Please help...struggling with my relaxed hair

[Kenpop]

Hi Ladies, I'm new to the forum and I really need some help. I can't seem to get my hair moisturized. I'm confused about if my hair is low or high porosity. I thought that I had low porosity, but now I'm thinking that it might be overly porous. I can't airdry because my hair will be a hard frizzy dry mess . I have been attempting to roller-set, but my hair dries too quickly and my sets turn out super dry. However, my relaxers don't take well and my hair is very sensitive to protein which I know are symptoms of low porosity.

The only thing that helps is when I go to the salon to get a steam treatment my hair is moisturized just after 15 mins under the steamer and it retains moisture all week! I purchased a steamer to use at home but it doesn't work so well when I do it . I don't know what I'm doing wrong, maybe I should start steaming for less time like they do at the salon.

I clarify and use aphogee 2 min reconstructor bi-weekly, and I deep condition weekly. I rotate between several conditioners such as kenra, creme of nature argan oil, and silk elements. It doesn't really matter what I use my hair will not retain moisture. I relax between 8-10 weeks. I don't know what to do. I just purchased roux porosity control conditioner but I don't know how to use or if I should use it until I find out what my hair's problem is.

Right now I'm thinking about shaving my head and buying a wig . I would really like to get this issue resolved. If anyone has any suggestions or advice it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lilmama1011]

Do you have product buildup? If you do chelate or clarify could be blocking moisture

 

[Lymegreen]

What do you use to cleanse? Are you using a non sulfate shampoo?

 

[Kenpop]

Do you have product buildup? If you do chelate or clarify could be blocking moisture

I use ors creamy aloe shampoo every two weeks to clarify. I don't know if maybe I should use weekly.

 

[Kenpop]

What do you use to cleanse? Are you using a non sulfate shampoo?

I alternate between ors creamy aloe shampoo which has sulfates and cream of nature argan oil shampoo which does not.

 

[Lilmama1011]

Maybe if you use shampoo once every two weeks or a month instead because some people's hair can't take shampoos and maybe you want to switch to a cleansing conditioner instead. Maybe the shampoo is to drying. And to balance hair moisture intake you can do a acv rinse instead or I got a better idea. Since acv makes moisture intake better and gives hair a clean feeling and makes hair soft so three pluses. So substitute shampoos with acv weekly

 

[Lilmama1011]

It balances ph in hair

 

[Lymegreen]

I'm not an expert so hopefully others will respond as well. My response is based on my hair type which is 4b relaxed so I'm not sure how much it would help.

With that said

You probably can get away with clarifying with ORS once a month and could possibly start adding an oil prepoo (with or without heat) for about 10-15 mins before you wash.

Coconut oil works well for moisture retention.

Eta:

Switching to cleansing conditioners has made all the difference in my hair

 

[bebezazueta]

Use the roux porosity control as the last step in your washing routine. And come back and let us know how it goes. Oh and the ORS creamy aloe shampoo is the best for my relaxed hair.

Keep us posted. Lots of good advice so far.

 

[divachyk]

Kenpop, if you feel you have low porosity, I caution you on using Roux PC. It's designed for high porosity. It closes the cuticles. If you're low porosity with closed cuticles, the last thing you want is for your cuticles to be closed even further, thereby making even tougher for your hair to accept moisture.

ETA: You should visit the low porosity thread for suggestions on how to infuse moisture into the hair. I also have a LHCF blog entry on low porosity.

 

[lamaria211]

Try wen!
What is your daily moisturizer?
How are you tying your hair down at night?
How does the Aphogee 2 min make your hair feel?

 

[BrownieBrie]

I don't know if you have a length goal in mind or how far you are into your HHJ, but sometimes a good trim/cut helps. When I first started taking better care of my hair I had 3-4 inches of hair that just could not be saved. Once I cut it off it was much easier to care for what was left and my hair stayed healthy.

 

[Keen]

For years I had a moisture issue. My hair was dry all the time. I have finally figured out how to keep my 4b hair moisturized and that has reduce breakage extremely. I was doing a lot of protective styling but that really didn't do anything because my hair was still dry. Here is what I've done:

- Stop using harsh shampoo. I use WEN or sulfate free shampoos a couple of tims a month to cleanse my hair
- I moisturize daily. This is a problem for styling but it is better than protective styling
- Low manipulation. Even though I moisturize daily, I don't comb my hair until wash day which is why I have a styling problem. If I want to wear my hair nice and fresh, I have to wash.
- I wash my hair at least twice a week. Ideally twice a week but every now in then I have to increase the frequency because, like I said before, if I want to wear my hair decent, other than pull back, I have to wash. washing frequently also help against product building since I moisturize almost daily.
- Air dry. My ultimate weapon against crunchy puffy air dry hair is CHI silk infusion on wet hair. You put it on your hair as the last leave in. Once your hair start to dry, I run a comb through it every now in then, maybe every 10 minutes. My hair dries nice and straight, no crunch.

Hope this help. I've been on LHCF for a while and I just figured out moisture was my problem because I always thought I needed to protective style. I was sacrificing moisture for protective styles. It needs to be the other way around. Once I figured that out. I stop experiencing set backs.

 

[demlew]

What brand/version relaxer do you use? How long have you used it? For me, I noticed a vast improvement in my hair's ability to retain moisture when I changed from no-lye to lye. Everyone has a different experience, but I've never experienced scalp burns even though I do a protein DC the night before my appt.

 

[Moonaonline]

Hi,, I've been relaxing my hair for a long time and i used to have the same problem

I think its a combination of product build up + lack of moisture and proper conditioning

You need to focus on moisturizing your hair properly

things that made huge difference for me are:

1- Stop using product that has ingredients that tend to build up in the hair (specially silicones and mineral oil) also harsh ingredients (alcohol containing products)
That really helped me to stick to co-wash which is the best for relaxed hair
I only use sulfate containing shampoo when am neutralizing and washing my relaxer (once every 8-12 week) and I do occasionally use gentle sulfate free shampoo only to clean my scalp when it feels itchy

2 - use a deep moisturizing conditioner Every week (use more frequent around relaxer week)

3- I also thought I was protein sensitive but after restoring moisture properly, my hair looks great after protein treatment (every 4 weeks and around relaxer)

4 - never ever leave the relaxed hair naked without a good moisturizing leave in conditioner (specially the ends)

5- I seal with coconut oil (its light and doesn't give a greasy finish and it eventually get absorbed by the hair strands which makes the hair soft, strong and shiny)
Seal is a must for relaxed hair cause even if your natural hair has low porosity the relaxer will inevitably damage the cuticle and your ends will have higher porosity and tend to feel dry and frizzy
you can tell how bad the porosity problem by noticing how fast the ends of your hair dry when air-drying compared to your roots

Don't be afraid of using coconut oil or castor oil as a sealing product cause they get absorbed by the hair strand anyway (its just a temporary seal that leaves your hair soft unlike other natural oils)

6- I refresh my hair by lightly damping it with water and I re-apply coconut oil lightly to my highly porous ends, keep it in a high bun over night and next day its as good as new (it feels soft and silky )

7- I always do pre poo oiling with coconut oil even if am co washing to minimize water damage and breakage

8- minimize the heat and avoid direct heat to the ends as it will frizz (it becomes very dry)

- Another point if you can use a softer relaxer and don't go all the way straight this will make it easier to stretch and to avoid overlapping
- also helps minimize blowdrying or flat ironing to manage texture difference

Am sorry for this very long answer but this what made all the difference for me

Good luck

 

[LaidBak]

I had moisture retention issues for decades as well. I started using Roux Porosity Control after I discovered LHCF, and incorporating oils into my conditioners, I stopped using mineral oil, started using protein, etc. It sounds like you've done all that except for the Roux PC. I don't have any issues with moisture retention at all any more. I use the Roux every time I wet my hair. I suggest you try that.

On the other hand... instead of guessing I urge you to get a hair analysis. I got one from Komaza. Don't spend years guessing and experimenting with your hair. Get an analysis and base your hair care routine on your hair's actual condition. Its worth every penny.

ETA: if you hair dries super fast and its frizzy I doubt you are low porosity. I think thats textbook high porosity.

 

[Monaleezza]

Are you co-washing? I didn't see that in your regimen.

 

[Evolving78]

i suggest to get a hair analysis too! will save you a lot of trouble and money down the line. back off of the protein for a minute. what deep conditioner do you use? is it for moisturizing or strengthening and reconstructing? if it says it will make your hair stronger and help to prevent breakage, (it may be a light protein as well) you need to try roller setting. keep a spray bottle of water mixed with a little bit of oil to keep your hair from drying out. don't use a setting lotion or wrap foam.

what are you moisturizing your hair with?

 

[Kenpop]

What brand/version relaxer do you use? How long have you used it? For me, I noticed a vast improvement in my hair's ability to retain moisture when I changed from no-lye to lye. Everyone has a different experience, but I've never experienced scalp burns even though I do a protein DC the night before my appt.

I use soft and beautiful no-lye relaxer. I have been considering switching to lye, but I have a very sensitive scalp and I'm afraid that it may be too harsh for my scalp.

 

[Kenpop]

Try wen!
I think I will give it a try. I've been hearing great things about it.
What is your daily moisturizer?
I use bb oil moisturizer to moisturize and I seal with grapeseed oil or castor oil.
How are you tying your hair down at night?
I use a silk scarf at night.
How does the Aphogee 2 min make your hair feel?

Aphogee 2 min makes my hair feel hard and dry if I don't follow up with a deep condition so I usually deep condition overnight when I use it. My hair feels strong and not so dry.

 

[Kenpop]

What brand/version relaxer do you use? How long have you used it? For me, I noticed a vast improvement in my hair's ability to retain moisture when I changed from no-lye to lye. Everyone has a different experience, but I've never experienced scalp burns even though I do a protein DC the night before my appt.

I use soft and beautiful no-lye relaxer. I have been considering switching to lye but I have a very sensitive scalp and I'm afraid it may be to harsh for my scalp. It is a possibility though.

 

[sckri23]

Maybe your hair doesnt need to be "cleansed" as much as you think. Try cowashing it still cleans your hair and leaves it refreshed. Hairvitalize balsam and protien is great as a cowash and leave in.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using LHCF

 

[Kenpop]

Are you co-washing? I didn't see that in your regimen.

M

No I don't co-wash. I am afraid of product build-up

 

[Kenpop]

Thank you for all of the help and advice. I'm definitely going to try these things and keep you all posted on my progress.

 

[xcuzememiss]

I use soft and beautiful no-lye relaxer. I have been considering switching to lye, but I have a very sensitive scalp and I'm afraid that it may be too harsh for my scalp.

This might be the source of some of the issues. No-Lye relaxers are more harsh and drying on the hair (Calcium deposits left over on hair). I suggest switching to a lye relaxer( Alter ego Linange). I used to use a lye relaxer, but my hair wouldnt come out as straight as I wanted it to. So i switched to no-lye bc according to a lot, it gives you a straighter finish. Well after a few months of doing that I noticed that my hair would always be dry and not receptive to moisture. So in addition to switching relaxers, I started to revisit my old regimen of prepooing with oils (evco, evoo, & wgo), conditioners ( something with a light protein and ceramides) , non-sulfate shampoos (COn or elasta Qp Creme shampoo), and Dc(WEN) with every wash. I'll also say that the leave in is very important! I use Wen, along with Chi silk infusion (Sally's Version) . I hope this helps!!! I wish you well!

 

[LaidBak]

Aphogee 2 min makes my hair feel hard and dry if I don't follow up with a deep condition so I usually deep condition overnight when I use it. My hair feels strong and not so dry.

If 2 Minute is leaving your hair hard then you REALLY need to leave all protein alone for a while. 2 Minute is supposed to be mild. Focus on Super Moisturizing condishes like Kenra, Mizani Intense Moisturizing treatment, or Matrix Ultra Hydrating Balm. Mix them with EVOO, or grapeseed oil, or hemp, or rice bran oil, and steam them in. NO protein for a while, check all your products (leave ins, etc) to make sure you're not adding protein unintentionally.

 

[lamaria211]

Aphogee 2 min makes my hair feel hard and dry if I don't follow up with a deep condition so I usually deep condition overnight when I use it. My hair feels strong and not so dry.

Aphogee products are to strong for my hair period so for protein I'm using the following
AO GPB
ORS Replenishing oak
Giovanni Nutrafix
And Roux Mendex

 

[WaistLengthDreams]

Your no-lye relaxer is likely the source of your troubles. I had the same exact issues you described when I first switched to a no-lye relaxer. You can switch to lye as was suggested previously. But if you have sensitive scalp like myself you may not want to pursue that option.

No-lye relaxers leave mineral deposits on your hair preventing the proper absorption of moisture. To combat this you should use a chelating shampoo, which will remove the calcium buildup. My favorite cheating shampoo is Mizani Phormula-7 chelating and neutralizing shampoo. I use it to neutralize after relaxing and the next wash after relaxing (1week post).

Chelating shampoos: Mizani phormula 7 neutralizing and chelating shampoo, joico k oak shampoo, l'anz swim sun daily chelating, Kenra clarifying and several others.

next you will want to incorporate ceramides into your hair regimen. I use nexxus humectress and redken strength builder plus.

The ceramides will form a protective barrier around your hair strands ensuring that your hair retains the protein and moisture added.

Ceramide products: nexxus humectress, Aubrey organics conditioners, redken extreme line, wheat germ oil, hemp seed oil, and sunflower oil just to name a few.

There are more comprehensive lists of applicable products here in the archives if you are interested in more product recommendations.