what are some hair signs?

[monieluv]

people keep saying that we should listen to our hair and it will tell us what it needs. maybe i'm have deaf or my hair isn't talking loud enough, but i need to know the signs. so far for the longest my been sounding crunchy. this is my first time 100% natural and it never done that before. when i was permed my hair was always well moisturized and soft with a natural shine. but now? i don't know what's going on. i tried applying the same regimen for my permed hair but nothing. scalp is now oiled b/c i oiled it last night and apply moisturizer to my hair. woke up this morining scalp is still oiled, but my hair is crunchy, dry, and brittle. i've co-wash, oil rinse, dc, pre-poo, poo with CON, and done different treatments including protein. this has been going on for 4 months now. it's get soft for one day then back to crunchy. my hair is such a tease. i'm thinking about going back to the perm, at least i knew what to do. do you guys have any advice for me?

 

[monieluv]

no replies? i'm hurt and hurting.

 

[learningandgrowing]

bumping for youuuu

 

[pringe]

how long have u been natural? At first within the 1st year, u sometimes experience what is called "scab hair". This is when ur hair is still growing out the effects of the relaxer . this isn't a true representation of ur hair and sometimes it takes about 9months to a year for the scab hair to grow out.

Also I think ur doing a lot at the same time. y don't u just try washing and deep conditioning every time you wash and then apply a leave in. Sometimes deep conditioning goes a long way and ur leave in does a great job as well. Are u using any other products? GEl, heavy cream products or stuff like that? Sometimes that plays a part.

I totally feel ya, its a different way of styling ur hair. Products that i used to use when i had a relaxer i don't even bother to use them now. Things that used to make my hair feel soft and nice now make my hair hard. This is the fun time though because u can take the time to see what products feel good on ur hair now.

HOpe this helps :O)

 

[fluffylocks]

Can you name the moisturizeing products that you use, the deepconditoners and est?
ETA---you might need heavier things, maybe more water based instead of glycerin or oil and vice versa, maybe moisturize 2x daily, lighter oils, no cones, wash 1x a week and deepconditon instead of co-washing daily, maybe to clarify 1x a month or two months ...ect. ect.

Signs

Dry hair: brittle, snap easy, feels rough, dull, tangles/matts, crunchy, snapping sounds, hard

Damaged hair: lighter color, breaks no matter what, splits

Shedding: Could be a sign of a variety of things

Overmoisturized: Mushy, stretchy

Week/needs protein: Snaps easy as well, small breakage hairs

 

[Sly]

For me, if my (4a/3c) feels as soft as a toddler's hair it has TOO much moisture. . . time to add protein.

If hair looks dull after washing, or does not "hold a curl". . . time to clarify (too much product build-up from bunning/baggying).

those are mine. anyone else?

 

[wheezy807]

Sounds like you need more moisture to me if your hair is dry, brittle and crunchy. Also i've heard that sometimes when ladies transition to natural they have to find new products. Those same products that worked on your once relaxed hair may not work on your natural hair. So i say don't force it and find what works for you. Hopefully more of the natural ladies can chime in and help. HTH.

 

[MonPetite]

I've been relaxed, texlaxed, and am now fully natural and wrote reviews of products the whole way through that may be of help to you. I agree with the above posters as far as "hair signs" are concerned.

I co-wash and poo daily (mainly because of all the products I review and the extremely silicone heavy products I use as a leave in. My hair likes it, I'm not suggesting a daily poo and co-wash reggie for everyone). I don't DC because of my Cap n' Go method (Details in fotki).

 

[shocol]

Sounds like my hair...until fairly recently. I needed to step up my moisture game. My hair doesn't really need protein right now, so all of my products get judged on how much moisture they can bring to or help me keep in my hair. Anything that doesn't do those things gets tossed.

I used to oil my scalp/hair, apply leave-in, and still have crunchy , brittle hair. I did Sistaslick's porosity test and passed that so I figured out my problem was moisture. I would start with finding the basics (co-wash condish, DC, and leave-in) that work for you to get/keep moisture in your hair. It may mean that what you're using now is not sufficient. For me I had to change my products and increase my DC.

Do you apply leave-in, seal your hair with oil/butter and get dry, crunchy, brittle hair? Then maybe your hair doesn't like direct oils/butters for sealing. My relaxed hair only tolerated coconut oil for sealing. But my natural hair won't even accept that now. I think my hair probably needs a leave-in that is the right combo of water/oil. Still searching for that... so I'm going to try Qhemet Biologics next. Qhemet worked for my relaxed hair, so I'm hoping it will do the same for my natural hair.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I'm happy to help anybody shave a few months off the learning curve for your natural hair.