My Intro/Letter To You Ladies

knottyaaverage

New Member
Hi Ladies,

I’ve been a lurker for about two months now and am now glad to say I’m an official member J Here’s my deal: I’ve always had long thick hair, in middle skool it was cut and some of it fell out due to a Crème of Nature perm. I spent high school growing it back and by the time I hit graduation and freshman year of college I was back to normal. I’m a senior now in college and a year ago my hair started changing. My regular Dominican hairdresser left the shop and I would find myself getting a wash and set and my hair coming out looking very dry and needing to be done days later. From there I stopped my normal regimen of mayonnaise conditioning and blowing (which kept my hair healthy and thick) and tried out a few other hairdressers and by winter of last year I noticed a small patch of missing hair. It wasn’t bald but it was strictly new growth. From there my hair thinned for the rest of the year. This summer me and my friends went to Miami and all got sewn in weaves by a black woman, though I was reluctant I left it in for two weeks and had minimal to no breakage. I thought since the weave had gone so well I would let her care for my hair. So she permed my hair with Vitale claiming it was for sensitive scalp when really it was the first perm to ever burn my scalp. I use Just for Me but she insisted that perms were all the same so it didn’t matter. I was upset but the end result was good, she trimmed fine and my hair looked full and even, I figured by the end of the summer I would be back to normal. 2 weeks later I got another weave for the 4th by my cousin and left it in for a month. When it was time to take it out I went to my new black hairdresser and she brushed a matted area out and a lot of hair came out. I had a lot of hair so I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal. When it was time to trim she said I had set my self back and had see through ends so she trimmed more and I seemed to be in the same place I was a month ago. A couple of days later I noticed really flat areas in my head and my wrap wasn’t falling the same. I went to her again for the beginning of skool and she permed it again…WITH VITALE! When I specifically and sternly told her not to use that perm on me again. It burned again. And I never went back to her. When school started my friends began to notice how much shorter my hair had become (shoulder length on the sides and thin armpit length in the back). I also noticed another patch of missing hair in the back which I think came from the switching of perms. I had paid $20 to the black hairstylist for Jane Carter Solution nourish and shine before and used it for the month of September and October but noticed my hair was still breaking. A friend told me about Alter Ego Cren. I did a google search on it and the 1st link was to this forum. So beginning of Dec I went to get a touch up at my friend’s Dominican salon. It was embarrassing in the chair because the stylists gave me the damaged hair stare; it brought me back to middle school. I bought the Cren and my hair has been thickening since then, but the ends are still thin. I did my first baggie last night and it kept my hair VERY moisturized. I’m going to continue this until February to track results. I’m also going to co wash 2x a week and track that. I also ordered my MTG last week. Today I shampooed 2x with Infusium 23 maximum body, protein treated with egg and mayonnaise, light shampooed with Keracare moisturizing shampoo and now I’m sitting with 10 en 1 for 30 mins. After this I’m going to baggie, then exercise. I’ve been eating healthier and drinking nothing but water and peeing A LOT. I’m soooooooo thankful for this board and anxious to meet and get to know you all. The journals and stories here give me so much motivation and I definitely feel like I can be back to normal by graduation in May. xoxo


MY QUESTIONS 2 U: Do you think my hair washing regimen today was a good one?
and
I have Pure Sulfur at home; the first ingredient is Petrolatum and the second is sulfur. Should I grease my scalp with this once a week until my MTG arrives?
 

Supergirl

With Love & Silk
Hi and welcome :wave:

To answer your first question, I wouldn't recommend shampooing twice unless you are trying to remove product build up from your hair. Around here, we also try to avoid using shampoos with harsh sulfates (unless removing build up). I'm pretty certain that the one you used today contained sulfates. Sulfates are ingredients like:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Ammonium Lauryl OR Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (this one is the least harsh of the ones I've named)

These can be very drying to your hair and you definitely don't want that.

Anyway, have fun here. There's a lot to read and get to know!
 
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C

CaliJ

Guest
Hi knottyaaverage :wave:
I just wanted to say welcome and say thanks for sharing your story with us. The ladies here are full of information and I'm sure you'll enjoy your membership here. :)
 

shunta

New Member
Hi there, and welcome to the forum. Its good to have you here with us.:) It really saddened me to read your story. We go to stylists wanting a nice head of hair, but in your situation, it seems as if that was the complete opposite. Im not saying that all stylists are bad, but I read about one too many bad ones on the forum at least weekly. For now, I would definitely dump the stylists and just start taking care of your own hair. Look at all the beautiful heads of hair we have on this board--and most of them dont even visit the salon--they do it themselves. So, with some TLC and a little patience, your hair will be back on track in little time. Good luck, and again, welcome!:p

Oh, I almost forgot to answer your question. I agree with Supergirl about not washing twice because of the sulfates in the shampoos, because they can really dry your hair out.
 
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knottyaaverage

New Member
thanx so much u guys. definetely didn't know two shampoos are no good. after the keracare my hair felt hard again under the water, but the 10 en 1 made it super moisturized. like i said i'm now going to start co washing. and to shunta i can definetely feel what ur saying, because my hair was strongest when my own hands were handling it :)
 

Je Ne Sais Quoi

Well-Known Member
Hi and welcome! Sorry to hear about your hair horror's. I think you should stick to low manipulation styles for a while. Also, I can't recall if you are still perming or not, but if so, have you tried stretching or even going au natural?
 

knottyaaverage

New Member
i stretch for about 3 months, but the mayonnaise grew my hair out so fast last time (about an inch in a month) that i had to get a touch up before it started to break. i'm trying to hold off perming until late feburary if i can. gotta do something for valentine's though. just hope my hair is stronger by then.
 

knottyaaverage

New Member
*also the spots that are broken off are now about the length of my pinky finger since they broke late nov. so it's getting better. thanx :)
 
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