How do you all keep your hair so THICK?!?!

[Crystalicequeen123]

It seems like no matter WHAT I do, my hair is just so thin and lifeless. Especially after I get a relaxer! (I have new pictures in my album)

I just got my relaxer touch up a few days ago, so I'm singing the relaxer touch up "blues". Does this happen to anyone else other than me? It seems like no matter what I do (co-washes, stretching relaxers, vitamins, low-maintenance styles, twists, no-heat styling, etc), my hair still keeps getting thinner and thinner and thinner with each relaxer touchup!

I think I may just break down and tell my stylist that although I LOVE the way Affirm mild makes my hair feel (so silky, and moveable), it has seriously made my edges and the rest of my hair thin! I'm talking about to the point where you can see through my hair! I don't know what to do. I'm so frustrated.

I naturally have fine hair, but I thought my better hair regimen and tips would make my hair THICKER, not thinner! I feel like all my hard work is set back a little with every relaxer touch up.

Maybe I should switch to Affirm mild Fiberguard?

 

[Nanyanika]

I personally wouldn't switch to Affirm mild in fibergurd it dried out my hair, and made me lose hair from different areas of my head. Protein treatments should help with shedding and thicken up the hair a bit.
Have you thought of transitioning to natural?

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

I personally wouldn't switch to Affirm mild in fibergurd it dried out my hair, and made me lose hair from different areas of my head. Protein treatments should help with shedding and thicken up the hair a bit.
Have you thought of transitioning to natural?

Ohhh...okay. So fiberguard is definitely a no-no I take it. *sigh* Man...

I mean, I LOVE affirm and I know it's a high-quality relaxer,and my hair just FEELS so healthy with it. But, when I was getting the Design Essentials mild relaxer (old stylist) I noticed that although my hair wasn't bone-straight, and it wasn't all that "soft" or "silky" to the touch, I DID like that my hair was seeming to thicken up at the roots. Now it seems like my hair is thining up again.

I don't have anything against transitioning to natural, but honestly...I really don't want to go natural. I'm type 4a/4b, and I LIKE my hair straight. Maybe not bone-straight, but I DO like straight styles withought having to flat-iron or blow-out all the time. Maybe if I were type 3a/b I wouldn't care about being natural or not.

I KNOW my hair would be a lot thicker natural, but I don't think natural is for me. I'm not "scared" of my new growth (I stretch to 12 weeks),but I can't imagine all of my natural hair on my head. I'm sorry if I offend anyone or anything.
Maybe one day I'll change my mind and feel differently, but right now, I'd like to keep my relaxer.

Just like relaxers aren't for everyone, maybe going natural isn't for everyone either.

 

[Nanyanika]

i'm 4b too, You could try just texturizing, leaving the relaxer on for half the time. it leaves more thickness in the hair.

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

i'm 4b too, You could try just texturizing, leaving the relaxer on for half the time. it leaves more thickness in the hair.

Hmm...I think I'll ask my stylist if she can do that. That sounds like a good idea.

The only problem is, she may not be FAST. You know? Don't you have to be fast?

 

[OneInAMillion]

I would recommend texturizing as an option too. You could always transition to natural and just have your hair pressed or flat-ironed when you want a straight look too. As another option, if you've noticed thinning and you think it's directly related to Affirm, switch to different relaxer. I had the same issue with Affirm mild and my hair has been restored to it's original thickness since I stopped using it.

Good luck.

 

[Nanyanika]

Hmm...I think I'll ask my stylist if she can do that. That sounds like a good idea.

The only problem is, she may not be FAST. You know? Don't you have to be fast?

Yes your stylist needs to move quickly, so that the hair doersn't process too much.

 

[imani97]

i'm 4b too, You could try just texturizing, leaving the relaxer on for half the time. it leaves more thickness in the hair.

I agree with texturizing. My hair has so much more body now that I texturize and have reduced the amount of heat I use to only when I wash my hair. I know that I still have a significant amount of relaxed hair, but for some reason, not relaxing 100% has made a significant difference for all of my hair. Good luck!

 

[Isis]

i'm 4b too, You could try just texturizing, leaving the relaxer on for half the time. it leaves more thickness in the hair.

I agree with Den1 about leaving the relaxer on for half the time. This is what I do. If your stylist isn't fast enough, maybe you need a better one. I also agree with OneInAMillion about changing relaxers.

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

I would recommend texturizing as an option too. You could always transition to natural and just have your hair pressed or flat-ironed when you want a straight look too. As another option, if you've noticed thinning and you think it's directly related to Affirm, switch to different relaxer. I had the same issue with Affirm mild and my hair has been restored to it's original thickness since I stopped using it.

Good luck.

Wow, so you've had the same problem with Affirm too?? And that was the mild relaxer right? So, what is it about that relaxer that makes it so thinning?
Becuase some people's hair can take affirm mild. I guess mine can't.

 

[Isis]

I haven't used Affirm but there was a thread about it in the past with pros and cons.

I'm sensing it's the stylist though, her technique. If you can see your hair getting thinner, I'm sure she can see it too but if she isn't doing anything about it, even changing the relaxer(if it is the problem), then perhaps another stylist is in order. That's why many of the ladies here do our own touch-ups.

Editing to add:

I'm also wondering what strength of relaxer your stylist is using and do you know if she applies it to all of your hair when you go in? Or just the new growth?

 

[Jewell]

Over the past couple of months, I noticed that my hair was thinning. The only culprit was relaxers! I don't use heat like flat irons and curling irons. So relaxers are out FOR GOOD. I have always had a fine texture, but not thin hair. My hair has always been relatively thick. The longer I stretched my touch-ups, the thicker my hair grew in, the thicker my relaxed hair appeared. So...natural hair here I come. I preferred relaxers for manageability, not necessarily for the straight, thin look all the time.

ITA: a nice protein reconstructor may help rebuild your hair and restore some volume/thickness. Or, switch relaxers. I had Affirm Regular applied a couple years ago when I was regularly visiting a stylist, and my hair wasn't the thickest either. Maybe is does thin some people's hair.

 

[Tene]

That's the same thing that seemed to happen to my hair. The last relaxer I got my hair seemed thinner, that's why I have decided to transtition to natural. I've just been using protein treatments, surge, wgo, mtg, using no heat and keeping it washed and conditioned. Have you thought about using Phyto for your relaxer?

 

[jrae]

I agree with trying a protein treatment. I did one over the weekend with mayonnaise and MNT and I noticed my hair has more volume. Its worth a try and its cheap. Just make sure to follow it with a good moisturizing conditioner.

 

[Country gal]

Castor oil helped my hair to get really thick.

 

[Ayeshia]

cut out the heat and avoiding unneccessary combing.

 

[Trini"T"]

OMG this sounds like me in 2004. Just like you, my individual hair strands are naturally fine. Also this same thing was happeining to me when I used to go to the hairdresser. Therefore I agree with Isis, it could be her technique. When I used to go the haidresser to get a relaxer, afterwards I would not wear my hair down because it just looked see-through thin. Feb 2005 was the last straw and I decided to take matters into my own hands. I haven't been back there since, I have gotten to know and do my own hair, practiced healthy haircare, and cut off the overprocessed ends last week. I am happy to report that my hair is amazingly THICK. I NEVER knew my hair could get this way. So definitely do something about this woman's technique if you really need that hairdresser to do your hair. Den's suggestion of leaving it in for half the time is a good idea because it sounds like your hair is being overprocessed.

 

[Candy_C]

my hair is naturally thick, but biotin will noticabley thicken your strands, and den1 is right bout the protein.

try Mane N Tail

 

[*Frisky*]

I mean, I LOVE affirm and I know it's a high-quality relaxer,and my hair just FEELS so healthy with it. But, when I was getting the Design Essentials mild relaxer (old stylist) I noticed that although my hair wasn't bone-straight, and it wasn't all that "soft" or "silky" to the touch, I DID like that my hair was seeming to thicken up at the roots. Now it seems like my hair is thining up again.

I had an Affirm relaxer for years and I really believe that is the reason my hair is so thin now. Are these mild relaxers you are using no-lye or lye?

 

[Angelicus]

You can maybe pump up your hair with collagen products. Collagen is a protein that sits on your hair, making it have a plumpier appearance.

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

I mean, I LOVE affirm and I know it's a high-quality relaxer,and my hair just FEELS so healthy with it. But, when I was getting the Design Essentials mild relaxer (old stylist) I noticed that although my hair wasn't bone-straight, and it wasn't all that "soft" or "silky" to the touch, I DID like that my hair was seeming to thicken up at the roots. Now it seems like my hair is thining up again.

I had an Affirm relaxer for years and I really believe that is the reason my hair is so thin now. Are these mild relaxers you are using no-lye or lye?

The affirm mild my stylist uses is a lye relaxer.

I will only put lye relaxers in my hair from now on because I had a bad experience with no-lye (home box perm) relaxers before. It dried my hair out, and my hair was shedding like crazy. No matter what I did, my hair was dry!
So, lye relaxers are it for me.

But, I think I will try some of the advice you ladies have given me. I do protein treatments twice within a 12 week span. In other words, before my next relaxer treatment, I will have done 2 protein treatments. One with Keraphix, and one with emergencee. I am scared to use them so often because one time (when I didn't know any better) I used emergencee, and then used keraphix within a 2-week span, and my hair began shedding like crazy, and I was wondering why. Silly me.

I really like my stylist, and she practices good hair techniques (most of the time). She bases my scalp, she does condition treatments, she uses the WHOLE affirm relaxer system, and she seems to really care about the health of people's hair (She's always telling me about new products that she recommends).

She only relaxes my newgrowth, but you know...with humans it's always easy to make mistakes and relax a little of the old growth too.

I think i'll try the texturizing thing though, because my hair usually tingles when I get an affirm relaxer. This time however, it was tingling and itching like CRAZY! I hadn't even washed my hair in 5 or 6 days! I mean, I was burning. She kept saying: "Okay, just little longer!" She was trying her best to smooth the relaxer everywhere before I went under to get rinsed, but my hair was really burning.

I don't know why stylists insist on keeping chemicals in your hair when it burns! I wasn't too thrilled about it, but my hair came out looking nice. It's just so thin...

I did a twist out last night, and so my hair is really nice and thick-looking, so maybe I just needed to wash my hair to get the thickness back.

 

[ThickHair]

I come from the thought of you have thick hair your you don't. You can do things to make your hair APPEAR thicker but it doesn't make your hair actually any thicker.

 

[Vitality]

FINALLY!!!! I SEE SOMEONE WITH MY HAIR, TYPE, and PROBLEM ON THIS BOARD.

CRYSTAL, my hair is the same type and length as yours, and I have also faced the fine thin hair blues, but I have been successful in thickening my hair.

Here are the products I use to help thicken my fine hair:
*Relaxer - Fiberguard for Sensitive Scalp (mild) - Inaddition to the Sustenance Fortifying treatment makes sure you use the Affirm Positive Link Conditioner or As Intensive Conditioning Treatment to restore the PH balance AND moisture to your hair.
* Nexxus Hair Thickening Shampoo has help thicken my hair
* KeraCare Essential oil (does not weigh down my hair)
* GNC hair & skin vitamin
* I also recently got on the MTG bandwagon and this has also helped.
* If my ends start to look to thin I am not afraid to trim them. The last time I trimmed was 6 months ago.