Please help! Stubbornly dry, tangled hair!! LONG

[misscrystal]

Ya'll, I'm about *this close* to chopping off my hair.

I'm trying to be as detailed as possible here to get some good advice from you guys, so this post is really LONG, but please please please look it over. I'm really losing it



My texturized hair is NOT responding to anything I'm doing. I've been suffering from super dry hair for a while. My hair has NO strength, NO elasticity and NO moisture retention.

Moisturizing, co-washing and deep conditioning seem to do nothing for my hair. I'm not sure just what the hell is going on! I have a battery of moisturizers in my bathroom (moisture recovery, ors olive oil creme, mango butter, a spray bottle with water, jojoba oil...) None of these seem to make a difference. If I put moisturizer on my hair before going to bed, I'll wake up with my hair feeling matted, tangled and dry, dry DRY. My breakage is outta this world and unstoppable.

2 weeks ago I started doing this regimen (since I haven't been doing this long I may need to just stick with it longer, but maybe someone can spot some things I can change)

Every Saturday I do this:
Use Emergencee to restore strength
Co-wash w/conditioner + Porosity Control
DC w/Aubrey GPB for protein and Silicon Mix for moisture

During the week:
-I cowash about 2-3x.
-I moisturize once daily (moisturizing my hair 2x/day wasn't doing anything to help my dryness It was just making my hair greasy w/lots of build up)
-Usually I style my hair by wetting it w/water and applying Giovanni Direct + an oil based moisturizer (sometimes straight jojoba oil). Then I dry with my blow dryer and diffuser.

I also make sure to clarify my hair about 3x/month.

After I blow dry, my hair feels nice and moisturized. But by the time I get back home in the evening, it feels like straw again.

I've asked for help before, but I keep coming up empty on responses and I'm getting VERY discouraged.

Can anyone tell me what might be going on?? Advice, help prayers. If you can give it, I will take it!!

 

[PacificPurinsesu]

I am not an expert, but
Every Saturday I do this:
Use Emergencee to restore strength.
Co-wash w/conditioner + Porosity Control
DC w/Aubrey GPB for protein and Silicon Mix for moisture.
**Emergencee, should only be used every six weeks!** Maybe, you have way too much protein in your hair! That seems to cause dry hair, the protein overlaod! i hope some experts get in here and offer more detailed help.

 

[FlawedBeauty]

Ya'll, I'm about *this close* to chopping off my hair.

I'm trying to be as detailed as possible here to get some good advice from you guys, so this post is really LONG, but please please please look it over. I'm really losing it



My texturized hair is NOT responding to anything I'm doing. I've been suffering from super dry hair for a while. My hair has NO strength, NO elasticity and NO moisture retention.

Moisturizing, co-washing and deep conditioning seem to do nothing for my hair. I'm not sure just what the hell is going on! I have a battery of moisturizers in my bathroom (moisture recovery, ors olive oil creme, mango butter, a spray bottle with water, jojoba oil...) None of these seem to make a difference. If I put moisturizer on my hair before going to bed, I'll wake up with my hair feeling matted, tangled and dry, dry DRY. My breakage is outta this world and unstoppable.

2 weeks ago I started doing this regimen (since I haven't been doing this long I may need to just stick with it longer, but maybe someone can spot some things I can change)

Every Saturday I do this:
Use Emergencee to restore strength
Co-wash w/conditioner + Porosity Control
DC w/Aubrey GPB for protein and Silicon Mix for moisture

During the week:
-I cowash about 2-3x.
-I moisturize once daily (moisturizing my hair 2x/day wasn't doing anything to help my dryness It was just making my hair greasy w/lots of build up)
-Usually I style my hair by wetting it w/water and applying Giovanni Direct + an oil based moisturizer (sometimes straight jojoba oil). Then I dry with my blow dryer and diffuser.

I also make sure to clarify my hair about 3x/month.

After I blow dry, my hair feels nice and moisturized. But by the time I get back home in the evening, it feels like straw again.

I've asked for help before, but I keep coming up empty on responses and I'm getting VERY discouraged.

Can anyone tell me what might be going on?? Advice, help prayers. If you can give it, I will take it!!

i probably won't be of much help but my hair was super ultra dry. i found that after cutting out the heat, and conditioning more my hair is in much better condition. i recently stopped all heat usage as of 9/5/06 and it is doing wonders. i just used cassia (clear henna) which totally changed the way my hair hangs on to moisture. i am deep conditioning once a week and washing/conditioning at least 3x a week with Elucence poo and conditioner which imo is great for moisture.

 

[LittleMissScientist]

Sorry about your hair troubles!

Do you blowdry each time you wet your hair? If so, that may be the cause of the problem. Using heat that frequently will definitely dry your hair out. You might want to add more moisture, remove a little protein, and find styles you like that don't require heat.

ETA: Step away from the scissors!!! This phase will pass and you will be much happier if you keep your hair

 

[WomanlyCharm]

That's alot of protein...Emergencee isn't supposed to be used once a week, and then along with the Aubrey GPB, it sounds like your hair is on protein overload. No manipulation styles and alot of extra moisture will get it back into shape.
And stop using so much heat, that will make a huge difference.

Trust me, your hair will be o.k. Put down the scissors!

 

[Ladyhenri]

Awwww,
I've got to say, it seems to me that your hair may be in products just a little bit. I had a similar problem when i started a few weeks ago and became such an enthusiast that i was washing my hair every other day and piling on the products. My hair rebeled and became really dry...now, it's still not recovered and i am also climbing walls because of the damned breakage.

Seems to me that i overloaded on protein conditioning. Also, clarifying shampoos stripped my hair of all its natural moisture.

Right now, i use motions conditioning shampoo, and follow it with motions CPR which i leave in my hair for an hour. I then wash out CPR and use Mane and Tail conditioner for some minutes then air dry with oil to seal in moisture.
It seems to help.
Finally, i dont 'play' with my hair (combing, preening) very often as this seems to make it break even more. ( oh, i've upped on my Biotin)

I really hope this helps coz i'm in a similar situation...
Good luck girl.

 

[Synthia]

I used to do Emergencee weekly and my hair thrived. I still do a protein weekly but not necessarily Emergencee.

BUT I think coupling that with Aubrey-- another protein-- is overkill. That is certainly causing some ill effect.

Also, are any of the products -- Silicon Mix, Giovanni, Ors Olive Oil-- loaded with cones, petroleum, mineral oil, or anything that coats the hair.

If so, you might want to clarify and go on a diet of natural products for a while.

Over the last two months, I tried some products with cones, mineral oil in them and the first month was great! Super moist and shiny, supple. But the last month was horrible. Couldn't get any moisture. I haven't had that happen since joining LHCF. Deep conditioning with a cone product was horrible!! OMG.

So, I ditched everything with cones and mineral oil (the latter wasn't in much). That included my beloved Paul Mitchell and a couple of leave-ins I really, really liked.

My hair came around again. It appreciates being able to breathe. Not going back. On the hunt for more natural products. Not using any cones whatsoever.

 

[Ms_Twana]

Listen to everything the ladies above me said. You need to cut out all the protein, stop using heat, and use littel to no manipulation styles. Also check out Supergirl's thread. I think it may help.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=93610

ETA: And clarifying 3 times a month may be waaaaay too much as well.

 

[JustKiya]

I've found that with hair, if it's acting crazy, the best thing to do is to use LESS product so that you can see what your NATURAL hair state is. I used to think that my hair was horribly dry and brittle, but realized that it was damaged from dying, and dry from the super silicone heavy conditioner I was using.

I'm not familiar with any of the products that you are using, but it DOES seem like a lot of stuff. You say that you've been suffering from super dry hair for a while - which makes it sound like that at some point, you DIDN'T have super dry hair. What did you start doing? Texturizing? Using heat? Using a new product line? If you can pinpoint that, it might point out what's going wrong.

 

[MizaniMami]

Have you clarified? Clarify, youi may have some buildup. Lay off the protein for a while. Try a deep moisturizing treatment.

 

[jrae]

I agree... too much Emergencee AND GPB. How about doing an overnight conditioning with something moisturizing like Suave or VO5?

 

[Poohbear]

Check out V.Merie's fotki album... you'll surely be blessed from taking the advice she gives and the techniques she shares in her album!

 

[shocol]

I don't know if this will help, but make sure that your hair likes natural oils (jojoba, olive). My hair, wet or damp, doesn't like olive/jojoba oils straight from the bottle.

Matted, tangled and dry, dry DRY is just how my hair feels if I use too much oil on wet hair. Whether I use a little or a lot, it will dry feeling crispy and greasy. My hair responds much better to things like shea butter, mango butter and oils that are blended like a creme.

 

[Poohbear]

OH! I forgot to ask... when was your last trim?

I have been experiencing some tangling of the ends and I'm about to give myself a good trim... I haven't had one since March. I'm always reluctant to trimming but right now, I'm seeing that my hair is in a great need of a trim. After trimming, my hair acts better.

Hope that helps!

 

[misscrystal]

Thanks everyone for the helpful tips. I'm still searching for a good dc and daily moisturizer for my hair. I think the big problem I have is that alot of my hair products are left over from when I was relaxed.

I think the new regimen I created was just me being panicky about my hair acting crazy.

I think it's probably best that I do less to my hair rather than more.

 

[InJesusName]

ITA with what all the ladies said about protein overload and blow drying. Both can wreak havoc on your precious hair. Have you considered getting some Essential Fatty Omega 3 oils in your diet? Evening Primrose and Flax Oil can help you get moisture from within. Also increase your water intake. This may not hurt.

Happy growing! Hang in there!