Random Hair Thoughts/Thinking out loud

[trueheartofgold]

Will do.

I recently discovered that my hair responds to products very specifically as detoxed hair, and that matters. I use natural products like 90% of the time or products that are 90+ % natural, and that affects how my hair utilizes and responds to products. I had NO idea!

We learn something new everyday! If it wasn't for LHCF I don't know where I would be lol. What exactly do you mean by detoxed hair? I'm trying to leave silicones alone.

 

[Cattypus1]

I've got to remember to always retain/maintain a teachable spirit. I don't ever want to get to the place/point where I am wrong, don't know it, can't hear it, and can't learn for talking.

Let the church say "Amen".

 

[Cattypus1]

Used the Pantene Gold shampoo and masque! Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner! Will be added to the rotation! I'm tee shirt drying now, then I will detangle and keep it moving.

I have all the products except for the masque which I cannot find and I have now found my holy grail product line! I concur!

 

[Sally.]

Which model do you have? Ive owned both models they carry and only the cheaper one dripped on me. I sent it back then upgraded.

I definitely have the cheapest one from LCL. I'll have to look up the model number but i went with the one with the lowest price.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

We learn something new everyday! If it wasn't for LHCF I don't know where I would be lol. What exactly do you mean by detoxed hair? I'm trying to leave silicones alone.

Very good question. I shouldn't be so loose with my terminology. I just mean deeply cleansed and containing no problematically synthetic ingredients. I have been using as my ingredients guide the ingredients dictionary at Tightlycurly.com, the database and consumer guides at ewg.org, etc.

I think a lot of synthetic (man-made) ingredients are a-okay. I just psychologically like the idea of using healthy and non-toxic natural ingredients (natural doesn't equate to healthy, of course, as there are naturally-occurring toxic substances).

I think the "only" hair issue that I'm currently not addressing is the diameter of my individual strands: I need to try to thicken them up. I never really cared before, because my hair is so dense per square inch that my hair already LOOKS full. However, I'm discovering that it might REALLY matter in terms of tangle defense!

I would LOVE for this to be my only main hair issue left: I won't ever stop being open to learning more and to new products, but I'm ready to kind of hone in on a regimen and staples, and operate on lock for a bit. The product, technique, and tool trialing is resource (time, money, energy) intensive, if you let it be.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Let the church say "Amen".

Yeah. I think I do an okay job of maintaining a teachable spirit, but the lesson was strongly driven home to me the other day:

I was discussing how another natural's hair problem might have to do with porosity. I got an "It depends on your conception of porosity, I guess. I don't think it's possible for black people's hair to be ____ porosity, only ____ porosity, because of the fact that we come from Africa and _______ . . . ." And some disparaging things were said as FACT about a tool this person had no experience with, that lots of ladies (not me) here at LHCF use weekly to great hair lengths!

My thoughts were:
But you don't have any experience at all with this tool. At all.

And, there are 100s if not 1000s of people on LHCF who think they have ______ porosity hair. I guess they/we could be delusional. I guess?!?? And there is a hair chemist/scientist who shares a video defining both porosity types, along with medium porosity, and prescriptive regimens. I guess she could be wrong. I mean, I guess.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

We learn something new everyday! If it wasn't for LHCF I don't know where I would be lol. What exactly do you mean by detoxed hair? I'm trying to leave silicones alone.

P.S.

Just FYI, the GreenBeauty Channel lady has a sciency definition of detox, as contrasted with clarified:

 

[trueheartofgold]

@YvetteWithJoy thanks for the explanation! I think I may need to detox more often. I have fine strands and I get buildup real quick. That's why I can't cowash.

What do you use to detox?

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

@YvetteWithJoy thanks for the explanation! I think I may need to detox more often. I have fine strands and I get buildup real quick. That's why I can't cowash.

What do you use to detox?

I have heard bentonite clay rocks for detoxing, but I haven't used it.

I actually go the full measure and chelate (I have to keep reminding myself to say KEY-late instead of CHEE-late ). I chelate once a month, and then I hardly ever apply anything to my strands that would "toxify" them so as to need to detox them. I do have hard water though (water with minerals and so forth that deposit into the hair). That is the main reason I will continue to chelate once a month.

ETA:
I was using ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo from Sally's to chelate at first. Now I use HairPrint's Chelating Shampoo, just because the ingredients are all natural and it is very pointedly a chelator. I'm sure the ORS CAS was just fine.

 

[trueheartofgold]

@YvetteWithJoy thanks for all the info. As always, so detailed and thorough.

 

[Bountiful7788]

time to get back on this message board and focus on growing my hair out seriously now!

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

@YvetteWithJoy thanks for all the info. As always, so detailed and thorough.

You're more than welcome. I read where you are reducing/avoiding use of silicones. I did that, too, based on the whole "you want to avoid having to use silicone-removing sulfates that dry out the hair" idea. But a lot of hipo ladies have told me my hair might tangle less with silicones, and that the person who started the whole "avoid silicones" movement has tweaked her beliefs and herself uses water-soluble silicones. I have no idea how true any of that is.

At this stage, I don't have the energy to do such a major change. I have finally solved my "moisture" and "styling" crises, and I don't want to make any sudden moves.

 

[Saludable84]

My Siamese Twist Sweet Potatoe Pie. NY heat is no joke.

Shook it up, now it's in the fridge.



It's not mold, so it's salvageable.

 

[Dee_33]

Do prepoos help with moisturizing hair before using a clarifying shampoo? I know that most preepoos stand up to regular shampoo but do they help retain moisture when going against a clarifying shampoo? ETA: using a thick dc & oil to prepoo.

 

[Dee_33]

Thanks! Phew! I wish folks would not heavily scent their products.

What is your review of the CRN algae DC?

The algae dc is next on my to-try list. I used the coconut water dc once and I liked it. I'm planning to alternate between the algae & coconut water dcs.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

The algae dc is next on my to-try list. I used the coconut water dc once and I liked it. I'm planning to alternate between the algae & coconut water dcs.

Me, too! That's exactly what I'm thinking!

 

[Destiny9109]

I was just with my cousin shopping and she bought some Keracare Humecto, it brought back memories of when that stuff was the hg moisturizing conditioner on the hair forums. It seems like nobody uses it anymore.

 

[Sally.]

All this time I thought I was lo po but I am normal and high porosity, 3c-4a type, fine, high density. I have been on the low po train hard(avoiding protein, DCing with heat etc). All along I was making my hair worse. It explains a lot. Like how my hair would look and feel better after my rate protein treatments and why it grows better in protective styles. So now I am back at square one. On YouTube finding hi po information and re-reexamining products and methods. Fortunately I braided my hair about a week ago so I will keep using my excel 21 and s curl spray.

Awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience. I've been wanting to do the komaza hair analysis for the longest but kept putting it off because of the price. But at this point in my hair journey, I NEED to know my porosity for sure so I plan to order it as soon as I get paid in July.

 

[Sally.]

I was just with my cousin shopping and she bought some Keracare Humecto, it brought back memories of when that stuff was the hg moisturizing conditioner on the hair forums. It seems like nobody uses it anymore.

I was just thinking about this! I've been on the board for years now and I remember when products straight out JC Penneys hair salon like keracare and mizani were considered luxury and holy grail. Not saying those products werent good, but we kept searching for better because we knew our hair needed something more.

I think where we are now is a testament to how much black women helped change modern scientific research on black hair. We have driven research and product development in such a way that these companies realized that if they kept offering us something like Lusters Pink Lotion as our only moisturizer option, we would literally create other better alternatives from scratch.

I think about this a lot when I watch someone like naptural85 channel. I thought her 4b curls looked one way for years (Coily but lacked a sheen) but in her latest videos, her hair is so healthy, hydrated and shiny--more than it's ever been. She does use a lot of diy homemade concoctions but her hair also speaks to the uptick in the quality of hair products now on the market. This was driven by black women when hair care companies werent truly trying to learn what it is our natural hair needs. Most of the products that were developed for black hair were simply residuals from studying white hair.

 

[Sally.]

I'm still figuring it out. Here is a helpful video (porosity matters!).

ETA: There are many threads here that come up if you search "moisture protein balance," too.

Thanks so much! I'm staying in a hotel with friends this weekend and don't have my headphones but I will watch it as soon as I get home on Sunday!

 

[Sally.]

I have a cheap, off-brand steamer I got from Ebay . . . so off-brand it has no NAME.

I attached a picture of it at this post: https://longhaircareforum.com/threa...nking-out-loud.541651/page-1243#post-23941423

Oh ok. Other than the water dripping I like the steamer for the most part. It feels like a luxurious hair spa session while I'm sitting under it. However I want a tabletop steamer because the standup one takes up a lot of space in my little apartment. But I'm afraid if I get a tabletop my steaming experience won't be nearly as nice.

 

[Sally.]

The best thing is to either use a line that promotes both, or rotate between the two. Just make sure you read the ingredient list. You have to watch your styling products as well. schedule a light protein at least 2-4 weeks and a moderate protein 4-6 week. In corporate moisture throughout that time.

Don't go to bed with wet hair
Don't deep condition for longer that 15-30 mins. Anything else is overkill and your hair can only absorb so much moisture.
Make sure you are properly cleansing your hair to receive moisture, or protein.
Only so protein treatments on shampooed hair.
Don't over Moisturize your hair.
Refrain from product buildup.

Thanks for your response. This is helpful!

 

[trueheartofgold]

You're more than welcome. I read where you are reducing/avoiding use of silicones. I did that, too, based on the whole "you want to avoid having to use silicone-removing sulfates that dry out the hair" idea. But a lot of hipo ladies have told me my hair might tangle less with silicones, and that the person who started the whole "avoid silicones" movement has tweaked her beliefs and herself uses water-soluble silicones. I have no idea how true any of that is.

At this stage, I don't have the energy to do such a major change. I have finally solved my "moisture" and "styling" crises, and I don't want to make any sudden moves.

I know it can take time to figure out what works and I know exactly what you're saying. I'll see if not using silicones actually make a difference. Time will tell. Thanks again! I really appreciate it!

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I've been waiting to relax my hair, but I think Monday night I'm gonna do it.

 

[Sally.]

I know you didnt ask me, but throwing my two cents in: it would take a long time to reach moisture overload levels. I wouldn't worry about it so much as I would be worried about protein overload.

Use protein free DCs for a while and once your hair gets to a good place, depending on what you are using, 2-6 weeks is good. With a hard protein, I found it to be more cost effective because I'd use it every 6-8 weeks and never had an issue. If you want to be really safe, just a medium treatment every 4 weeks.

Right now, probably just stick with moisture treatments until your hair stops breaking as much, then begin incorporating your treatments.

Last, work with your porosity, as it can also determine frequency of protein use.

Thanks for your 2 cents! Do you know if the aphogee 2 minute is a light or medium treatment?

I'm actually thinking of just doing the hardcore aphogee 2-step next week because I haven't done it in almost a year. Since I haven't done it in so long I think my hair will tolerate it well. My hair has responded really well to the hardcore protein in the past when it was breaking.

 

[AgeinATL]

I smelled it recently. It's a lot lighter (almost barely noticeable) than when I used it two years ago. The consistency also changed.

Thanks for this info. I used this DC when she first started selling it. It was amazing. I then tried it once she went mainstream. The smell was LOUD (like peppermint patties) the consistency was different, and I hated the results. I will definitely give it another try after hearing that she turned down the fragrance and changed the consistency.

 

[Sally.]

I was going to do a DIY fenugreek DC first, but NappyHeadedJojoba has me CONVINCED to try this asap, even though I have a couple of bottles of Soultanicals Hair Glide.

DIY Product: NappyHeadedJojoba's Prepoo & Detangler

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces coconut oil
• 3 ounces conditioner (WITH SLIP!)
• 1 ounce coconut water vinegar
• 1 ounce 100% coconut cream
• essential oils of your choice

Ooh. Please let us know how that works for you. I wouldn't mind making my own detangler since soultanicals is kinda expensive, takes forever to ship, and often out of stock.

I just made a post about how black women have helped usher in attention to research on black hair. But I also wonder if some of these companies are simply going on YouTube, seeing what works for black women who have taken it upon themselves to be Kitchen Mixtresses, and then copying them. I guess we will know if we happen to see coconut water vinegar in products going forth.

 

[Saludable84]

Thanks for your 2 cents! Do you know if the aphogee 2 minute is a light or medium treatment?

I'm actually thinking of just doing the hardcore aphogee 2-step next week because I haven't done it in almost a year. Since I haven't done it in so long I think my hair will tolerate it well. My hair has responded really well to the hardcore protein in the past when it was breaking.

2 minute is light. Every other week should be good but it could also depend on the person. I used to use it every two weeks.

I've never used the 2-step because I used to use emergence or polymedic (just as hardcore) but I would use them every 6 weeks.

If your hair is breaking to the touch, I would avoid it, but if it's stretching and breaking, definitely use it.

 

[Saludable84]

Thanks for this info. I used this DC when she first started selling it. It was amazing. I then tried it once she went mainstream. The smell was LOUD (like peppermint patties) the consistency was different, and I hated the results. I will definitely give it another try after hearing that she turned down the fragrance and changed the consistency.

I love algae. I'll be in tar.get tomorrow anyway....

 

[shasha8685]

I think this collagen supplement is doing my hair some good (even though I'm taking it for my skin). I'm finding that my hair feels strong and is holding on to moisture pretty well despite me not doing a protein treatment in 2 weeks.