tips for a new natural head. plz help.

[notlikeyoudo58]

i went to the salon last friday to shave the sides/back of my head. long story short, after going blonde at another salon, my hair was fried more than i thought so i ended up having it shaved because there was no sense in holding on to my hair if it was so damaged. anyway now i'm bald with some peach fuzz on top (i've attached a photo of myself), so i wanna know if i have to do anything special in terms of my hair. should i use shampoo or co-wash (i have keracare humecto conditioner and sulfate-free poo), should i still deep condition? how should i dress/accessorize?

also for the folks who went through this, how long was it before you accepted it? i've been having mini-panic attacks; i mean, i was born with more hair than this and i've been feeling insecure sometimes.

i'm sorry for all the questions but you guys are the best and helped me the last time i had damaged hair, plus it's such a huge transition and i'd really appreciate your assistance. thanks in advance

 

[faithVA]

i went to the salon last friday to shave the sides/back of my head. long story short, after going blonde at another salon, my hair was fried more than i thought so i ended up having it shaved because there was no sense in holding on to my hair if it was so damaged. anyway now i'm bald with some peach fuzz on top (i've attached a photo of myself), so i wanna know if i have to do anything special in terms of my hair. should i use shampoo or co-wash (i have keracare humecto conditioner and sulfate-free poo), should i still deep condition? how should i dress/accessorize?

also for the folks who went through this, how long was it before you accepted it? i've been having mini-panic attacks; i mean, i was born with more hair than this and i've been feeling insecure sometimes.

i'm sorry for all the questions but you guys are the best and helped me the last time i had damaged hair, plus it's such a huge transition and i'd really appreciate your assistance. thanks in advance

notlikeyoudo58 - I will answer the questions that I can. You can tell from my 1st siggy pic that I wore a shaved head. I already had shor thair before I shaved it so I didn't have an adjustment period. I love it though because I didn't have to do anything to it.

If you wear make-up make sure you do that consistently. If not at least consider some lipstick. And when I first had my hair cut short my girlfriends told me I needed to wear bigger earrings. For me that definitely helped. It added that femine touch.

This was before I was on LHCF so I may have done something different if I had known differently. But I just shampooed, conditioned and put some Sta Sof Fro on every few days.

It will grow out quickly. The good news is that you are on the board and getting to learn about your hair from a fresh start. It is an adjustment but enjoy it as much as you can.

Some days I long for those days again.

 

[NicWhite]

I am sure some of the other ladieswill help with accessorizing.

Since you basically have a blank slate. I would like to suggest:

1. drink plenty of water
2. Start taking a good multi-vitamin
3. deep condition your hair on a regular basis
4. keep your scalp as clean and healthy as possible
5. As your hair grows, learn to live life with as little direct heat as possible

These suggestion will hopefully save you a world of set-back later on.

 

[southerncitygirl]

@notlikeyoudo58

me likey but you need to change your overall style and make it more edgy and/or feminine. do a touch of makeup and swing by the makeup forum.....this style draws more attention to you so enjoy it and make yourself stand out even more with changing your personal style! remember that summer is coming and most folks get crazy growth spurts so you'll have a mini fro very soon! i've never cut this short but i'm sure some ladies will chime in soon with more ideas. start getting your reggie together for when you get a little hair,lol. right now you can wash everyday and its no manipulation which is awesome! eat lots of salads, fresh fruit, lean protein and exercise. be sure to take a vitamin and get those omega 3's in as well

 

[Your Cheeziness]

I didn't go that low in my BC, but you can take advantage of frequent cowashing since your hair is so low-maintenance now. Keep a nice line up for a polished look and experiment with your look. And SMILE! A genuine smile when you're feeling yourself does a world of difference.

 

[brucebettye]

When I did my one and only bc I wore a wig. I had not clue how to take care of my hair. But I just say cowash and go since your hair is short and just be happy with the style. If not go buy a wig until you are comfortable with the length.

 

[notlikeyoudo58]

bumping for more info

 

[lesedi]

I'm a new natural as well. This is the first time I have worn my hair this short.
What has worked for me:
1) Cowash daily
2) sulfate-poo once a wk or once every two weeks
3) deep condition 2x week
4) castor oil
5) ACCESORISE!! ribbons, clips, hairbands etc
6) Don't leave the house without earrings on!
7) MAKE-UP is a must ...I'm going to get some eyelash extensions this weekend, they stop me from looking like a 15 year old boy
8) When you do proective styles (extension braids etc) CASTOR OIL hairline religiously. When you don't have much hair, your edges game gotta be tight

 

[carameldelight87]

As others have said, make sure you have earrings. Not just any earrings, BIG earrings! Those are your friends. If you're not big on accessories (neither am I), find you some simple jumbo silver hoop earrings. They go with EVERYTHING!! (except professional/business attire of course, I recommend large faux pearl earrings for business) Make sure they're simple.

About the makeup, you don't have to leave the house with a full face EVERY day just because you have short hair. Your face is more prevalent tho so at least make sure your face is clean and moisturized.

Most importantly, KEEP YOUR EYEBROWS DONE! There is nothing more masculine than bushy or wayward eyebrows. If you keep them arched, waxed, threaded, plucked, or whatever you prefer, that will make a HUGE difference. You can have a full face of bangin makeup but if those eyebrows look a mess, you've failed.

I think you should still DC, although you probably won't need to use heat or do it for that long right now. The longer your hair gets, the longer you'll need to leave the conditioner in.

Shampoo vs. co-wash is a matter of preference. So is the sulfate vs. sulfate-free question. You have to figure out what works best for your hair.

If I were you, I'd keep it simple with the hair. You have plenty of years ahead of you for you to become a product junkie, debate over ingredients, panic over damage, etc. Enjoy this time. Your hair will never be this easy to deal with again.

 

[PearlyCurly]

Well i've never essentially went that low. A relaxer made me go bald on one side..so i guess i did have REALLY short hair

Anyway, All i do is mainly co-wash & deep condition. I experimented with lots of products. Silicones treats my hair well, So does gel. I loved and still use Hawaiian Silky 14-in-1 as a moisturizer. Sulfate Shampoos were the devil to my hair. I always did wash n gos too.
My hair tools was the Denman Brush, Hair clips(black ones), Cute hair bands, Scrunci No Damage hair ties, Scrunci Non-Slip hair bands were like..amazeballs.

Also, i just got use to my hair being short. I never really freaked out about it, Yes at times i wasnt so confident but i got over it.