Struggling with your natural hair? Come in here.....

[softblackcotton]

My twists did plump up but they do not have that nice sleek look.

 

[*SkolarStar*]

Maybe you are doing too much. How are you wearing your hair?

Is it possible to moisturize and seal every other day since you are using such heavy products? I assume you are doing a HOT then rewashing? Please share more of your regimen. I am missing something.

faithVA Cruzankink Stopped with the HOTs and conditioned my hair differently. I would apply the conditioner, sit under the dryer for about 30 min, then apply the conditioner again, and sit under the dryer again for about 15 min. My breaking has stopped tremendously. Conclusion: my hair was internally dry. It didn't have enough opportunities to absorb moisture. Which is why it felt soft on the outside but still snapped.

Also, after I did the HOT I would co-wash. But no more of those for me except for once per week before I shampoo because of the ceramidies (sp?) in the wheat germ oil.

Right not now I'm wearing my hair twisted under a u part. It's usually a WnG though.

 

[BraunSugar]

My twists did plump up but they do not have that nice sleek look.

Maybe you could twist stretched hair? I am grasping at straws right now. I have used big braids to stretch my hair before twisting. It works about as well as using a blow dryer. It might give you a more sleek, twisted look.

They look fluffy and cottony to me.

 

[softblackcotton]

Maybe you could twist stretched hair? I am grasping at straws right now. I have used big braids to stretch my hair before twisting. It works about as well as using a blow dryer. It might give you a more sleek, twisted look.

They look fluffy and cottony to me.

Thanks I am going to try stretching it! Anything I just want a long term protective style without weave.

 

[**SaSSy**]

I noticed this winter, my hair has been very dry. I spray my hair with one of Oyin's sprays, or a mix of diluted DB pumpkin conditioner in a water bottle once a day. Once my hair is dry, it's dry as a chip. Is it glycerin? When my hair was shorter, I never had a problem with using glycerin in the winter, but lately I feel the ends of my twist are dryer and dryer. I don't have any breakage or bad shedding.

 

[yaya24]

I noticed this winter, my hair has been very dry. I spray my hair with one of Oyin's sprays, or a mix of diluted DB pumpkin conditioner in a water bottle once a day. Once my hair is dry, it's dry as a chip. Is it glycerin? When my hair was shorter, I never had a problem with using glycerin in the winter, but lately I feel the ends of my twist are dryer and dryer. I don't have any breakage or bad shedding.

Probably so.
I love the Oyin line, but I cannot use those glycerin sprays.
Not sure whats in DB pumpkin conditioner.

 

[geejay]

I noticed this winter, my hair has been very dry. I spray my hair with one of Oyin's sprays, or a mix of diluted DB pumpkin conditioner in a water bottle once a day. Once my hair is dry, it's dry as a chip. Is it glycerin? When my hair was shorter, I never had a problem with using glycerin in the winter, but lately I feel the ends of my twist are dryer and dryer. I don't have any breakage or bad shedding.

Have you tried sealing the ends with something heavier. Oyin's Sugar Pomade has really helped me. Now I can wear twist outs for days without the ends getting dry. Turns out my hair needs a "grease" level product to keep the moisture in.

 

[nurseN98]

^^^I agree w/geejay. I was having major problems with dryness despite co-washing daily and pomades or a heavy butter(I use mowrah) solved the problem.

 

[**SaSSy**]

Probably so.
I love the Oyin line, but I cannot use those glycerin sprays.
Not sure whats in DB pumpkin conditioner.

Have you tried sealing the ends with something heavier. Oyin's Sugar Pomade has really helped me. Now I can wear twist outs for days without the ends getting dry. Turns out my hair needs a "grease" level product to keep the moisture in.

^^^I agree w/geejay. I was having major problems with dryness despite co-washing daily and pomades or a heavy butter(I use mowrah) solved the problem.

Thanks, I will have to stop using the Oyin spray during this time of year. My ends has been dry and I think my hat makes them even drier

 

[Hairness]

My hair has been shedding like crazy! It’s very alarming for me because I don’t get a lot of breakage or shedding. It started 3 weeks ago when I did a henna and indigo. It was my third time doing a henna but it was the first time leaving it in all night…big mistake! It irritated my scalp, gave me at least one scab and made my hair very, very dry (it also made me have bad dreams too). It seemed like it changed the structure of my hair too. The texture is rough, dry and frizzy and the few areas of curls that I had seem to be zig zags now. My scalp is dry, sensitive and irritated.

Other possible causes:
1. I took several doses of Motrin – I read that it caused someone’s hair to shed
2. I’ve been on a course of antibiotics – amoxicillin
3. Started using Terressentials Mud Wash again after not using it since August
4. Used a new deep conditioner: Jessicurl Deep Treatment
5. Used the deep conditioner with a heating cap for about 15 minutes – I never use heat, I even put a dry wash cloth on the top of my head (over my plastic cap) to protect it
6. Used VO5 Strengthening Conditioner over my deep conditioner right before rinsing – I’ll never use this stuff again after looking up some of the ingredients

My plan of action:

1. Shampoo (no mud wash)
2. Do a tea rinse with green tea (or black tea if I can find some)
3. Condition for 10 minutes with ORS Conditioner and rinse
4. Deep condition for 30 minutes without heat with Jessicurl Deep Treatment
5. Pour diluted VO5 moisturizing conditioner over and rinse
6. Apply Kimmaytube’s leave in (I make it with Giovanni Direct Leave in)
7. Apply oil mix of Almond Oil, Avocado oil and AVJ
8. Apply homemade shea butter pomade (Naptural85’s recipe)
9. Twist up
10. Apply JBCO mix to edges and scalp (my mix is JBCO and several drops of lavender, peppermint and sage essential oils)

Please let me know if you have any other suggestions or think I should adjust my plan of action in any way.

My plan of action is basically my regimen. The only difference is, this will be my first time doing a tea rinse and I use ORS and one other protein conditioner I have every 6 weeks or so. Actually, I rarely use the other protein conditioner (it’s a medium protein) because my hair doesn’t like protein.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[HanaKuroi]

I had this hardness when I slept in henna too. It was in the back where I smashed my hair while sleeping. I think that vo5 had a lot to do with it though.

I have to figure out what I did to get the softness back. I do know I didn't use a bunch of products.
I usually dc for at least as long as the henna was in my hair. What you dc and leave in with is important too.

Indigo makes hair dry.

Leave the vo5 out and the kimmaytube. You need a creamier leave in.

You also need to dc overnight and a few times during the week.

I'll be back in a few hours, it's still dark here.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[Hairness]

HanaKuroi - thank you! Do you think I should use the Giovanni DI alone, without the AVJ and oils? After the henna I "deep conditioned" with Shea Moisture Shea Butter Conditioning Masque. I won't use that for DC'ing again...horrible stuff.

I'm going to use Jeesicurl DCT today. I'll leave it in for an hour. I still don't think heat is good for me. I'll use a heated towel and my body heat.

 

[faithVA]

Hairness[/USER];17788389]@HanaKuroi - thank you! Do you think I should use the Giovanni DI alone, without the AVJ and oils? After the henna I "deep conditioned" with Shea Moisture Shea Butter Conditioning Masque. I won't use that for DC'ing again...horrible stuff.

I'm going to use Jeesicurl DCT today. I'll leave it in for an hour. I still don't think heat is good for me. I'll use a heated towel and my body heat.

I think you may be doing way too much. Putting so much stuff on your hair at one time gives you no clue as to what is working and what is not.

Unless your hair is dirty, skip the shampoo today. It's already dry and the shampoo is going to dry it out even more.

Skip the tea rinse until after you get it together.

Skip the ORS Conditioner because it does have protein.

Deep Condition as long as possible with the Jessicurl. At least an hour. I doubt if the heat cap caused you trouble. There isn't enough heat coming out to cause an issue. But use whatever method you like.

Skip the VO5

Use your leave-in

Not sure why you would do kimmay tubes leave in and then add oil on top of that. Too much.

Use the shea butter if that is what you use to twist.

Use the JBCO as needed.

After you have thoroughly deep conditioned then re-evaluate your hair to see what it needs.

 

[HanaKuroi]

HanaKuroi - thank you! Do you think I should use the Giovanni DI alone, without the AVJ and oils? After the henna I "deep conditioned" with Shea Moisture Shea Butter Conditioning Masque. I won't use that for DC'ing again...horrible stuff.

I'm going to use Jeesicurl DCT today. I'll leave it in for an hour. I still don't think heat is good for me. I'll use a heated towel and my body heat.

AVJ can make hair hard. Faithva is right, you are doing too much.

I would dc overnight if possible. And dc few times this week.

I used qhemets ctdg as a leave in. I also used oyins hair dew and sealed with jbco. I use curl junkie curl rehab now for my dc or bask cocoa something dc.

I agree no more shampoo.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[Hairness]

Thanks @faithVA, I wished I had seen this sooner. I've done my hair already. After plying my hair this week with pomade, oils, etc. I felt I needed to use shampoo. I haven't fared very well with co-washing, my scalp itches too much.

I did a green tea rinse and used the ORS Olive Oil RC to help stop the breakage and shedding. I realize that they might be drying but I felt I had to do something to stop it. I kept the Jessicurl on for an hour. The first 10 minutes with a heated towel, then I put my skully cap on to hold in the heat.

I didn’t use VO5.
I used the Giovanni Direct LI by itself.
I added my oil mixture, then shea butter pomade.
I applied JBCO to my edges and scalp.

I guess it does sound like a lot but I’ve done less and didn’t have good results. If I don’t put any oil on my hair, the next day my hair is as dry as cinders, feels like straw and is dull. If I don’t use JBCO on my scalp, it feels very dry.

Thanks @HanaKuroi. I will leave out the AVJ, I don’t see that’s it’s helping anyway. See above as to why I do so much. If I don’t, my hair looks awful the next day. Thanks for the product suggestions. I’ll look them up and maybe use them. I wouldn’t be able to dc overnight during the week. My hair takes hours to do (even though it’s not very long). I wouldn’t be able to do it and go to work. Also, the last time I dc’d overnight, my scalp was very irritated and itchy and my hair came too soft and broke off a lot. I will try it again when my hair fully recovers from having slept with the henna.

Thank you both!

 

[HanaKuroi]

Hairness when you apply henna make sure you keep your hair smooth. Smoothing like applying a relaxer. My hair will be tangly after rinsing if it isn't kept smooth. The only time I had real issues after henna'ing was when I slept in it. The back was tangly. I used matrix biolage conditioning balm I think. Sallys has a knock off. I had to dc quite a few times that week!

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

 

[DarkJoy]

Problem: CROWN ONLY--SSKs causing breakage

Reggie: crochet braids (or crochet weave if you prefer) w/a 3-week weave/1-week down cycle. Maintaining once per week cowash and DC in the braids. Daily moisture with tea spritzing and grapeseed and other oils to seal to the tracks and scalp.

Hair down 1 week. During that week = henna, Cowash, both moisture and protein DC, and dusting (at the 6week mark). Keep hair stretched and rolled up in stuffed flat twists with Marley Braid hair.

General Hair Health: Excellent. Henna has loosened the curl pattern. SSKs nearly eliminated everywhere else. BC in July 2011-back layers are now just touching my shoulders. The rest at NL. The sides at EL. The crown has maybe only gained 1.5 inches since July due to the SSKs.
_____
The crown SSKs started before the crochets. It is the kinkest and the finest texture of my hair texture and requires twice the product to style. It was even resistant to relaxers and remained perpetually underprocessed.

The henna has loosened the curl pattern everywhere else nearly eliminating SSKs-they were a REAL problem all over before. As usual, the crown is resistant and not retaining.

I dont want to heat straighten all the time (which elimates the problem even in the crown). Keeping it stretched isnt working in this area only.

Help! I'm at a loss --everywhere else the hair is great.

IDK what else to try!

 

[faithVA]

DarkJoy[/USER];17815345]Problem: CROWN ONLY--SSKs causing breakage

The crown SSKs started before the crochets. It is the kinkest and the finest texture of my hair texture and requires twice the product to style. It was even resistant to relaxers and remained perpetually underprocessed.

The henna has loosened the curl pattern everywhere else nearly eliminating SSKs-they were a REAL problem all over before. As usual, the crown is resistant and not retaining.

I dont want to heat straighten all the time (which elimates the problem even in the crown). Keeping it stretched isnt working in this area only.

Help! I'm at a loss --everywhere else the hair is great.

IDK what else to try!

I have found that it isn't the hair in the crown that is the real issue but the scalp supporting that area. Start focusing on the scalp more in that area.

I use AO conditioners and apply it to my scalp (per instructions). I do that weekly. I use the mudwash on my scalp at least 1x a month. And I use a blend of castor oil, olive oil, vitamin e and sunflower oils with essential oils to heal and increase the circulation in that area. And I make sure I keep that area hydrated. And I massage that area longer when I'm under the water and any time I am applying things to my scalp.

You probably don't need to do all of that. But I would recommend focusing more on the scalp in that area. It can change the health of the hair there.

 

[DarkJoy]

Hey faithVA! How's your growth coming along since your BC? Was your crown an issue before too?

I do tend to pay more attention to massaging the sides, bangs and back.. perhaps I have subconsciously put the crown off as being a lost cause years ago. I will give the scalp there more attention.

Thank you!

 

[DarkJoy]

Oh yeah and I just bought the AO White Camelia to try yesterday since they didnt have anymore blue camo!

 

[faithVA]

Hey faithVA! How's your growth coming along since your BC? Was your crown an issue before too?

I do tend to pay more attention to massaging the sides, bangs and back.. perhaps I have subconsciously put the crown off as being a lost cause years ago. I will give the scalp there more attention.

Thank you!

Hey DarkJoy. My hair is growing right along. I plan to post 6 month update pics next week. My ends are suffering from all the combing I did while short. But hopefully I can completely recover from that by June.

My crown was and issue and still is an issue. You can see my crown pics in my album. I have made some strides in the past 1.5 years. It is getting better, but I have to stay on top of it.

I think its easy to forget that it is skin and can get damaged. I really worked on it last year where touching it just pulled it out. Now I can run my fingers through my roots with no problem.

I am starting to cowash more when my hair gets longer. Just the added water helped my scalp immensely.

 

[greenandchic]

Hey DarkJoy. My hair is growing right along. I plan to post 6 month update pics next week. My ends are suffering from all the combing I did while short. But hopefully I can completely recover from that by June.

My crown was and issue and still is an issue. You can see my crown pics in my album. I have made some strides in the past 1.5 years. It is getting better, but I have to stay on top of it.

I think its easy to forget that it is skin and can get damaged. I really worked on it last year where touching it just pulled it out. Now I can run my fingers through my roots with no problem.

I am starting to cowash more when my hair gets longer. Just the added water helped my scalp immensely.

faithVA

Wow - 6 months! Time sure did fly.

I'm actually cowashing more (every other day) too and my hair and scalp loves me for it. Timewise, its not that much more than when I was only doing it once or twice a week because my hair is not as tangled now.

 

[faithVA]

faithVA

Wow - 6 months! Time sure did fly.

I'm actually cowashing more (every other day) too and my hair and scalp loves me for it. Timewise, its not that much more than when I was only doing it once or twice a week because my hair is not as tangled now.

Yeah I imagine our scalp enjoys the extra water as much as our skin when we shower. I am looking forward to trying it again with healthier hair. But it still takes me at least an hour to style my hair Don't have time for that right now.

 

[DarkJoy]

Hey @DarkJoy. My hair is growing right along. I plan to post 6 month update pics next week. My ends are suffering from all the combing I did while short. But hopefully I can completely recover from that by June.

My crown was and issue and still is an issue. You can see my crown pics in my album. I have made some strides in the past 1.5 years. It is getting better, but I have to stay on top of it.

I think its easy to forget that it is skin and can get damaged. I really worked on it last year where touching it just pulled it out. Now I can run my fingers through my roots with no problem.

I am starting to cowash more when my hair gets longer. Just the added water helped my scalp immensely.

I'm glad your hair is coming along faithVA! I know in the beginning you had some hair-owing moments . I remember the thinning of your crown now. So glad its on the mend.

Luckily, my crown is the thickest part of my hair it's just in SSK-hell and stays short--it has my whole life just thought it would be different being a conscious natural!

I'll start massaging with CO and pay extra attention during washing to the skin in that area. Hopefully the ng will be stronger and as it grows, I'll snip this mess off.

 

[faithVA]

I'm glad your hair is coming along faithVA! I know in the beginning you had some hair-owing moments . I remember the thinning of your crown now. So glad its on the mend.

Luckily, my crown is the thickest part of my hair it's just in SSK-hell and stays short--it has my whole life just thought it would be different being a conscious natural!

I'll start massaging with CO and pay extra attention during washing to the skin in that area. Hopefully the ng will be stronger and as it grows, I'll snip this mess off.

The crown is the most sensitive part of the scalp and the area that shows the total health of the hair. If the hair grows differently in that area, its letting us know that the scalp really isn't as healthy as it can be.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[greenandchic]

Yeah I imagine our scalp enjoys the extra water as much as our skin when we shower. I am looking forward to trying it again with healthier hair. But it still takes me at least an hour to style my hair Don't have time for that right now.

What do you do to style your hair? It takes me about an hour to cowash and set my hair in large twists, which I do at night. If its the morning, It takes about 15 minutes to style after cowashing.

 

[faithVA]

What do you do to style your hair? It takes me about an hour to cowash and set my hair in large twists, which I do at night. If its the morning, It takes about 15 minutes to style after cowashing.

My hair isn't nearly as long as yours. So right now I am doing flat twists. I do about 10 flat twists which takes me at least an hour. Before that I was wearing finger coils which took hours.

Even to wear a twist out it takes a lot of twists, which still takes about an hour. I don't think it will be less than an hour until the back is long enough to at least do a banana clip bun.

In a rush I can do a puff, but I definitely don't do that often.

 

[Hairness]

@Hairness when you apply henna make sure you keep your hair smooth. Smoothing like applying a relaxer. My hair will be tangly after rinsing if it isn't kept smooth. The only time I had real issues after henna'ing was when I slept in it. The back was tangly. I used matrix biolage conditioning balm I think. Sallys has a knock off. I had to dc quite a few times that week!

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y

Thanks @HanaKuroi – My hair is feeling better, especially in the front but it’s not what it should be or what it was. I’ve lost a lot of hair over the last few weeks. My hair has thinned out a lot! I had so much hair coming out everyday….long strands of hair.

I took your advice and slept in my deep conditioner. I rinsed it out the next day and didn’t feel any scalp irritation. My felt soft and I put on my leave in conditioner, followed by some oil and finally pomade. I ran out of my homemade pomade, so I used “Jane Carter’s Nourish and Shine”. I twisted my hair and the next day my hair look awful! It’s the first time I thought my hair looked ugly. It was dull, frizzy and rough to the touch. I could hear my hair when I touched it.

Thankfully I started this on Friday and I had one more day to hydrate my hair before going to work. When I got back home, I made more pomade, rehydrated my hair, applied pomade and twisted it up. It was much better than the day before.

I observed that there were hairs sticking up from my twists/parts near my scalp. My hair has broken off all over and I have little hairs about an inch or two long. I also have hairs sticking out of my twists all the way up and all the way down. Sigh. I guess this counts as my first major setback as a natural. I can only hope that for the remainder of the year I can obtain and retain the average ½ per month growth rate. Needless to say I won’t be doing a henna anytime soon, if ever again.

Question for all of you ladies: How do you moisturize your hair right after you wash your hair? How do you moisturize your hair on a daily basis? Do you spritz your hair? If so, what’s in your bottle? I think I’m missing a step along the line somewhere. Tia.
HHG

 

[faithVA]

Hairness[/USER];17840219]Thanks @HanaKuroi – My hair is feeling better, especially in the front but it’s not what it should be or what it was. I’ve lost a lot of hair over the last few weeks. My hair has thinned out a lot! I had so much hair coming out everyday….long strands of hair.

I took your advice and slept in my deep conditioner. I rinsed it out the next day and didn’t feel any scalp irritation. My felt soft and I put on my leave in conditioner, followed by some oil and finally pomade. I ran out of my homemade pomade, so I used “Jane Carter’s Nourish and Shine”. I twisted my hair and the next day my hair look awful! It’s the first time I thought my hair looked ugly. It was dull, frizzy and rough to the touch. I could hear my hair when I touched it.

Thankfully I started this on Friday and I had one more day to hydrate my hair before going to work. When I got back home, I made more pomade, rehydrated my hair, applied pomade and twisted it up. It was much better than the day before.

I observed that there were hairs sticking up from my twists/parts near my scalp. My hair has broken off all over and I have little hairs about an inch or two long. I also have hairs sticking out of my twists all the way up and all the way down. Sigh. I guess this counts as my first major setback as a natural. I can only hope that for the remainder of the year I can obtain and retain the average ½ per month growth rate. Needless to say I won’t be doing a henna anytime soon, if ever again.

Question for all of you ladies: How do you moisturize your hair right after you wash your hair? How do you moisturize your hair on a daily basis? Do you spritz your hair? If so, what’s in your bottle? I think I’m missing a step along the line somewhere. Tia.
HHG

What is in your pomade? It sounds interesting.

I'm low porosity. So after my rinse, I baggy for 15 minutes under a heat cap. Then I apply an oil (right now trying apricot), then I apply a leave-in. I let it dry overnight. The next day, I spritz with something(it varies), I may or may not apply a leave-in/moisturizer then I apply a creamy styler.

I always spritz my hair when I'm restyling. Right now I am using a tea blend with just a little glycerin and a little sunflower oil. If I get my moisture right on wash day then I don't have to moisturize my hair for 2 or 3 days. I haven't yet mastered the remoisturizing process though to share what works.

I am following the LOC method on wash day. Still figuring it out for the rest of the days.

 

[NefertariBlu]

I too have given up on shampoo's. they make my hair hard and wirery, they also make my hair dry and impossible to style.

I recently tried rhassoul clay and I love it! It didn't take long to apply at all. I sat under the steamer and when I rinsed it out my hair came out nice and soft. I used Giovanni's direct leave in and I added naturalista's juicy leave in and braided my hair. Unbraided it the same day and my hair felt soft for the whole day. That never happens when I use shampoo. Going to try it again after I take my twists out. But so far I like it.

So I'm going to start doing clay washes and co washes.