RelaxednNapulous
New Member
I didn't complete challenges this spring because my hair was flying off of my head and I wasn't sure why. I was having tangles about 1" from my scalp that were so tight, I couldn't tell where the end was. It was like a doll with looped yarn hair.
I've had issues with the ends breaking off in the past when I got to shoulder length, but I could usually trace it to laziness or carelessness. A few good DCs and all was well. This problem was different. I couldn't detangle my hair in the shower, although for years the comb slide easily through my hair while rinsing out any conditioner, even when I was careless. By careless, I mean sloppy about keeping a regimin, not styling, just throwing it into 2 ponybuns all summer, getting it wet (even in the buns) and letting it dry, putting it in buns while wet. One summer I basically camped and had limited access to a bathroom and the carelessness was even greater. But my hair grew and grew.
By contrast, now, when my hair is wet, you can see how thick it is the first 4-5 inches, but the ends are increasingly thin. It's APL, but not full.
Since moving from a TWA about 6 years ago, I've always texlaxed. For years, I did it by lowering processing time. A little over a year ago, I started using the silkener technique (mixing in oils and protein conditioner with my relaxer). I also switched back to lye at that time, since my hair thrived with a stylist who used lye. I also bought all the other products she used around that time, because they had worked well before. I don't remember when the trouble began, but it was several months in.
When I relaxed 2 months ago, I increased processing time by about 5 minutes, combed through and spread over previously underprocessed areas. I repeated this, except for overlapping, last week. This seemed to correct the tangles at the 1" mark. But I'm still having 2 kinds of breakage: clumps of hairs that look like they were cut off and hairs that have been lassoed by Type 1-3a hair. They might even be the same problem.
I'm mixed, but most people assume I'm 100% black because of my hair, so I always thought of it as 100% type 4something. In the last year or so of having difficulties and paying much more attention to my hair, I've noticed more and more of those Type 1 and 3 hairs. I also noticed that the hair on top of my head is fine and fragile.
Finally, I learned that most of my hair isn't curly at all. No spirals. It's wavy, which is why the "Silkener" didn't produce the cute coils I'd hoped for, but almost straight hair with just a slight wave. Only the back of my hair is coily, though some of it is wavy, too. This makes sense, because my mom has wavy hair. I have mostly afro texture, but mostly a wavy pattern.
This is all a revelation to me. How do you handle the various textures of hair? I know I've seen people post that they had one type in the front, one in the back, etc. I seem to have that as a general pattern, but I've found Type 1 straight hair all over my head. As it is, I am considering straightening more, like trying to get the hair straight everywhere, to end conflict between the textures. I don't want to do that, because I like the waves and especially the coils in the back. But those straight hairs are strangling the curlies, one clump at a time. Or, as my mom put it, "Just like The Man, keepin' brothers down." For now, I'm blowing out more, since it reduces the differences in textures. Haven't done a good rollerset in ages, but trying that again, too.
I've had issues with the ends breaking off in the past when I got to shoulder length, but I could usually trace it to laziness or carelessness. A few good DCs and all was well. This problem was different. I couldn't detangle my hair in the shower, although for years the comb slide easily through my hair while rinsing out any conditioner, even when I was careless. By careless, I mean sloppy about keeping a regimin, not styling, just throwing it into 2 ponybuns all summer, getting it wet (even in the buns) and letting it dry, putting it in buns while wet. One summer I basically camped and had limited access to a bathroom and the carelessness was even greater. But my hair grew and grew.
By contrast, now, when my hair is wet, you can see how thick it is the first 4-5 inches, but the ends are increasingly thin. It's APL, but not full.
Since moving from a TWA about 6 years ago, I've always texlaxed. For years, I did it by lowering processing time. A little over a year ago, I started using the silkener technique (mixing in oils and protein conditioner with my relaxer). I also switched back to lye at that time, since my hair thrived with a stylist who used lye. I also bought all the other products she used around that time, because they had worked well before. I don't remember when the trouble began, but it was several months in.
When I relaxed 2 months ago, I increased processing time by about 5 minutes, combed through and spread over previously underprocessed areas. I repeated this, except for overlapping, last week. This seemed to correct the tangles at the 1" mark. But I'm still having 2 kinds of breakage: clumps of hairs that look like they were cut off and hairs that have been lassoed by Type 1-3a hair. They might even be the same problem.
I'm mixed, but most people assume I'm 100% black because of my hair, so I always thought of it as 100% type 4something. In the last year or so of having difficulties and paying much more attention to my hair, I've noticed more and more of those Type 1 and 3 hairs. I also noticed that the hair on top of my head is fine and fragile.
Finally, I learned that most of my hair isn't curly at all. No spirals. It's wavy, which is why the "Silkener" didn't produce the cute coils I'd hoped for, but almost straight hair with just a slight wave. Only the back of my hair is coily, though some of it is wavy, too. This makes sense, because my mom has wavy hair. I have mostly afro texture, but mostly a wavy pattern.
This is all a revelation to me. How do you handle the various textures of hair? I know I've seen people post that they had one type in the front, one in the back, etc. I seem to have that as a general pattern, but I've found Type 1 straight hair all over my head. As it is, I am considering straightening more, like trying to get the hair straight everywhere, to end conflict between the textures. I don't want to do that, because I like the waves and especially the coils in the back. But those straight hairs are strangling the curlies, one clump at a time. Or, as my mom put it, "Just like The Man, keepin' brothers down." For now, I'm blowing out more, since it reduces the differences in textures. Haven't done a good rollerset in ages, but trying that again, too.
