Relaxed Hair Thread

[Evolving78]

I just figured it out after much research and trial and error that I have protein overload!

lamaria211

what helped me to overcome that was staying away from anything that had protein in it for maybe 6-7 months. getting a touchup helped to break up the protein too. and mixing a tablespoon of table salt with a cup of conditioner really helped too (15-30 mins with heat). oh and i had to stop leaving conditioner in my hair overnight. now my hair is back on track and i can use protein again. i stick with light to medium proteins.

i also stopped using anything that was going to heavily coat my hair. my hair was hard enough with all of the protein.

there were several conditioners that i liked that had no protein in them that i used to get my hair back in order.
Mizani MoisturFusion Silk Creme
Suave Almond and Shea Butter
Silk Elements Mega Moisture (tan jar)
Tresemme Naturals

and i started using sulfate shampoos. the non sulfates weren't making things anymore better, but just coating my hair. clarifying helped too.

Mizani Milk Bath is a great shampoo that has sulfates in it, but the shampoo is creamy. like a moisturizer or lotion. it doesn't strip the hair. Suave Almond and Shea Butter shampoo is good too.

=

 

[Nix08]

What's the loco method?

Instead of the typical sealing conditioner with oil they do the LOC method of putting oil over liquid, then the conditioner over that. LOCO is that but adding oil again over top. Being light handed of course...I use a final rinse of tea/avj that I leave in, then gleau oil, then bwc leave-in conditioner then a touch more gleau oil blend.
beautyintheyes

 

[sunnieb]

divachyk - As expected, my hair was still wet this morning.

Luckily, I got up early enough to comb it out and it was pretty dry by the time I had to leave for work. It was 29 degrees this morning! For Texas, that's

 

[lamaria211]

lamaria211

what helped me to overcome that was staying away from anything that had protein in it for maybe 6-7 months. getting a touchup helped to break up the protein too. and mixing a tablespoon of table salt with a cup of conditioner really helped too (15-30 mins with heat). oh and i had to stop leaving conditioner in my hair overnight. now my hair is back on track and i can use protein again. i stick with light to medium proteins.

i also stopped using anything that was going to heavily coat my hair. my hair was hard enough with all of the protein.

there were several conditioners that i liked that had no protein in them that i used to get my hair back in order.
Mizani MoisturFusion Silk Creme
Suave Almond and Shea Butter
Silk Elements Mega Moisture (tan jar)
Tresemme Naturals

and i started using sulfate shampoos. the non sulfates weren't making things anymore better, but just coating my hair. clarifying helped too.

Mizani Milk Bath is a great shampoo that has sulfates in it, but the shampoo is creamy. like a moisturizer or lotion. it doesn't strip the hair. Suave Almond and Shea Butter shampoo is good too.

=

Thanks I have most of the conditioners you mentioned but the only sulfate poo I have is Queen Helene Garlic poo and Nexxus Aloe rid, do you think one of those will help? Do you use sulfate poo weekly or biweekly? I used some scurl my hair feels much softer but its still breaking and shedding quite a bit. I'm scared to touch it

 

[Evolving78]

Thanks I have most of the conditioners you mentioned but the only sulfate poo I have is Queen Helene Garlic poo and Nexxus Aloe rid, do you think one of those will help? Do you use sulfate poo weekly or biweekly? I used some scurl my hair feels much softer but its still breaking and shedding quite a bit. I'm scared to touch it

as long as they are moisturizing/hydrating shampoos, you should be fine. i shampoo once week now, so yes i use a sulfate shampoo first if i use the Suave, then i use CON argan. if i use the Mizani, i rinse and repeat with that.

my hair gets coated easily, so i use sulfates to remove as much as possible, but i put moisture back in.

when i was going through all of that, i would shampoo my hair and it seemed to help. but the minute i would use some type of conditioner that had protein in it, my hair would turn into straw. so much was coming out! i couldn't dare use a comb to detangle. i would just sit and finger detangle my hair, almost strand by strand.

give your hair a break for a day or two and try the salt and conditioner method. if you don't feel comfortable with the salt, you can use castile soap. mix several drops into a cup of conditioner.

 

[divachyk]

I just figured it out after much research and trial and error that I have protein overload!

lamaria211
Baggy the heck out of your hair to up your moisture. I overnight baggy several nights straight and use straight moisture when moisturizing & on wash day. AOHSR is great!

 

[Babygrowth]

I had a dream that I put in my relaxer and my hair was sooo soft and smooth but still curly. I then rinsed it out but the middle was underprocessed so I was going to put some relaxer back in for 5 minutes but ended up waiting until my next touch up to do a correction! :-\ I really hope that wasn't a sign of things to come. I am doing my first touch up since forever and I'm nervous. My last relaxer was a virgin relaxer.

 

[bebezazueta]

I'll be getting a salon relaxer on December 18 & highlights 2 weeks after. I will just let her highlight the front & sides. The crown & nape I'll leave alone. That way I can preserve length in case of damage but I'm taking all precautions also. I'll post pics somewhere when it's all done! Excited!

 

[mschristine]

I need to wash and deep condition but I'm going out later so I would have to blow dry and I don't wanna....

 

[Lissa0821]

I gave myself a touch up with Linange relaxer last night. So far so good, my new growth is loosen and not straight by an means. It didn't burn but for the first time ever it was very tangled when I washed it out with the neutralizing conditioner. By it smoothed out again when I deep conditioned it. This morning my roller set was very full and had plenty of body.

I will now be on the lookout for shedding, hopefully there wont be any. But so far so I like it.

 

[quirkydimples]

I gave myself a touch up with Linange relaxer last night. So far so good, my new growth is loosen and not straight by an means. It didn't burn but for the first time ever it was very tangled when I washed it out with the neutralizing conditioner. By it smoothed out again when I deep conditioned it. This morning my roller set was very full and had plenty of body.

I will now be on the lookout for shedding, hopefully there wont be any. But so far so I like it.

That's great news! I can't wait to try it next month. Keep us posted.

 

[sckri23]

My friend said I had good hair yesterday. Wow thats awesome, my healthy hair practices must be working. But I have a week to go before I relax. I just cowashed and oiled my hair. Can’t wait to relax next week and show my boo my new hair!!! Fully texlaxed curls here I come.

 

[beautyintheyes]

I had my first hair dream lol my hair reverted to a pretty texturized look I really liked it might do that for my second relaxer application/touch up

 

[Evolving78]

i am going to flat iron my hair in a few. i have a lunch date with my honey and i would like to really look nice for him! i feel like Shrek right now.

i cowashed with ASIAM and followed with a rinse of Suave Almond and Shea conditioner. i applied my leave-ins and heat protectant. once my hair was 70% dried after i finger detangled, i used my comb to get rid of the shed hair. it still is a little damp. i am going to use the dryer to dry the rest. i thought about just getting under the hooded dryer, but i need it to be dry soon. i am just going to use the tension method on cool.

 

[Guinan]

I'm flat ironing my hair this weekend in preperation for my relaxer next week. I will be 25 wks post when I relax. I was going to relax on blow-dry hair but that would be to bushy for me. I'm going to Sally's this weekend to get the relaxer and some clips. I decided not to buy a chelating shampoo and just use my Joico reconstructing shampoo. Also I am going to use the neutralizer that's in the kit.

 

[Guinan]

I gave myself a touch up with Linange relaxer last night. So far so good, my new growth is loosen and not straight by an means. It didn't burn but for the first time ever it was very tangled when I washed it out with the neutralizing conditioner. By it smoothed out again when I deep conditioned it. This morning my roller set was very full and had plenty of body.

I will now be on the lookout for shedding, hopefully there wont be any. But so far so I like it.

That's great!! If I dont like the "just for me texturizer", I am planning on switching to Linange. I have heard sooo many great things about that relaxer. Any pics?

 

[Ms. Tiki]

@divachyk - As expected, my hair was still wet this morning.

Luckily, I got up early enough to comb it out and it was pretty dry by the time I had to leave for work. It was 29 degrees this morning! For Texas, that's

sunnieb I didn't know you were in TX. What part?

 

[sunnieb]

sunnieb I didn't know you were in TX. What part?

Dallas area mostly.

Sent from my Comet using LHCF

 

[mschristine]

I was playing on Instagram and I keep seeing curl boxes for naturals that you can sign up for..is there something like that for relaxed ladies?

 

[sckri23]

Relaxer next week but how am I gonna flat iron this mess????

 

[Raspberry]

So I finally identified the reason for the increased dryness and tendency for brittle ends in my hair: hard water.

I hadn't experienced hard water before and was slow to recognized it. I had noticed a big increase in breakage since moving to a new area and was combating it with hardcore moisturizing and sealing every night, which helped some, but my hair was getting weighed down quickly, which was still bad for my ends.

I relaxed 3 weeks ago and my hair came out noticeably lighter - increased reddish/brown highlights. I now know that was probably hard water minerals (iron,copper, etc) being deposited during the relaxer process while my cuticles were still lifted. Thankfully the lighter hair color actually looks good on me so I'm not concerned about it.

I bought Ion Hard Water Shampoo from Sally's and used it for the first time earlier this week and it made a huge difference, it truly clarified but is still fairly gentle. I followed the shampoo up with Roux PC conditioner mixed with CHI Intense deep condish and my hair came out silky soft and feels great, the breakage has stopped as well.

My longest layers are hitting BSL now but since I'm recovering from breakage and thinning ends I won't be claiming full BSL until I feel my ends are full and thick.

Hard water affects most people's hair but it can be awful on already fragile relaxed hair, so hopefully my post will help some other ladies who may be experiencing the same thing. There are other hard water shampoos out there and you can get a water softener shower filter as well.

 

[Babygrowth]

I relaxed yesterday with Silk elements shea butter lye mild. If y'all need a new relaxer you have got to try it. I based my scalp twice because I have a sensitive scalp, I preparted and put plaits in and I left it on for 30mins cuz I'm slow and I still have soft shiny hair with lots of body! I didn't add anything in and I'm mad that I didn't discover lye a long time ago. I didn't burn just tingled cuz I'm slow. Now I'm no longer texlaxed. But that's what I wanted anyway. Next time I know what to do differently but that's not until April and I still love the results. On Tuesday I'm going back into hiding... I will try to put up pics after I trim...

 

[Cattypus1]

Relaxer next week but how am I gonna flat iron this mess????

I'm 21 weeks post. I did my henndigo yesterday and blow dried and flat ironed my hair for the first time since about September. I used my usual Wen condish and styling gel and John Freida Frizz Ease as a heat protector. My hair came out great with about 3 inches of NG. My edges were not "relaxer" straight but I didn't want to burn myself.

 

[KiWiStyle]

I'm 21 weeks post. I did my henndigo yesterday and blow dried and flat ironed my hair for the first time since about September. I used my usual Wen condish and styling gel and John Freida Frizz Ease as a heat protector. My hair came out great with about 3 inches of NG. My edges were not "relaxer" straight but I didn't want to burn myself.

Cattypus1 are you transitioning?? 21 weeks post? If you're not transitioning your hair will be super long when you do relax!!

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[Cattypus1]

Cattypus1 are you transitioning?? 21 weeks post? If you're not transitioning your hair will be super long when you do relax!!

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

Not transitioning, no no...my natural texture is evil..LOL...and I now know why my mother and grandmother struggled with me so much when I was a little girl. I've had some kind of chemical process since I was little. This stretch started because of the info I got here on the LHCF-thank you all, Ladies! I suffered a set back last spring and finally recognized what was going on in July after my first stretch. I was almost fully BSL (longest ever) when the breakage got the best of me. I had to trim to just below shoulder length. I'm ending this stretch on Jan 20th with way healthier hair. I'll probably still need more trims to recover from this years missteps but I know what to do now.

 

[quirkydimples]

Not transitioning, no no...my natural texture is evil..LOL...and I now know why my mother and grandmother struggled with me so much when I was a little girl. I've had some kind of chemical process since I was little. This stretch started because of the info I got here on the LHCF-thank you all, Ladies! I suffered a set back last spring and finally recognized what was going on in July after my first stretch. I was almost fully BSL (longest ever) when the breakage got the best of me. I had to trim to just below shoulder length. I'm ending this stretch on Jan 20th with way healthier hair. I'll probably still need more trims to recover from this years missteps but I know what to do now.

What caused your breakage?

 

[SincerelyBeautiful]

Ok ladies I know some of my relaxed and natural ladies have been using this until it was taken off the shelves for a newer version but guess what??? I found the old formula at Big Lots and I got so excited I brought more than I could bargain for since it was only 2.50 a bottle. And they have at least forty more bottles left!!!!

 

[crlsweetie912]

My longest section in the back is touching my bra....I need retention....I gotta make full bsl......bunning, moisture and sealing......let's do this

 

[freckledface]

Anybody know of any good YT videos or methods for dusting? I always say I'm gonna dust but end up taking too much off (1/2 inch to an inch)

 

[Cattypus1]

What caused your breakage?

I switched relaxers from lye to no lye...I didn't know the difference. The breakage began immediately on the rinse-out. I have been a self-relaxer for about the last 15 years and always used Optimum (not Optimum Care). Sally's discontinued it and I was in a panic. Someone recommended Mizani BB but I made a mistake and bought the no-lye version-didnt know there was one. The worst part is in my crown...very see-through on the previously relaxed part. I switched again to the lye version of Mizani in July and my hair is recovering. I chopped a few inches then and again in August and have been in recovery mode ever since, hence the 6-month stretch.




The "scene of the crime", hair at my crown.