Naturals: WORST mistakes you ever made as a natural?

[Poohbear]

thinking I could use conditioner as a daily moisturizer (left all kinds of white balls uughh)

Same here!!!

At first, Aussie Moist Conditioner was the ISH for my hair! It left my hair slick, smooth, shiny, and moisturized. However, it started to build-up on my hair when I would re-apply every so often. The build-up actually caused dryness and dulllness which affected my hair negatively. So I stopped using Aussie Moist Conditioner as a moisturizer.

 

[ConstantlyDynamic]

^^^i also made that mistake but with garnier fructis. i heard about naturals doing that so i tried it but it just doesn't work for my hair. left it sticky.

my biggest mistake was that i neglected my hair a lot. i didn't really go out and buy products that would make my hair healthy and instead chose to straighten it because i just wanted to put my hair in a ponytail and jet. i've had several episodes of heat damage and it's not fun

 

[SignatureBeauty]

Nevermind!!!! LOL!

 

[CocoGlow]

GREAT THREAD!!!

Biggest mistake:
*Experimenting w/ daily Wash n Go shrunken puffs

Big no no for my fine but densly packed 4B tight coils/napps - Now I keep my hair in stretched styles and I keep my hair sectioned/stretched in braids that are loose at the root during the entire wash/conditioning process

I knew better - was warned by other 4Bs but I just HAD to see for myself! I'm still finding single strand knots on my ends b/c of this experiment - some strands have up to 5 (yes FIVE) knots on ONE strand! Never had this happen before my stupid experiment! (Yes I'm still bitter LOL)

Other Mistakes:
*Not being gentle enough during detangling sessions, being impatient & ripping through my strands in frustration

*Jumping on countless bandwagons & being a product junkie - can't even recall how many
(after 4 years I'm still trying to settle on a set regimen & fav products/ingredients for my hair)

*Taking down 4 (Yes FOUR) sets of Locs within 1.5 years -oh boy!
(Sisterlocks, Backcombed Locs, Loc Extensions & 2-Strand Twist Locs)

Combing them out caused damage to my fragile strands which is why after 4 yrs, I'm currently at the same length I was at 2yrs natural!

Moral of the story: if you want Locs, make sure that you are really sure not only that you want to commit to Locs and are fully aware of all the Loc stages, but also make sure you are content w/ the method & size of the starter Locs. Also if you plan to remove them (comb out) one day, just know that you will not end up w/ ALL of the length you retained w/ the Locs!

* As I enter my 5th year natural in July I truly hope to avoid new mistakes/setbacks and I am determined to not repeat the ones above - I hope reading about my mistakes helps others to avoid them!

 

[pookaloo83]

Almost 2 years ago I posted in this thread and have more to add to mistakes I have made with my natural hair...

1. Using too much heat - once I learned how to get my hair super straight with heat, I was somewhat addicted to it. I would blowdry and flatiron with grease and it kept my hair straight for a month. However, it caused a lot of split ends

2. Not moisturizing enough or properly - I like wearing stretched out hair styles on dry hair. In order to do that, I couldn't moisturize much or else my style would shrink. However, not moisturizing caused my hair to get too dry and break off at the ends without me realizing it sometimes, hence the reason I've been APL for almost a couple of years.

3. Dry combing - again, this was done to achieve stretched out styles. This also caused breakage and splits.

4. Trimming too much - there were some times when I definitely needed a trim (when I had split ends), but there were times I didn't need to trim. There was also a time back in 2008 where I asked for a trim and the stylist actually gave me a cut from APL to shoulder length.

Now, I've been trying to reach my goal of at least BSL by the end of this year. I have seen time and time again that moisture and avoiding rough manipulation is the key to retaining hair length. So I've been keeping my hair in a bun and juicin' my hair with S-Curl, my long lost hair friend back when I had a TWA.

Do you still mostly wear your hair stretched? If so, how do you moisturize it without it shrinking?

 

[yaya24]

Hair type-- natural 4B

Worst mistake-- Washing my hair loose.

 

[Poohbear]

Do you still mostly wear your hair stretched? If so, how do you moisturize it without it shrinking?

At the start of June, I stopped wearing stretched out natural hair styles. Now, I've been wearing my hair in a moisturized bun.

 

[BriDa5242]

I followed the advice of a fellow Natural and went to a Dominican salon once a week for a Wash, Set and blow because HER hair was long...A month or two later I noticed my hair had A LOT of BREAKAGE ....I followed her hair regimen exactly and still had breakage.....once I stopped I noticed my hair become fuller again...I guess you have to find what works for YOU and YOUR hair ....

http://members.fotki.com/Bisthebest/about/

 

[melissa-bee]

BUMP..........

 

[tdc1978]

The worst thing I have done was try to wash my hair altogether instead of in sections, it became a tangled matted mess. Now I twist my hair in 4-8 sections and wash one section at a time.

 

[bride91501]

I was lucky enough to find the board as soon as I BC'd, so I haven't had any major mistakes (yet), thank God lol.

I have learned that my hair enjoys some light protein on a regular basis. I found this out by accident after using Aphogee 2M as part of the Lady P challenge after I took down my cornrows for the month. My hair responded so well to it that I decided to test it out on a bi-weekly, then later, weekly basis. I haven't regretted it.

 

[Anaya-Amani]

#1 Experimenting with permanent hair color and stripping the color out if I didn't like it!!!!! I fried my hair in the process!
#2 Going to someone unfamilliar with natural hair for "trims"- they cut 9 months of new growth off!!!!!

 

[lilyofthenile]

Doing what other people do to their hair, i.e. blow outs etc.

Just following my own path and doing what I need to do for my hair has really helped.

 

[greenandchic]

1. Daily wash-n-gos = too much manipulation and breakage.
2. NEVER wearing protective styles.
3. Not being using enough conditioner, especially while detangling.
4. Detangling out of frustration and in turn ripping my hair out.
5. Permanent hair color.

 

[Honi]

Hair type-- natural 4B

Worst mistake-- Washing my hair loose.

x10!!!! I learned that lesson the hard way with my DD.

 

[EbbonyTx]

-Too Much Manipulation
-Not Creating And Sticking To Regimen
-Organic Brazilian Keratin Therapy 30-Day Smoothing Treatment....The 30 Days Is A Lie Cause Its Been Over 2 Months

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

Heat

Beeswax

 

[Baggettcindy]

Using heat with my egg treatment. It's no fun picking scrambled eggs out of your hair!

Eggs are great for hair...just don't heat 'em up.

LOL...I had this experience. The first few times, I had didn't have issues, then one day after air drying my hair, I notices eggs...LOL.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Washing my hair loose

Sleeping with my hair loose

Daily co-washing (yucky scalp gunk)


Sent from my HTC Evo

 

[mEmYSELFaNDj]

Mistakes I have made with my hair before starting my hair journey include:

-too tight ponytails or buns
-using prostyle gel
-using beezwax
-using bleach and permanent hair dye to lighten the hair my self
-too tight weaves

 

[julzinha]

A RATTAIL COMB!!! No Natural 4a/b should ever use this!

 

[s4pphir3]

Putting a "texture softener" in my hair to loosen my curls ... & using the flat iron more than 3x a week

 

[LifeafterLHCF]

I believe going natural in the first place with the wrong mind set of what could happen and the mindset of comparing my hair and growth to others.

 

[Endlesslegs]

NOT TRIMMING!!!

 

[JessieLeleB]

Heat! only been natural since last sept, 2 weeks ago flat ironed without hear protectant and now won't curl back up and breakage, I cried lol, no more heat for a while and just weekly protein and DC treatments. Please Lord save me hair!


Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[Taina]

I swear my WORST mistake was to pay less attention to my hair because focusing to much on my gym trainning, and got a tex lax tryibg to gain more time ...

 

[greenandchic]

Putting a "texture softener" in my hair to loosen my curls ... & using the flat iron more than 3x a week

Do you mind telling me which one it was? My (natural) cousin is considering one and I am soooo trying to talk her out of it. I rather have her learn from other people's experiences.

 

[HauteHippie]

When I was natural, my worst mistake was to continue to detangle while frustrated. I'm sure I looked deranged as I hastily cut the middle of my hair. Also, taking my oldish cornrows out dry. I definitely should've saturated my hair in conditioner first.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Mobile G2

 

[LovelyNaps26]

dry combing my hair several days a week . each time i combed was like giving myself a hair trim.

 

[Curlykale]

I'll add:

beeswax (knots near the scalp, drying)

clays (I used Rhassoul with many moisturizing agents. Crazy static that my conditioners could not counteract, maybe raised cuticles as well, both times it took me a month of care to bring my hair back)