayyy too much shedding. I would also look into improving overall health with diet and exercise and using pure products. Your hair looks great. When I was stuck I had to change my products and the way I wore my hair everyday as well as vitamins.

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

From your pictures, your hair has come a long way. The thing that's helped me retain length the most is learning to be really, really gentle with my hair. Make sure your combs are all seamless, if you use a brush, use the softest brush you can find. I was doing mechanical damage to my hair by the way I was handling it. Now I cringe when I hear the occasional hair snap when I detangle or style.

 

[lamaria211]

Have you tried bunning instead of pinning and do you sleep in a silk or satin scarf? what are you moisturizing your endsd with? are you sealing afterwards?

 

[zoromo]

lamaria211 that is one of the cutest baby pics I have seen. Babies straight out of the womb always make crazy faces, but your baby made a cute one!

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

I didn't think that sulfur negatively affected the length or ends. Is there something else in the mix?
And have you been bunning your hair with the sulfur for your whole journey, or is that something you started more recently? Because if the sulfur something that was started more recently, but you've been having trouble retaining this whole time, it's probably not the sulfur.

 

[lamaria211]

@lamaria211 that is one of the cutest baby pics I have seen. Babies straight out of the womb always make crazy faces, but your baby made a cute one!

Thanks so much hes such a good baby to

 

[Kn0ttyByNatur3]

Bumping for more responses. I think you made some good progress from ya sig pics. I hope the sulfur oil isn't the culprit.

 

[JazzyOleBabe]

lamaria211

Yes he is a cutie patootie. I just wanna bite his cheeks. I love fat cheek babies.

 

[Hairsnob]

I'm not sure about the sulfur but I can tell from your siggy you've made good progress.

Thank you. I love the fullness but my ends were chewed and I knew something had to be wrong.

i think you're on to something. i don't know all the science behind how sulphur works but i can't see it being much help to the ends. please keep us posted

*cheers to better retention*

Thank you. Sulfur is known to be VERY drying so even though your NG can handle it, your ends can't. So that's part of my theory of what happened.

i would def keep the sulfur off your ends. do a light trim and just stick to a regimen that has low chemicals....no sulfate shampoos. no growth aids on your hair. no complicated moisturizers or oils. use things with simple ingredients that you can easily identify, since the sulfur may have cause a breakdown in the hair that could be aggravated by the addition of another chemical. stay away from mixes, etc. give your hair a rest and let simple products restore your hair. then you can start fresh.

Exactly, I know how drying it is to your ends and I don't know how I didn't think about it being tucked into my hair that it was getting sulfur on it. I have to look into the low or no sulfate shampoos and I just feel like I'm not cleaning it well if it isn't enough suds. I know that's not true but it just feels funny if you know what I mean.

Thanks for the tips!

Your hair may be very sensitive to chemicals. My hair was so I had to stop using sulfur because it caused wayyy too much shedding. I would also look into improving overall health with diet and exercise and using pure products. Your hair looks great. When I was stuck I had to change my products and the way I wore my hair everyday as well as vitamins.

Thank you! I'm sorry, I didn't mean that the sulfur caused shedding (it most definitely could have though). But I meant shedding from other possible reasons. I was just explaining how this journey has had some setbacks and those were all things I encountered. I have a good grip on the diet and exercise and I took a break from my MSM recently because of acne. But MSM was great otherwise. I would definitely say that I'm stuck though but I feel good knowing one mistake I was making. Thanks for the tips!

From your pictures, your hair has come a long way. The thing that's helped me retain length the most is learning to be really, really gentle with my hair. Make sure your combs are all seamless, if you use a brush, use the softest brush you can find. I was doing mechanical damage to my hair by the way I was handling it. Now I cringe when I hear the occasional hair snap when I detangle or style.

Thank you! You have a good point on how you have to be gentle on handling the hair. I probably could improve in this area too. During my whole journey I've only used a soft boar brush to lay my hair down to get it ready to pin up and I use the comb with the extra wide teeth. I see those little fine toothed combs people use and I cringe LOL.

Have you tried bunning instead of pinning and do you sleep in a silk or satin scarf? what are you moisturizing your endsd with? are you sealing afterwards?

I alternate between bunning and pinning but lately it's been more pinning. And yes, I sleep in a satin bonnet each night and never skip that. Plus, a satin pillowcase as a backup. Now the moisturizing part is what I probably have a problem with. I can't find a good one. For the most part it's HE LTR or NTM and I only seal occasionally with castor oil. In the summer time I use Hawaiian Silky or Wave Nouveau. I really wish I had a better moisturizer without so many cones and without so much Glycerine though.

I didn't think that sulfur negatively affected the length or ends. Is there something else in the mix?
And have you been bunning your hair with the sulfur for your whole journey, or is that something you started more recently? Because if the sulfur something that was started more recently, but you've been having trouble retaining this whole time, it's probably not the sulfur.

Actually, I have no complaints on the Sulfur mix. It gave me tons of new growth. But it's known to be drying so I would think that if it's drying that it's not good for your ends. And the thing is, I only use Sulfur every now and then. I might use it for two weeks and take a long break for about 3-6 months and then start again. And that would definitely account for the times I've seen breakage. I wasn't using it consistently during my journey.

I noticed a drastic change to my ends after I did the sulfur, relaxed weeks later and saw that I had about 2 inches of hair longer than the rest in an extra long V shape. The longest part of my V is where I think my hair should be. I still have a bit of that long V now and it's past APL if I stretch it but the rest of the hair is not even close.

Bumping for more responses. I think you made some good progress from ya sig pics. I hope the sulfur oil isn't the culprit.

Thanks! And don't get me wrong, Sulfur is great... for your scalp! But not good for your ends because it's so drying. Usually you make sure to keep it off the rest of the hair but I never paid attention when tucking my ends in.

 

[Pompous Blue]

I'm natural now and haven't had any excessive or seasonal shedding since 2009.

I attribute this to tea and coffee rinsing. The teas are known to strengthen your roots. It's worked for me. Even if you stop using the sulfur, there may be other factors causing your hair to excessively shed. I, also, DC with Alter Ego garlic conditioner about every 6 wks.

I'm just amazed at that change in my regimen made all the difference.