Thin/Fine Support Thread

hOnii said:
ladies who henna-- have you found that your hair gets hard after washing? I henna'd for the first time about 2 weeks ago, and thats what happened. It was very difficult for me to comb thru to detangle. The next time I washed & deep conditioned with kenra and it was alright. But today, I washed, did a light protein treatment, then deep conditioned with humecto and my hair was very hard again. I lost a lot of hair trying to detangle. Even when dry, it's semi soft (nowhere where it used to be) but slightly tangly :( How long does this henna take to wear off? Or does it...
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I hate ya'll are having problems with henna? What is your henna recipe? My hair is sooooo soft and strong feeling after I henna.
Here is my recipe. The measurements have chgd a little as my hair has grown some.
2 tablespoons of henna
1 tablespoon of indigo
1 1/2 tablespoons of evoo
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of moisturizing con(elasta qp dpr11 or ao honeysuckle rose)
1 tablespoon jojoba oil
1/2 tablespoon of amla powder
I may add an additional oil if I'm in the mood.
I sit under the dryer with saran wrapped head for 1 hour and then leave on for an additional 30 mins with no heat. I rinse thoroughly in the shower and then do a final rinse with NTM Conditioner. This gives my hair extra slip and tangles are not apart of my vocabulary.
 
that looks really good. i think that i will try that next time. it was my first time, and i've heard some things about hair going into shock the first time, and that the next time, things tend to go a little better. how often do you henna? i did it at a time when i had a lot of new growth, and that made things even worse for me when it came to detangling. I will re-try this a week or two after i get a relaxer. i mixed some aubrey honeysuckle rose condish, evoo, henna, indigo & honey in a bowl. i didn't do measurements... just did what looked right. did the henna need to be prepared, and sit for awhile?
 
hOnii said:
that looks really good. i think that i will try that next time. it was my first time, and i've heard some things about hair going into shock the first time, and that the next time, things tend to go a little better. how often do you henna? i did it at a time when i had a lot of new growth, and that made things even worse for me when it came to detangling. I will re-try this a week or two after i get a relaxer. i mixed some aubrey honeysuckle rose condish, evoo, henna, indigo & honey in a bowl. i didn't do measurements... just did what looked right. did the henna need to be prepared, and sit for awhile?
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Sareca advised me to only leave the henna on for 1 hour the first time I used it. I think that saved me from the dryness the first time out. I do add honey to mine too....I left that out by mistake (only about 1 teaspoon or something like that). I'm not looking for a lot of color so I'll mix mine on a Saturday morning and let it sit in a warm place for about 3 hours or so. I still get a very nice red rinse color to my hair. I normally just mix the henna with about 1/4 cup of hot water and then let it sit. I mix the indigo separately and add a little water to it as well and let it sit. I mix all the ingredients right when I'm ready to put it on my hair. I put it in a bottle with a nozzle tip, slap on my gloves and go to work! I love the entire process. I henna two weeks after my relaxer and then I don't do again until 2 weeks after my next relaxer. Good luck, lady!
 
ladytq said:
Girl I feel your pain. Another fine hair lady checking in. Look at some the 2 thread below. They have alot suggestions for thin haired ladies like our selvez.

As for me I do henna glosses now about 1x per month on dry hair. I also use amla oil, which I believe have really thicken my hair. I also use Mtg, which is okay. I just trying to "use it up".

If you decided to do another henna gloss, only use a 2-3 tablespoons of henna and rest oil and conditioner. I personally like putting coconut milk in it. Also try it on dry, even dirty hair and not on wet hair. Leave it on for about 15-30 min. Then work your way up from there.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=111938


[URL="http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=54351"]http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=54351[/URL]
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I did a henna gloss this weekend using some leftover henna that I had stored in the freezer. I added 2 ingredients (no exact measurements):

  1. Amla Oil
  2. Nexxus Humectin (contains coconut milk)
I have done glosses before, but this was the first time I used Amla Oil.
I mixed it thorougly until it was nice and smooth, applied and let it sit for 2 & 1/2 hours. I rinsed and litely shampooed using CON and my hair felt really different.

I then proceeded to DC with Humectin under a heating cap for 1 hour, rinsed and applied NTM as a leave in, airdried until damp and smoothed in some Sidr Tree. I first I did not know what the final outcome would be, but I find I do like it. :look: I actually wore my hair out to work today. My co-workers are shocked. I rarely wear my hear out because it is so thin and fine.
 
january noir said:
I did a henna gloss this weekend using some leftover henna that I had stored in the freezer. I added 2 ingredients (no exact measurements):

  1. Amla Oil
  2. Nexxus Humectin (contains coconut milk)
I have done glosses before, but this was the first time I used Amla Oil.
I mixed it thorougly until it was nice and smooth, applied and let it sit for 2 & 1/2 hours. I rinsed and litely shampooed using CON and my hair felt really different.

I then proceeded to DC with Humectin under a heating cap for 1 hour, rinsed and applied NTM as a leave in, airdried until damp and smoothed in some Sidr Tree. I first I did not know what the final outcome would be, but I find I do like it. :look: I actually wore my hair out to work today. My co-workers are shocked. I rarely wear my hear out because it is so thin and fine.
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JN your hair looks beautiful in your avi picture, not too fine to wear down at all. I think sometimes those of us with fine hair just sometimes feel so insecure.....I'm really happy your henna gloss turned out good for you!
 
january noir said:
I did a henna gloss this weekend using some leftover henna that I had stored in the freezer. I added 2 ingredients (no exact measurements):

  1. Amla Oil
  2. Nexxus Humectin (contains coconut milk)
I have done glosses before, but this was the first time I used Amla Oil.
I mixed it thorougly until it was nice and smooth, applied and let it sit for 2 & 1/2 hours. I rinsed and litely shampooed using CON and my hair felt really different.

I then proceeded to DC with Humectin under a heating cap for 1 hour, rinsed and applied NTM as a leave in, airdried until damp and smoothed in some Sidr Tree. I first I did not know what the final outcome would be, but I find I do like it. :look: I actually wore my hair out to work today. My co-workers are shocked. I rarely wear my hear out because it is so thin and fine.
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January Noir, I'm happy that you finally gat it to work for you! Please don't get henna happy! A good thing can turn bad!

I compare henna to a heavy protein conditioner like Aphrogee. Which I now believe should be done only 2 to 3 times a year (henna). That's JMO, so I'm deciding to use henna only every 4 months. After henna several times, without getting my hair to the proper moisture level it's been a chore getting moisture into the hair and keeping my hair moisturized. I actually never had this problem before henna. Lately I been trying to get the breakage under control.

Make sure you moisturized 2x DAILY!!!! GET YOUR MOISTURE LEVEL ALL THE WAY UP before attempting another henna treatment. I had to learn the hard way. I believe if you don't get the proper moisture in the hair strands and continue to henna, the coating ( I forgot the technical name) that binds to the hair strands, I believe it keeps any and everything from penetrating the hair strands thereafter.
 
northernbelle said:
This is an informative and much-needed thread.

What is apparent as I read the comments is that what works for one doesn't work for others. And, as wonderful as LHCF is, the reason I stepped away from the forum for two years is that I became increasingly overwhelmed and frustrated by the pjism, the plethora of techniques, and, in some cases, an over-obsession with hair. It all had begun to weigh me down, and I finally said to myself, "Is this it"? I don't judge others for what they are doing, but for my purposes, it just wasn't the solution.

The important thing is finding one's "hair voice". With that in mind, one should not throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water. Some of the things each of us was doing prior to joining LHCF were in fact working, and so we should continue to do those things. Learning and using new techniques are part of the process of finding one's hair voice, but not to the point of literally exhausting everything that has been invented in the pursuit of long hair.

Honestly, long hair is and was never my goal. Rather, strong, healthy hair was and remain my objectives. As several posters to this thread have already said, I try to keep the process of hair care and maintenance very simple. Less is more, especially with fine/thin hair.

Some things to consider.
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Thanks for sharing, I definitely have taken this to heart! This ain't nothing BUT DA TRUTH!!!! Believe me I have dragged my hair through some stuff!!!!
 
SelfStyled said:
JN your hair looks beautiful in your avi picture, not too fine to wear down at all. I think sometimes those of us with fine hair just sometimes feel so insecure.....I'm really happy your henna gloss turned out good for you!
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Hi SelfStyled!
Thanks for the compliment, but that pic was taken last year and my hair has thinned out even more since then. In my previous post, I stated that I had become gung ho about haircare when I joined the LHCF and used methods that others were using that were not good for fine/thin hair. I learned my lesson. My hair is slowly recovering; I've since added Biotin and B-Complex to my vitamin regimen which as helped a great deal.
 
ladytq said:
January Noir, I'm happy that you finally gat it to work for you! Please don't get henna happy! A good thing can turn bad!

I compare henna to a heavy protein conditioner like Aphrogee. Which I now believe should be done only 2 to 3 times a year (henna). That's JMO, so I'm deciding to use henna only every 4 months. After henna several times, without getting my hair to the proper moisture level it's been a chore getting moisture into the hair and keeping my hair moisturized. I actually never had this problem before henna. Lately I been trying to get the breakage under control.

Make sure you moisturized 2x DAILY!!!! GET YOUR MOISTURE LEVEL ALL THE WAY UP before attempting another henna treatment. I had to learn the hard way. I believe if you don't get the proper moisture in the hair strands and continue to henna, the coating ( I forgot the technical name) that binds to the hair strands, I believe it keeps any and everything from penetrating the hair strands thereafter.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the advice Ladytq! I have been using henna and indigo since February 2007 to cover my grays (I'm 5 months away from 50) and to condition and thicken my hair. On the average, I have done a treatment once a month. Before I did henna, I researched for 2 months before I did it. I read everything I could find, including the Henna thread here and then some!

I don't mix my henna with anything except water and pectin (for a gel-like formula) and I rinse the henna and indigo out of my hair with moisturizing conditioner and then do a DC with more moisturiizng conditioners. I add a moisturizing leave-in and moisturize and seal with oil. My henna/indigo treatments leave my hair strong and with a rich beautiful color that I love.
I have very little shedding now compared to before using henna and I haven't noticed any additional breakage.

My previous henna glosses I only mixed with conditioner, but now I've included amla oil and I love the results. It's been several days since I did the last henna gloss and I love how my hair looks and feels.

However, as my great-aunt (who is 92) says to me, "I'm never to old to learn!" Thanks for reminding me to be careful with my henna.
:yep:

I was just reading a post on here from Henna Sooq and she mentioned using Shikake (can't spell it right!) for strengthening purposes. I think I am going to try that ...
 
Very fine and thin head checking in. I try to keep it as simple as possible. Wash 1x a week with DC and preepoo. Moisturize mayber every other day (sometimes twice a week) with GF Sleek and Shine + coconut oil.

If I want it to appear thicker I dry it in a bun but I don't do that too often. I am absolutly scared to death to try henna although with the results some people get it just seems so tempting.........but I just can't do it.:wallbash:
 
Okay, I'm seeing a lot of thin haired ladies with hair well past your shoulders. For those of you who started out with hair above your shoulders and shorter, what styles did you wear while growing your hair out? Certain areas of my hair (front and nape) seem to break no matter what hairstyle I wear. If I bun I never pull my hair tightly but I still end up with broken hairs here and there. If I rollerset, the whole time I am rolling I am getting broken hairs on my hands. I now believe that I should not have been using any protein because my hair isn't asking for it right now. I believe that has been the culprit behind my most recent breakage battle. I am on a heavy moisturizing regimen right now because I believe that protein has not been my friend.

I need some hairstyling tips to strengthen and protect my from hairline (from the bangs to the sides in front of my ears) and my nape.
 
Cayenne0622 said:
I now believe that I should not have been using any protein because my hair isn't asking for it right now. I believe that has been the culprit behind my most recent breakage battle. I am on a heavy moisturizing regimen right now because I believe that protein has not been my friend.
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Cayenne (love your name!) - I was told by my hairdresser for years; "Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize, actually he said "Hydrate." I rarely use heavy proteins. My protein conditioner of choice has been Nexxus Keraphix and that has been enough for me. I normally just see shedded hairs as opposed to broken hairs. Stick with moisturizing conditioners and sparingly use protein. If you henna, like I do, that's enough strengthening right there!
 
january noir said:
Cayenne (love your name!) - I was told by my hairdresser for years; "Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize, actually he said "Hydrate." I rarely use heavy proteins. My protein conditioner of choice has been Nexxus Keraphix and that has been enough for me. I normally just see shedded hairs as opposed to broken hairs. Stick with moisturizing conditioners and sparingly use protein. If you henna, like I do, that's enough strengthening right there!
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Thanks! My husband gave me that name because of my temper. lololol:rolleyes:
I just have a fiery spunky personality. hehehehe
I do have Nexxus Keraphix at home along with a couple of other mild protein conditioners, including Aubrey Organics GPB. Sistaslick had to put my lil bootay in check about the protein in my regimen. She said back away from it and only use it if my hair starts feeling too mushy or soft. It's only been a week or so since I removed it from my regimen so I know its gonna take a minute to get my hair completely "hydrated". I like that word. :yep: Thanks again!
 
Cayenne0622 said:
Okay, I'm seeing a lot of thin haired ladies with hair well past your shoulders. For those of you who started out with hair above your shoulders and shorter, what styles did you wear while growing your hair out? Certain areas of my hair (front and nape) seem to break no matter what hairstyle I wear. If I bun I never pull my hair tightly but I still end up with broken hairs here and there. If I rollerset, the whole time I am rolling I am getting broken hairs on my hands. I now believe that I should not have been using any protein because my hair isn't asking for it right now. I believe that has been the culprit behind my most recent breakage battle. I am on a heavy moisturizing regimen right now because I believe that protein has not been my friend.

I need some hairstyling tips to strengthen and protect my from hairline (from the bangs to the sides in front of my ears) and my nape.
Click to expand...

I used protective styling. I used to wear wigs/weaves so much that when I finally stopped everyone was amazed that i wasn't bald-headed or something. I guess they thought that since I was always in a weave... I must not have any hair. Since I do my weaves myself, I was able to put them in and take them out frequently, as to not cause damage to my own hair. Now that my hair is past shoulder length, I'm kinda feeling like my hair is too delicate to be braiding up, and weaving hair too. I don't want to cause too much stress on it.. Protective styling would always make my hair much thicker once I took it out!
 
january noir said:
Thanks for the advice Ladytq! I have been using henna and indigo since February 2007 to cover my grays (I'm 5 months away from 50) and to condition and thicken my hair. On the average, I have done a treatment once a month. Before I did henna, I researched for 2 months before I did it. I read everything I could find, including the Henna thread here and then some!

I don't mix my henna with anything except water and pectin (for a gel-like formula) and I rinse the henna and indigo out of my hair with moisturizing conditioner and then do a DC with more moisturiizng conditioners. I add a moisturizing leave-in and moisturize and seal with oil. My henna/indigo treatments leave my hair strong and with a rich beautiful color that I love.
I have very little shedding now compared to before using henna and I haven't noticed any additional breakage.

My previous henna glosses I only mixed with conditioner, but now I've included amla oil and I love the results. It's been several days since I did the last henna gloss and I love how my hair looks and feels.

However, as my great-aunt (who is 92) says to me, "I'm never to old to learn!" Thanks for reminding me to be careful with my henna.
:yep:

I was just reading a post on here from Henna Sooq and she mentioned using Shikake (can't spell it right!) for strengthening purposes. I think I am going to try that ...
Click to expand...

You know how to handle that stuff better than me! Me and Henna have a love and hate relationship!!! :spinning:
 
ladytq said:
You know how to handle that stuff better than me! Me and Henna have a love and hate relationship!!! :spinning:
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Ladytq - not to turn this into a Henna thread, but I am curious about the type of henna you use. Are you using the body-art-quality that is sold by Henna for Hair or Henna Sooq? The type/grade of henna you use can make all the difference in the world! I won't deny that doing a treatment takes time, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes; the mixing, application and rinse.
 
january noir said:
Ladytq - not to turn this into a Henna thread, but I am curious about the type of henna you use. Are you using the body-art-quality that is sold by Henna for Hair or Henna Sooq? The type/grade of henna you use can make all the difference in the world! I won't deny that doing a treatment takes time, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes; the mixing, application and rinse.
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My first henna batch came from Henna Sooq after that I've used different brands:blush:. The most recent batch came from FNWL. I think as a natural I have to be careful doing strenghtening treatment to often. With henna I'm having breakage but only on the ends, so I'm thinking I should only use henna on the roots of my hair every 3 to 4 month. My ends can't handle to many applications. I love doing henna. I have my set recipe. The whole precedure is a breeze for me. I won't totally blame henna for the breakage because I wasn't on top of my moisturizing game. :wallbash:
 
Cayenne0622 said:
Okay, I'm seeing a lot of thin haired ladies with hair well past your shoulders. For those of you who started out with hair above your shoulders and shorter, what styles did you wear while growing your hair out? Certain areas of my hair (front and nape) seem to break no matter what hairstyle I wear. If I bun I never pull my hair tightly but I still end up with broken hairs here and there. If I rollerset, the whole time I am rolling I am getting broken hairs on my hands. I now believe that I should not have been using any protein because my hair isn't asking for it right now. I believe that has been the culprit behind my most recent breakage battle. I am on a heavy moisturizing regimen right now because I believe that protein has not been my friend.

I need some hairstyling tips to strengthen and protect my from hairline (from the bangs to the sides in front of my ears) and my nape.
Click to expand...

I wore the ugliest of the ugly hairstyles while I was tryna get past the shoulders. The back was parted down the middle and then I would twist each side into 2 strand twists and secure that in the middle of my head with a hair pin. (not a bobby pin)

Then the front was brushed back and pinned over top of the 2 twists. I absolutely know this is what got me past the shoulder. I am sure it could be made cuter with someone who is creative.
 
january noir said:
Cayenne (love your name!) - I was told by my hairdresser for years; "Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize, actually he said "Hydrate." I rarely use heavy proteins. My protein conditioner of choice has been Nexxus Keraphix and that has been enough for me. I normally just see shedded hairs as opposed to broken hairs. Stick with moisturizing conditioners and sparingly use protein. If you henna, like I do, that's enough strengthening right there!
Click to expand...

I'mma go 'head and echo january noir in that I don't use heavy proteins at all. In fact, rarely do I even protein except for maybe once a month. I notice that my hair almost never breaks. I think you are doing well with the henna applications, but I won't henna more than once a month. The other thing that I've started doing is airdrying using a silk scarf rather than rollersetting. I know that some women can't handle airdrying, but it's working for me. I won't comb my hair until it's almost 90% dry. Then I'll detangle using the Jilbere shower comb. I think moisture, moisture, and more moisture is the key, but not too much product. The most difficult thing is finding the right amount of moisture and clarifying if need be. I've also noticed that every since I've started sticking with one product line for every wash, my hair has responded much better. So, for instance, if I use AVEDA, I use ONLY AVEDA for that one washing session. If I use my ORS, I ONLY use ORS for that session. If I use a particular Dominican product line, I use that entire line and only that line. I think picking one product line and sticking to that works wonders for my hair. My biggest problem: stretching relaxers. I'm only 5 1/2 weeks post and my hair has almost entirely reverted. It's thick and my roots are out of control. I don't think I'll be able to stretch for more than 10 weeks at a time and that's pushing it.
 
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january noir said:
Welcome! We are trying hard to make this a "sticky." Post away!
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Well, one thing that is really important (in my experience) with having fine hair is cutting off damage. I have found that damage just travels up my hair strands alot faster than thicker types. I wasted a whole year of growth because I didn't want to face the facts and just trim it. I am now in the process of trimming off the last 2 inches because they are overprocessed.

I find that my hair needs alot of protein but doesn't like really hardcore treatments except when I relax. I have been using alot of creamy ones lately. I wash and deep condition twice a week but lately I have been washing more often and I don't think my hair likes that too much.

I also notice that I get great thickness and elasticity from henna but henna makes my hair really hard. I am going to work on making a more moisturizing mix.
 
hOnii said:
I am becoming sooo discouraged and fed up with my thin/fine hair! I feel like I am doing all the right things, but my hair still remains so soft & see thru. It only gets worse the longer it gets. Sometimes I feel like I will never get a long healthy head of hair because it won't LOOK good, and I will never be able to wear it down. It makes me wonder if all this money that I am spending on growth aids, and expensive products is even worth it, since chances are, I'll end up having to cut it off once it starts getting too long to have it looking decent anyway. I keep running into setbacks, and it is so frustrating!

First, I began taking BT, which I'm sure is a great product, but not for me. I was never able to keep taking in continuously for more than a month at a time because of the extreme shedding and oiliness that it would cause me. As I was examining my hair one day, I realized how thin the left side of my hair is. As I looked closer, I saw that there is a huge chunk that appears to have cut out somehow. I don't know if this is due to my years of wrapping in one direction, or my stylist when she was relaxing my hair. Now, my hair has started breaking, and I don't know why!! I remember this happening when I first began taking vitamins. I stopped taking biotin for awhile because I ran out, and just resumed a few weeks ago, so perhaps that has something to do with it. I decided to do a henna gloss (big mistake) on sunday, to try and stop some of the breakage/shedding, but I should have known better. I have a lot of new growth, and my hair is already kinda coarse right now, and the henna only made it worse. It was so difficult to detangle my wet hair because the henna made it so hard, and i lost a lot of hair. :(

Right now I am heavily considering just chopping off my hair. I have a lot of layers and bangs, so my hair is pretty uneven. I know that making it all one length would help it to be thicker, so starting over is really looking good to me right now... I just don't want to lose all the progress.

I HATE MY HAIR!! :cry3: :cry3:
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Aww..Honi I feel your pain trust me I do. We have the same exact issues with our hair. Only thing that slightly help thicken my hair is going natural, but thats only when its natural and not straigten out:nono:. I dont have any suggestions tho, sorry. But here's a cyber hug from one thin haired girl to another. (((Honi)))
 
hOnii said:
...As I was examining my hair one day, I realized how thin the left side of my hair is. As I looked closer, I saw that there is a huge chunk that appears to have cut out somehow. I don't know if this is due to my years of wrapping in one direction, or my stylist when she was relaxing my hair. Now, my hair has started breaking, and I don't know why!! I remember this happening when I first began taking vitamins. I stopped taking biotin for awhile because I ran out, and just resumed a few weeks ago, so perhaps that has something to do with it. I decided to do a henna gloss (big mistake) on sunday, to try and stop some of the breakage/shedding, but I should have known better. I have a lot of new growth, and my hair is already kinda coarse right now, and the henna only made it worse. It was so difficult to detangle my wet hair because the henna made it so hard, and i lost a lot of hair. :(

Right now I am heavily considering just chopping off my hair. I have a lot of layers and bangs, so my hair is pretty uneven. I know that making it all one length would help it to be thicker, so starting over is really looking good to me right now... I just don't want to lose all the progress.

I HATE MY HAIR!! :cry3: :cry3:
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OMG!!!!! on the bold! I have the same issue! I can't for the life of me figure out what happen to my hair! I know for sure I didn't cut it and I hate to say this but I have been using BT as well. Please don't take this as a negative towards BT b/c its a wonderful product but its may just not be for me.

Don't cry Honey! It will be alright. With all of us Fine hair ladies here was are bound to figure what works best for US!
 
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