No more afros for me....At Least for a while

Just wanted to share this with you guys,


After wearing twists (with wearing a 3-5 day twistout between twisting sessions) for the past 6 months, I wanted to leave my hair out for a week before putting twists back in. I hadn't worn my afro in months and I was really missing it.

Well...In the 18 months I've been natural, I had never been so frustrated with my hair as I was this past week.

The routine that I used when I wore my afro daily months ago did not change but maybe it should have. I would conditioner wash my hair, finger comb it and then put a leave-in in my hair. The only difference is I put my hair in two pony puffs because now my hair is long enough to do that.

Two days after wearing my pony puffs, I decided to section my hair and do a gentle detangling session. I wet my hair and soaked it with Pantene conditioner. This had to have been the worse detangling session I've ever had! It took me an hour to detangle my hair and I had detangled it two days ago! Plus I was in a lot of pain.

Yesterday evening (the day after my awful detangling session), I came to the conclusion that I should go back into twists. So I put my hair in 6 sections, washed each section, and once again detangled with conditioner in my hair. I was so upset yesterday because it was as if I had not detangled the day before! And I was losing so much hair! And having balls of shedded hair hanging on the ends of my hair was quite annoying.

What was interesting was that my sister was talking to my best friend while I was in the shower. I overheard her saying "I don't see how Ebony does it. Spending hours doing her hair. It comes out really pretty in the end but I couldn't take it. That's why I got a texturizer and called it a day...." *sigh

As soon as I finished detangling my hair, I was about to start twisting when my mom offered to twist my hair for me. She was being so gentle as she would part and comb my hair. She was doing all the right things including spraying water on my hair if started to dry. But I was still yelling "Ouch" as she would comb. I was really angry at that point because I had just finished going through a 90 min detangling session! I was just amazed at how fast my hair tangled back up. But my mom, like another girl who did my hair pointed out, said that my hair just tangles easily. Mom said that she dealt with this while doing India's hair and that's why she had to put a texturizer in it. But she knows how I feel about chemicals so I'm glad she didn't recommend one for me.

I'm back in twists now and I'm thinking that now that my hair is longer, it can't be worn out like it could have been earlier this year.

Maybe I need to reevaluate my routine or possibly find a better detangler. Or maybe a really good trim would help remedy the situation. But for right now, I think it's best that I stay in twists.

I'm just sad that I can't wear my afro for a while because I really love it.

Thanks for letting me vent.



-Ebony

Hang in there Ebony, you'll pull through! As your hair grows and changes so will some of your styling. If you try to work on the detangling, maybe you'll be able to rock your 'fro sooner than you think! But most of all, just focus on having a healthy head of hair and you'll be ok...

I understand how you feel, the longer my natural hair got the more it would tangle . I loved to wear a afro, but after my hair got a certain length the top/middle (3c) of my hair wanted to lean to the side . Yet when I did twist, I like the two strand kind, it would take me at least 3 hours (I have a big head ) and would only last 10 days.

The sheeding you are experiencing is because your hair is up in twist most of the time and therefore doesn't sheed hairs. When you take it down you see a week (or more) worth of sheeding you normally amount of sheeding you would have experienced had you not had the twist in. Hope that makes you feel better

Have you ever thought of putting your hair in large braided sections and washing it? Perhaps make the braids loose enough to let water flow through, but formed enough so that your hair won't tangle. You could also take down each section one at a time and wash it. Also try a detangling shampoo like CON.

At any rate keep your chin up, I'm sure as your sister said your hair is very pretty.

don't worry ebony.
i also read your post on nappturality. your hair is just going through a "i want to be difficult for the fun of it" phase.

Okay, I thought I was the only one blessed with hair that tangles VERY easily. LOL! I'm serious! That's why I only work with my hair in sections (the section I am about to twist) because if I try to detangle my hair any other way, it ends up being a waste of time. Once in a while, I wear a afropuff, but I don't do this too often because my hair ends up "getting mad at me."

Anyway, having a good detangler and my favorite protective style (twists) has really made the difference for me.

My soaking-wet detangling sessions have never been too difficult, but I always hate seeing all that shed/broken hair in the tub after I'm done. I use to wear a puff constantly, but now I've move to twists and I love them. I've found they're more versatile than my puff and they're soo much easier. Yay for twists - but yay for the puff too cuz it'll always be a pretty style .

I feel ya. I'm putting my puff away for a while for the same reason.

Hi ebony. May I recommend a product for you? It's Daily Defense Tender Apple conditioner. It cheap (about $0.88-$1.59) and it helps with the tangles.

Though I am not natural, I have dealt with awful tangles before. What remedied the situation for me was: a really good trim, a good detangling/PENETRATING conditioner like St.Ives or Kenra Moisturizing and a good creamy leave-in left in soaking wet hair like Suave Awapuhi and a good spray leave-in like Biolage Leave-In Tonic. I finally kissed my tangles goodbye!

The last time i wore my hair in a fro is the last time I will wear my hair in a fro. I combed it out for work and by the time I got home it was an absolute mess. I find that my hair didnt tangle when I did a very slight blowout on it. But since I am on a no heat challenge, my hair will be curly until next year I guess

Ebony,

You're at the exact same length I was when I started experiencing fierce tangles too. I did end up getting a texturizer, which is of course, not the solution for you. However I do empathize. I didn't want to wear my hair in twists because they took so long to do, but if I did have the patience, I agree twists are ideal. I did find that doing about a dozen large twists and wearing the subsequent twistout was the best solution for me.

I totally relate Ebony....my hair is the same way, it tangles so easily. My usual style is a puff, at night I do 4 big braids. Basically I've tried to avoid detangling too aften, cause I will lose the same amount every time, whether it's 2 days apart or a week apart. In the morning I just use a boar bristle brush on my edges and put it back into a puff.

Also, giving yourself a light dusting can help with the tangles. HTH

Thanks for your responses! I wrote down the detangling solutions you recommended. I'll try them out after I take my twists out and let you know the results.

-Ebony