ali52285
New Member
So I've been lurking on this forum for years. I'm not proud of it and some of you may turn away instead of continuing reading. I became a heat addict when I went away to college in 2003. I was in upstate NY, middle of nowhere, there was no salon around that knew how to do my hair, so I had to learn to do my hair myself. That's how the flat iron became my best friend. My hair became really damaged, I didn't even know what heat protectant was. I probably found this site around 2008. The reason I lurked was because I wasn't ready to commit taking care of my hair the way I knew it needed to be. I wasn't ready to let go of heat. I've changed certain bad habits that I've learned from this site, using heat protectant, always deep conditioning, stopped flat ironing, only roller setting. But I still new it wasn't enough. So I guess I didn't feel “worthy” of contributing when I wasn't completely committing myself.
But we all have to start somewhere, right? For some of us it takes something bad for us to realize a change needs to take place, others have the drive to make that change before consequences occur. In my case, something went awry.
I am relaxed, I have been since about 1997. I have also highlighted my hair a few times since 2005. I'm really not sure what my hair type is. I think it might be somewhere between 3c and 4a, but who knows, I can't recall what my natural hair looks like. My father is indian and I guess he has type 1 hair, no idea what my mom would be because she's always been relaxed also. I've always had thick hair, I always got compliments as a child and even as an adult despite the damage. I don't consider myself as having long hair, especially when I see the women on here, but it's always been around/slightly below bra strap, without really trying.
July 2, 2012 I decided to color my entire head. Its always something I've thought is a definite no no for women of color, on top of being relaxed. I did some research, especially using this forum and it seemed like clairol texture and tones would be the safe way to go, despite being relaxed. I could not find anyone would had a bad experience with it. I contemplated it for a while once I bought the box. Not sure what was going through my head, I must've been having a quarter life crisis moment. If I could turn back time I would, but I can't.
After I washed out the color, my hair was coming out A LOT. I've NEVER had so much hair come out before. I've had shedding issues in the past, this was not it. I tried finger combing with conditioner and more kept coming out. I broke down in the shower, I thought I was going to go bald. Like any other woman your hair is such a huge part of your identity, I wanted to die. I pulled it together and went to my trusted LHCF for advice.
After researching....I came to the conclusion that I had overprocessed my hair. I needed to put protein back in because I basically turned it into swiss cheese. First I tried Nexxus Emergencee, didn't see any change. Sorta felt like it was stronger, but that could have been all in my head. Then the following week I decided to give Aphogee 2 step a try, didn't see much of anything change either. So the following week and half later I decided to give Emergencee another go, but still nothing. The hair is still coming out just as much.
It's been about a month and it's painful(mentally) to wash my hair and see so much coming out and then to even touch a comb and try to detangle is too much. I have not put any heat in my hair for the entire month, I've been doing braidouts, twist outs, buns. This is the longest I have ever gone without heat. I've been deep conditioning twice a week. I moisturize daily with NTM and seal with various oils. My hair has gotten so thin, its sickly to look at. The strands that come out seem so long, I feel like I would have to cut it so short to fix this problem.
I'm lost right now, I didn't expect an overnight fix, but after a month it seems like absolutely nothing's changed. I've lost so much hair in just one month, I don't know what I'll have left after two. I'm scared. The things that were supposed to work aren't.
If anyone's been in a similar situation please please reach out, if there's anything else you think I should try, I'm willing. If you think cutting it off it the only solution, tell me.
And if you've gotten to the end of this, thank you for reading, I really appreciate it.
But we all have to start somewhere, right? For some of us it takes something bad for us to realize a change needs to take place, others have the drive to make that change before consequences occur. In my case, something went awry.
I am relaxed, I have been since about 1997. I have also highlighted my hair a few times since 2005. I'm really not sure what my hair type is. I think it might be somewhere between 3c and 4a, but who knows, I can't recall what my natural hair looks like. My father is indian and I guess he has type 1 hair, no idea what my mom would be because she's always been relaxed also. I've always had thick hair, I always got compliments as a child and even as an adult despite the damage. I don't consider myself as having long hair, especially when I see the women on here, but it's always been around/slightly below bra strap, without really trying.
July 2, 2012 I decided to color my entire head. Its always something I've thought is a definite no no for women of color, on top of being relaxed. I did some research, especially using this forum and it seemed like clairol texture and tones would be the safe way to go, despite being relaxed. I could not find anyone would had a bad experience with it. I contemplated it for a while once I bought the box. Not sure what was going through my head, I must've been having a quarter life crisis moment. If I could turn back time I would, but I can't.
After I washed out the color, my hair was coming out A LOT. I've NEVER had so much hair come out before. I've had shedding issues in the past, this was not it. I tried finger combing with conditioner and more kept coming out. I broke down in the shower, I thought I was going to go bald. Like any other woman your hair is such a huge part of your identity, I wanted to die. I pulled it together and went to my trusted LHCF for advice.
After researching....I came to the conclusion that I had overprocessed my hair. I needed to put protein back in because I basically turned it into swiss cheese. First I tried Nexxus Emergencee, didn't see any change. Sorta felt like it was stronger, but that could have been all in my head. Then the following week I decided to give Aphogee 2 step a try, didn't see much of anything change either. So the following week and half later I decided to give Emergencee another go, but still nothing. The hair is still coming out just as much.
It's been about a month and it's painful(mentally) to wash my hair and see so much coming out and then to even touch a comb and try to detangle is too much. I have not put any heat in my hair for the entire month, I've been doing braidouts, twist outs, buns. This is the longest I have ever gone without heat. I've been deep conditioning twice a week. I moisturize daily with NTM and seal with various oils. My hair has gotten so thin, its sickly to look at. The strands that come out seem so long, I feel like I would have to cut it so short to fix this problem.
I'm lost right now, I didn't expect an overnight fix, but after a month it seems like absolutely nothing's changed. I've lost so much hair in just one month, I don't know what I'll have left after two. I'm scared. The things that were supposed to work aren't.
If anyone's been in a similar situation please please reach out, if there's anything else you think I should try, I'm willing. If you think cutting it off it the only solution, tell me.
And if you've gotten to the end of this, thank you for reading, I really appreciate it.
hth
