Weak Hair

[beebstt]

I did a smoothing treatment a year ago that has greatly weakened my hair. 4-5 times the amount of hair that I used to shed on my pre-smoothing treatment wash days now come out when I wash my hair. My hair is almost BSL, has about 5 inches of new growth, with the rest being hair from the smoothing treatment.

I did a smoothing treatment because I wanted more manageability. Now I feel like I should have done keratin or relaxed it.

What should I do to strengthen my hair??

Is there an effective protein-rich leave in I should switch to?
Should I cut off the smoothed ends? (A little hesitant to do this because I live in buns.)
I thought about relaxing my hair, but I'm guessing it would be unsafe given how weak my hair is now.

 

[Aggie]

Honestly I'd cut off the smoothed ends if it was me. I can't stand holding on to weak hair personally. I'm sorry if I'm no help but if it's really bad, trim it off and start again.

I did one of these smoothing treatments a few years ago and regretted it after the first treatment and cut it all off. I was much happier after taking off the weak and snapping hair.

I've started my hair journey over at least 5 times since 2011 and my hair still grow back fairly quickly. My last cut was July 31st this year and I bet I will have shoulder length hair before the end of the year.

Hope someone else who has had success with these treatments will chime in for you soon.

 

[learningandgrowing]

I hope you find something that helps! What smoothing treatment did you use?

 

[WaistLengthDreams]

Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin Restructurizer is my go to protein leave-in.

But if you really want to whip your hair into shape, then I love the Aphogee step 2 treatment with the Aphogee balancing moisture to co-wash it out and then a moisturizing deep conditioner of your choice with heat. It always brings my hair back to life when my hair is off and nothing else seems to be working.

If you love buns and cutting your hair will take that away from you, then I'd just slowly cut it away like a long term transition. But honestly, if it's a really drastic difference between the new growth and the part that's damaged from the smoothing treatment, you might want to cut off the damage and start over. That way you could relax or do a keratin treatment with less worries.

@beebstt I'm sorry this happened to you. And I hope you find a way through it.

 

[beebstt]

I hope you find something that helps! What smoothing treatment did you use?

Honestly, I don’t know the brand. I went to natural sisters in Harlem to get it done.

 

[beebstt]

Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin Restructurizer is my go to protein leave-in.

But if you really want to whip your hair into shape, then I love the Aphogee step 2 treatment with the Aphogee balancing moisture to co-wash it out and then a moisturizing deep conditioner of your choice with heat. It always brings my hair back to life when my hair is off and nothing else seems to be working.

If you love buns and cutting your hair will take that away from you, then I'd just slowly cut it away like a long term transition. But honestly, if it's a really drastic difference between the new growth and the part that's damaged from the smoothing treatment, you might want to cut off the damage and start over. That way you could relax or do a keratin treatment with less worries.

@beebstt I'm sorry this happened to you. And I hope you find a way through it.

Thanks for this helpful reply. I have the nexxus protein treatment, and it’s just meh to me. A few years back, I used the aphogee 2 step and really liked it. I’ll try it again.

I’m thinking of a slow chop. So for every inch of new growth, cut off an inch or so to keep my length.

 

[WaistLengthDreams]

Thanks for this helpful reply. I have the nexxus protein treatment, and it’s just meh to me. A few years back, I used the aphogee 2 step and really liked it. I’ll try it again.

I’m thinking of a slow chop. So for every inch of new growth, cut off an inch or so to keep my length.

no problem and good luck!