Somebody,...Anybody,....HELP MY HAIR!

[bollyhair]

Ok, here's the thing! My hair is drier than the Sahara Desert!

Seriously! My 4B mildly relaxed hair is very dry and brittle and I'm not sure what the culprit is. Here are the things that I have used on my hair in the past couple of weeks: BIGEN color (Oriental Black), Surge (only for a couple of days, HASK Placenta (?), Frenchee's (only for couple of days), Neutrogena Serum, Wild Growth oil. Of course I haven't used all of these at once

, but I think something out of that list has caused my hair to all of the sudden become VERY DRY and BRITTLE. Especially in the crown area. I wash my hair about once a week and I even did a conditioner wash w/ a moisturizing conditioner (TIGI Moisture Mania), but so far NOTHING IS HELPING THIS STRAW-LIKE HAIR!!!

I'm calling on all of you guys to help me come up w/ something, please!?!?

 

[patience]

When was the last time you deep conditioned and had a trim? Also, what kind of shampoo do you use? What kind of conditioner are you using? Your hair could have possibly "turned" on one of those...it happened to me with Creme of Nature shampoo. Also, are you drinking enough water?

 

[Vanessa22]

The color that you put in your hair could possibly be the reason for the extra dryness that you're dealing with. Was this a rinse or a permanent application?

I would suggest incorporating a few more conditioner washes during the week into your schedule to combat this. By the way, a good deep conditioning treatment after shampooing should also help out. I've been using LeKair or Nexxus Humectress for this. HTH

 

[Falon]

I see that you used serums and oils. But what about a mosturizer? The oils and serums lubricate the strands and make combing easier and add shine. But they are not penetrating the hair to mosturize it. Why don't you do a deep conditioning treatment for at least 20 minutes w/ a heating cap or under a bonnet dryer. Buy a good conditioner that has protein in it and rinse it out well. I use to be under the mistaken impression that leaving conditioner in my hair would soften it wrong! It did the absolute opposite. I also find that I don't like leave in conditioners on my 4b hair they make it dry and brittle. I avoid them.

Then use a your serums and oils as usual but try Nuetrogena's triple moisture, from the same line as the serum. It's amazing and cost $7 or $8 bucks. Or try something from the profectiv line. I have tried these two products in the last two weeks and they leave my hair soft and they smell great. Avoid heat maybe do a braidout or use the pony tail airdrying method....if you are already doing all of these things then it may be a shampoo problem or you just might be using too many products that don't agree with your hair. Good luck

 

[bollyhair]

I used the TIGI MOISTURE MANIA ("moisture my

) shampoo and the TIGI MOISTURE MANIA (Again,..."moisture my

) conditioner. Also the BIGEN haircolor is a permanent color, BUT it does NOT contain any peroxide nor ammonia and is mixed w/ water, so it's not supposed to be harmful since it has nothing in it to harm the hair. I forgot to add the I used the SURGE ONLY on my scalp and I was careful not to get it on my hair because I didn't want it to DRY OUT!

(Isn't it ironic,...doncha think?) and also I used the Elasta Mango butter, which doesn't seem to anything for me anymore but make it feel "wet", but not moisturized. I do not really deep condition my hair, I must say.

 

[Vanessa22]

Try deep conditioning it with a good moisturizing conditioner and let us know how that turns out. You might need to incorporate this after every shampoo wash. Good luck!

 

[Nonie]

[ QUOTE ]
Falon said:
I see that you used serums and oils. But what about a mosturizer? The oils and serums lubricate the strands and make combing easier and add shine. But they are not penetrating the hair to mosturize it. Why don't you do a deep conditioning treatment for at least 20 minutes w/ a heating cap or under a bonnet dryer. Buy a good conditioner that has protein in it and rinse it out well. I use to be under the mistaken impression that leaving conditioner in my hair would soften it wrong! It did the absolute opposite. I also find that I don't like leave in conditioners on my 4b hair they make it dry and brittle. I avoid them.

Then use a your serums and oils as usual but try Nuetrogena's triple moisture, from the same line as the serum. It's amazing and cost $7 or $8 bucks. Or try something from the profectiv line. I have tried these two products in the last two weeks and they leave my hair soft and they smell great. Avoid heat maybe do a braidout or use the pony tail airdrying method....if you are already doing all of these things then it may be a shampoo problem or you just might be using too many products that don't agree with your hair. Good luck

[/ QUOTE ]

Falon, that's exactly what I thought. I don't know much about the products mentioned, but I got the impression that none of them moisturize. Placenta sounds like a protein to me, which would mean it is very drying. The moisturizing conditioner should probably be used in a deep conditioning treatment as Falon suggested (plastic cap under a dryer). And since you use serums, a clarifying wash is imperative to remove build-up otherwise all your other effort goes to waste...and this may be the reason your hair has not received any benefits from your conditioner wash.

 

[simone103]

Hi,
I have 4b type relaxed hair. My hair used to be really dry. About 3 three weeks ago, I started using barry fletcher glo n' grow creme hairdress and then immediately following it up with hot six oil spray (this stuff is the bomb) every day if not every other day. The combination really leaves my hair moist. I also lightly grease my scalp once a week with barry fletcher "grease", which is light and doesn't contain any petroleum or mineral oil. Do you use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner? Elasta QP conditioning cream shampoo is really moisturizing, doesn't strip my hair, and doesn't contain any sulfates. I noticed that you said you use the Neutrogena serum, but you may want to try their cream leave-in. It's pretty moisturizing. The serum doesn't really do anything for my hair, as a matter fact most serums never do anything for my hair. I also use motions CPR as a deep conditioner once a week. I know it's probably considered a protein conditioner, but it really leaves my hair feeling soft and detangled. Also, you may want to increase your water intake. HTH

 

[patience]

[ QUOTE ]
bollyhair said:
I used the TIGI MOISTURE MANIA ("moisture my

) shampoo and the TIGI MOISTURE MANIA (Again,..."moisture my

) conditioner. Also the BIGEN haircolor is a permanent color, BUT it does NOT contain any peroxide nor ammonia and is mixed w/ water, so it's not supposed to be harmful since it has nothing in it to harm the hair. I forgot to add the I used the SURGE ONLY on my scalp and I was careful not to get it on my hair because I didn't want it to DRY OUT!

(Isn't it ironic,...doncha think?) and also I used the Elasta Mango butter, which doesn't seem to anything for me anymore but make it feel "wet", but not moisturized. I do not really deep condition my hair, I must say.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you hair was fine before you colored it, then something in that dye could very well be the culprit. Since it's a permanent color, SOMETHING is in there to make your hair change color and whatever that is probably contributed to the problem that you're having. As for the SURGE, you may want to give it a break for a while. I've yet to see anyone put something on their scalp without having ANY of it get into their hair...if you pulled that off, you've got skillz girlee!

I'd definitely suggest a deep conditioner in combo with either a hair dryer or heat cap. I'd also suggest a moisturizing shampoo. Pay attention to the ingredients in them. Creme of Nature used to work great for me. The Nexxuss and Keracare as well as Mizani line of shampoos and conditioners worked great for me as well. You can purchase them at JCPenney in the salon. You may also want to consider a trim and wearing "protective" styles for a while such as up dos, buns, etc.

 

[Poohbear]

I think it was the color that made your hair dry...check out this link and read Tracy's first post: Bootcamp 2004 - For Colored Girls Who Consider

 

[bettydavis]

Ditto on trying the Neutrogena leave in. It really moisturises.

 

[sunny]

air dry ur hair more often and apply coconut oil to wet hair

 

[SherryLove]

You May also want to try adding some Essential Fatty Acids(flax seed oil, borage oil and primrose oil? to your diet....

 

[CheerBear]

That Hask placenta might have added to the problems also...I used it a few weeks ago and my hair was hard and brittle for about 2 weeks no matter what I did to it,it's probably the combination od SD-40 and protein in it

 

[vickiepickles]

When my hair has been that way, I needed to clarify my hair because I had too much buildup. when you use serums that contain 'cones, you need to clarify more often because silicones inhibit moisterizers and deep conditioners from penetrating your hair. Try clarifying with a mild clarifying shampoo or add some lemon juice to an instant conditioner in a con wash and follow up with a deep conditioner and moisturize your hair well with a light oil or something while wet. This might help you.

 

[bollyhair]

[ QUOTE ]
vickiepickles said:
When my hair has been that way, I needed to clarify my hair because I had too much buildup. when you use serums that contain 'cones, you need to clarify more often because silicones inhibit moisterizers and deep conditioners from penetrating your hair. Try clarifying with a mild clarifying shampoo or add some lemon juice to an instant conditioner in a con wash and follow up with a deep conditioner and moisturize your hair well with a light oil or something while wet. This might help you.

[/ QUOTE ]

VIckie, is this not drying to the hair? I think that I always thought that clarifying shampoo was too harsh for the hair and dried it out. The only time that I've used a clarifying shampoo IN MY LIFE is Occasionally in the summer when I go swimming!

So by removing the product buildup, this will be moisturizing?

 

[patience]

If you have build up, your hair is likely to be dry anyway. By clarifying and THEN following it up with a good conditioner, you actually pave the way for your hair to absorb the effects of the conditioning treatments (for lack of a better description at the moment)...

 

[bollyhair]

[ QUOTE ]
SherryLove said:
You May also want to try adding some Essential Fatty Acids(flax seed oil, borage oil and primrose oil? to your diet....

[/ QUOTE ]

What do these do? I thought they just assisted in growth. I do take Cod Liver Oil pills

thinking that these were good for growth, and I also take Vitamin Shoppe's HSN formula. If I started the EFA's, how long do you think before I noted a difference is moisture?

 

[patience]

You should also be drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily to hydrate you on the inside...which will result in moisturized hair on the outside. If you can't drink that much yet, supplement with water rich FRESH/RAW fruits and veggies.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

Getting your hair back in good conditioner doesn't happen overnight. If it is dry, it is going to take a lot of treatments to restore your hair back to health. You may even need to trim.

Sounds like you may have overloaded on the protein. You mention placenta and Surge. You will need to do deep moisturizing treatments to combat the dryness and brittleness. I may take several treatments to notice a difference.

Also finding a daily moisturizer for you hair is key. Oils are fine but I believe they mainly should me used to seal in moisture.

I agree with Patience on the water intake. I drink at least 1/2 a day and on most days more.

 

[vickiepickles]

[ QUOTE ]
patience said:
If you have build up, your hair is likely to be dry anyway. By clarifying and THEN following it up with a good conditioner, you actually pave the way for your hair to absorb the effects of the conditioning treatments (for lack of a better description at the moment)...

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto! Bolly, I find that my hair works better when I clarify at least every 6 weeks especially when I have used a lot of styling products. Sometimes what keeps me away from having to clarify every 6 weeks or so is using Aubrey Organics shampoos. They don't necessarily give me the slip that other shampoos do, but after using the AO shampoos, my hair seems to respond to conditioners as well as if I used a clarifying shampoo.

 

[Sweetyb]

[ QUOTE ]
patience said:
If you have build up, your hair is likely to be dry anyway. By clarifying and THEN following it up with a good conditioner, you actually pave the way for your hair to absorb the effects of the conditioning treatments (for lack of a better description at the moment)...

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm so glad bollyhair posted these question.
.... and this was the answer I was looking for (to my own problem). Good luck bollyhair, there's a lot of great advice coming from these ladies here