Thin/Fine Support Thread

[ItsyBitsy]

Ladies,

I need suggestions for a good every day moisturizer. My hair is on the dry side and I can't seem to find anything that works.

All suggestions are appreciated.

I really liked Aveda USC but after 6 months it stopped working So now I'm trying NTM Silk Touch & so far im happy with it. It's really light and spreads easily throughout my hair. I'll give a more detailed review once i've used it a full 4 weeks.

 

[Cayenne0622]

I really liked Aveda USC but after 6 months it stopped working So now I'm trying NTM Silk Touch & so far im happy with it. It's really light and spreads easily throughout my hair. I'll give a more detailed review once i've used it a full 4 weeks.

You'll like the Kid's Organics too. I have NTM but I never really feel moisturized when I use it. The Kid's Organics has the same light consistency as NTM but it gives the hair slip and detangles too. I really like it! I got my friend and her little girl hooked on it and my sister now has some for my niece too. Its dirty cheap at the BSS $2.99 for a nice big bottle.

 

[GodsPromises]

The Kids Organic Shea Butter Detangling works great. Its light and creamy. SOmetimes I add a small squirt of s-curl in my hand and mix with it. I seal with coconut oil during the day and seal with castor oil at night.

Thanks I will buy this today and try it after washing my hair.

 

[GodsPromises]

The Kids Organic Shea Butter Detangling works great. Its light and creamy. SOmetimes I add a small squirt of s-curl in my hand and mix with it. I seal with coconut oil during the day and seal with castor oil at night.

Ok I got it and if my hair don't like it, I'm sending it to you. Now Now stop praying that I don't like it

 

[Cayenne0622]

Ok I got it and if my hair don't like it, I'm sending it to you. Now Now stop praying that I don't like it

That's funny! I really really hope you'll like it. I also use one of the Profectiv moisturizers in a jar when I want something really thick and I'm wearing my hair up.

PS I like your siggy. I told everyone I knew to wear black and then got up on that morning and totally forgot. I've been battling allergies all week and was just totally out of it. I was disappointed that I forgot. I wore a black sweater in my office all day though. lol

 

[AtlantaJJ]

You'll like the Kid's Organics too. I have NTM but I never really feel moisturized when I use it. The Kid's Organics has the same light consistency as NTM but it gives the hair slip and detangles too. I really like it! I got my friend and her little girl hooked on it and my sister now has some for my niece too. Its dirty cheap at the BSS $2.99 for a nice big bottle.

I just bought the NTM Silk Touch Leave in at Walgreens because they had a $2.00 off sale...couldn't resist the PJ urges!!

Be sure to write back and let us know how you like it... I think I'll need to mix glycerin or oil with it for my dry hair.

I'll keep an eye out for the Kids Organics too but goodness knows I don't need to purchase another thing!!

I wonder how it compairs to Eluence Moisture Balance...that's what I really want. After I get that I am going to go on a hair product shopping hiatus...until 2008 unless I completely run out of something that I need. I need to do the use it up challenge!! LOL

 

[GodsPromises]

Thanks alot, so far so good. I used it last night after I washed my hair and again this morning. I am in my own HYH challenge so I have been wearing it up. What is the name of the Profectiv that yo are using. I may have to try that also.

Thanks about the siggy. My husband and son both wore black as well.

That's funny! I really really hope you'll like it. I also use one of the Profectiv moisturizers in a jar when I want something really thick and I'm wearing my hair up.

PS I like your siggy. I told everyone I knew to wear black and then got up on that morning and totally forgot. I've been battling allergies all week and was just totally out of it. I was disappointed that I forgot. I wore a black sweater in my office all day though. lol

 

[hOnii]

Sooo.... I think I have finally learned my hair! I had been going through this major breaking spree, once my stylist told me that I needed to start moisturizing my hair. I had been on this whole no-oil thing for awhile, and surprisingly, my hair never broke! But I started using BT, and of course before using that, I would moisturize my hair so that the BT would seal it all in. Thats when I started noticing the breakage start.

Even up to a week ago, I had been experiencing more fragile, breaking hair than before, so I really sat down and thought about what had changed from before--- that being the moisture! Even when I would go to seal my ends with Hair2Heaven ends all, or castor oil, I would get little pieces of hair snapping off in that area.

So I've decided that I'm just going to stick with a very light, non greasy moisturizer like Aveda USC or Giovanni direct leave-in, and get rid of all the rest, because my hair can't handle all that moisture on the regular! I washed my hair sunday, and didn't use one of my other heavier moisturizers, just some USC and already my hair is feeling stronger!

 

[hOnii]

But on another note... I am sooo wanting to cut off my hair, ladies! I went to the mall the other day, and there were so many girls with short, hot haircuts it just made me sick! I think I'm going to wait until my edges grow back out a little... (I lost a lot of hair around the perimeter of my head because of prolonged use of those banana clips.) I'm just tired of having longish hair, but not being able to wear it down and have it look good. Maybe when I do get it cut, then I can just start growing it back out to where its all even, cause I have soo many layers/variations in my hair right now.

 

[january noir]

But on another note... I am sooo wanting to cut off my hair, ladies! I went to the mall the other day, and there were so many girls with short, hot haircuts it just made me sick! I think I'm going to wait until my edges grow back out a little... (I lost a lot of hair around the perimeter of my head because of prolonged use of those banana clips.) I'm just tired of having longish hair, but not being able to wear it down and have it look good. Maybe when I do get it cut, then I can just start growing it back out to where its all even, cause I have soo many layers/variations in my hair right now.

I am sooooo feeling you on this comment hOnii! I can truly relate!

 

[sweetpuff]

Hello everybody,
I'm another fine lady checking in. (yup we're fine ladies heheheh)
I was wondering if Aphogee worked well for you.
I intend to buy the treatment for damaged hair and the one with keratin but I don't know if it will suit me.

I'm 4a/b, fine and thin relaxed. I've been shoulder length for the last year but I think i am making progress. I think I need a little more protein though.

Tell me what you think.



Oh and I bought that kids organic... you really don't need to put a lot, it smells great, the price is nice (cheaper than NTM) and does a really good job.

 

[SelfStyled]

Hello everybody,
I'm another fine lady checking in. (yup we're fine ladies heheheh)
I was wondering if Aphogee worked well for you.
I intend to buy the treatment for damaged hair and the one with keratin but I don't know if it will suit me.

I'm 4a/b, fine and thin relaxed. I've been shoulder length for the last year but I think i am making progress. I think I need a little more protein though.

Tell me what you think.



Oh and I bought that kids organic... you really don't need to put a lot, it smells great, the price is nice (cheaper than NTM) and does a really good job.

Hi There! The 2 minute Aphogee works really well for me. I have never tried the Aphogee that you leave on for 30 minutes. I have found that my hair likes light proteins. I just checked out your fotki, you are making GREAT progress. I also like the kids organics too. Happy Hair Growing!

 

[sweetpuff]

Thanks you for the tip and encouragement, Selfstyled!!

 

[Serenity_Peace]

Those of you who are trying the Kid's Organic Shea Butter Conditioning and Moisturizing Detangling Leave-In...I wanna know how it works for you. I use it daily, sealing the hair with a very light oil. Because this leave-in is terrific but water-based, I add a little bit of castor oil to the mix to thicken it up. I have noticed a considerable change in my hair in terms of thickness. I'm telling you, castor oil is da bomb!

 

[SelfStyled]

SP I haven't noticed any thickness from using the kids organics, but I also wasn't mixing it with castor oil either..

Ladies, I am in need of encouragement/advice. I feel so sad and frustrated. After my last touchup and corrective, my hair has been breaking, breaking, breaking. At first I thought it was cause the stylist did the corrective with a no lye relaxer. But now I realize that my hair is breaking pretty much where the corrective was applied. The corrected hair seems overprocessed. My end look even thinner now because I am having so much mid shaft breakage. It seems like I am doing having a loss of elasticity.

Any suggestions for breakage? How can iI increase elasticity?

Right now I wash 1-2x a week. I alternate between Con Poo and Trader Joe's nourish spa. I have been DCing with Nexxus Humectress, and using the scarf method to air dry. I moisturize 1-2x a day with profective BreakFree or NTM and seal with Hot Six Oil or castor oil.

I just see all my length dreams going out the window...... I see a lot of trims in my future. Of course the underprocessed parts would have to be in the middle of my strands....

 

[divinefavor]

SelfStyled, from reading your post it looks like you've been using a lot of moisturizing products. Maybe add some light protein conditioners. How long ago was the corrective? Usually the first week after a touch up a mild protein or reconstructor does wonders for the hair. Also, I've found for my fine/thin strands that a balance of moisture/protein helps my hair. I rarely have breakage. For instance, if I moisturize my hair daily or every other day I use a homemade sprizter for moisturizing. In my bottle is a moisturizing conditioner (usually Elucence), a mild protein conditioner (ususally MNT), distilled water, and a little oil (usually castor oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or sweet almond oil, but lately it's been mainly castor oil).

HTH!

SP I haven't noticed any thickness from using the kids organics, but I also wasn't mixing it with castor oil either..

Ladies, I am in need of encouragement/advice. I feel so sad and frustrated. After my last touchup and corrective, my hair has been breaking, breaking, breaking. At first I thought it was cause the stylist did the corrective with a no lye relaxer. But now I realize that my hair is breaking pretty much where the corrective was applied. The corrected hair seems overprocessed. My end look even thinner now because I am having so much mid shaft breakage. It seems like I am doing having a loss of elasticity.

Any suggestions for breakage? How can iI increase elasticity?

Right now I wash 1-2x a week. I alternate between Con Poo and Trader Joe's nourish spa. I have been DCing with Nexxus Humectress, and using the scarf method to air dry. I moisturize 1-2x a day with profective BreakFree or NTM and seal with Hot Six Oil or castor oil.

I just see all my length dreams going out the window...... I see a lot of trims in my future. Of course the underprocessed parts would have to be in the middle of my strands....

 

[neonbright]

SelfStyled, from reading your post it looks like you've been using a lot of moisturizing products. Maybe add some light protein conditioners. How long ago was the corrective? Usually the first week after a touch up a mild protein or reconstructor does wonders for the hair. Also, I've found for my fine/thin strands that a balance of moisture/protein helps my hair. I rarely have breakage. For instance, if I moisturize my hair daily or every other day I use a homemade sprizter for moisturizing. In my bottle is a moisturizing conditioner (usually Elucence), a mild protein conditioner (ususally MNT), distilled water, and a little oil (usually castor oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, or sweet almond oil, but lately it's been mainly castor oil).

HTH!

I agree with divinefavor, SelfStyled you do need some light protien.

 

[SelfStyled]

Divine Favor and Neonbright thanks so much for the advice! I have been upping the moisture because my hair feels as dry as the Sahara desert. When I do a strand test,my hair has very little stretch. It seemed over proteinated, that's why I have been using the moisture. I did a henna treatment a month ago and my hair has been really dry ever since.

Would a light protein help or make matters worse?

The corrective was 8 weeks ago.

 

[laCriolla]

Divine Favor and Neonbright thanks so much for the advice! I have been upping the moisture because my hair feels as dry as the Sahara desert. When I do a strand test,my hair has very little stretch. It seemed over proteinated, that's why I have been using the moisture. I did a henna treatment a month ago and my hair has been really dry ever since.

Would a light protein help or make matters worse?

The corrective was 8 weeks ago.

hi

this might sound counter-intuitive, but have you tried blowing your hair out (rollerset)? because my hair is curly and feels dryer when I air dry, than when I straighten it. maybe that's what's going on ?
your hair looks similar to mine. sometimes its easier to straighten and then moisturize. every once and awhile.

 

[timehascome28]

wow!!! i am so glad i logged on today. i was in tears earlier i'm getting married in less than 3 months and my hair sucks, i was so sure i was going to have to cut off over 2 inches of my hair, but not anymore. you guys put the fight back in me. i'm not alone, thin strand sisters can have long strong healthy hair too. we need a voice, a loud one to let everybody know that we're here to stay, we have nothing to hate or be ashamed of and we can retain with the best of them. we need a challenge! any ideas? lets get something ready by the new year! let's show everybody what the thin strand ladies can do!

 

[Serenity_Peace]

SP I haven't noticed any thickness from using the kids organics, but I also wasn't mixing it with castor oil either..

Ladies, I am in need of encouragement/advice. I feel so sad and frustrated. After my last touchup and corrective, my hair has been breaking, breaking, breaking. At first I thought it was cause the stylist did the corrective with a no lye relaxer. But now I realize that my hair is breaking pretty much where the corrective was applied. The corrected hair seems overprocessed. My end look even thinner now because I am having so much mid shaft breakage. It seems like I am doing having a loss of elasticity.

Any suggestions for breakage? How can iI increase elasticity?

Right now I wash 1-2x a week. I alternate between Con Poo and Trader Joe's nourish spa. I have been DCing with Nexxus Humectress, and using the scarf method to air dry. I moisturize 1-2x a day with profective BreakFree or NTM and seal with Hot Six Oil or castor oil.

I just see all my length dreams going out the window...... I see a lot of trims in my future. Of course the underprocessed parts would have to be in the middle of my strands....

I don't think it's too late to turn this around.

You can try to strong protein Aphogee Reconstructor. Unlike the 2-minute repair, this treatment is a bit stronger. You wash, add the product, get under the dryer and stay there until your hair becomes hard and stiff. The key is that your hair must be hard as a rock. Every strand of your hair must be hard and stiff as if you put a ton of gel in it. So once the hair is hard, do a deep, moisturizing condition treatment. I would get back under the dryer and allow the treatment, perhaps mixed with a little olive or jojoba oil (even castor oil), to sit for an hour. See if that works out for you. It usually does for me.

About the Kids Organic: try adding the castor oil directly to the product. People also add castor oil to conditioners for condition washes and leave-ins.

I do hope this helps you. Keep that head up! It ain't over yet!!:blowkiss:

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I don't think it's too late to turn this around.

You can try to strong protein Aphogee Reconstructor. Unlike the 2-minute repair, this treatment is a bit stronger. You wash, add the product, get under the dryer and stay there until your hair becomes hard and stiff. The key is that your hair must be hard as a rock. Every strand of your hair must be hard and stiff as if you put a ton of gel in it. So once the hair is hard, do a deep, moisturizing condition treatment. I would get back under the dryer and allow the treatment, perhaps mixed with a little olive or jojoba oil (even castor oil), to sit for an hour. See if that works out for you. It usually does for me.

About the Kids Organic: try adding the castor oil directly to the product. People also add castor oil to conditioners for condition washes and leave-ins.

I do hope this helps you. Keep that head up! It ain't over yet!!:blowkiss:

Great advice and to add, don't touch or attempt to comb your hair while it's all hard with the protein on it. Great idea to add some extra olive or jojoba oil, or vegetable glycierin...that stuff gets my hair moist!

Since you have a no-lye relaxer I just learned that perhaps a product with Cermides may be helpful too, there is a a thread here that talks about lye vs no-lye protein vs moisture; Keraphix has the Cermides that will help strengthen the hair and add moisture. Redkin Anti Snap and Extreeme line is good for breakage http://www.amazon.com/Redken-Extreme-Shampoo-Distressed-10-1-Ounce/dp/B000FKHY2C they have an entire line of products with Cermides.

Best of luck and let us know how you are doing!

 

[SelfStyled]

SerenityPeace and Atlanta JJ, thanks for the awesome advice and support!!!

 

[Imani]

i have read this entire thread from start to finish. when i go to salons, i have had a lot of people tell me my hair is thick. But its thin to me, especially is certain areas like the back and sides. I think what is thick, what is long, what is healthy etc. to the "outside/real world" is different to what is considered such on LhCF. I'm also a master of disguise and i know how to style my hair so it has that thick look to it.

That said, just checking in, and wanted to say that i really appreciate this thread as i've feel like a lot of this stuff pertains to me.

a few people mentioned not being able to baggy. yep, this is me, it made my hair entirely too fragile. and once i took the baggy off it would just go back to being a dry scraggly mess. I also have been using mild relaxers. i think people confuse "coarse and highly textured" with "thick" and thus have used relaxers on my head that are too strong for me over the years when some of my hair is actually quite thin.

i've also learned to keep it simple. A drawn out regimen with a lot of different products and steps does not work either for me either and neithe does airdrying.

 

[Edie]

Do any of you ladies know of a lye relaxer that is gentle on fine hair? I know a lot of ladies are adding olive oil or conditioner or a combination of the two.

My hair is a crazy combo of 3b,3c, and some 4a. So I am really concerned that the relaxer is not too harsh on the 3b,3c part of my hair. I just want to put the relaxer in not to straighten it entirely, but just relax the curl enough so that I can flat iron it once or twice a year. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Serenity_Peace]

Do any of you ladies know of a lye relaxer that is gentle on fine hair? I know a lot of ladies are adding olive oil or conditioner or a combination of the two.

My hair is a crazy combo of 3b,3c, and some 4a. So I am really concerned that the relaxer is not too harsh on the 3b,3c part of my hair. I just want to put the relaxer in not to straighten it entirely, but just relax the curl enough so that I can flat iron it once or twice a year. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My hair has thrived using ORS Lye Relaxer for Fine-Medium Textures. It's a mild relaxer, but it is lye. My hair made a complete turn around using Lye rather than No-Lye. Do a forum search on ORS Lye Relaxer.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I challenged my self to stick with a consistent regiment and same products until december. Being a product junkie has kept me from seeing whats working. I started keeping a hair journal so I track my hair and product productivity.

This is such good advice! I am such a product junkie from way back but I think I have my eye on a set of products, more specifically products with Cermides in them as my base for the next few months. Biolage HydraTherapy, Salerm and essential oils / hot oil treatments will be my mainstay. My hair loves light oils.

I am definately going to journal.

 

[divinefavor]

Good Morning my fellow beautiful fine/thin haired sisters!

I was wondering if any of you have gone from using a no lye to lye. What were some of your experiences both good and bad? Have you noticed any excessive shedding or breakage? For those of you who self relax, did you add olive oil to your relaxer? If so, how much? My scalp is very sensitive and I remember when I used lye years ago, my head would be on fire and the stylist could hardly work through my hair to get it straight. Thank God that with having fine hair my itstraightens pretty fast.

I will more than likely be getting another sew-in installed next week. However, when I take it out after the 4-6 weeks period, I'm going to relax (after 1-2 weeks of having the sew in out). I am considering doing a lye relaxer. I currently use ORS No lye in the normal strength.

TIA for your help!

 

[january noir]

Good Morning my fellow beautiful fine/thin haired sisters!

I was wondering if any of you have gone from using a no lye to lye. What were some of your experiences both good and bad? Have you noticed any excessive shedding or breakage? For those of you who self relax, did you add olive oil to your relaxer? If so, how much? My scalp is very sensitive and I remember when I used lye years ago, my head would be on fire and the stylist could hardly work through my hair to get it straight. Thank God that with having fine hair my itstraightens pretty fast.

I will more than likely be getting another sew-in installed next week. However, when I take it out after the 4-6 weeks period, I'm going to relax (after 1-2 weeks of having the sew in out). I am considering doing a lye relaxer. I currently use ORS No lye in the normal strength.

TIA for your help!

I would have to ask my stylist for sure, but I think he has only used no-lye on my hair. If he did transition, I will find out what his train of thought was. Hopefully I can find out in a day or two.

Some other ladies will probably jump in...

 

[Lissa0821]

Recently I switched from Profective regular strenght no-lye to ORS Lye relaxed in June. I have used Profective for a number of years and got really good results with the exception of my ends becoming extremely dry no matter what I used on them. I love ORS Lye, it didn't burn during the application and my hair doesn't dry out at all. I can stretch my relaxer longer and my hair has more shine as well. I only leave the perm just long enough to cover my new growth and I mix in EVOO as well. I try not to smooth it out to much because it really starts to make my hair a little too straight with my last touch up. I have been very happy with making this switch.