LHCF is great, BUT you gotta do what works for you....

[luxe.li.]

I'm learning that without LHCF I would not know all the things that I do know now about how to care for hair. But I think sometimes we have to be able to differentiate between which advice we can take, and which advice we gotta leave behind for others to follow....

I don't get a lot of comments on my posts....so sometimes it discourages me from posting alot, because sometimes I got random things I want to just get off my chest....so WARNING this post is getting kind of long, but I just gotta get it off my chest....

1. The no-heat thing. I can go two or three weeks without heat, or minimal heat. Thanks to LHCF I've learned the damaging affects of heat, but in the beginning I tried to avoid it all together and realized that for my hair LENGTH, if I want to achieve certain hair styles, I will need to blow dry and flat iron. I'm not scared of flat ironing, I've found my protectants that work wonders...to the point that I wore my hair straight to school for a week and a half and the next week I wore my hair curly and people were like "I didn't know your hair did that" WTF does that mean. It means they didn't know I was natural. I had one friend say...."are those your curls?" I say "yes, girl I told you I was going natural" and she's like yeah I know but I see you with straight hair all the time, and I have the blank look, but I have realize that what's common sense to me isn't common sense to everyone. "Well I straighten my hair" I tell her. "How does it stay straight???" I proceed to tell her my regimen. She's natural, she has beautiful big curls....but the day she tried to wear her hair straight, it just looked like she blew her hair out with a blow dryer and left....It was beautiful, not crazy looking, it look like she wanted to achieve that look, but the truth was that was as straight she could get it. Well her hair is still beautiful; win win.

2. Protein Controversy. I avoided it when I first joined LHCF because I thought it would make my hair tough and brittle. Then I slowly came around. My hair needs protein. Especially if I am going to flat iron my hair every now and then. I need to keep my strands strong. And if I over protein treat my hair I need to balance it with moisture. Matter of fact I always balance whenever I do a protein treatment just to be sure. Then I visited Maneandchic.com and read the link to AssociatedContent about how Black Hair needs protein and about the different types of protein. Protein is keeping my hair strong through my disobedience, which includes dye and heat. I have less breakage. It makes me feel a bit slighted when I read a post saying, "be careful when you use that product girl, it has protein in it"....what is that suppose to mean?.....not trying to be negative, but really what is that suppose to mean lol.

3. Dye and Natural vs. Non-Naturals thinking they're Natural. I really don't care what people think. What is true to them and helps them sleep at night might not true for me. I do need to aware of chemicals like hair dye and using them because I don't want to damage my hair or permanently change my hair texture. But if I were to make a mistake and alter my hair curl....time to grow it out. It'll be okay. I need to invest in HENNA ASAP because I love changing my look. But I am very liberal, I speak my mind, and sometimes I can fall victim to the debate over Natural vs Not being Natural....but I feel like this. I had a relaxer every since I could remember breathing.....I grew my hair out, cut it off, and I have my natural texture. No I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, hair dye is my kryptonite, so the areas of my hair that are light brown blonde might not be natural to some people's standards...but to wear my natural texture my kink and my coil is a feeling no comment can take away from me......it could be a big debate because I feel like unless you are scrapping products from the soil of the earth (which has chemicals in it because we all know we live in a polluted world) then you might not be as natural as you claim.....referring to products, but that's awhole different discussion.

4. Protective Styles. They just do not work for me. My twists aren't uniform, they have YET to come out the way I want them too. I'm not giving up on it, but I'm not there yet. I can't braid to save my life. My hair isn't long enough for that yet. I plan to do Bantus when my hair gets long. I love the affect of bantus wet, tight coils....and bantus on dry or blown dried hair.....lushous volume and curls too! I plan to do SOME Buns when my hair get long. But I get kind of annoyed when I read all these posts or responses from my post where a girl will just say just BUN IT.....well I can't just BUN IT LMAO. or Girl just throw a WIG on......well Wigs are not an option for me....nothing against them. My mother is wig queen and she rocks the hell out of them, but wigs are just not me. I don't have money for braids and the only braids I would get would be micros...yeah....might not be the best option. I do the scarf and beanie, but I can only do that so many weeks before I just become a rerun. I go out alot, I'm an art student, the social atmosphere I surround myself with is UBER ARTSY.....like a variation from artsy normal, to extreme weirdo artsy....and I love it, it allows for me to rock a scarf or beanie everyday with no side eye, but it also makes me ITCH for change and style and to be fly. So that's when my regimen changes. I want my hair curly one week....curly with a head band....curly afro....straight with a head band....straight Rihanna (true Denise Huxtable) short style.....I change so the same protective style to achieve growth for months and months might not work for me.....and I really want curly head with light brown hair.....so I just itch for change and sometimes I feel like what's promoted is to stay the same to achieve healthy hair or growth....

5. Trims. Well I do understand stylists can misinform people and have them losing their length and I do understand constant trims are not the way to go to retain hair. But I am not going to say NO to TRIMS.....hey I'm trimming tonight as I flat iron. I've been wearing my hair natural for 2 weeks now, now I'm wearing my hair straight but I need my ends to be smooth, so off goes 1/8 to 3/8 of a inch in some areas.

6. Product Junkie. So I got caught up in the buying everything I heard mentioned on the site. But I think I'm finding my staples. I don't hear people talking about Curls on here much, but I love their products. I love Joico, I love ORS Replenishing Pak, I love Deva Care, I love IC clear GEL....and I'm learning that what didnt work in the beginning of my natural hair journey isnt so bad after all.....Kinky Curly Knot Today and Curly Custard.....


I think that's all for right now......


7. Oh yeah, like I know there is a search engine on the site, but am I the only one that loves direct feedback vs. reading through 30 pages of posts for an answer that you might not really get. Sometimes I post just to socialize with the ladies on the board, but instead I get referred to check the search engine, which I DO alot, but sometimes its just more FUN to be like....DOES ANYONE LIKE TRIMS???lmaooooo or HOW DO YOU DO TWISTS? lol like I dont know I just think its more fun to post than to just read the archives all the time......

I really hope people are feeling what I'm saying and not thinking I'm just b.i.t.....h.i.n.g.... It's just one of those days when I gotta get it off my chest....anyone feel me??



I still love you LHCF....IVE LEARNED SOOO MUCH, and when I talk to some people who really dont know too much about hair care its like mind blowing to me that at one time in my life I was where they were at......



&


at the same time....

 

[msa]

Whew that was a dissertation.

Umm but yeahh. Not everyone does the same things, there's nothing wrong with that, do what works for your hair.

I only get annoyed when people do things, get negative results, and then complain as if no one warned them before hand. Like yeah, if you flat iron every week you can't be surprised a few months from now when you're dealing with heat damaged hair, even though some people's hair can handle it. Or if you trim every other day, don't complain about retaining length. And yeah, using the hardcore aphogee one day, ors pak the next, and then a yogurt/egg treatment after that is going to be a problem and maybe you should have heeded some of the warnings.

Luxe, do you. If using heat everyday, hardcore protein without a moisturizing DC after, dye, cat pee, and never combing your hair work for you, then do it. It's your head.

 

[RegaLady]

I'm learning that without LHCF I would not know all the things that I do know now about how to care for hair. But I think sometimes we have to be able to differentiate between which advice we can take, and which advice we gotta leave behind for others to follow....

I don't get a lot of comments on my posts....so sometimes it discourages me from posting alot, because sometimes I got random things I want to just get off my chest....so WARNING this post is getting kind of long, but I just gotta get it off my chest....

1. The no-heat thing. I can go two or three weeks without heat, or minimal heat. Thanks to LHCF I've learned the damaging affects of heat, but in the beginning I tried to avoid it all together and realized that for my hair LENGTH, if I want to achieve certain hair styles, I will need to blow dry and flat iron. I'm not scared of flat ironing, I've found my protectants that work wonders...to the point that I wore my hair straight to school for a week and a half and the next week I wore my hair curly and people were like "I didn't know your hair did that" WTF does that mean. It means they didn't know I was natural. I had one friend say...."are those your curls?" I say "yes, girl I told you I was going natural" and she's like yeah I know but I see you with straight hair all the time, and I have the blank look, but I have realize that what's common sense to me isn't common sense to everyone. "Well I straighten my hair" I tell her. "How does it stay straight???" I proceed to tell her my regimen. She's natural, she has beautiful big curls....but the day she tried to wear her hair straight, it just looked like she blew her hair out with a blow dryer and left....It was beautiful, not crazy looking, it look like she wanted to achieve that look, but the truth was that was as straight she could get it. Well her hair is still beautiful; win win.

2. Protein Controversy. I avoided it when I first joined LHCF because I thought it would make my hair tough and brittle. Then I slowly came around. My hair needs protein. Especially if I am going to flat iron my hair every now and then. I need to keep my strands strong. And if I over protein treat my hair I need to balance it with moisture. Matter of fact I always balance whenever I do a protein treatment just to be sure. Then I visited Maneandchic.com and read the link to AssociatedContent about how Black Hair needs protein and about the different types of protein. Protein is keeping my hair strong through my disobedience, which includes dye and heat. I have less breakage. It makes me feel a bit slighted when I read a post saying, "be careful when you use that product girl, it has protein in it"....what is that suppose to mean?.....not trying to be negative, but really what is that suppose to mean lol.

3. Dye and Natural vs. Non-Naturals thinking they're Natural. I really don't care what people think. What is true to them and helps them sleep at night might not true for me. I do need to aware of chemicals like hair dye and using them because I don't want to damage my hair or permanently change my hair texture. But if I were to make a mistake and alter my hair curl....time to grow it out. It'll be okay. I need to invest in HENNA ASAP because I love changing my look. But I am very liberal, I speak my mind, and sometimes I can fall victim to the debate over Natural vs Not being Natural....but I feel like this. I had a relaxer every since I could remember breathing.....I grew my hair out, cut it off, and I have my natural texture. No I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, hair dye is my kryptonite, so the areas of my hair that are light brown blonde might not be natural to some people's standards...but to wear my natural texture my kink and my coil is a feeling no comment can take away from me......it could be a big debate because I feel like unless you are scrapping products from the soil of the earth (which has chemicals in it because we all know we live in a polluted world) then you might not be as natural as you claim.....referring to products, but that's awhole different discussion.

4. Protective Styles. They just do not work for me. My twists aren't uniform, they have YET to come out the way I want them too. I'm not giving up on it, but I'm not there yet. I can't braid to save my life. My hair isn't long enough for that yet. I plan to do Bantus when my hair gets long. I love the affect of bantus wet, tight coils....and bantus on dry or blown dried hair.....lushous volume and curls too! I plan to do SOME Buns when my hair get long. But I get kind of annoyed when I read all these posts or responses from my post where a girl will just say just BUN IT.....well I can't just BUN IT LMAO. or Girl just throw a WIG on......well Wigs are not an option for me....nothing against them. My mother is wig queen and she rocks the hell out of them, but wigs are just not me. I don't have money for braids and the only braids I would get would be micros...yeah....might not be the best option. I do the scarf and beanie, but I can only do that so many weeks before I just become a rerun. I go out alot, I'm an art student, the social atmosphere I surround myself with is UBER ARTSY.....like a variation from artsy normal, to extreme weirdo artsy....and I love it, it allows for me to rock a scarf or beanie everyday with no side eye, but it also makes me ITCH for change and style and to be fly. So that's when my regimen changes. I want my hair curly one week....curly with a head band....curly afro....straight with a head band....straight Rihanna (true Denise Huxtable) short style.....I change so the same protective style to achieve growth for months and months might not work for me.....and I really want curly head with light brown hair.....so I just itch for change and sometimes I feel like what's promoted is to stay the same to achieve healthy hair or growth....

5. Trims. Well I do understand stylists can misinform people and have them losing their length and I do understand constant trims are not the way to go to retain hair. But I am not going to say NO to TRIMS.....hey I'm trimming tonight as I flat iron. I've been wearing my hair natural for 2 weeks now, now I'm wearing my hair straight but I need my ends to be smooth, so off goes 1/8 to 3/8 of a inch in some areas.

6. Product Junkie. So I got caught up in the buying everything I heard mentioned on the site. But I think I'm finding my staples. I don't hear people talking about Curls on here much, but I love their products. I love Joico, I love ORS Replenishing Pak, I love Deva Care, I love IC clear GEL....and I'm learning that what didnt work in the beginning of my natural hair journey isnt so bad after all.....Kinky Curly Knot Today and Curly Custard.....


I think that's all for right now......


7. Oh yeah, like I know there is a search engine on the site, but am I the only one that loves direct feedback vs. reading through 30 pages of posts for an answer that you might not really get. Sometimes I post just to socialize with the ladies on the board, but instead I get referred to check the search engine, which I DO alot, but sometimes its just more FUN to be like....DOES ANYONE LIKE TRIMS???lmaooooo or HOW DO YOU DO TWISTS? lol like I dont know I just think its more fun to post than to just read the archives all the time......

I really hope people are feeling what I'm saying and not thinking I'm just b.i.t.....h.i.n.g.... It's just one of those days when I gotta get it off my chest....anyone feel me??


I still love you LHCF....IVE LEARNED SOOO MUCH, and when I talk to some people who really dont know too much about hair care its like mind blowing to me that at one time in my life I was where they were at......



&


at the same time....

I hear you on the protective styling thing. I love being fly and sometimes I think this PS isn't working for me. But it IS allowing me to retain length. I mean it really works. I am also an artist at heart, so change is a must for me, at least when I am feeling uncomfortable. I hardly changed when I was rocking my short cut(which I am in love with). But you must do what you have to do, because like me, you can end up spending alot of money and start feeling desperate over hairerplexed.

 

[RocStar]

I feel and hear what you are saying.

The great thing about LHCF for me is that it forced me to try many different techniques and products to find out what really works for me. It took a lot of trial and error for me to understand my hair and know what it responds to. For me the goal has always been healthy hair and without LHCF and all of the information, I am not sure if I would have found the "formula" for my hair.

 

[productjunkie814]

I totally agree with you on some stuff and kinda don't on others...but that was the whole point of the post, right? All hair is different, all hair reacts to different products in its own crazy way, etc. This board is really a learning tool, a place where people can post what worked for them and what didn't. Might turn out to be different when you try it. You have to find what is right for YOU and only you.

 

[newflowers]

Seems like you had some issues to get off your chest - seriously.

I think there are very few hair issues and/or products discussed on this site that have not been discussed many, many times over. If you don't often use the search engine but ask a question that's been discussed ad naseum, you may well referred to the search engine or not as many ladies will respond. It's no slight on you - it just is. Today you might ask about trimming and get no or little response. So meone might ask the question tomorrow and get four pages of response - that's just the way it is. There is excellent information in the archives and the stickies - some of by hair experts who rarely or no longer post. By foregoing that feature, you will miss a lot of great information.

It is easy to get caught up in the exceitement and enthusiam of this forum. New products, new techniques, new information - you read and then try and voila - better hair. And sometimes, you read and try and it's a serious dud. But the excitement of learning and progress is still there. No one really expects everyone to do what everyone else is doing be it protective styles, co-washing, no heat, etc. But there are so many ladies here all with a similar goal - we share what works for us - or doesn't - and the reader chooses to try or not try. I am a phyto girl and when asked about products, that is what I will recommend because it is what I know well. I have no expectation that others are going to go out and buy because I say so. But maybe someone is looking for something new or different. They read what I say; what others say; they research and decide to go for it. Or maybe not.

All those hair products - I personaly would love to try them all - and other than the fact that I can't afford to do so and that DH would end my life, or worse, restrict my hair budget - but I also know I need to practice self control (which is so hard sometimes). Other than getting caught in the enthusiam, you have to read and decide for yourself what style, what product, what techniques you will or will not use.

In the meantime - relax and enjoy the ride.

 

[luxe.li.]

Whew that was a dissertation.

Umm but yeahh. Not everyone does the same things, there's nothing wrong with that, do what works for your hair.

I only get annoyed when people do things, get negative results, and then complain as if no one warned them before hand. Like yeah, if you flat iron every week you can't be surprised a few months from now when you're dealing with heat damaged hair, even though some people's hair can handle it. Or if you trim every other day, don't complain about retaining length. And yeah, using the hardcore aphogee one day, ors pak the next, and then a yogurt/egg treatment after that is going to be a problem and maybe you should have heeded some of the warnings.

Luxe, do you. If using heat everyday, hardcore protein without a moisturizing DC after, dye, cat pee, and never combing your hair work for you, then do it. It's your head.

Yeah I know it was alot to read

But yeah I had to just PURGE my thoughts because sometimes when you don't DO FOR YOU, you HIT A BRICK WALL.....and then you wonder what you did wrong....


One thing I can say I'm learning to deal with is my hair was THICK before going natural, now that I"m natural I have to deal with an increasing amount of thickness....I'm flat ironing as we speak and I have to take breaks because I take my time.....so I only have to pass once or twice....meaning smaller sections.....

 

[msa]

I think there are very few hair issues and/or products discussed on this site that have not been discussed many, many times over. If you don't often use the search engine but ask a question that's been discussed ad naseum, you may well referred to the search engine or not as many ladies will respond. It's no slight on you - it just is. Today you might ask about trimming and get no or little response. So meone might ask the question tomorrow and get four pages of response - that's just the way it is. There is excellent information in the archives and the stickies - some of by hair experts who rarely or no longer post. By foregoing that feature, you will miss a lot of great information.

The bolded is so true. Some days I feel like giving paragraphs of information. There was a couple of weeks where I had a goal that I would post in every single newbie thread that I saw, and any thread that had 20 or less responses.

But then some days (or months) I see threads that ask the same exact questions that have been asked (sometimes the day before) and it annoys the heck out of me that the person didn't take the time to search. It'd be different if people asked slightly different questions, but they're the same exact question. So either I don't respond...or I do a search (that takes 15 secs) and post the links.

It really just depends on the poster.

 

[luxe.li.]

Seems like you had some issues to get off your chest - seriously.

I think there are very few hair issues and/or products discussed on this site that have not been discussed many, many times over. If you don't often use the search engine but ask a question that's been discussed ad naseum, you may well referred to the search engine or not as many ladies will respond. It's no slight on you - it just is. Today you might ask about trimming and get no or little response. So meone might ask the question tomorrow and get four pages of response - that's just the way it is. There is excellent information in the archives and the stickies - some of by hair experts who rarely or no longer post. By foregoing that feature, you will miss a lot of great information.

It is easy to get caught up in the exceitement and enthusiam of this forum. New products, new techniques, new information - you read and then try and voila - better hair. And sometimes, you read and try and it's a serious dud. But the excitement of learning and progress is still there. No one really expects everyone to do what everyone else is doing be it protective styles, co-washing, no heat, etc. But there are so many ladies here all with a similar goal - we share what works for us - or doesn't - and the reader chooses to try or not try. I am a phyto girl and when asked about products, that is what I will recommend because it is what I know well. I have no expectation that others are going to go out and buy because I say so. But maybe someone is looking for something new or different. They read what I say; what others say; they research and decide to go for it. Or maybe not.

All those hair products - I personaly would love to try them all - and other than the fact that I can't afford to do so and that DH would end my life, or worse, restrict my hair budget - but I also know I need to practice self control (which is so hard sometimes). Other than getting caught in the enthusiam, you have to read and decide for yourself what style, what product, what techniques you will or will not use.

In the meantime - relax and enjoy the ride.

I research the archives...but sometimes I just want to confide. And that might be the problem, I see forums as a form of information, especially when you need a quick answer, but I also see them as a form of expression. Getting things off your chest, because it does become overwhelming. The site and all its thousands of posts, it can easily take over your life! This post helped me regain my composure and my mental because I was really debating about trimming tonight. Like well if I trim what about retaining length....and I know we all have common goals, but sometimes I feel like its easy to become anxious about length. Today was my day that I was anxious about length. I caught glimpse of an old picture of me with SL hair....and my ends need to be trimmed and I was having that little fight in my head, to cut or not to cut.....then I was like man forget this I'm about to post....kind of like blogging lmao to relieve some stress!!

 

[luxe.li.]

The bolded is so true. Some days I feel like giving paragraphs of information. There was a couple of weeks where I had a goal that I would post in every single newbie thread that I saw, and any thread that had 20 or less responses.

But then some days (or months) I see threads that ask the same exact questions that have been asked (sometimes the day before) and it annoys the heck out of me that the person didn't take the time to search. It'd be different if people asked slightly different questions, but they're the same exact question. So either I don't respond...or I do a search (that takes 15 secs) and post the links.

It really just depends on the poster.

That's true, but sometimes you have to remember just like you have some days that you can post in every thread, that's the same for us newbies. Its some days where I just READ and READ and READ...whether its on this site, or on Maneandchic.com or on any other hair blog. Its moments when I research something so detailed to the point I could write a thesis, then I have my days when I'm tried for school, I'm tired of reading, I'm tried of researching, and I just want to talk about it, so I'll post.....So and So, Blah and Blah.....just really looking for some answers and some people who might have the same question to say...oh yeah I was wondering about that too.....I mean I can type in straightening while natural and get the Pinkskates post and I'll have moments when I want to read EVERY comment, then I have moments when I just want an answer and I just dont feel like surfing the pages...so I guess you can say its Give and Take and that it can go either way......

 

[ShaniKeys]

I'm a 4a/b natural, been here for over two years and nothing has ever been forced on me. In fact, the advice you'll get from everyone is: DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOUR HAIR. People will always emphasize that they're talking about what worked for THEIR hair. I think the ladies here just try to give you the basics: wash, deep condition, moisturize, seal moisture. There are ladies here who do not deep condition, they're not viewed as outcasts. Others prefer to co-wash, others trim every x weeks, others follow the ayurvedic hair care thing, other do henna, others take growth aids, others don't put things they can't put in their mouth on their hair,...etc and the list goes on, just to show you how much diversity there is here. I know it's easy to get lost in LHCF world because it's alot of information at once, but if you start with knowing your hair type, your goals, what you want to achieve with your hair,...etc you will quickly form a bond with some LHCF sisters who will help you throughout your journey. I personally am willing to take advice from anyone, but at the end of the day, it's all up to you.

I'm a natural and I use the Curls line, I like it. There are other products like Mixed Chicks, Carol's daughter and Blended Beauty that are not that popular on LHCF, I have all these products, some I like, some I don't. As a PJ, I don't let LHCF talk me out of anything I remember the other day I wanted to use Aphogee 2 min reconstructor for longer than 2 minutes, so I asked the natural ladies of LHCF if they had already done it, and most said no. Ultimately, I went ahead and used it 45min with heat, my hair felt great afterwards. I read here this week that some have used it for 30min and had great results too. I know I'm rambling now, but to keep it short: you're absolutely right, do what works for you. This is LHCF planet, not LHCF church.

Good luck with your hair journey and go check Glib's thread about asking members questions, I asked you a question.

 

[msa]

others don't put things they can't put in their mouth on their hair

That's me!

This is LHCF planet, not LHCF church.

True true. We have many different species of obsessed hair ladies, and we need them all in order for things to work. LHCF is not a bible that's one size fits all.

 

[ShaniKeys]

That's me!

Who do you think I had in mind when I wrote that

True true. We have many different species of obsessed hair ladies, and we need them all in order for things to work. LHCF is not a bible that's one size fits all.

Right on!