I want to SHAVE off all my hair!!

EbonyPerez said:

Anyone else feeling this way about their hair?

I just joined LHCF I believe in May? And my hair did grow but I had to chop it off b/c its extremely uneven and I feel like its back in the same position AGAIN!! The middle is once again shorter than the rest and worst than the rest (sides, front, etc) and I just evened it all out in September!!! Its DRY, I have NOT found my staple products, Its EXTREMELY TANGLY to the point where I really cant take it anymore, my head is always sore after washing and conditioning and its horrific!!

AND I have a weird texture of extremely thick at the root, and stringy all the rest of the way down b/c I pressed for so long!!
I cant even do a wash and go because it looks weird!!

So, I really wouldnt mind shaving it all off!! But my goal is APL and BSL and all that good stuff and that will only prolong this whole process......ugh!! I just really hate this right now!!

Thanks for listening erbody

P.S. I don't want to sound like I am complaining, I am grateful for what God has given me.

Click to expand...

pistachio said:

maybe you can put your hair in a pony tail, saturate the ponytail with coconut oil, and put a sanwich baggie over it, and then a bun cover, and protective style for two months to start out. I think that'll gets your ends in shape, and help you to retain length too

Click to expand...

I agree with that , try the baggy method with a moisturizer (s-curl, elasta-q, avocado butter, others) and oil to seal (coconut oil olive or others) try it 2 or 3 months and you'll see the results!

NubianQueen said:

That's how I feel because even though I managed to get it to APL for a hot SECOND, it did not matter because it all shed and broke off back to the same 'ol SL! My scalp is crazy dry right now and peeling ! After all of these years on the boards you would think I would finally know what to do, but I do not! Any time I take one step forward, I take two giant steps back. I am DEPRESSED and defeated.

Sorry I could not be of any assistance.

Click to expand...

dimpalz said:

If that's what it takes maybe you should try it. I mean you don't need to SHAVE it all off but maybe a big cut is due. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about it, especially heat damaged hair. With all the knots and tangles natural hair seems harder to turn around. I think you should really think about it fully tho, it is winter now and the seasons affect our hair and scalp ALOT, that could be a factor.

Everyone will tell you consistency is key, with products you have to try them for about 2 months before you shelve them if they seem "unimpressive" at first. For now I think you should try and get into a routine, get some of the cheapy products the nappys are raving about and try them - lekair cholesterol and a denman brush work wonders for my 4" hair and my brothers 12" hair and that's like $3, cowashing is everyones friend, braid your hair up at night so it tangles less and stays moist, MOISTURISE MOISTURISE MOISTURISE. Seriously. Maybe 3 times a day. You're obviously headed in the right direction by the looks of ur siggy so just keep at it and if in a couple of months theres no improvement maybe you can consider a cut.

HTH and stay positive!

ETA: Stay away from the extreme heat!

Click to expand...

ThursdayGirl said:

You may find it easier to actually cut the stringy part off. That hair is damaged kinda like hair from a growing-out relaxer would be. I totally understand where you're coming from though. I would urge that before you decided to shave it all off, you try a few deep conitioning treatments (let the conditioner sit on your hair for awhile, 15-20 mins with heat...an hour or two without).

You gently clarify - maybe you have buildup and that's causing the dryness.

Look at the conditioners that you're using. If you're using a lot of protein, that may be why you're experiencing dryness.

It may be time to try some cholesterol. My hair (now natural) responds really well to cholesterol (1/4 cup approx) mixed with honey (1 tbsp) mixed with some Aubrey GPB (light protein - 1/8th of a cup). I also find that my hair loves Avocado oil (sometimes I mix 1 whole avocado into my conditioner if I don't have oil available). Since I have gone natural, I haven't needed strong protein, when I need more protein than usual, I just use Aubrey GPB straight out of the bottle.

It has been a few months since I used a conditioner straight from a bottle. On the rare occasion that I do, I like Suave's Nexxus Humectant conditioner mixed with some honey.

I hope you can figure out what's causing the dryness. The middle of your hair is likely a different texture that just needs a little more tlc. Do you pull or manipulate that hair more than the other hair? Could it be that a hairstyle you're wearing puts stress on your hair there? Maybe you wear a bun there?

Click to expand...

pistachio said:

maybe you can put your hair in a pony tail, saturate the ponytail with coconut oil, and put a sanwich baggie over it, and then a bun cover, and protective style for two months to start out. I think that'll gets your ends in shape, and help you to retain length too

Click to expand...

EbonyPerez said:

the thing tho girl is that when i smash all my hair together it gets soooo tangly
so what do i do then?
detangle everyday?

Click to expand...

EbonyPerez said:

okay well i havent pressed sinced april!!
i just havent found the right products and i dread even washing y hair because the tangles are impossible

Click to expand...

preciousjewel76 said:

As for washing, have you tried washing in braids? Detangle your hair while it's dry, then put it in about 6-8 big braids (with barrettes on the end if necessary). While you're in the shower, wet your braids, and pour some diluted shampoo over them. Massage your scalp and squeeze the later into the braids. The details are on the Crown & Glory website (http://www.growafrohairlong.com/shampooingnatural.html). I just tried this method for the first time this weekend, and I really think it helped!

Click to expand...

EbonyPerez said:

hmm good idea
iim gonna check that one out
thanks girl!

Click to expand...

destiny616 said:

also if you feel your hair is too tangled to detangle dry you can apply conditioner(something with alot of slip) to dry hair and detangle that way then braid, rinse and wash

Click to expand...

Poohbear said:

I got all my hair shaved off back in May of 2005. Remember, hair always grows back. And I wouldn't worry about reaching a certain hair length by a certain date. That will drive you crazy. The desire to reach APL or BSL usually happens because of this site and there are several other ladies who have APL and BSL hair. Don't worry, you'll get there one day!
You could start off with a fresh head of healthy hair by shaving it off or cutting it very low. All that pressing has caused damage to your hair. That's why I had all my hair shaved off...because my hair was damaged from the 1 time my mom pressed it.
Or you could do this... Do gradual trims and avoid pressing altogether. Do this until you no longer have stringy hair and until all of your hair is thick like your roots. Then you can focus on growing your hair to APL and BSL. No more pressing! And Please don't worry about length right now until you get your hair back into a healthy shape. Long stringy hair that's damaged from pressing is not pretty.
Hope that helps.

Click to expand...

preciousjewel76 said:

Yep! S-Curl is also great for detangling hair, wet or dry.

Click to expand...

ThursdayGirl said:

The tangles is why I recommended the deep conditioning. You are basically transitioning out of your pressed hair. I transitioned out of relaxed hair, but I had really atrocious tangling about 4 months into my transition.

The way I got through it was #1 a really good trim and #2 good deep conditioning. I found that I needed to deep condition weekly for a month or two and really take my time to get the tangles out. I would say after about 2 weeks the tangles were much better and by the 3rd week they weren't really there any more. Mine were close to the roots and along the hair shaft. The trim that I got (really more like a 2 inch cut) helped minimize the tangles at my ends.

edited for spelling.

Click to expand...

EbonyPerez said:

any brand in particular?
girl i need detailed instruction

Click to expand...

EbonyPerez said:

hmm good idea
iim gonna check that one out
thanks girl!

Click to expand...

zzirvingj said:

What she said!!!

I mean, really...if you haven't tried sectioning the hair to detangle while in the shower, I would strongly recommend you try this first. It has made such a difference with my hair.

Last year I didn't know what I was gonna be able to do with my hair cause I could no longer wash it at the length it was getting to...too many tangles to deal with!! It turns out, because my hair was growing, I just needed to learn a new way to deal with it, that's all.

I twist my hair into sections and it gets TOTALLY saturated with water and a conditioner. I only detangle with a wide tooth comb or "detangling brush" while it's still totally wet with conditioner, and that's underneath running water as well. I hope you will try this method and let us know your results!

I would really like to know...how have you been detangling it up until this point?? Have you been just combing it dry? If so, maybe your current method has you "thinning out" your own hair unnecessarily...? Just a thought.

Click to expand...

preciousjewel76 said:

It's the one in the blue and white bottle. I spray it on my dry hair to detangle (if my new growth is matted), and some other ladies have used it on wet hair to detangle after washing.

Click to expand...