Help!! Extreme Shedding&breakage After Protein And Moisture Overload :-((

[axumey]

It all started when i was doing a selfmade protein treatment in august. I used some Whey Protein Powder and mixed it with water. I let it sit in my hair until it got hard and washed it out. Everything was fine until i decided to do it again (2 or 3 weeks later i dunno anymore). My hair started to break like crazyyyyy

A month ago i read something about putting salt into conditioner to overcome protein overload -so i did that a week ago and even slept with it my hair was soft after rinsing all the product out but it was shedding like crazy -so i thought i was having moisture overload.. so i was putting a tiny amount of protein powder into my Deep Conditioner and let it sit on my hair for 20min. But my hair was still shedding and breaking so i thought protein overload was trying to play me and i did the salt+conditioner thing again...i nearly cried after rinsing out. I lost so much hair, i now have a appointment at my gynecologist to check my hormones because of the extreme shedding.

The problem is that i don't know if i should a hard protein treatment again or just let my hair in twists and wash my hair with normal conditioners (with a little hydrolized keratin) and don't touch them for the next few weeks...

I also bought garlic pills today and did black tea rinses. I really would like to talk someone who is a natural hair specialist/stylist but that's pretty difficult in germany....i'm so confused, i dunno if it really is moisture overload (even though my hair stretches a lot when wet) because if this really is moisture overload, protein overload was a joke!

SO PLEAAAAASE HELP OUT :-((((

 

[Colocha]

First, stop and take a deep breath. I'm so sorry this is happening and I'll try to help the best I can.

Does your hair feel mushy?
If you stretch a single, dry strand does it stretch and stretch and stretch and then break?
Or does it snap almost immediately or crumble?
Have you trimmed at all in this period?

I've had moisture and protein overloads at different times in the past and these questions will help to figure out what's going on.

 

[Alma Petra]

Is it shedding or breakage? If breakage settled down but your hair is still shedding, it might be an (allergic sort of) reaction to any ingredient in your new regimen (the protein, the salt, etc)

Try to go back to your old regimen before the mess started and make sure that you clarify your scalp with your "safe" old shampoo. And try to avoid too much moisture on the scalp for too long. Some people get shedding from GHE if I remember correctly.

I find it hard to believe that your strands can have moisture and protein overload both at the same time. Nonetheless, both moisture and protein overload tend to settle down over time with the use of normal balanced products, so mushiness and breakage aren't exactly the thing to worry about now. I would worry more about stopping the shedding. I have had multiple episodes of protein overload and breakage and I got rid of them by being consistent with my regimen and my moisture. I was even able to grow my hair to BSL at a point in time even though unlike the temporary protein overload it was permanently weakened and damaged by a relaxer. Just be very gentle while handling it. For example don't detangle dry, finger detangle rather than comb, only detangle with a lot of a slippy conditioner, and don't detangle and restyle too often.

Good luck.

 

[Saludable84]

It sounds like protein and moisture are not being used wisely, or together.

Initially you did the protein mix. Did you follow up with moisture? Further, why’d you follow up 3 weeks later with another protein treatment. That likely caused the breakage. Especially if you didn’t follow up with moisture properly. Then you put salt in your Conditioner to counteract breakage. Seemed that might have been ok, but then the shedding was mistaken as breakage maybe, and you reincorporated protein. Which repeated a cycle. Am I on the right track.

My advice would be to start over. Clarify and use a moisturizing or balancing conditioner. Also, the shedding could possibly be irritation of the scalp from the homemade protein and the salt. You so may need to cut out both and balance your scalp. I want to recommend perhaps a vinegar rinse as a final rinse and see how that may work out.

I’m sure others will chime in.

 

[beingofserenity]

Use your favorite, balanced shampoo and conditioner and leave your hair alone. It will probably balance out eventually.

 

[LushLox]

Go to your doctor and get your bloods and thyroid checked also, just to rule out any internal issues.

 

[LushLox]

@shortdub78 Assuming the OP is German she won't have to pay for her health care in Germany, so it can't hurt. Spot on advice though as usual!

 

[axumey]

@shortdub78 yup i don't need to pay to get all these tests done. Lol

And yes it really is shedding cause I can see the white bulb on the end of my strand.

Thank you guys for all the advice I guess I leave my hair twisted until Halloween and then clarify with bentonite clay.

 

[Lucky me]

That's what happens when you start doing too much

 

[axumey]

@Lucky me
Okay so let me get one thing straight!! I've been natural ALL MY LIFE, I always took great care of my hair (and my mother of course lol)

It's not like I don't know what to do BUT living in Germany often makes it hard for me to buy products that I really need and that are good for my hair. So back then when i thought about doing a protein treatment, it was Sunday (shops are closed on sundays here if you didn't know) + i am inpatient and didn't wanna wait a week until the protein treatment gets shipped to me from eBay/amazon. So I did the diy protein treatment (I really hate food in my hair BUT you often have no choice = living in Europe).

It really was okay. But it was dry some weeks later and I thought about doing it again and that's when it all started. I didn't know that i needed to moisturize afterwards...so let me be clear, I really do read instructions and I would've known to not do it again if I had used the aphogee stuff. But I couldn't use it because I can't buy it here. I can't even buy JBCO or Shea Moisture products they don't sell it. So called Afro shops only sell relaxers and extensions so I only shop my hair products online but I also have to wait between 5-7 days and often pay 5€ for shipping. Don't come at me like that because I don't even have someone to talk about it because NOBODY here understands the struggle of having natural curly hair, I wouldn't ask for advice here if I knew somebody who could've helped me in the first place.

It's the first time I experience a setback like that in 22 years because my hair was always long and healthy I knew what to do to maintain it like that -

So if you don't understand what I was going through keep your judging thoughts to yourself!

 

[axumey]

First, stop and take a deep breath. I'm so sorry this is happening and I'll try to help the best I can.

Does your hair feel mushy?
If you stretch a single, dry strand does it stretch and stretch and stretch and then break?
Or does it snap almost immediately or crumble?
Have you trimmed at all in this period?

I've had moisture and protein overloads at different times in the past and these questions will help to figure out what's going on.

Sooo wet strands are stretching a lot but they don't break or stretch when dry, kinda crazy. I went from protein overload to moisture overload real quick but I ordered the shea moisture jbco hair masque and it will be evened out after I use it i guess.

Thank you so much for all those kind words Grüße !

 

[Colocha]

Sooo wet strands are stretching a lot but they don't break or stretch when dry, kinda crazy. I went from protein overload to moisture overload real quick but I ordered the shea moisture jbco hair masque and it will be evened out after I use it i guess.

Thank you so much for all those kind words Grüße !

I understand! The other ladies in the thread have dropped a lot of good advice anyhow so I don't think I need to add anything else, lol. Hope it all works out.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

That's what happens when you start doing too much

@Lucky me, was your intention with this post to be encouraging and helpful? You spoke with flip before asking her questions, unlike the others in this thread.

I've seen a few posts of yours now that have rubbed me the wrong way, and it could be just me because I'm a super sensitive type. Everyone is free to speak as they like within reason, but if the roles were reversed I would want someone to let me know so that I could be less hurtful to others, because I care about how I affect others. You may not care. Or you may care more about your freedom to speak like you want than how it affects others.

I rubbed some people here the wrong way and some don't like me, so I try to stay out of their way so they can enjoy this space. But I still participate. I say that to say, it's possible to still be you but be aware of how you affect others with language, especially when people are dealing with something like a serious setback.

And oh: I'm not going to get into anything with you, so no matter how your reply to this, I won't be responding with a back-and-forth. I meant no harm with this post, and I hope you receive it in the way I meant. I'm glad you're here and hope to see you around the board. Blessings.

 

[LushLox]

@axumey where do you buy your stuff online? A lot to of UK retailers ship to Europe and some for free! I appreciate the irritating thing is waiting though, I hate that myself. It would be nice to just walk into a shop to get the stuff I want when I want!

 

[axumey]

@LushLox i sometimes feel like it takes longer to buy products from the UK lol. Plus I have to pay more...£>€

But I recently found a new product in my grocery store. It's the inecto coconut/Argan shampoo and conditioner. It's a UK brand and i'm obsessed I used it while suffering from protein overload - both the conditioner and shampoo are protein and sulfate free and overall natural products with like 5 ingredients It's moisturizing and not expensive at all. So I'm sometimes lucky to find good UK stuff in stores here

 

[intellectualuva]

*taking notes* Great advice in this thread on how to get back to basics.

 

[Saludable84]

@axumey

We have a great feature called ignore and you can use it for certain posters. Definitely give it a try.

Also, because you have to order products, what is available on the ground for you? Not everyone uses the same thing, but, perhaps you can look at commonly sold items and get some feedback from ladies here to see if alternative options can work too.

 

[Aggie]

@axumey

I see you've gotten some really great advice in here and I am so sorry to hear this happened to you. I'd like to recommend a book to read by one of our very own Audrey Sivasothy (aka - Sistaslick) that you can get from Amazon. She has so much great info for when you don't know what to do with your hair or when you seem to be doing everything right but your hair is still behaving badly. Plus she offers a lot of the science of the hair which helps us to understand it a little more.

Here it is .

The good thing is you can get a kindle copy of it and read it right away if you don't have a copy already. I do feel your pain. It's disheartening when your hair breaks or sheds excessively. I know that our hair does have a shedding phase that lasts maybe 2-3 weeks and this is a natural part of hair growth and should not be worrying. If it sheds excessively, then that is a huge issue for all of us.

I agree with all posts to clarify your hair and start over. See how your feels after clarifying then get a balancing type conditioner like Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner, I believe Shea Moisture has one as well, and Loreal Paris Ever Fresh Balancing Conditioner is another one you can try. Don't give your hair anymore protein treatments until your hair normalizes.

We're here for you

 

[Aggie]

That's what happens when you start doing too much

What ???

This is an Extremely Insensitive post. You really should "learn" to think before you speak sometimes. Smh!

 

[axumey]

@axumey

We have a great feature called ignore and you can use it for certain posters. Definitely give it a try.

Also, because you have to order products, what is available on the ground for you? Not everyone uses the same thing, but, perhaps you can look at commonly sold items and get some feedback from ladies here to see if alternative options can work too.

Mhh i really can't use products that they sell here..they are kinda drying + they are meant for straight hair

I really want to thank all of you for the great advice and all those kind words

I will keep you updated if clarifying worked although I already clarified with bentonite clay the past weeks, i guess my hair needs to get balanced again.

 

[Ayesha81]

Hi OP
I think a clarifying shampoo (not clay) will help. When my hair is overloaded I use Redken cleansing cream and may hair is back to normal.

 

[Aggie]

@Ayesha81, the OP started this thread and haven't posted since. I sure hope she's okay.

 

[DarkJoy]

on the topic of shampoo I recommend a swimmers shampoo. a swimmers shampoo will do both clarify and chelate in one swoop. Salt is a mineral and clarifying won't get the excess mineral buildup out of your strands or scalp.

yes your hair will feel stripped however it kibda needs that right now to break the bonds of excess salt and protein from the hair strands.

Just do a good balancing conditioner afterwards.

I keep a bottle Of swimmers shampoo in my cupboard for any mishaps. saves me everytime.

 

[Bad&Bougee]

Issues like @axumey is having is why I wish we had the means to send hair care packages to Sisters outside of the US who have difficulty finding quality products at a reasonable price. It's bad to have to pay a arm and a leg just in shipping alone.

As others have said, there is some really great advice being given. Have no expectations and be patient - your hair will bounce back. Good luck Sweet Pea.

 

[LushLox]

I want to give you all an e-hug, you’re all great on here.

Well most of you lol

 

[axumey]

Aww all of you are sooooo kind I dunno what to say

We’ll my hair still breaks like crazy...it doesn’t stop and it started matting ‍ I clarified, used the redken extreme stuff (it has protein in it but my hair stretched a lot when wet so I obviously needed it), I twisted my hair so I don’t have to touch it anymore...nothing helps like NUN it actually doesn’t stretch like crazy anymore but it still breaks like nothing happend. And I think it has nothing with protein/moisture to do, it must be because of the salt. It destroyed my cuticle layer obviously (well that’s what I think at least). Plus I will cut a lot of my hair off in January (9-12cm) because my ends are see through my texture also changed (let’s see if I find some pictures) a little it isn’t as curly anymore + my hair takes foreveeeeeeer to dry.

Maybe the swimmers shampoo helps, but maybe there are some other tips on how to overcome ‚salt-overload‘. Oh and I will get the results of my blood/hormone tests next week so maybe i‘ll know then if it’s because I suffer from deficiencies

 

[axumey]

The photo with the short hair was taken last year my hair was overall healthy. The picture with bad lighting was on November 1st this year. I dunno if you can see the difference but I feel like my hair looks horrible even though others won’t see it.

 

[demlew]

The photo with the short hair was taken last year my hair was overall healthy. The picture with bad lighting was on November 1st this year. I dunno if you can see the difference but I feel like my hair looks horrible even though others won’t see it.

You're right - I don't see the difference. You look fabulous in both. I have nothing to add except you're gorgeous and I hope the advice is helpful. Good luck to you!

 

[Autumn~Tint~Of~Gold]

The photo with the short hair was taken last year my hair was overall healthy. The picture with bad lighting was on November 1st this year. I dunno if you can see the difference but I feel like my hair looks horrible even though others won’t see it.

Your hair looks great to me!

 

[axumey]

Very pretty! Just work on moisture now. What do you have to moisturize and deep condition with?

I use a shea moisture deep conditioner and the inecto conditioner

Thanks ladies :-* I feel like my hair doesn’t break when dry but it breaks a lot when wet