Any ladies who have it "all"?

[bronzephoenix]

This sounds like a stupid question to me and I haven't even asked it yet. *blush* But here goes nothing:

Have you successfully colored/bleached your natural hair without damaging your curl pattern?

And/or

Do you regularly flatiron your natural hair without ruining your curl pattern?

If so, how? And to what do you attribute your success? Any hard rules you stick to?

Unicorns... Please come forth.

 

[JustSitNBePretty]

Looking forward to hearing the answers as I've made the decision that 2015 will be the year that I color my hair. I'm soooo nervous because its the longest its ever been (MBL) so I'm worried about it possibly breaking all off or my curls becoming damaged. I was thinking about waiting until I achieved WL, but that might be another year from now and I'd just be again playing the game of waiting. I feel like I don't want to live my life not enjoying my hair so this is a risk and chance I'm just going to take. If push comes to shove, I'll be starting all over. It's sad to think about...

 

[Prettymetty]

I have it all to me. Meaning that I am happy with the outcome of my color and heat usage. My microscopic 4b/c coils are elongated and much easier to detangle. I don't wear wash and gos or twists so I am ok with my texture changing a bit.

 

[ajargon02]

Have you successfully colored/bleached your natural hair without damaging your curl pattern?

And/or

Do you regularly flatiron your natural hair without ruining your curl pattern?

If so, how? And to what do you attribute your success? Any hard rules you stick to?

Not a stupid qs at all
I colored for years and it did loosen my curl pattern significantly. I stopped coloring b/c my hair cldnt handle it. I had to cut my color out b/c it was very damaging for my fine strands.
I don't straighten b/c I am afraid of damage.

 

[pinkchocolatedaisy]

^^ Me too. I have been regularly coloring my hair for the past 6 years. I did realize bleach/highlighting isn't hair friendly for me so I've toned it down a bit.

I also have been using heat weekly since October with no ill effects. I noticed most of the issues I had (tangles, rough/scraggly ends) were more prevalent when I wore my hair curly (WnGs, braidouts/twistouts). Now my hair has been retaining moisture and my ends look better. If anything I was a bit too scissor happy last year and the year before.

Eta: there has been no change in my curl pattern.

Hth.

 

[KinksAndInk]

I've permanently colored and bleached my hair several times and I haven't had any damage to my curls. To be successful with coloring you have to know your hair and what it can handle. I have fine 3c hair but I know that my hair handles coloring and bleaching well.

 

[curlicarib]

Not me. I had blonde/light brown/brown hi-lites for several years. My 3a/b hair ended up straight as a result. I never could figure out how to get my curl back, so I just grew it out.

 

[DarkJoy]

I can't color but my hair doesn't mind heat. I ssk easy so heat helps me avoid drama. When im on a heat kick of blowouts or hot combs I just use a really good heat serum and loooong dc sessions before hand of protein, moisture or both. I dont use any other products besides serum on heat day cuz I feel like they might interfere with the protective qualities. I also dont do it very hot. Usually just 325 to 350 oF

I have 4c, fine, highly porous hair.

 

[bronzephoenix]

Thanks for the replies ladies! I said I wouldn't color or use heat after my last cut but... We all know how that goes! I want to switch things up a bit by coloring my hair an auburn/light brown color and wearing it straight now and then. But I don't want to sacrifice my curl pattern since I really love my wash n go's and don't want to lose them!!! Back in the day I used color periodically and extremely high heat on a regular basis. I hardly deep conditioned or moisturized and never used heat Protectants. My curl pattern eventually disappeared but I was still able to retain thick, healthy APL hair. I see a lot of ladies who use heat and color who haven't had to sacrifice their natural curls. At this point I'm curious to know if I could pull this off now since my haircare practices are so much healthier than they were in the past... Hmmm.

 

[tapioca_pudding]

Im natural with highlights, and I've had full-head color before with no ill effects to my curl pattern. I just progress slowly/over time instead of lightening all at once, I think that makes a huge difference. And of course I DC with good products that help with elasticity.

Previously when I was natural, I flat ironed every week and it had very little effect on my curl pattern, though it was slightly looser. I'm a 3b/3c naturally and I would say flat ironing weekly made me a 3a/3b instead, which didn't bother me because I still had curls etc. This go round as a natural, I won't be flat ironing nearly as often but I will likely incorporate color as my "vice", cuz I lubs it.

HTH.

 

[**SaSSy**]

This sounds like a stupid question to me and I haven't even asked it yet. *blush* But here goes nothing:

Have you successfully colored/bleached your natural hair without damaging your curl pattern?

And/or

Do you regularly flatiron your natural hair without ruining your curl pattern?

If so, how? And to what do you attribute your success? Any hard rules you stick to?

Unicorns... Please come forth.

Yes, I have been a natural with type 4a/4b hair for almost 5 years, and as of 9/2014 I've been blond. My curl pattern hasn't changed at all. It still has its shrinkage, and I do all the styles I've been doing since day one.

The only change is I only deep condition with protein, keep my hair stretched to prevent tangles, and moisturize my hair twice a day.

I have full highlights of blond with toner which is less damaging for my hair compare to my whole head dyed blond, or double processing. I get my hair touch-up every 16 weeks.

 

[bronzephoenix]

Im natural with highlights, and I've had full-head color before with no ill effects to my curl pattern. I just progress slowly/over time instead of lightening all at once, I think that makes a huge difference.

This! I definitely plan to allow my hair to re-keratinize between coloring sessions of i decide to lift higher than just a few shades.

Yes, I have been a natural with type 4a/4b hair for almost 5 years, and as of 9/2014 I've been blond. My curl pattern hasn't changed at all. It still has its shrinkage, and I do all the styles I've been doing since day one. The only change is I only deep condition with protein, keep my hair stretched to prevent tangles, and moisturize my hair twice a day.

This is great to hear. Sounds like TLC makes all the difference.

 

[Nightingale]

This! I definitely plan to allow my hair to re-keratinize between coloring sessions of i decide to lift higher than just a few shades.



This is great to hear. Sounds like TLC makes all the difference.

Does hair actually "re-keratinize"? I've never heard of this before and am curious.

 

[g.lo]

I had colour 3 times last year, i went progressively brighter.
so far no ill effect, no change in curl pattern, no breakage.

 

[NaturallyATLPCH]

I dyed my crown and most of the top of my hair blonde. My curl pattern has not been loosened at all. My hair is also doing fine and not breaking. I don't use heat on my hair though. Not out of caution, but because I never do anyway.

I hesitated for years when I first went natural then said the HEYAL with it. I needed a change and I'm glad I did.

Oh, I have densely packed fine natural strands by the way.

 

[bronzephoenix]

Does hair actually "re-keratinize"? I've never heard of this before and am curious.

It does. I learned the term in cosmetology school. It takes about 24hours for the hair to harden again after chemical processing. Waiting and spacing out multi-processing keeps hair from entering that gummy stage. I'd wait at least a month personally.

 

[bronzephoenix]

I had colour 3 times last year, i went progressively brighter. so far no ill effect, no change in curl pattern, no breakage.

Thanks for the reply! Do you use heat at all?

 

[bronzephoenix]

I dyed my crown and most of the top of my hair blonde. My curl pattern has not been loosened at all. My hair is also doing fine and not breaking. I don't use heat on my hair though. Not out of caution, but because I never do anyway. I hesitated for years when I first went natural then said the HEYAL with it. I needed a change and I'm glad I did. Oh, I have densely packed fine natural strands by the way.

Yes! I've been afraid for years, lol. Traumatized by my former years and setbacks, lol. I actually remember my hair taking color well so I'm excited about that. I'm just in need of change.

 

[Flourishnikov]

Bumping...