User Tag List

Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  2
Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Posts
    2
    Reviews
    Read 0 Reviews
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Rep Power
    0

    Default My hair needs help 😣

    ⚠️ I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE LONG POST ⚠️
    Let me begin by talking about my hair and what it's been through. For starters, I definitely have type 4 hair. Mostly 4a/4b with a bit of 4c in the back (maybe). My hair is very low porosity and pretty resilient I would say. Despite bleaching, dyeing, and straightening it every week for years under 450°, the most damage I got was just a looser curl pattern (3c-ish). When I was younger, my hair was long and healthy from what I've been told, and I can't exactly say when things turned bad except for when I started straightening it daily to weekly. After several years of straightening and dyeing I decided to cut my hair into a bob that did not look as good as I thought it would. Ever since, I've been on a hair growth journey. It's been a year and four months since I cut my heat and color damage off. My main problem begins here.
    My hair always feels dry, no matter what. It could be drenched in water with tons of conditioner in it and it still feels rough and tangled, even after detangling. It never seems to be fully detangled. It never seems to be fully moisturized. It's known that natural hair is its most defined and hydrated when soaking wet, but my hair feels the complete opposite. I don't remember a time when my hair has ever felt hydrated. There's no curl pattern no matter how much water I have in it and no matter how much gel I apply. I have so many single strand knots despite trimming my hair just last month. I chalked everything up to the fact that my hair has been dry/neglected for the majority of my life so I decided to try an experiment.
    Since we are under quarantine for about a month, my goal was to wet my hair every single day in the shower, condition and finger detangle, apply leave in and do a wash n go until my hair was trained. After about a week of doing so I haven't noticed a change and I am back to hating my hair. I hate my hair in a wash n go state because no matter how much gel I apply, the majority of my hair is frizzy immediately upon application. It looks fine as I'm applying and raking it through, and the curls separate nicely in my hands as I'm pulling on my hair, but as soon as I let go, most of the strand goes frizzy and only the ends will form a curl. I tried everything from singling to finger coils and so, so much gel every single day hoping that eventually I would get a root to tip curl instead of just the ends and so far nothing has worked. I don't know if I'm explaining it right but hopefully you understand.
    So now onto experiment number two. I plan to do braidouts for the rest of this quarantine and hopefully that helps retain moisture and give me a bit of stretch so my hair isn't tempted to tangle itself. I'm hoping this would decrease the single strand knots and constant tangling. But here's where another problem comes into play. At my workplace we are required to wear hats as part of our uniform, which means my hair has to be tied up and able to fit under the hat. I have been brushing my hair back into a Ponytail every day for multiple reasons.
    1. I can't have my hair out at work
    2. I can't keep it in a Ponytail for more than the time I am at work because it puts stress on my hair and I can't co-wash/detangle it if it is still in a Ponytail, but I also have to do it all over again because I have work the next day
    My hair gets very very dry if I have it out for more than a day, which is my reasoning for wetting it every day until it is trained to retain moisture for longer. On the weekends I will keep my hair out for 2 days before doing a shampoo wash and deep condition with a heated cap.
    My questions are: Is this an okay method for trying to nurse my hair back to health? What can I do to train my hair to develop a curl pattern instead of frizz? What else can I do eliminate single strand knots besides chopping an inch of hair off every month?
    Thank you for taking the time to read this if you did. Any help would be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Australia / USA
    Posts
    4,172
    Reviews
    Read 7 Reviews
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    17 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: My hair needs help 😣

    Hey,
    I answered here: https://www.nappturality.com/product...air-needs-help

    Here is my post:
    Hi LanaT,
    Thank you for your post – It is long but it needed to be and you have explained things very clearly. If you think your post is long, wait until you see my reply

    It is great you have decided to make this journey and from what I read, you have already cut off your heat damaged ends? If that’s right, then we can eliminate heat damage to the reason behind why your hair is always dry. Direct high heat applied to the hair causes damage, and even when you hair looks healthy straight, it really isn’t healthy if the bonds have been broken.

    The first thing I would check out is your water
    quality. City water can contain a LOT of chemicals including chlorine, calcium, copper, iron and fluoride – all of which can dry out your hair - making it impossible for conditioner to get through due to buildup.
    Buy a shower filter that will filter out those chemicals. Because if your water is full of chemicals and minerals, your hair will never get any better especially if you are rinsing often because you are continually adding to the problem.

    Also building up on your hair could be leave-in products that contain water-insoluble ingredients like petrolatum or mineral oil, which will compound the problems if your water is impure.

    To fix these problems, first use a clarifying shampoo that will clear up any buildup, followed by a rinse-out conditioner and then use a rich, leave-in creamy treatment that you can keep on your hair for at least an hour. Use plastic wrap and a warm towel so your body heat can help the conditioner penetrate your hair. Rinse well and continue with your styling routine.

    If your hair is porous / non-porous, there are things you can do to work with that. Check out my article on porosity, it may help.

    Curl Pattern: You may not have a curl pattern and that is OK! In fact, not having a curl pattern doesn’t mean your hair is any less than anyone else’s hair that has one. Most of us have all kinds of hair mixed up in our heads. Sometimes, if you have not removed all the shed hair when you wash/condition, the shed hair will tangle up in your growing hair and mess with any curl pattern you have, so make sure you get all the shed hair out when your hair is soaking wet. I use a tangle teezer (from the ends of the hair while gripping the hair at the scalp – never drag it through your hair unless it is already detangled) and it seems to get most of the shed hair out.

    Styling: For now don’t wear your hair out in wash-n-go’s. Until you get a handle on what is making it tangle and dry, wearing your hair exposed like that will only add to the problem. I don’t know how long your hair is but if you can wear it in a ponytail, then I assume you have some length?

    Have you used direct heat on your hair at all? If not, it shouldn’t be permanently damaged. So, you should be able to put it in a ponytail, braid it and wrap the braid around itself and secure again with a band or pin to keep your ends protected and neat under your hat. You may have to do this for a while.

    Even on those days when you are not at work it is important to protect those ends.
    You can also try bantu knotting, if that style fits under your hat.

    I think that once you clarify, improve your water quality, eliminate all hair products that contain petrolatum, mineral oil and silicones and get into a style regimen that protects your ends and keeps your hair inside a moisture-keeping natural hair product, you will begin to see a big change in your hair’s health.

    It is not easy to recommend individual hair products without knowing more about your hair, but I have recommended to you what you should stay away from, which is a start.
    "The truth is, your natural hair, in all its texture, is the hair that is ideal for YOU.."
    ~Dee~


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Posts
    2
    Reviews
    Read 0 Reviews
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    1 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: My hair needs help 😣

    Thank you so much for the detail in your response ❤️ I never thought about water quality being the culprit, but I think I'm going to rule that one out because at my other place I do have a shower filter and my hair still acts the same.
    As for clarifying my hair, what is a good clarifying shampoo that you can recommend? I already try to avoid products with silicone, petrolatum and mineral oils because my hair is very prone to build up, and I try to avoid sulfates because it causes dryness. I've been reading ingredients for a few months now but I think with consistency it'll get better.
    So far since changing up the wash n go mess, I have had my hair in braids all week with a hair milk and a thick cream applied. When I go to work, I put a scarf on my head and twist that into a bun. When I get home I take the scarf off and leave my braids out until I put a bonnet on to sleep. Would that work as kind of a protective style too?

  4. Likes deecoily liked this post
  5. #4
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Posts
    3
    Reviews
    Read 0 Reviews
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: My hair needs help 😣

    Have you ever tried moisturizing with natural remedies such as aloe vera gel, castor oil or shea butter/ coconut oil?

    Keeping hair moisturized is instrumental in maintaining healthy hair and growing hair.

    I did a A LOT of research and found certain things that are all natural (meaning it's NOT processed or man0-made but comes from the natural environment) that have been proven to work for my hair.

    So I started making my own hair creams out of shea butter and using aloe vera gel (the inside of the aloe vera plant) to deep condition and moisturize my hair and it actually works. I have actually seen progress and my hair is more manageable too.

    I started my own YouTube channel showing how I made and used these products if you're interested in seeing it. My YouTube name is Holistic Beauty RN.

    I hope this helps and feel free to ask me questions-we're in this together!

  6. Likes deecoily liked this post
  7. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Australia / USA
    Posts
    4,172
    Reviews
    Read 7 Reviews
    Post Thanks / Like
    Mentioned
    17 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: My hair needs help 😣

    Quote Originally Posted by LanaT View Post
    Thank you so much for the detail in your response ❤️ I never thought about water quality being the culprit, but I think I'm going to rule that one out because at my other place I do have a shower filter and my hair still acts the same.
    As for clarifying my hair, what is a good clarifying shampoo that you can recommend? I already try to avoid products with silicone, petrolatum and mineral oils because my hair is very prone to build up, and I try to avoid sulfates because it causes dryness. I've been reading ingredients for a few months now but I think with consistency it'll get better.
    So far since changing up the wash n go mess, I have had my hair in braids all week with a hair milk and a thick cream applied. When I go to work, I put a scarf on my head and twist that into a bun. When I get home I take the scarf off and leave my braids out until I put a bonnet on to sleep. Would that work as kind of a protective style too?
    HI @LanaT Nappturality is coming out with its own line soon but in the meantime, I'd recommend Cantu Natural Hair Shampoo. It has always been good for my hair. Dr. Bronners Peppermint Castile is also a good one, but it's very strong.

    It sounds like your protective style is perfect. With that kind of styling you will find your hair's condition will improve very fast! The satin bonnet is a must. People don't realize how quickly moisture leaves your uncovered head at night, cotton pillows will absorb moisture for hours.

    You're on the right track for sure!

    ~Dee~
    "The truth is, your natural hair, in all its texture, is the hair that is ideal for YOU.."
    ~Dee~


Similar Threads

  1. Hair Relaxers, Hair Dyes Hair Weave And Their Effects On Hair
    By NaturalAries in forum Alopecia & Hair Loss
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 01-06-2010, 09:32 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •