Lyme In Water Destroyed Hair

[NightGypsie]

I moved to Berlin Germany for a year. Until that time my hair was a natural except for dye and I only used oil and water about 3 times a week and then braid it every 2 nights. It was soft and in great condition. I was unaware of the amount of lyme in Berlin's water. About a month before I moved, I had my hair dyed.

After I moved I there, I did the same regiment, but noticed that my hair began to get coarse, not curly. So, the idiot that I was, I added more water to it almost daily in addition to washing it once a week. Before, water had always softened my hair so I did what came natural. After a while, the ends of my hair were sticking together like spider's web. The curls and color are gone. I was in tears watching it fall into the sink and the rest in knots on my head. The thickness of my hair fell out by about 4O%. Also, the ends are thin from breakage. I use distilled water now, but my hair is brittle, still breaking, and the ends are still sticking together. Finally, when I found a black hair store ( with only chemical fire cream products at 3 times the American prices) the guy told me that many black women here lose their hair from the excessive lyme in the water. I never thought that this was something I had to worry about with a natural bet it destroyed my hair texture and made it thin and break. Also, most companies for natural hair did not ship to Germany so that left me trying to use chemical fire cream products on naturals which may have worsened the condition..




Please, how do I get the moisture back into my hair ?

Also, my scalp is sensitive dry, flaky, and itchy…. What can I do for this?

Do you know any humectants or anything to replenish the moisture?

Some of the things I already tried are below .


Carol’s daughter hair butter
Burdock root for scalp
Miss-Jessies curly pudding ( I tried this to bring the curl back, but my scalp burns and itches so bad I had to wash it out)
Egg, vinegar, honey mixtures
Kolestral conditioner
Pantene conditioner
Queen Helene’s hot oil treatment
Hot six oil
Fantasia high potency reconstructor ( probably was a bad idea on a natural, but someone suggested it)
Carol's daughter leave in conditioners ( two of them- the ones with vodka inside- it made my ends more brittle)

[NewlyNappyNelle]

I think you should clarify and deep condition with moisture rich products and look out for ingredients that will just coat your hair. The chemicals from the color and the water are destroying your hair, and all of the products you are using are probably causing build up.

Have you looked into getting a water filter for general health? That can help tremendously.

How often do you wash? how do you wear your hair? You have to take care of your scalp since it is behaving so badly.

Also, I would look into cutting away the damage and wearing protective styles to ease the manipulation.

[gr2006]

[/b]

You'll need to get a shampoo that will help remove the mineral deposits from your hair.

Most any shampoo that advertises itself for use after swimming is good too. The shampoo that is used in no-lye chemical fire cream kits (neutralizing shampoo) are chelating shampoos too and you can probably purchase them separately.

Here are some others:

Joico K-Pak Chelating Shampoo
Ouidad Water Works Shampoo
L’Anza Swim & Sun Daily Chelating Shampoo
ALBERTO CULVER Nexxus Aloe Rid Gentle Clarifying Shampoo


here's pages and pages of shampoos you can look out for:

http://www.nextag.com/chlorine-shampoo/search-html

Remember look for chlorine and mineral deposit remover, chelating or swimmer's in the descriptions.

---------------------
I'm also noticing that you're using alot of products that are heavy on protein and other ingredients that have a tendency to buildup on the hair (eggs, silicone). Oils, if your hair isn't properly moisturized, can actually prevent your hair from absorbing moisture.

Remember that moisture = water, not oils.

I'd stop using all of those products, especially if you're using them together, it's too much for now. Start fresh with 1 shampoo, a regular conditioner and a deep conditioner. Once your hair begins to feel better than you can try something new and see if it works well for you or it doesn't.

Try using something simple like vo5, suave or white rain conditioners - these usually are not heavy, do not contain silicones and can be used daily without buildup problems. You can also use these conditioners in a conditioning spritz (#1 water, conditioner and maybe a bit of an oil). Put it in a spray bottle and use as a quick moisture boost.

Your deep conditioner should be a moisturizing one (for now) stay away from any thing that says reconstructor, repair, or contains heavy proteins. Silk protein is ok.

sorry, this is much longer than it should be - i just wanted to make some suggestions and let you know that it will be ok. hopefully you'll get some more suggestions from the ladies that can help you out.

[NightGypsie]

No, it wasn't too long and thanks so much!

You reminded me of a few things I had forgotten like moisture is equals water, not oils. I am also going to try one of the chelating shampoos you mentioned this weekend. Thanks so much for the product suggestions and the information. I really needed this!


Nicole