SUPER Dry, RED Hair!!!

[Neen]

My son is 6 years old and has beautiful red hair(and I mean red...like the rugrat's Chuckie). Anyway, it is soooo dry, like carpet

. He has coarse, curly/kinky hair and I assume the dryness is due to it being sooo red but it's like there is nothing that will moisturize it. I will put a good conditioner on his hair but the next morning it is dry as ever. No one in my family has red hair except for my other son who is 19 months old, so no one knows what to do. I want to grow it longer but I am hesitant since I don't know how to keep it moisturized. Has anyone here had experience with african american red hair? I have used moisturemax, Wild Growth, B&B, Sta Soft Fro, Curl activator...I have used it all. Please Help!

 

[Erica78]

~*BUMP*~

 

[Neen]

Bump

 

[NAY007]

what about s curl? or pink oil?

 

[Height]

Have you tried a rosemary spritz? Tight coils don't reflect light like straight or wavy hair does so his hair may seem dry when it is not.

 

[Nyambura]

I don't think the dryness is related to his hair color. The dryness may have more to do with his hair texture. I know you said you put a good conditioner in his hair - but two things came to mind:

(1) perhaps what's proven to be a good conditioner for you and your other little one doesn't work as well on your six-year-old; I don't which conditioners you've tried but I like Elucence, Aubrey Organics and Jason Naturals (esp. the Vitamin A, C, and E conditioner)...I know Supergirl has found great success with the Deep Brilliance line (sold through JC Penney's, I believe)...I also like Clairol Herbal Essence's Fruit Fusions Hydrating conditioner and recently picked up Suave Professionals Humectant conditioner based on Hairlove's rec...there are many conditioners to choose from...don't give up hope!

(2) I don't have red hair but my hair has to receive moisture daily ... at the risk of sounding like a broken record, have you tried spritzing his hair with distilled water? Maybe try a mixture of d-water and jojoba oil or olive oil and spritz it in his hair daily (or at least 2x/day, morning and night).

Also, does your little one sleep on a satin pillowcase? The cotton would also be drying to his hair. Perhaps he's also got product buildup - if you're concerned about using a harsh shampoo on him, I know a number of members have found success using baking soda as an effective clarifier.

Also, a preshampoo treatment of honey (a humectant) mixed with the oil of your choice might also help...

Good luck!

 

[Neen]

Thanks for the replies. I never thought of the cotton pillowcase. I'll have to try the spritz idea. I guess I could mix the rosewater and olive oil. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

 

[Neen]

[ QUOTE ]
NAY007 said:
what about s curl? or pink oil?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've used both and neither worked

 

[katie]

I actually think it could have to do with his hair being red.I have a natural blonde streak and it tends to get waay drier than the rest of my hair ,is more prone to breakage and is the first part of my hair to get splits too.
I still haven't found a way to prevent splits in that area.If you figure out anything that works for your son I would like to know.Sorry I couldn't be of more help though.

 

[Neen]

My hair is a medium to light brown color and it has always been drier and more likely to break than my friends and family with black hair. That's why I thought it was the color as well.

 

[Nyambura]

That's an interesting concept and I'm open to learning more about pigment as a possible source of dryness. If you're unable to get any helpful information from LHCF (perish the thought!), this American website dedicated to red hair might help.

In addition, other things found...

For what it's worth, I did a quick Google search and stumbled upon this website dedicated to red heads:

<font color="brown">All colours and hues of hair are made up of three distinct proponents.

The Cuticle
is the outermost layer, which like the cover of a cable or wire, protects the hair from the weather.

The Cortex
is the heart and soul of the hair. This is where the colour and texture of the hair is determined - where the pigments and oil pockets that generate the sheen and condition of the hair are hidden.

The Medulla
is the innermost core of the hair. This is where the body and strength of the hair is determined.


Hair is basically made up of protein and moisture. There are 21 Amino Acids in hair protein and they account for round about 80% of the weight of the hair. Moisture is in the remaining part of the hair, apart for about 15% of Fatty Acids. There are trace elements making up less than 1% of your Red hair and these particles provide a real indicator of the health of the person. Within these trace elements a doctor can ascertain a lack of certain vital minerals and suggest a new diet to rectify any deficiency.

As many as 25 elements have been isolated in hair strands, including gold and aluminium.

Red Hair grows at the average rate of .35 millimetres a day, round about an inch every six weeks. If you’re in the mood, you can just keep growing your hair - but be warned, once it reaches about 4 feet long, it tends to stop.

Red hair is Red because of a blending of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin. Although the main chemical in any pigment is a complex iron compound called Trichosiderin. From 100 grams of Redhair, only 40 milligrams of Trichosiderin is found. The Trichosiderin changes the colour make-up of hair, giving it the rich, attractive tint that we know and love as Auburn. </font>

There's also the Red Head Encyclopedia by Stephen Douglas.

In typing all this stuff, something else came to mind: your red-haired sons are in good company Malcolm X and Carrot Top (she was a business woman and entertainer who was the toast of Paris in the early 20th Century).

 

[Neen]

WOW! Thanks for all the information. I never knew any of that about red hair, although the last time I did a search on the web was a few years ago. Thanks again

 

[Purtygurly]

I have bunches of natural... I don't know, reddish brown or auburn highlights all over. A good 35 or 40% of my hair is this color.

What REALLY helped me was deep conditioning with keracare humecto mixed with oil, wild growth oil, razac leave in (motions nourish is also good), ors carrot oil and hollywood beauty carrot creme.

It took me a while to figure out why my hair just seemed to be dry all the time, then it took a while to find stuf that works.

 

[KansasHalo]

Maybe Stay-Soft-Fro will work for your son. I worked for my nephew whp has extremely dry/coarse hair.

 

[CaramelKiss]

[ QUOTE ]
Nyambura said:
I don't think the dryness is related to his hair color. The dryness may have more to do with his hair texture. I know you said you put a good conditioner in his hair - but two things came to mind:

(1) perhaps what's proven to be a good conditioner for you and your other little one doesn't work as well on your six-year-old; I don't which conditioners you've tried but I like Elucence, Aubrey Organics and Jason Naturals (esp. the Vitamin A, C, and E conditioner)...I know Supergirl has found great success with the Deep Brilliance line (sold through JC Penney's, I believe)...I also like Clairol Herbal Essence's Fruit Fusions Hydrating conditioner and recently picked up Suave Professionals Humectant conditioner based on Hairlove's rec...there are many conditioners to choose from...don't give up hope!

(2) I don't have red hair but my hair has to receive moisture daily ... at the risk of sounding like a broken record, have you tried spritzing his hair with distilled water? Maybe try a mixture of d-water and jojoba oil or olive oil and spritz it in his hair daily (or at least 2x/day, morning and night).

Also, does your little one sleep on a satin pillowcase? The cotton would also be drying to his hair. Perhaps he's also got product buildup - if you're concerned about using a harsh shampoo on him, I know a number of members have found success using baking soda as an effective clarifier.

Also, a preshampoo treatment of honey (a humectant) mixed with the oil of your choice might also help...

Good luck!

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto that, but I also want to say it's true that sleeping on silk, satin, or highly refined polyester helps incredibly! Over the holidys, I forgot to bring something with me to my in-laws house and every morning my hair was dry as a weed. I had bad hair for a week and had to moisturize and style every day!! Now that I have my satin, I have a good hair day every morning. Sometimes, I apply a little warm oil and I comb and go or u can moisturize at night before your son goes to bed. By the way, it's always the back of my hair that gets dry from not using satin. The front and top of my hair is always soft.

 

[Teva]

Which SCurl do you use on his hair? Do you use the spray or the activator gel?

I have found that the spay is not sufficent for keeping moisture in my hair. After spraying I have to apply a cream to keep the moisture in. If I use the activator gel then the moisture seems to stay for days.

 

[Neen]

I have an update. My son's hair is doing wonderful! Thanks to everyone who had suggestions. I switched his pillowcase to satin and began spraying distilled water and olive oil on his hair. It made a world of difference

His hair is so soft and moisturized! Thanks again.

 

[Nyambura]

[ QUOTE ]
Neen said:
I have an update. My son's hair is doing wonderful! Thanks to everyone who had suggestions. I switched his pillowcase to satin and began spraying distilled water and olive oil on his hair. It made a world of difference

His hair is so soft and moisturized! Thanks again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Awesome!