Introduction - Hello, How are You? I'm Toufa

Hello everyone.

I'd like to say hello to everybody and introduce myself. I'm toufa and I've recently found the LHCF forums after internet searching for hair care tips. I've been reading so many LHCF threads these last two weeks and there is so much valuable information here! I thought I'd subscribe so I can say thank you to LHCF and participate in the discussions.

May I tell you a little about me and my hair. I have natural, kinda uneven hair. It goes from about chin length in the front to about shoulder length in the back. I have really bad ends. They poof out and are rough. So I think I have to work on moisture and sealing a lot. I usually just put my hair in 10-12 braids and wrap it up. I really really really want longer, stronger, healthier hair. But my problem was I didn't know how to get that. Also, I have to admit that I've been pretty lazy when it comes to my hair . But I am going to change that. And from reading LHCF threads, I'm learning about things like oil rinses, tea rinses, ACV rinses, biotin, garlic pills, co-washes, OCT, GHE and Ayurvedics! OMG, what a wealth of information you guys have here! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Hopefully I'll learn a lot, get to know my hair better, understand what it needs and it will respond by growing strong.

In fact, I've already started applying some of the knowledge I got from the LHCF threads. My plan is to co-wash 2x a week, DC 1x a week and clarify+DC 1x a month. I deep conditioned on Saturday and I just did the first of my 2x a week co-washes. I did the Chicoro pre-poo, smooth down condition and detangling method and then applied the Kimmay Leave-in. I oil sealed, put a little vaseline on my ends and then barretted the ends. Then I baggied and put on a silk cap. Boy this is a lot of work! And oil is all over my bathroom right now. LOL! I hope I can keep this up!

I do have a lot of questions though and I wonder if someone could help me.

1. I plan to use OCT/MGTK. I'm going to put it on the night before I cowash or DC or shampoo. On the day I shampoo, I'm going to tea rinse after the shampoo. I think I'd like to put a little MGTK on the length of my hair during the last 5 minutes of the tea rinse. I'm only going to leave the MGTK on there for 5 minutes or less. Does anyone see a problem doing that? Should I rinse out the tea first before I put the MGTK on the length of my hair? Or should I not do tea rinses if I put MGTK on the length of my hair?

2. I'm going to try the ACV rinse after each DC, I think. Maybe just after every other DC. I'll see how my hair reacts. But I wonder if its okay to ACV rinse after a OCT/MGTK application? There's no crazy chemical reaction that could happen is there?

3. I'm trying to figure out what oil to oil my scalp with. I've been looking at the results people get from using that youtube mix (3inches7weeks). I'm also thinking about a simple castor oil + sublimed sulfur mix. But I wonder, is it okay to oil my scalp with either of those after I apply the OCT treatment or should I avoid putting those infused oils on my scalp if I'm doing an OCT treatment? Should I just use an un-infused oil to oil my scalp if I do an OCT?

4. I plan to put barrettes on my ends. I think I'll fold the sealed ends of each plait over once and clamp the barrette. Does anyone see a problem doing that?

Thank you in advance for any responses. I'm really looking forward to participating in the threads and learning more about how to care for my hair from the many knowledgeable folks here.

PS. I noticed the Health and Fitness forum. I'll be in that forum a lot too as my other goal is to start a daily exercise program. I want to loose weight and improve my health and overall just treat myself better. So maybe I'll see some of you guys over there too!

PPS. I see I get a blog with my LHCF membership!!! Wow, I've never had a blog before. I might just try it out. I will also try to figure out how to put pictures up too as I would like to document my hair journey.

Thank you LCHF!

Toufa

Hi Toufa!!!! Welcome!

Platinum said:

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Je Ne Sais Quoi said:

Hi Toufa!!!! Welcome!

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Hello and welcome

My Friend said:

Hello and welcome

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Hi and

My advice is to start slowly and not jump into everything too quickly. You should first learn your hair and find out what it likes and needs. Welcome!!

*Welcome* Toufa! I agree w/ Coffee.

Welcome Toufa, and I hope you peruse the other sections on here. I dont know much about a lot of your questions but would just like to advise you that doing too much may actually be detrimental so take it all slow and perhaps stick to a few regimens/products.

Welcome!

Welcome toufa! Glad you decided to join us here!

As far as your hair care regimen, I agree with Coffee. You should take things slowly. You don't necessarily have to do a whole bunch of different things to obtain/maintain a head of beautiful healthy hair. Many of us here have found that a simple routine works best. A really complex hair care regimen could cause you to burn out and loose interest in dealing with your hair.

Personally, I follow a very simple, slightly erratic, routine, and my hair has never been healthier! It is currently the longest it's been in my entire adult life.

ETA: I don't use expensive products either!

Welcome, toufa! You're too cute.

1) I know nothing about tea rinses, so I can't give advice on whether it's okay to use MT on top of the tea.

2) MT and OCT are both conditioners, so I can't imagine ACV having an adverse affect with them.

3) If you're going to be using OCT/MT, oiling your scalp will be overkill. Oil or MT, one should suffice.

4) What kind of barrettes are you using? Have you thought of just twirling the ends of your hair? After twisting, if you twirl the ends of the twist around your finger, they'll curl up and stay that way.

All in all, I know there is tons of information here and you want to try everything to get your hair as healthy as possible. But if you start out with all of these procedures and steps, you'll burn out quickly and your regimen will be out the door. It's happened to the best of us.

My advice: Start out simple. Shampoo and dc once a week, moisturize and seal daily.

If you want to do extras, introduce each one, one at a time. Don't do cowashes and tea rinses and ACV and OCT right out the gate. One at a time.

This way, you'll be able to determine what's working and what isn't.

Welcome and good luck!

Hello and welcome

Coffee said:

My advice is to start slowly and not jump into everything too quickly. You should first learn your hair and find out what it likes and needs. Welcome!!

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NYAmicas said:

Welcome Toufa, and I hope you peruse the other sections on here. I dont know much about a lot of your questions but would just like to advise you that doing too much may actually be detrimental so take it all slow and perhaps stick to a few regimens/products.

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ms.blue said:

*Welcome* Toufa! I agree w/ Coffee.

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Hello and thank you for your Welcome and advice! You're right, I should take it slow. It's just there is so much new information here and I'm soooo excited! I know it's only the beginning of hopefully a life-long process so I will try to go slowly slowly. Thanks again.

Hi Toufa. I'm Nappystorm. Welcome

greenandchic said:

Welcome!

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Sianna said:

Welcome @toufa! Glad you decided to join us here!

As far as your hair care regimen, I agree with @Coffee. You should take things slowly. You don't necessarily have to do a whole bunch of different things to obtain/maintain a head of beautiful healthy hair. Many of us here have found that a simple routine works best. A really complex hair care regimen could cause you to burn out and loose interest in dealing with your hair.

Personally, I follow a very simple, slightly erratic, routine, and my hair has never been healthier! It is currently the longest it's been in my entire adult life.

ETA: I don't use expensive products either!

Click to expand...

Thank you for your advice. I agree I should take it slow. I'm just really excited about everything I've been reading on here. So many different methods and products! I want to try them all! I know that's not possible (and probably dangerous!). But its so tempting! Hopefully as I see how my hair responds to things, I get a better understanding of what it likes and dislikes.

tiffers said:

Welcome, toufa! You're too cute.

1) I know nothing about tea rinses, so I can't give advice on whether it's okay to use MT on top of the tea.

2) MT and OCT are both conditioners, so I can't imagine ACV having an adverse affect with them.

3) If you're going to be using OCT/MT, oiling your scalp will be overkill. Oil or MT, one should suffice.

4) What kind of barrettes are you using? Have you thought of just twirling the ends of your hair? After twisting, if you twirl the ends of the twist around your finger, they'll curl up and stay that way.

All in all, I know there is tons of information here and you want to try everything to get your hair as healthy as possible. But if you start out with all of these procedures and steps, you'll burn out quickly and your regimen will be out the door. It's happened to the best of us.

My advice: Start out simple. Shampoo and dc once a week, moisturize and seal daily.

If you want to do extras, introduce each one, one at a time. Don't do cowashes and tea rinses and ACV and OCT right out the gate. One at a time.

This way, you'll be able to determine what's working and what isn't.

Welcome and good luck!

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Hi Tiffers!

Thank you for your advice. I will give the twirling a try instead of barrettes!

I've never been one to put a lot of effort into my hair. So this is all very new to me. For example, I have never done a DC like I did this weekend, leaving the DC on my hair for several hours. Wow! But I'm determined to give my hair the time and attention it deserves! And I will take your advice on incorporating things into my regime one at a time. Thanks again for your welcome and advice.

hi toufa


love ur nic! Welcome!!!

Crackers Phinn said:

Hello and welcome

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nappystorm said:

Hi Toufa. I'm Nappystorm. Welcome

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Hello Nappystorm andfor your welcome!

Damaged but not out said:

hi toufa


love ur nic! Welcome!!!

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Hello! And for the welcome. You like my nic? Thanks! Long, strong, healthy toufa is my goal!

Hi Toufa! Welcome! ... As far as your questions go, I would steer clear of putting barrette on the ends of your hair. This may cause breakage.

HI im chelseatiara! welcome!

welcome newbie..... just a quick question do you even know if your hair likes heavy protien because that is what those conditioners are and you are talking about your ends are very brittle... I think you need more moisture than protien to save those ends. I wasted a lot of money on mega tek just to find out my hair can not stand protien and I had protien overload. My hair loves moisture and that is what I give it. there are many other things you can use for growth and jamaican black castor oil is one of them. co washing and baggin your hair at night is another things you can try to soften up your ends.

Shadiyah said:

welcome newbie..... just a quick question do you even know if your hair likes heavy protien because that is what those conditioners are and you are talking about your ends are very brittle... I think you need more moisture than protien to save those ends. I wasted a lot of money on mega tek just to find out my hair can not stand protien and I had protien overload. My hair loves moisture and that is what I give it. there are many other things you can use for growth and jamaican black castor oil is one of them. co washing and baggin your hair at night is another things you can try to soften up your ends.

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Hi Shadiyah. Thank you for your advice.

Well, I guess I don't really don't know if my hair likes the heavy protein. I just assumed that it would be okay b/c I've been reading that hair needs protein. I guess I need to understand better the types of proteins. I'm gonna be reading the Newbie Manual thread and I see there's lots of info on protein there. I guess I should slow my roll on the OCT/MGTK until I learn more. But... I wanna try it so bad

I will look into the Jamaican Black Castor oil. I purchased some regular castor oil for oiling my scalp that I was thinking about turning into a sublimed sulfur+castor oil mix or maybe the youtube lady's potion mix. I guess it would be simpler to just start with a ready made product. I don't know. So many choices! My head is LOL.

I have started co-washing and bagging. I started bagging on Saturday and I did my first co-wash last night. I think my ends like it . They do look and feel different after just a few days of this. I still had some knots after my cowash last night, but I hope that will improve as I continue doing the moisture, seal and baggy.

Thank you again for your advice!

Awww yay! to the forum, toufa!