Way Too Old To Not Know How To Manage My Hair :(

[l0vely]

Hi Ladies!

I feel slightly embarrassed posting this as I feel I am way too old to not know how to take care of my natural hair, but the truth of the matter is I don't. As many youtube videos as I watch, managing 4c natural hair seems so confusing and I never know where to start or in which order to do something to my hair. This is where I hope you ladies can chime in

I have 4c natural hair (as mentioned above) or at least I think I do! I wear sew-ins so often as a protective style, but when I take them down to transition to my next sew-in my hair is EXTREMELY DRY AND BRITTLE. I have no idea what to do to it during my take-downs. I don't know If I should do anything to it before washing and conditioning it, what products to use, how to use the products in specific orders, methods to use to help with the dryness and the brittleness. Can someone PLEASE give me a step-by-step guide or direct me so that I can get started?

I currently just take my hair down, shampoo and condition it, try my best to moisturize it with whatever is around and let it air dry and pray that I can put some type of twist out in it but to end result always looks horrible and dry. PLEASE HELP!

 

[Guinan]

What kind of products are you using when you take down your sew-in? How long are you deep conditioning? Do you wash your hair when it's in the sew-in? Can you be alittle more detailed in your hair reggie ie, protein usage, trims etc..?

Shampoo doesnt work for my hair. To clarify I either use ACV or a cleansing conditioner. Too deep condition, I use diluted tressume. I wash my hair 1-2x's a week or if I'm lazy every two weeks.

 

[julzinha]

What products are you using? And what is your sew in regimen? Also, are you doing regular protein treatments and prepooing?

I protective style with braids all the time and have had weaves in the past and my regimen never really changes. My out of braid regimen (I leave my hair out for a week) is to prepoo with coconut oil, clarify, protein treatment, then DC overnight and moisturize with the kimmaytube mix. And my hair is always soft as silk.

 

[DarkJoy]

how long are you leaving the installs in? how long do you leave your hair free before reinstall?

 

[newgrowth15]

@l0vely, I agree with all of the above posters, but make sure you love and appreciate the hair growing out of your scalp first. There is a lot of advice on this board and many other places that will help you, but it all begins with your attitude towards your hair.

 

[snoop]

I don't wear weaves or braids but have in the past. I have read some regis of people who do on this board and realized that you also need to keep up with the cleansing and moisturizing of your natural hair while you are in the extensions. That's something that Inever did and my hair suffered for it.

 

[naturalmanenyc]

What are you using on your hair while in the weave?

 

[almond eyes]

Even though I have a mixture of hair textures on my hair my hair is predominately 4C and it is fine.

I do not think the issue is the 4C hair. My hair always gets to APL but then would break and this is because I never knew the importance of protein treatments until this year. I have many Ethiopian friends who have 4c fine hair that have hair that is bra strap and longer that is when I knew I had to stop making excuses and figure out why my hair was always dry and breaking. My grandmother also had 4c hair that was back length and she was pure African.

I do not wear protective styles that require me to use extensions. I have learnt my lesson in the past that it causes too much breakage and shedding. And it also causes my hair extreme dryness and matting. And the perimeter of my edges always get worn down no matter how meticulous I am with my hair because my hair is fine. Also, because my hair is fine I believe that the constant protective styles with extension hair also ruined my cuticles and made them even more porous. So I have not worn extension braids or weaves for three years. And I also do not color my hair light at all anymore. But once it starts to grey I will do some henna or dark rinses.

I use protein treatments on a regular basis every four weeks. And I do my shampoos/deep conditioners on a weekly basis. But I make sure it is a real deep conditioner not one with protein which could make my hair harder. I also wash in seven sections using good hair bands.

I also make sure that my moisturizers are not overloaded with protein to make my hair hard. I daily moisturize.

Best,
Almond Eyes

 

[Misseyl]

You can do a word search of any hair-related issue and you will find an answer from the ladies who post here regularly. There is just too much information which cannot be answered in one response.

 

[LdyKamz]

OP how do you take care of your hair while in the sew in? That will play a big part in what your hair is doing after you take down your sew in.

 

[ladybug71]

Another 4c checking in. For most of 2013 I wore sew-ins while I transitioned. You mentioned your hair being extremely dry and brittle upon take down. How long are you keeping your sew-ins for? And, most importantly, are you using a moisturizer during the time your hair is in the sew-in? For me, this made a huge difference between 2013 sew-in #1 vs. #2. Upon take down of #2, I had a little shedding, but my hair wasn't as dry as the first time, and I had a lot more growth. I also shampooed my hair a couple times while in weave. And to answer your question regarding specific things to do before shampooing upon takedown, DEFINITELY go through your hair with some kind of oil BEFORE doing any kind of shampoo to remove and minimize matting and tangling of the hair being shed while wearing the weave.