HELP!!! Relaxed Hair Growing Haircare Tips Needed!!!

H

hair101

New Member
Hi Ladies... I'm a new subscriber..(just today) I apologize for the long post; however, my hair is in a critical state. A few years ago, my crown area began thinning and now is pretty much .. gone.. I've been to dermatologists trying to verify if there is any medical reason for the thinning to no avail....

At any rate, the rest of my hair was SL. However, recently, I've experienced severe shedding, severe split ends, etc due to lack of maintanance.. To the point that my stylist did cut my hair and it is now slightly longer than chin length.

Growing up, I always had SL or slightly longer and I guess its 4A or maybe even a combination of 3C/4A if thats possible? (my natural hair is sort of wavy-curly-poofy).. sorry - not really sure of the texture.

I've been relaxing my hair (against my mother's advice) for about 15 years. Now, i want/need to grow it out and I'm not sure if I should go natural or just relax it less, and of course - get a good hair regimen in place.

I can't do the BC to go natural (big-cut - i think ;) - because of the thin/baldness in the top and I'm very much attached to my "comb over" (smile)

I need to figure out what to do?? Should I try to go natural and just condition and deal w/two textures? Should I just keep relaxing my hair but instead of 6-8 weeks - maybe go 8 - 12 weeks if longer. (my hair is very easy to relax - just takes a few minutes - if that long)

What is a good but EASY - hair regimen for thining, breaking, fine, hair?
shampoo/ conditioner
(how many times per week, monthly)
deep conditioner
daily maintanance
growth products


I'll post pics when i get enough nerve to take a picture of my my crown area.

PLEASE HELP with any advice, tips, suggestions... :):)
 
OMG this sounds exactly like me! I used to have my before in my signature pic but I changed it, you can check out my fotki and see it though. I really thought I was going bald for a long, long time, until I found this forum and found out that the reason my hair kept breaking off/falling out was that I wasn't moisturizing it enough! I don't really know enough about your regimen to be able to tell if that's what your hair needs though, but I can tell you what I did: put some kind of moisturizing conditioner (whatever you have is fine as long as it doesn't have protein in it) on your crown area, then seal in the moisture with some kind of oil...I've used all kinds of oils, Hairveda's Cocasta oil, Hydratherma Naturals growth oil, castor oil, almond oil, it didn't really seem to matter because within a few weeks, maybe a month, my hair started to grow and fill in.

I also highly recommend stretching your relaxers if you're getting them sooner than every 8 weeks. I was getting mine every 6 weeks for about a year and a half and that's when my hair really started to go downhill. I'm still kind of a newbie myself, but feel free to check out my fotki just to see that you're not alone in your crown struggles (btw I know EXACTLY how you feel about now wanting to cut your hair for fear of exposing that area...you can grow it back though, trust!). I'm sure some of these lovely ladies will be able to give you more in-depth advice on a regimen, growth aids, etc. Welcome to the forum and HHG (happy hair growing)!

:welcome::welcome::welcome3::welcome4:
 
1- First thing first learn to stretch your relaxers I usually recommend every 8 weeks or more This will avoid overlapping of relaxers. Gives your hair a chance to recoup. Do no relax any sooner than the 8 weeks.

2- It's ok to wash your hair 1to 2x a week.
Use a moisturizing shampoo like CON ( cream of nature green label)

3-Deep condition (DC) 1 to 2x a week.
Do a protein DC once a month and the other times use a moisturizing conditioner to DC

4- Moisturize once a day using a water based moisturizer like Organic root Stimulator Olive oil creme or Carrot oil creme concentrate on the ends and seal the moisture with a dab of oil like Jojoba, coconut ( extra virgin unrefined) or Jamaican Black castor oil (JBCO). Don't over do it on the amount about a nickel to a quater amount is enough

5-Try to use the least amount of direct heat as possible. Meaning NO flat Irons, marcel Irons or curling Irons or blow dryers. If you use heat use a heat protectant

6-Protective styles are important. They protect your end so hair will not be exposed to environment or clothes that causes them to break. You can bun, Braid, roller sets whatever you do keep those ends tucked away.

7-Take vitamins. GNC Has women's hair skin and nails It had Biotin which contributes to healthy hair and nail growth. Drink plenty of water. Exercise is good for hair.

9-You do not have to wash with Shampoo all the time, because some Shampoo with Sulphates can be very drying. Try Co washing ( washing with just the conditioner. To do that you can use a cheapie conditioner like Suave coconut.

10- There is a difference between Cutting (1 inch or more cut off) and trimming ( about an 1/8 of an inch at most 1/2 inch) and dusting taking off less than 1/8 off just to rid your hair of split ends.

10 -Last, but very important. Protect your hair at night. Use a silk( my pref) or Satin scarf as well as a silk or satin pillowcase.

I hope this will help. Any member here will tell you these are key to healthy hair. A stylist does not know best. Remember that. Learn what your hair needs. No one knows your hair more than you We are here to help you


WELCOME TO LHCF!!!!


LDTP
 
Welcome to LHCF!!!

I agree with not relaxing before 8 weeks. If your natural texture is the not that different from your relaxed ends then transitioning may be a viable option for you....vitamins and moisturizing will help a great deal

i wish u the best of luck
 
Welcome!

You should definitely take a picture even if you're not going to post it. That way you will have documentation of your progress. That will help keep you going in the times when you think your hair isn't growing.

Anyway, you've gotten a lot of great advice and I'm not relaxed so I can't give much help. I just wanted to say that your body is telling you that it can handle the relaxer. So, you either need to give your scalp more time to heal before relaxing (by stretching past 8wks) or give them up altogether. You may find that your scalp just can't ever take it, in which case transitioning would be in your future if you don't want to BC. Check out the transitioner's support thread to get some ideas of what it's like.

Oh, sometimes the search engine doesn't work so you can use google to search. For example type in "stretching relaxers site:longhaircareforum.com" (without the quotes of course).

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
thanks ladies.. i appreciate all the advice/tips.. i think b/c my crown area is having so many problems i just kinda gave up on the rest of my hair and now that the hair i have left is shedding i'm going to have to learn whats best for my hair and go from there... *** one other thing since i shouldnt use blow dryers, curling irons, etc.. what should i do to my hair after i wash it? when i air dry it... it sort of gets wavy, tangly(sp) and i dont want to keep gelling it back? eeessshhh i got a lot to learn - lol *****i'm still getting used to this site and there are so many positive success stories so that has inspired me. i'm still confused on what exactly i should do - but - i think i'll start w/"stretching" every 8 weeks and washing/deep conditioning weekly. i'll have to try co-washing as well.. i have a 2 yr old w/thick, natural hair so i want to not only help me but be able to care for her hair properly as well.. thanks again ladies.. :)
 
:welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome:​

and thanks for posting. Only you can determine if you should continue to relax or go natural. Perhaps you should spend time researching the board because there are others here that have faced similar challenges. However if you do relax the following links to Sistaslick's articles may prove helpful .

www.associatedcontent.com/article/278572/getting_ready_to_relax_preparing_your.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/320975/guide_to_safely_applying_chemical_relaxers.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/352470/is_lye_or_nolye_chemical_relaxing_better.html

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