Where my fine stranded girls at?

I think that I "man handle" my hair too much when it's wet. I think I'll try airdrying my hair before rubbing in my butters and oils; that way I'm working with DAMP hair as opposed to wet (more fragile) hair.
 
Tamika said:
Jewell what relaxar you use
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I use Optimum Multimineral Lye Relaxer in Mild. I have the accompanying products too. (See my fotki, in the Hair Products album, for more info).
 
TigerLily said:
See I can't put moisturizer on my hair while it's wet. That's a surefire way for my hair to break. No matter what style, I have to let it get almost dry before I can even put my leave in on my hair. Then it has to completely dry before I put moisturizer on it. If I don't, my hair will get mushy and I'll have hair all over the place! Like Tracy, I have to comb my hair every day, which is another reason being natural did not work for me. :(
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Interesting! :yep: The main reason I put moisturizer on wet hair (not soaking wet) is because when I apply a moisturizer to dry hair if I wear my hair down, it messes up my hair style. The moisturizer I use is watery (ElastaQP Penetrating Moisturizer). It's to be applied to towel dried hair. ;)
 
tryn2growmyhair said:
You dont have to go back to the blowdryer Poohbear. :nono: What about rollersetting and going under the dryer? If you are going to use heat, try to use heat that is not directed. If you are going to blow dry, consider asking Cleo how she does it, because she blowdries, I believe.
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Sorry honey! :grin: I went back to the blowdryer Saturday.

I've rollersetted before but airdried instead. I've sat under a hooded dryer before but it's the same results with airdrying. This only worked temporarily because I have two different hair textures. My relaxed hair would turn out nice but my new growth never got straight enough to blend in with the relaxed hair. When I combed my hair, I would have hairs on my comb no matter how gentle I was.

Blowdrying minimizes the difference in the two textures which allows my hair to be more manageable and less breakage. Since Saturday, I have experience NO BREAKAGE AT ALL!!! Btw, blowdrying never damaged my hair...it was the coloring and overlapping of relaxers that damaged my hair. ;)
 
Delicate hair signing in.

This is such a great thread because I've always known I had fine hair but never knew the simptoms of it.

Things I learned I shouldn't do to my fine hair ever again:
- Rub gel through wet hair as a style
- Rub gel through dry hair daily
- Air drying
This contributed to my hair feeling "mushy". As time went on, I noticed that my hair was taking much longer to airdry, even to the point of remaining damp all day, even til the following day's condition wash.
- Combing my hair in the shower (yeah, not even if it's a Jilbere comb or my Denman)
This is what contributed to stretching the strands of my hair, thus damaging my hair to the point of not being able to comb through it. I've been wearing braids since last Sept. to grow it all out.
- Brushing my hair back (not even if it's a boar or my Denman)
I think this is what gave me split ends and damaged the strands of my hair. Unfortunately for me, although my hair is very fine and delicate, it's very dense and full, so I have to use a lot of my strength on my hair to force it to lay flat and tame it, which is damaging.
- Wearing small/medium twists/twistouts
These wear my hair out
- Slow down on the ORS Mayo, or stop completely (I never knew it was a 'protien' treatment; my hair started feeling more stiff each time)

Things that still work for my fine hair:
- Pantene Hydrating Curls products
- Suave Awapuhi conditioner as a leave-in
- Cholesterol deep conditioners (like LeKairs, esp. with Aloe in it)
- Oils
- Washing with conditioners (took a year to get used to, now it's nothing to think about)
- Braids

Right now, all I've had done are braided individuals. I've braided atleast 3 times since last Sept/Oct and much healthier hair has been growing in.

All I know to do now is press it with a ceramic inbetween braiding--I know, this may end up on my list of things of never to do again, but after 5/6 yrs of being natural, I'm really stumped that I can't do anything else to it because it may break. Even when I press it slick straight, it poofs by the end of the night or the next day, thus requiring me to force my brushes on it daily once again.


Question: If shea butter or other heavy moisturizers aren't good on fine hair, what do you use? (I currently use Suave's Awapuhi mixed with some oil)
 
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Sweetyb,

My hair is fine, and I blend my shea with oils to a consistency of a whipped cream. It sinks right in with out waying it down. Then I can spray water each day as needed. My hair is soft yet not greasy. The short hair growing in on the crown stands up but it is definately moist and not dry. My braided bun stays protected and hardly needs much aexcept every three days or so. When I get a small hand blender I am going to whip it.
 
Oh, my people. I have been trying everything possible to thicken my hair but it doesn't seem to be working. My hair is thicker at the neck than at the bra so I know I must be having breakage. My new hairdresser used Redken anti-snap after my last relaxer on Thursday. It really seemed to stop the breaking but I am worried it will be too drying in the long run. I also realized that too much air drying is a bad thing for me. My hair feels stronger and looks healthier after I use my ion dryer but tends to feel a little drier. When I air dry, my hair feels sofer and more moisturized but it snaps easier. So I think that maybe I will have to alternate?
 
I always hear that shea butter is great for our hair, but I think I got turned off by ORS and Kid Organic shea butter. I also think I got an old batch of FNWL shea butter from an LHCF exchange.

What kind do you get (refined/unrefined), and where do you purchase it? I've been meaning to buy unrefined from Nasaab, but don't want my money to go to waste. But mixing shea butter with oils sounds yummy for my hair.

Vintagecoilylocks said:
Sweetyb,

My hair is fine, and I blend my shea with oils to a consistency of a whipped cream. It sinks right in with out waying it down. Then I can spray water each day as needed. My hair is soft yet not greasy. The short hair growing in on the crown stands up but it is definately moist and not dry. My braided bun stays protected and hardly needs much aexcept every three days or so. When I get a small hand blender I am going to whip it.
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I also have fine hair, but it doesn't seem too thin except closer to my forehead. I suggest only using heavy conditioners at the edges of your hair (the ends). For some reason, when I would condition closer to my roots, it wasn't washing out all the way, and it would make my hair harder/dryer. Also try finger combing, b/c that seems to help me. I detangle with my fingers in the shower.
 
Hi - I am in the process of refining my regiment, so I thought I would "bump" this thread from about 2 yrs ago

One thing I now like are my bi-weekly henna, which have made my hair much stronger. What are the rest of my fine-stranded sistahs doing now?

Also after my sister (who has gorgeous long natural hair) told me she braids her hair daily, I started doing the same thing & hope it works for me.

tryn2growmyhair said:
If you have fine stranded hair you CAN NOT use heavy products like S-Curl and She Butter on your hair -- esp. when it is when it is wet. I hgave had success using jojoba oil iny my baggie. Just a few drops will do and using a light mixture of castor oil, jojoba, light olive oil and avocado oil on my hair.
Also, I do not leave the ponytail loose. The ponytail is braided and that has helped to give me strength.
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I have EXTREMELY fine hair and cannot even use moisturizers in my hair. Just wash, condition and airdry and this works. Also, as far as length retention, the only way I have been able to grow my hair from a short neck length to past my shoulders is by leaving my hair in cornrows and wearing wigs. I think fine hair has to be left alone as much as possible if you are trying to grow it out.
 
Camille429 said:
More fine strands here...I'm having a lot of breakage issues at the moment so I need all the help I can get!
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Bumping for more tips. I'm a fine haired girl and having the same issues right now.
 
My hair is very fine and it's dry too. I do a lot of wash & gos and detangle only in the shower with conditioner. Also, I now deep condition with protein then moisture weekly. This has helped a lot.
 
I'm using no lye (PCJ Moisturizing Children's Formula)

classimami713 said:
How do you fine stranded girls keep your relaxed hair long?

When I texturized with lye, my strands were extra fragile. When my hair was relaxed bone straight with no lye, my strands weren't as weak I think. Are most of you guys using lye or no lye?
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Yup! That's the way to go!

My stylist told me this years ago when instructing me how to handle my fine, thin hair. He said:

  1. Let your hair airdry until is slightly damp
  2. Apply your leave-in (if its a cream, mix it with a little warm water in a spray bottle and spritz the hair).
  3. Continue to airday until it is almost dry and THEN apply your moisture and sealing oil.
The only manipulation you do on wet hair is detangling after washing.

classimami713 said:
I think that I "man handle" my hair too much when it's wet. I think I'll try airdrying my hair before rubbing in my butters and oils; that way I'm working with DAMP hair as opposed to wet (more fragile) hair.
Click to expand...
 
january noir said:
Yup! That's the way to go!

My stylist told me this years ago when instructing me how to handle my fine, thin hair. He said:

  1. Let your hair airdry until is slightly damp
  2. Apply your leave-in (if its a cream, mix it with a little warm water in a spray bottle and spritz the hair).
  3. Continue to airday until it is almost dry and THEN apply your moisture and sealing oil.
The only manipulation you do on wet hair is detangling after washing.
Click to expand...

Fine hair lady checking in!
I total agree with your hair stylist. My products always work better when my hair is halfway dry.
 
My hair is fine. When it's wet, the only thing I do is detangle, spray my products into it and set it, keeping manipulation at a minimum.

I've found that for my hair, less is definitely more. Honestly, it was when I started trying all the tips and tricks I read about here that I made a few missteps and experienced some problems for the first time--tho I have also gotten some great tips from the board as well. Some of the best advice I've received recently was to change the way I treat my hair now that I'm getting older. I never used to put ANYTHING other than a leave-in and setting lotion in my hair because it was so fine. But in my 30s I find that it appreciates a little moisturizing lotion every few days. Mostly tho, it doesn't need much.
 
I didn't see the question about relaxing. I relax with ORS Olive Oil relaxer regular (which I LOVE!!!) I was fully relaxing it and my hair was very weak. Now I am texlaxing and my hair has much more body and feels stronger. I also think the relaxer has something to do with this. Other no-lye relaxers would make my hair feel dry and flat.
 
Blu217 said:
My hair is fine. When it's wet, the only thing I do is detangle, spray my products into it and set it, keeping manipulation at a minimum.

I've found that for my hair, less is definitely more. Honestly, it was when I started trying all the tips and tricks I read about here that I made a few missteps and experienced some problems for the first time--tho I have also gotten some great tips from the board as well. Some of the best advice I've received recently was to change the way I treat my hair now that I'm getting older. I never used to put ANYTHING other than a leave-in and setting lotion in my hair because it was so fine. But in my 30s I find that it appreciates a little moisturizing lotion every few days. Mostly tho, it doesn't need much.
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I am the exact opposite. I was using moisturizers for years and kept getting bad breakage. Only when I stopped is when I had ZERO breakage and stronger strands. I don't think I am the norm though. BTW, your hair is GORGEOUS! ;)
 
Yeah I retained the most length with a weave but I would like to be able to retain length somehow without a weave. Ultimately you are probably right about this Bouncy Curls.......

Bouncy Curls said:
I have EXTREMELY fine hair and cannot even use moisturizers in my hair. Just wash, condition and airdry and this works. Also, as far as length retention, the only way I have been able to grow my hair from a short neck length to past my shoulders is by leaving my hair in cornrows and wearing wigs. I think fine hair has to be left alone as much as possible if you are trying to grow it out.
Click to expand...
 
this sounds like good advice...

january noir said:
Yup! That's the way to go!

My stylist told me this years ago when instructing me how to handle my fine, thin hair. He said:

  1. Let your hair airdry until is slightly damp
  2. Apply your leave-in (if its a cream, mix it with a little warm water in a spray bottle and spritz the hair).
  3. Continue to airday until it is almost dry and THEN apply your moisture and sealing oil.
The only manipulation you do on wet hair is detangling after washing.
Click to expand...
 
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