Trying to go natural but my hair is a tangled mess

ladycage

ladycage

New Member
Hi Ladies,

I am tryng too naturalof at least stretch my relaxr, I last relaxed in Oct and now I have a bit of new growth but my hair is tangled mess. I have 4a hair I believe, no really sure but it gets so tangled that I can't comb through it without it coming out. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help me to continue going natural but still manage my hair and be able to comb it. I have tried combing through it while in the shower using conditioner but that doesn't seem to work the longer I need a relaxer.

PLEASE HELP, I can't comb my hair.:sad:
 
I use shea butter and coconut oil on the hair lengths and alma oil on scalp. I use shea butter on the roots. I pre poo with EVOO, almond oil, alma oil and honey.
 
I think you should look into the Mizani Thermasmooth line since it's designed for those who are transitioning.

Besides all that stuff, do you shampoo? Do protein treatments? Clarify? Chelate?
 
I use a moisturizing shampoo once a week. I dont have any chelating or clarifying shampoo but I added vinegar to my shampoo once to clarify not sure if that was good or bad.

I DC each week with cholestrol, EVOO and honey or Alter Ego Garlic treatment - I let that stay on over night.
 
I will try the Thermasmooth, I have Mizani Moisturefuse, the H2O night cream and the Rosewater ceam but didn't really see a difference so I stopped using them.
 
First I would suggest you take a DEEP breath.

Ok, lets start over. When you wash your hair, are you using shampoo? If so, what brand?
You noted that your conditioner is no longer working.

1. I would suggest giving yourself a apple cider vinegar clarifying condition. Mix 1/2 Apple cider vinegar to 1/2 water. Spray your hair down from the root to the tip and put a shower cap. No heat needed. Massage the scalp and lightly press the hair to ensure saturation. Use a towel as it will drip, or use the wrap around cotton strip.

2. Rinse the vinegar rinse out of your hair. This will remove product build up and also soften the hair.

3. Give yourself a deep condition. with or without heat.

4 after the dc time is up, rinse with cool water to close the cuticle

5. press hair dry, spray on your detangler and add coconut oil. (If you do not have a detangler, many ladies have used a mixture of Coconut oil, glycerin and Aloe vera gel - with success) Let the hair dry a bit before manipulating it.

6. separate the hair in 4 sections, and starting from the ends, detangle.

I hope this helps.
 
Thanks, I have the vinegar condition on my hair right now. I hope this works, also is the coconut, glycerin and aloe mixture equal in amounts?
 
ladycage said:
Thanks, I have the vinegar condition on my hair right now. I hope this works, also is the coconut, glycerin and aloe mixture equal in amounts?
Click to expand...

Mine is... I just kinda eyeball it. I even put a lil bit of my amla oil in there.

Hi Ladycage! I understand your pain. I've got a big ole natural fro that, before lhcf, I was thinking of perming. I've been natural forever but washday for my hair had always been a pain for me. I have fine tightly coiled strands that would snap crackle and pop, it seemed no matter what I'd do to detangle. Annnnnd, I used to lose so much hair! I hated wash day then.

First thing I did when I came to lhcf was a hard protein treatment with aphogee. It didn't appear that I was losing hair from shedding as much as I was breakage and I had never done a protein treatment. I immediately lost much less hair. Also I tried oil rinsing and I now see I could not detangle my hair any other way. If I saw Sareca on the street, I'd insist on taking her to lunch to show my heartfelt thanks. Oil rinsing gave me a new lease when it comes to my hair.

Also, have you ever tried DCing on dry hair? I was DCing with heat on dry hair, rinse with cool water, cowash with baking soda added, oil rinse and would have no tangles and would lose very little hair. I was sold! My reggie has changed a lil bit now, though, because I now seal my ends with vaseline and wear protective styles. By wash day my hair is so incredibly moisturized it doesn't make sense to DC on dry hair any longer.

Hugs for you, LadyCage. I know you're frustrated but we are here for you. :grouphug:

Here is the link to the oil rinsing thread:

Don't sleep on oil-rinses!


One more thing, you might consider a protein treatment to strengthen the hair so you do not have as much breakage at the demarcation line.
 
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I dced to soften the roots before attempting to comb through. I also used EQP Mango Butter on dry hair to get through the roots and applied it like you would a relaxer. That would at least get me to the next wash. I didn't mess with it and wore low manipulation styles the rest of the time.
 
What I do before I wash my hair is take and mix some apple cider vinager with distill water. i drop the mixture on the knots. let it sit for a minute then i detangle the knots. It takes the knots right out for me. i just use a little bit of apple cider vin. i don't have an exact measurement, i just know it is a little bit of avc and the rest distilled water. i wash my hair in 4 braids. this has helped me with keeping the hair untangled. i also do a avc rinse. hope that helps!!! don't get discouraged. we are here for you!:grouphug:
 
ok I clarified with the vinegar mixture,then put cholestrol on fo 1 hour with out heat, shampooed with moisturing shampoo then oil rinsed wit EVOO, castor oil and palm oil for 30 minutes under dryer, then put motions silk protein for 5 minutes. M hair was a little better but it was still tangled so much I lost almost a fistful of hair. I will do a deep protein treatment next week as I have ordered Mega tek and it should arrive sometime next week.
 
Ladies thanks so much for your help bu I can't take much more of this, I am dreading wash day now, my hair was already fine to begin with but because I need a relaxer it is coming out so much.
 
ladycage said:
Ladies thanks so much for your help bu I can't take much more of this, I am dreading wash day now, my hair was already fine to begin with but because I need a relaxer it is coming out so much.
Click to expand...

I think you should try sectioning off your hair before detangling. I also think you should clarify, use a light reconstructor (ApHogee 2 Min or ORS Replenishing), and condition with a moisturizing conditioner. After, apply a heat protectant and blow dry your hair. That could probably help...
 
I have been where you are now. Tomorrow will be 51 weeks with no relaxer.

Trust me, it's technique. Once you start using a ton of conditioner and combing your hair from bottom up, it will be easier to manage. I had to learn this over the course of a few wash days and I did not get it right the first few times. I was losing a ton of hair....but now lose very little when I detangle (hair filled with leave-in conditioner).



It's all about having enough slip when putting a comb/brush in your hair.

After you clarify or poo; I suggest a moisturizing conditioner (Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose) and leave it on with heat for about 30 minutes. Detangle your hair, from the bottom up, with the conditioner in your hair. I detangle in at least 6 sections.

Rinse in sections as well if you are concerned about more tangles. I don't rinse in sections but I am very careful when rinsing to not manipulate my hair such that it tangles up on itself. Apply some leave in conditioner (I use a bit of regular Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose condish as a leave in along with Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship) and then seal with an oil (coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil) or serum if you are blow drying/flat ironing.

http://public.fotki.com/regswife/sabino-attempt-two/

I recently did a mini chop to get rid of some relaxed ends and it did make wash day easier. The tangles (relaxed with natural hair) can be very difficult to deal with but if you do not want to chop off all of your hair, you will have to deal with the different textures for probably 6 months to 1 year.

Good luck!
 
I still struggle with detangling too, but my Goody Jojaba Brush and Denman brush has helped me significantly. Also, I either use a wide tooth comb to detangle while deep conditioning, or just use my fingers. That's helped me reduce the severity of my tangles because I was experiencing them to the point of my hair knotting.
 
Rg Wife, you are almost a year natural boy that is something. Right now I can't imagine going that long, I think my hairwould be too crazy to manage. I will try to put a ton of conditioner on my hair and detangle with the padded paddle brush next week. I am scared to co wash or wash more than once a week now. I sed to co wash every other day but Im losing too much hair now.
 
12/30/08 will be one year:grin:

ladycage said:
Rg Wife, you are almost a year natural boy that is something. Right now I can't imagine going that long, I think my hairwould be too crazy to manage. I will try to put a ton of conditioner on my hair and detangle with the padded paddle brush next week. I am scared to co wash or wash more than once a week now. I sed to co wash every other day but Im losing too much hair now.
Click to expand...
 
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