I need a little advice here..

[ImaBoss]

ok ladies, I have read and read and I’m a bit confused on the whole heat, no heat, indirect-direct heat-hooded dryers vs. hand dryers..etc..etcerplexed The front top part and edges of my hair has been weaken by hair color-(blond) and way to tight sew-ins and I assume partial relaxers (since I only relaxed on the edges, top and nape since this was the hair keep out when I got a sew-in), so my hair has broken off in the top, edges and nape, but the rest of my hair is past shoulder length.
I want to save and restore my hair the best way possible, of course I have purchased many of the products mentioned on this board in the past month and I have gotten an 1/2 inch of growth on the broken part of my hair since I have been using the OCT, however I HAVE NOT had a relaxer in about 6 mths now, my roots are sooo tight is murder when I wash my hair so after I detangle and try to comb out they only way for me to-1.dry my hair is a hand dryer and 2. try to barely-straighten out the kinks is a hand dryer, I only wash my hair once a week or week in a half right now because of this. My edges are just nappy-no tightly coiled, nothing straightens them except a relaxer! Anyway I've been reading where it has been suggested to use a hooded dryer its less damaging on the hair, but if I did that then all I would be doing is drying a tightly coiled kinky not able to comb thru afro and that IS NOT the look I want be any means. I'm hesitant to put a relaxer in my head right now because I thought I needed to give my hair a break from the chemicals and I wanted to get it back healthy first. So is using a hand dryer after I wash my hair all that bad??? What else could I do? Since I do not have a nice texture of hair that does not get all beedeebee?

 

[gorgeous86]

How are you trying to wear your hair?

 

[naturalgurl]

Have you tried moisturizing? OCT is high protein, sounds like to me you need to add more moisture with the OCT. Ain't nothing like dried hair that's dry...meaning your hair needs to be moisturized before you dry it. Maybe that will help...

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Well it's hard to say, I went 6 months on a relaxer, and I could barely comb my hair, so a hand held blowdryer was out of the question, all I could do until my touch-up was wear a headband around my edges to hide the new growth.....I guess if you could do a rollerset, that would be better than a hand held blowdryer......IMO, but what kind of products are you using besides OCT?

 

[ImaBoss]

How are you trying to wear your hair?

Thanks for responding, right now Im not trying to wear my real at this point, I will be wigging it or lace wiggin, but I want to get my hair healthy underneath the wigs but I dont want to cause more damage by using a hand blow dryer

 

[ImaBoss]

Well it's hard to say, I went 6 months on a relaxer, and I could barely comb my hair, so a hand held blowdryer was out of the question, all I could do until my touch-up was wear a headband around my edges to hide the new growth.....I guess if you could do a rollerset, that would be better than a hand held blowdryer......IMO, but what kind of products are you using besides OCT?

Well here is all the products I have so far...OCT of course, Paul Mitchell Green Tea shampoo/con, Aphogee products, Hawaiian Silky 14 and 1, Silk elements Moisturizing Con, Lekair Con, I just bought some Trader Joe Nourish Spa Con today, various oils-emu, evoo, castor, Panten Pro-V con...now I have not more than half of these products yet as I have not formed a complete reggie because I not 100% sure what my hair actually needs just yet. So I guess its gonna be trail and error.erplexed

 

[gorgeous86]

If you are going to wig it I would just suggest leaving it alone. Just find a good moisturizer and apply it to the new growth often. If you are washing 1-1 1/2 times per week, I suggest adding a cowash in there at some point, because as naturalgurl said, OCT is high protein and can be very drying.

 

[chebaby]

Well here is all the products I have so far...OCT of course, Paul Mitchell Green Tea shampoo/con, Aphogee products, Hawaiian Silky 14 and 1, Silk elements Moisturizing Con, Lekair Con, I just bought some Trader Joe Nourish Spa Con today, various oils-emu, evoo, castor, Panten Pro-V con...now I have not more than half of these products yet as I have not formed a complete reggie because I not 100% sure what my hair actually needs just yet. So I guess its gonna be trail and error.erplexed

wash your hair with the trader joe conditioner at night. detaingle your hair in the shower under the running water(the water with make the comb glide through the hair). slather your hair in leave in conditioner and oil, then do a braid at the base of your head and pin it up, put a scarf around it and go to bed. in the morning put your wig cap and wig on and go. i dont know hoe to use the oct but it sounds to me that with all that new growth you need extra moisture and co washing will get it for you.

 

[loulou82]

First... Welcome to the board!

Second... "I do not have a nice texture of hair that does not get all beedeebee." All textures are beautiful when maintained and yours is no exception. You're just in the early process of your hair growth journey so it may be frustrating. We're here to help though.

Third... It sounds like your hair is in need of moisture. I wouldn't attempt to comb your hair without moisture in it. It seems fragile and distressed from your former habits. When you wash your hair that far post relaxer I suggest washing your hair in sections and taking your time. You can put your hair in twists or use butterfly clips. You can also DC in sections. If you don't have a hood dryer you can buy a soft bonnet attachment that attaches to your hand held dryer. It cost 7-10 dollars at the BSS. You can stretch out your hair with big twists or braids to loosen the roots after moisturizing or washing and let air dry. I You want your hair moisturized and stretched. I transitioned for 15 months and have very kinky hair. I wouldn't let my hair coil up at all because breakage and tangles would happen. If you want to use a HH dryer to dry I suggest Pinkskates' Tension Method. There's a long thread on it. She's a natural but the technique can be used by any one who blow dries.

Good luck!

 

[ImaBoss]

First... Welcome to the board!

Second... "I do not have a nice texture of hair that does not get all beedeebee." All textures are beautiful when maintained and yours is no exception. You're just in the early process of your hair growth journey so it may be frustrating. We're here to help though.

Third... It sounds like your hair is in need of moisture. I wouldn't attempt to comb your hair without moisture in it. It seems fragile and distressed from your former habits. When you wash your hair that far post relaxer I suggest washing your hair in sections and taking your time. You can put your hair in twists or use butterfly clips. You can also DC in sections. If you don't have a hood dryer you can buy a soft bonnet attachment that attaches to your hand held dryer. It cost 7-10 dollars at the BSS. You can stretch out your hair with big twists or braids to loosen the roots after moisturizing or washing and let air dry. I You want your hair moisturized and stretched. I transitioned for 15 months and have very kinky hair. I wouldn't let my hair coil up at all because breakage and tangles would happen. If you want to use a HH dryer to dry I suggest Pinkskates' Tension Method. There's a long thread on it. She's a natural but the technique can be used by any one who blow dries.

Good luck!

Yeah I know I SHOULD think better of my hair..but its hard when you u can't get a comb thru it or you breaking combs and teeth trying to comb your hair...I dont know if i have the patience to continue this transition but I will continue to try ..but I thank you ladies for this info, and I will up my moisture game and invest in a decent soft bonnet dryer...

 

[Solitude]

I'm not natural, but maybe de-tangling while your hair is full of conditioner might help? Also, a steam treatment or pre-poo can soften your hair before you shampoo.

Are you planning on transitioning to natural, or do your want to relax again? 6 months is a long stretch & it would be frustrating for anyone, no matter their texture.

The only time that I went that long without a relaxer was in high school when I thought about going natural. I wore my hair in a natural-textured phony pony. I would just wash, condition (of course, you would DC) and put it into a ponytail while wet & put a phony-pony on ( I was going to a stylist & she got tired of my hair around 6 months). As someone else said, if you aren't rocking your real hair, you might as well leave it alone as much as possible.

ETA: The stylist "flattened/ straightened" my edges by putting wrap strips on my hair and sitting me under the hood dryer while my hair was in a ponytail.

 

[loulou82]

I understand your frustration. Sometimes a wide tooth comb and fingers is all you need. I rarely used combs on my transitioning hair or it would get stuck. I whipped it out on wash days when doing a thoroughly detangling. As soon as I finger de-tangled with conditioner and water my hair became very smooth so the comb wasn't needed as much. "Combability" wasn't what I used to gauge how manageable my hair was. If I could finger detangle and smooth then I was good to go.

How often are you combing and how are you doing it? It should be in smaller sections and with a comb suited for your hair type. I hold it taunt and start at the ends. If you feel resistance add some conditioner or moisturizer and take smaller sections. Don't tug or fight with the hair. It can no longer be treated liked relaxed hair. It has different needs now.

ETA: IA that pre poong helps soften the hair before shampooing and steam treatments are great.

 

[ImaBoss]

I understand your frustration. Sometimes a wide tooth comb and fingers is all you need. I rarely used combs on my transitioning hair or it would get stuck. I whipped it out on wash days when doing a thoroughly detangling. As soon as I finger de-tangled with conditioner and water my hair became very smooth so the comb wasn't needed as much. "Combability" wasn't what I used to gauge how manageable my hair was. If I could finger detangle and smooth then I was good to go.

How often are you combing and how are you doing it? It should be in smaller sections and with a comb suited for your hair type. I hold it taunt and start at the ends. If you feel resistance add some conditioner or moisturizer and take smaller sections. Don't tug or fight with the hair. It can no longer be treated liked relaxed hair. It has different needs now.

ETA: IA that pre poong helps soften the hair before shampooing and steam treatments are great.

wow, I never thought about that way.. I was just sitting here thinking I need to change my thinking about this if Im going to continue this all natural journey.

 

[loulou82]

I think air drying in braids or twists will stretch out your hair enough that you can handle it better. There are few kinky-coily naturals on the board that allow their hair to dry loose. That can lead to matted and/or tangled hair. You can even go under a hood dryer to speed up the process. I don't advocate direct heat for someone nursing back damaged hair.

This is my hair loose after DCing. I'm already twisting up the front. But I am blowing it out (using Pinkstakes' Method) for kinky twists the next day. If I weren't getting KTs I would leave the twists in to finish airdrying.

 

[Sui Topi]

I agree with everything she said^^ I think you need to get a wide tooth comb and only comb your hair while you are rinsing the conditioner out. I'm natural, and I transitioned too for about I think 7 months or something like that and I don't even comb my hair while saturated with conditioner I only comb it when it is saturated with conditioner AND is full with cool/warm water. For example, I get in the shower, rinse my hair with water and massage/finger comb my hair until it is pretty much detangled and is clumping together. If I don't have that leisure time because that can take 10 minutes or so, I just rinse it for a while and get out most of the tangles. Then I squeeze the water out, put in the conditioner, then soap my body and do whatever else I have to do and then if it is already pretty much detangled, I hold my head back under the spray and comb my hair quickly and gently while the water is running through it. If it is not so detangled, I just soak half of my head and then comb it out and then soak the other half and comb it out. Then I do one quick pass under the water and then get out. That way I still keep some of the conditioner in my hair and the water evenly distributes it. You really really really have to up your moisture, and be super careful with combing. Since you are covering your hair anyways it's perfect for you. Just cowash in the evening and braid up your damp hair. It should be mostly dry by the time you go to bed and ready for a wig cap in the morning