SmilingElephant's Team for New Group Support Challenge Thread

[Mrs. J]

I love your hair its beautiful!!

Thank you so much!!!

 

[SmilingElephant]

Hey Team!!! Just a note.....March 31st is the end of the first quarter.....this will be our starting day to post length check/ progress pics!!!

If u have a Fotki and find it easy to just link the pic thats fine.

 

[panamoni]

I'll be getting my relaxer around the first week of April, so I'll do it then.

 

[SmilingElephant]

Just wanted to drop in....

I wanted to know if you ladies had plans for your hair this Summer?? I know down here in florida it gets SUPA...not super...but SUPA hot!!! So i know i'm gonna be doing a LOT of cowashing and bunning to keep cool.

I haven't been co-washing lately bc of the crazy temperature keeps going up and down and the cold fronts throw me off....so i'm doing what i can not to get sick.

Also...does anybody here use Tresseme?? I want to try the moisture rich conditioner....is it the same as Suave Humectant?

 

[Mrs. J]

Just wanted to drop in....

I wanted to know if you ladies had plans for your hair this Summer?? I know down here in florida it gets SUPA...not super...but SUPA hot!!! So i know i'm gonna be doing a LOT of cowashing and bunning to keep cool.

I haven't been co-washing lately bc of the crazy temperature keeps going up and down and the cold fronts throw me off....so i'm doing what i can not to get sick.

Also...does anybody here use Tresseme?? I want to try the moisture rich conditioner....is it the same as Suave Humectant?

Smiling E - I still don't know what I'm doing to my hair for the summer. My BF wears alot of weave and had me thinking I might want to do a sew in...but, I'm not so sure about that. I don't know how comfortable I'd be in all that hair. I was also considering getting cornrows and bunning and just going back and forth between the two. I don't know yet. I'm so cheap anyway, I may not even be able to wrap my mind around the cost of the sew in PLUS the hair....oooooh chile...that's gon be harder than that thang !!!!! I want to try working on twist outs....I don't know how to do those...if I can master that art, I may be able to go between bunning, twist outs and braidouts. I wanna try a dry braidout too (not sure if that's what you call it, but what I mean by that is braiding my hair when it mainly dry and seeing what type of results it renders). I usually braid my hair for braidouts when my hair is soaking wet. Maybe I'll look on youtube for a tutorial.

I've never used Suave or Tresemme, but I hope you get the info you're looking for.

 

[SmilingElephant]

Smiling E - I still don't know what I'm doing to my hair for the summer. My BF wears alot of weave and had me thinking I might want to do a sew in...but, I'm not so sure about that. I don't know how comfortable I'd be in all that hair. I was also considering getting cornrows and bunning and just going back and forth between the two. I don't know yet. I'm so cheap anyway, I may not even be able to wrap my mind around the cost of the sew in PLUS the hair....oooooh chile...that's gon be harder than that thang !!!!! I want to try working on twist outs....I don't know how to do those...if I can master that art, I may be able to go between bunning, twist outs and braidouts. I wanna try a dry braidout too (not sure if that's what you call it, but what I mean by that is braiding my hair when it mainly dry and seeing what type of results it renders). I usually braid my hair for braidouts when my hair is soaking wet. Maybe I'll look on youtube for a tutorial.

I've never used Suave or Tresemme, but I hope you get the info you're looking for.

LOL!!!....i KNOW what you mean!!! But yeah find some tutorials on youtube....there's actually a thread i created called relaxed hair porn?? on here that a few of the lovely ladies here posted MASSIVE amounts of youtube vids....you might wanna check those out....WARNING: GORGEOUS HAIR!!!

 

[mysoon2behair]

Just wanted to drop in....

I wanted to know if you ladies had plans for your hair this Summer?? I know down here in florida it gets SUPA...not super...but SUPA hot!!! So i know i'm gonna be doing a LOT of cowashing and bunning to keep cool.

I haven't been co-washing lately bc of the crazy temperature keeps going up and down and the cold fronts throw me off....so i'm doing what i can not to get sick.

Also...does anybody here use Tresseme?? I want to try the moisture rich conditioner....is it the same as Suave Humectant?

Hey SE/ladies!

I joined the 10 wet bunning challenge so I will be doing that thru June. After that I plan to switch back and forth from bunning to bantu knots. The only thing about the bantu knots was that it was so drying to me. I made sure I added a moisturizer and sealed but it still seemed so dry. Maybe it was the weather...is the summer a better time to wear that style?

 

[panamoni]

OK, so I've decided to get my first sew-in weave. I won't be getting a relaxer next week. Instead, I'm going to flatiron my hair to do a length check, then I'm going to do the weave. I'll post pics of both.

 

[SmilingElephant]

OK, so I've decided to get my first sew-in weave. I won't be getting a relaxer next week. Instead, I'm going to flatiron my hair to do a length check, then I'm going to do the weave. I'll post pics of both.

I'll be waiting

Also ladies i find that updating in my Pikistrip is working for me instead of always having to link to my Fotki....we can use Pikistrips as well if u want to, to update

 

[Day Dreamer]

Hey ladies. How yall doing? I do not know about you all but I have been losing strands of hair. It seems like the more new growth I get, the more hair comes. I do not think that this is shed hair. I believe thjat this is breakage. I have not changes my routines but sometimes because of school I can only wash on weekends now. I am still moisturising and because of my job i have to comb my hair every day. I would like to do something with it for easter but I am not sure what yet. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SmilingElephant]

Hey ladies. How yall doing? I do not know about you all but I have been losing strands of hair. It seems like the more new growth I get, the more hair comes. I do not think that this is shed hair. I believe thjat this is breakage. I have not changes my routines but sometimes because of school I can only wash on weekends now. I am still moisturising and because of my job i have to comb my hair every day. I would like to do something with it for easter but I am not sure what yet. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry hun

Okay...lets see here...

How many weeks post are you?

Are u using alot of products with protein in them?

Does it tend to break when u manipulate it?

Do you have a white tip on the top end of the hair? This is the root if it is white...that means its shed hair.

 

[changedname]

Just checking in to say I'm not sure what will be happening with my hair over the next few months. I'm due a touch up next month but my neck has come out in an awful rash. I had the same rash before my last relaxer and needless to say putting a relaxer over sore burning skin was not a good idea. It burned the heck out of me! So I'm not sure what I'll be doing. At the moment I'm just treating this like a stretch but if my skin doesn't improve I may have to transition. I've finally gotten into a routine though and my hair has stopped breaking and is beautiful, soft and moisturised so I was looking forward to seeing the growth over this year.

Day Dreamer - do you use ACV or baking soda to close your cuticles after washing? My hair was breaking and constantly dry despite everything I did to improve it. ACV rinses have completely stopped my dryness and breakage. I really hope things improve for you!

 

[SmilingElephant]

Just checking in to say I'm not sure what will be happening with my hair over the next few months. I'm due a touch up next month but my neck has come out in an awful rash. I had the same rash before my last relaxer and needless to say putting a relaxer over sore burning skin was not a good idea. It burned the heck out of me! So I'm not sure what I'll be doing. At the moment I'm just treating this like a stretch but if my skin doesn't improve I may have to transition. I've finally gotten into a routine though and my hair has stopped breaking and is beautiful, soft and moisturised so I was looking forward to seeing the growth over this year.

Day Dreamer - do you use ACV or baking soda to close your cuticles after washing? My hair was breaking and constantly dry despite everything I did to improve it. ACV rinses have completely stopped my dryness and breakage. I really hope things improve for you!

Hey ShakiraShakira!! Have u tried putting either gold bond powder or gold bond lotion on the rash??

When my hair was shoulder length/APL...i hated wearing it down bc it would irritate my neck and i would get a horrible rash....but gold bond was my savior!!

 

[changedname]

Hey ShakiraShakira!! Have u tried putting either gold bond powder or gold bond lotion on the rash??

When my hair was shoulder length/APL...i hated wearing it down bc it would irritate my neck and i would get a horrible rash....but gold bond was my savior!!

Hey SmilingElephant! Thanks for the recommendation - I'll give it a try! I think we can only buy gold bond powder in this country - I haven't heard of it until now!

That makes sense because this all started when my hair was mbl and I had a curly perm. The constant wetness and the curl activator irritated my neck because I wore my hair down all of the time. But I did nothing about it and it hasn't gone away. I'm hoping I can straighten things out with some gold bond!

 

[Day Dreamer]

I'm sorry hun

Okay...lets see here...

How many weeks post are you?

I am about ten weeks post now

Are u using alot of products with protein in them?

Not too much.

Does it tend to break when u manipulate it?

Yes. I would pass the comb through it and I can hear it cracking through it but I can't not comb my hair. My job requires it. I work in a very strict office, the Premier's Office (like office of the president in US) so you have to look presentable at all times.

Do you have a white tip on the top end of the hair? This is the root if it is white...that means its shed hair.

There is no white that I can see. This looks like all black hair so I would say breakage. My hair has grown as you will see from my lenght check when i post it but i still feel like alot is lost all the time.

I do not want to do all this work trying to tyrun it around to just have it break out all the time. I am just not sure what else to do. I have been thinking about braiding it again or maybe i might try a weave (just not quite sure hot to take care as I have never had one before) but something needs to be done.

ETA: ShakiraShakira-I have never used an ACV rinse. What i do is when I am done DC'ing i will rinse my hair with cold water.

 

[panamoni]

Hi Ladies,
I decided not to straighten this past weekend, but I took some pics of my hair wet to try for a length check. I'm 12 weeks post. I'll post a pic when I load them to my computer.

Tonight's the night I'm getting my weave installed. I'm so scared. I also am not sure how long I should leave it (my sister gave me her hair), or whether I should cut it. I hope I'm not self conscious, and I hope people don't ask me if I have a weave all the time, or make judgements about me... Wow, all of this is in my head, and I bet no one will be thinking about me. Anyway, I'll also post pics when I install. I'm sure it will look nice.

 

[SmilingElephant]

I'm sorry hun

Okay...lets see here...

How many weeks post are you?

I am about ten weeks post now

Are u using alot of products with protein in them?

Not too much.

Does it tend to break when u manipulate it?

Yes. I would pass the comb through it and I can hear it cracking through it but I can't not comb my hair. My job requires it. I work in a very strict office, the Premier's Office (like office of the president in US) so you have to look presentable at all times.

Do you have a white tip on the top end of the hair? This is the root if it is white...that means its shed hair.

There is no white that I can see. This looks like all black hair so I would say breakage. My hair has grown as you will see from my lenght check when i post it but i still feel like alot is lost all the time.

I do not want to do all this work trying to tyrun it around to just have it break out all the time. I am just not sure what else to do. I have been thinking about braiding it again or maybe i might try a weave (just not quite sure hot to take care as I have never had one before) but something needs to be done.

ETA: ShakiraShakira-I have never used an ACV rinse. What i do is when I am done DC'ing i will rinse my hair with cold water.

Have u tried carefully combing your hair from the tips to the roots? I know for me at 10 weeks post that works for me and i HAVE to detangle (w/a detangling spray) to keep my ng mangeable

HTH

 

[SmilingElephant]

Also i have new pics in my fotki!

 

[mysoon2behair]

Sorry I havent posted an update pic. I will be getting a touch up next weekend and I will post then.

 

[SmilingElephant]

Alright ladies!!! Where dem pics at??? I would love to see some kind of progress

 

[Day Dreamer]

hey ladies, here are my update pics. Despite some breakage, I have had some growth. This first pic is from November 2009.

This pic is march 2010.

Hope yall had a lovely easter.

SmilingE, i think that i was going through the hair a bit too fast with the comb. I am going to have to be a bit more gentle. I will be relaxing soon and am considering a weave for a while.

 

[Mrs. J]

Sorry ladies....I haven't been on in a while. I will wash my hair tonight and post an update pic by tomorrow!!!

 

[Mrs. J]

Sorry it took so long ladies! I've been super busy!!!! I'm almost 16 weeks post!!!

The first was in November/December some time...right after I'd blow dried
The second and third was yesterday....right after I'd blow dried

 

[SmilingElephant]

hey ladies, here are my update pics. Despite some breakage, I have had some growth. This first pic is from November 2009. View attachment 63066

This pic is march 2010. View attachment 63068

Hope yall had a lovely easter.

SmilingE, i think that i was going through the hair a bit too fast with the comb. I am going to have to be a bit more gentle. I will be relaxing soon and am considering a weave for a while.

I see progress!! Great job Day Dreamer!! Yes please be gentle with your hair...treat it like fine silk or antique lace

 

[SmilingElephant]

Sorry it took so long ladies! I've been super busy!!!! I'm almost 16 weeks post!!!

This was in November/December some time...right after I'd blow dried

This was yesterday....right after I'd blow dried

This was my first attempt at a twist out

Nice hair I think your twist out style came out very cute!

 

[Mrs. J]

My bad....I didn't realize those pics were soooo big (or that I looked like a line backer in the first one)!!!!!

 

[changedname]

Sorry ladies, I'm touching up on Saturday so I'll upload then.

I've been having some breakage though recently. I don't know what's wrong. I pre poo once a week with coconut oil and then DC with AO HSR. I moisturise daily with AO HSR mixed with water as my hair hates protein. I seal with wheatgerm oil and seal my cuticles with ACV mixed with water after each wash. Oh and I use a steamer with my deep conditioners.

I wear my hair up every day and only comb once a week- the rest of the time I finger comb. I'm having mid length splits and the only thing I can think of is that it's something to do with my last relaxer. My old hairdresser combed my last relaxer pretty much to the ends. I'm doing the next one myself. With my regime my hair feels soft and looks shiny and well moisturised which is why the breakage seems so strange? I'm trimming this week and I've stretched for 12 weeks this time.

Is there anything I can do about the breakage from the last relaxer other than trimming? I don't usually use protein so I'm doing an Aphogee 2 step today in prep for the relaxer.

 

[Mrs. J]

Today, I'm rocking a banana clip for the first time!!! I think I likey!!!!

 

[Mrs. J]

Sorry ladies, I'm touching up on Saturday so I'll upload then.

I've been having some breakage though recently. I don't know what's wrong. I pre poo once a week with coconut oil and then DC with AO HSR. I moisturise daily with AO HSR mixed with water as my hair hates protein. I seal with wheatgerm oil and seal my cuticles with ACV mixed with water after each wash. Oh and I use a steamer with my deep conditioners.

I wear my hair up every day and only comb once a week- the rest of the time I finger comb. I'm having mid length splits and the only thing I can think of is that it's something to do with my last relaxer. My old hairdresser combed my last relaxer pretty much to the ends. I'm doing the next one myself. With my regime my hair feels soft and looks shiny and well moisturised which is why the breakage seems so strange? I'm trimming this week and I've stretched for 12 weeks this time.

Is there anything I can do about the breakage from the last relaxer other than trimming? I don't usually use protein so I'm doing an Aphogee 2 step today in prep for the relaxer.

I could be totally wrong, but do you think that your breakage may have something to do with your hairstyle??? You said you wear it up, is it in a bun? If so, it could be breaking for that reason (on top of the fact that your hair stylist combed your relaxer all the way through )....I don't know anything about the protein and all that stuff...at least not enough to offer anything, but that was just the first thing that came to mind. In 2008, before I even began my HHJ, I wore my hair in a ponytail ALOT and didn't do much to it on a daily basis and wore hats to work (very laid back environment, as far as dress code goes) and my hair broke off ALOT. It wasn't until I started taking my ponytails down more often (still not everyday, but more often than once a week) that I started to see a marked reduction in the amount of breakage and then my hair began to REALLY grow!!

 

[Day Dreamer]

I will be getting my first weave this weekend :reddancer:. As you can tell i am very excited. I have been doing research (youtube and black hair media) on how to take care of the hair properly and I have a few questions:

1. What is best way to keep the hair underneath moisturized? conditioner and water in spray bottle, braid spray?

2. Do you have to use diluted shampoo and conditioner to wash both your hair and the weave hair?

3. I have seen recommendations to use an astrigent like witch hazel on the scalp between washings. what is your opinion on this and what is the purpose?

4. Is it necessary for me to have and use the following products on the hair: spray on leave-in, spray on heat protectant and a cheapie flat iron or curling iron.

Thanks ladies.