Ladies with DENSE hair but THIN strands

[songbyrd517]

ME!!!! I am turning myself in!

I am still searching for the right conditioners etc. as well. But in the past few months, I have come up with a couple of staple hair products (described below).

I have noticed that even though my hair does not like manipulation, I NEED to comb it every day (like you said, tangle city otherwise). If my hair gets tangled, it is more prone to breakage, so when my hair is flat ironed straight, I apply a little bit of Hollywood Beauty Olive Moisture Creme, and a little bit of Fantasia IC shine serum and VERY GENTLY and SLOWLY comb through with my fingers then a wide toothed comb. It is tedious, but I keep more hair that way. I do this once a day, when it is time to wrap it up for sleep. In addition, I have a little container that I carry in my purse, for ends moisturizing. Since my ends dry and break so easily, I mix my moisture cream and a little bit of oil, and put it in the container. A couple times a day, I put a little of the "moisturemix" on my ends to keep them squared away.

I also just tried wet-to-dry straightening, and it worked SO much better for my hair. I do not think I will ever blowdry again. Skipping the blow dryer helps my hair retain a lot more moisture. After washing, deep conditioning (under hooded dryer) and combing in the shower, I gently towel dried my hair until it was just damp. Then I worked in sections, quickly running the flat-iron along my hair shaft until dry. I used the iron at a lower heat than normal. When I was done, I turned up then heat and flat ironed in larger chunks to smooth. The picture is in my profile. I used to roller set my hair when I was relaxed completely straight, but it does not work so well for my curly hair. At least not with me doing it
I don't think I have the patience. I may try it again though.

When I am wearing my hair curly (which is most of the time), I only comb it while it is wet and under the shower stream, still very gently. I then promptly towel dry (just squeezing, not rubbing), add my moisture cream and serum, and pin my hair back into a bun, or smooth it into a loose puff. I am VERY careful with my bun though, because my ends are so fragile and dry out so easily, especially when air dry. Before pinning, I make sure my ends are still damp, then I apply extra olive cream and a little bit of oil to keep them protected. I do the same thing to my ends when I am wearing a puff, and in addition, I apply my "moisturemix" to the ends a couple times a day like when my hair is down. Either way, I have to work quickly so my hair does not dry too much before I am done. This way, it does not get tangled, and I repeat this process every morning when I am not straightening my hair.

So, the key for me is to avoid my hair getting tangled in the first place, as much as possible, and if it does get tangled, to be very gentle with it. In fact, I expect tangles when I begin to comb, so I ALWAYS proceed very cautiously. Hope this helps.

 

[supermodelsonya]

Wow this sounds like me! LOL. I too have dense hair but thin strands. I was wondering why my hair looks thick but thin at times. I thought I was losing it!

 

[Duchesse]

My hair has been responding nicely to wash/co wash twice weekly, and little product in between.

I tried washing it less frequently before, but it would get too dry. I tried moisturizing everyday, but it would get too coated and dry.

Now I've been using a moisturizing condish in my hair as a leave in (humectress or Hello Hydration) after I wash, then coat with coconut oil. For the next 3 days or so, I do braidouts and only use castor oil or coconut on my hair, no extra leave-in.

Cutting out the extra products and washing every few days have helped tremendously. My hair stays soft and fresh now. I think fine strands do better with less stuff coating them.

 

[Nonie]

Thin strands dense hair in da house.

I do like JustKiya and minimize manipulation by keeping my hair in a style that doesn't need combing. I personally wear twists all the time. I wash condition, DC, CW, you name it...in twists. I style my twists or just let them hang. Every now and then, I'll take some time to redo a few twists where I undo them carefully and separate the strands (aka finger-combing) before retwisting again. I never undo them all completely; just work on a few at a time, till all are done.

I tried a twist-out yesterday (see attachment) and it looked OK. Thought I could wear it for a couple of days, but not possible. Since I baggy every night w/o fail, shrinkage took over so I have a 'fro in some parts and dangling wavy locs in other places.

 

[Casarela]

My issues have changed with time as my hair is growing longer. My issues are mostly my ends and knots that are found on each strand. I also find that letting my hair air dry loose is NOT a good choice. My hair thrives in braids w/ extensions however I hate having to sit for hours to get them done.

I tried twisting and my hair will not hold a dayum twist. I think braids and braids-out with my own hair is the best way to go so far. I detangle my damp hair per section and braid it. I have been doing this for the past weeks and Im quite shock that Im no longer dealing with tangle city and my ends are nicely protected and sealed.

If I would restyle my hair on a daily basis I would have to detangle everyday which is quite too much mani for my hair.

However, if i detangle ALL my hair, once a weak, leave it in a protective style, detangling once a week is sufficient for me.

As a poo , I like CON green label yellow cap
As a DC , I use Elasta QP DPR-11
As a leave in Coconut Oil ( Parachute) which is very cheap and makes my hair feel like butter. I was quite shock because I had a jar of pure NUTIVA coconut oil and my hair did not respond well to it just like with many other oils. I dont know whats different with the parachute but my hair loves it!!!
Detangle with a wide tooth comb and finish detangling with my D4.
Part my hair in 10 sections and braid it.
Wear my hair under my tam hat or unravel my braids and voila!
Silk scarf at night.

 

[Amerie123]

do some of you find that it's better to comb your hair when dry, rather than when wet? I find that my hair is much stronger when it is dry, and a lot more come out when i comb while damp.. so, do i fit in this category. because over all, my hair looks thick, but i have mostly fine strands in there. then i sometimes find thick strands. (BTW, I know some of that comes from having split ends).

 

[secretdiamond]

I totally relate to you ladies. My hair is frustrating b/c of this combo. People think my hair is thick, but it's really the density. The actual strands break soo easily & aren't thick at all. Sucks but C'est la vie.

 

[Nonie]

do some of you find that it's better to comb your hair when dry, rather than when wet? I find that my hair is much stronger when it is dry, and a lot more come out when i comb while damp.. so, do i fit in this category. because over all, my hair looks thick, but i have mostly fine strands in there. then i sometimes find thick strands. (BTW, I know some of that comes from having split ends).

Aaaiieee! I couldn't do that. Whenever I've combed my hair, it had to be drenched in water and conditioner or lots of S Curl. I couldn't get a comb through it dry.

 

[sqzbly1908]

I totally relate to you guys...I found that when since incorporating more protein (more than once a week) that my hair can withstand the wet combing because I roller set my hair after every wash

 

[Amerie123]

Aaaiieee! I couldn't do that. Whenever I've combed my hair, it had to be drenched in water and conditioner or lots of S Curl. I couldn't get a comb through it dry.

lol, wow. hmmm... so, wassup w/ my hair??

 

[Kurlee]

My issues have changed with time as my hair is growing longer. My issues are mostly my ends and knots that are found on each strand. I also find that letting my hair air dry loose is NOT a good choice. My hair thrives in braids w/ extensions however I hate having to sit for hours to get them done.

I tried twisting and my hair will not hold a dayum twist. I think braids and braids-out with my own hair is the best way to go so far. I detangle my damp hair per section and braid it. I have been doing this for the past weeks and Im quite shock that Im no longer dealing with tangle city and my ends are nicely protected and sealed.

If I would restyle my hair on a daily basis I would have to detangle everyday which is quite too much mani for my hair.

However, if i detangle ALL my hair, once a weak, leave it in a protective style, detangling once a week is sufficient for me.

As a poo , I like CON green label yellow cap
As a DC , I use Elasta QP DPR-11
As a leave in Coconut Oil ( Parachute) which is very cheap and makes my hair feel like butter. I was quite shock because I had a jar of pure NUTIVA coconut oil and my hair did not respond well to it just like with many other oils. I dont know whats different with the parachute but my hair loves it!!!
Detangle with a wide tooth comb and finish detangling with my D4.
Part my hair in 10 sections and braid it.
Wear my hair under my tam hat or unravel my braids and voila!
Silk scarf at night.

love the hair in the siggy!

 

[Globeleza]

I too have this hair type! Lots of thin weakish strands. Although consistent deep conditioning has helped alot with breakage, I still need to treat my hair very carefully and as you said, low-manipulation is very important. I usually co-wash my hair every few days, detangling with my fingers in the shower. I usually only comb my hair with an actual comb just once a week. This does give me more tangles when I do comb, but I am just sure to finger comb carefully before combing. When I do comb, I do it in sections and if one section is too tangly is just divide it in half so that the comb-out is a bit easier.

Another things you said about moisture is also very similiar to my hair,
"My dense porous hair needs a lot of moisture, but if I pile it on, my thin strands get coated, stiff and brittle (especially when relaxed)."
My hair tends to get stiff and hard after about 2-3 days after co-washing. I usually moisturize with a leave-in after my hair dries, about 2 times a day. Once my hair starts feeling coated and hard I just co-wash again. If the build-up gets bad then I clarify and that seems to allow the moisturizers to penetrate my hair better.

 

[kblc06]

Thanks for the responses ladies. I wasn't sure how many people would respond to this because it's such a niche question.

JustKiya, I'm thinking of going back to natural, and if I do, I might have to keep my hair stretched to avoid the tangles, maybe even use heat occasionally (with lots of heat protectant). That would be against my normal habits because I like moist natural hair, and hate using heat (plus I don't think it agrees with my hair)

Daephae, for some reason buns seem to mess up my ends. More of them seem bent / broken / crispy when I take a bun down.

I keep my hair stretch via rollersets, braidouts, or bunning. My strands are uber-fine and are very prone to splits because not only are the strands fine, they are porous and thready-textured (w/ naturally lifted cuticles). This can result in horrible tangling

It's interesting, because my hair is so fine, air drying it in tight braids takes it about 70% straight. I mean, it's clear that no heat has been applied to it, but I swear, a hot breath on it would make it straight.

But yeah, the liking it moist would be - interesting. I've found that my hair either needs to be wet and loose, or dry and loose. Drying and loose = tangles of an unholy amount. I'd have to walk around danggone near jheri curl juicy to keep my hair suitably wet & loose, though.

My hair is very weightless and flyaway and I find myself having to use a lot of product to keep it weighed down enough so that the ends won't curl upon themselves. It also straightens very easily. Manipulation via combing, brushing or pulling it back will result in blow-out looking hair

It's very frustrating because if I manipulate it too much it results in splits, but I can't just leave it alone because THIS lead to tangles which then causes splits. My hair can look very scalpy in 2-strand twists and single braids. They do not appear thick at all, but you can tell that there;s a lot if hair by how many there are.

 

[anherica]

I fit in this category. When looking at individual strands of my hair, they're very thin but I have a boatload of them. Like JustKiya and Nonie I keep my hair stretched in twists that I pin up or french braid. I never let my hair shrink fully, DISASTER waiting to happen.

Products - I use shea butter and oil to moisturize and seal. My new favorite is palm oil surprisingly. My hair just sucks it up. I tend to use sulfate-free shampoos (Creme of Nature green label) or diluted black soap. I just started deep conditioning weekly with Silicon Mix and it works wonders. My hair craves moisture, protein not so much.

 

[Ivy Santolina]

I just finished reading through every one's posts and I believe I too have dense fine hair.

Henna and MT mixed with other stuff has helped thicken my strands tremendously. Co-washing and weekly DCing helped too. I did try to alternate between a moisturizing DC and a mild protein DC weekly. But, I realized yesterday a moisturizing DC makes my hair too mushy and I get more breakage. I didn't get the breakage with a mild protein DC. So I decided I will either mix a moisturizing DC with a protein DC or just only use a mild protein DC. I will know my final answer in the next 2-3 weeks.

For detangling I discovered Eqyss Detangle and Shine. I bought this a few months ago and stuck it in my cabinet. Since I'm in the no-buy challenge this month I went "shopping" in my bathroom looking for a conditioner to detangle my ends with. For some reason my ends were quite ornery and the detangle and shine helped tremendously. I already had some BWC leave-in and oil in my hair.

Also, setting my hair in bantu knots every night has also been a big help. I use to wear two-strand twists then bantu knot them every night 'till I got lazy. But, my hair has to be damp or dry when I put the B-knots in my hair or the ends will dry together resulting in morning frustration.

 

[peacelove]

I would love to find out what methods, products, etc work best for you.

For me, it seems like what works for one characteristic of my hair doesn't work for the other,

e.g.

My thin, *fragile* strands are best protected by low-manipulation, including infrequent combing. However, when I do this, because my hair is so dense, the tangles are a nightmare.

My thin fragile strands get thinner and more fragile when processed straight - splits and bendy bits all over the place, and the individual strands just look wrecked and unhealthy (although from a distance my hair looks thick and healthy enough). However because my hair is so dense, if it's texlaxed or natural, tangles are a nightmare, and detangling can take half a day.

My dense porous hair needs a lot of moisture, but if I pile it on, my thin strands get coated, stiff and brittle (especially when relaxed).

So do any of you have these problems? And in general, what works best for you in terms of deep conditioning, moisturising, protein treatments, frequency of styling, etc.

I have ALL of these problems pretty much!

I don't have all the answers yet. I wish I did! But I have found that not stretching relaxers helps me. Also, spraying my combs with oil sheen before putting them through my hair helps limit friction. I also clarify more than most since I tend to use serums when my hair is dry. I use the serums more than oils.

 

[discodumpling]

Less is best for my fine, thin but dense strands. My most frequent source of moisture is good ol H2O. Sometimes it's a full drenching sometimes just the steam from my shower is enough..it depends on how my hair is styled. I'm in braids for the next few weeks & will probably water my head with every shower because (thankfully) my find strands dry so easily.

I get weekly protein with my mayo based DC treatments & will add an egg to kick the protein content up a notch

 

[Soul♥Flower]

subscribing

 

[misspriss]

I'm in this category too! My hair craves moisture but doesn't like to be weighed down. Giovanni Leave in has been great to me.

Currently, I'm texturized (had crazy knots when natural and easy breakage when relaxed, so this is working the best for me so far). I usually rinse my hair every day and wash it every 3-5 days with a super mild shampoo and moisturizing conditioner (my favorite cheap one is Suave Humectress). After rinsing, I spray it with aloe/glycerine mix (used to be Aveda Brilliant spray) and I use the leave in. My hair likes very little oil, so I usually coat the ends only.

Whether I was natural, relaxed, or texturized, I have to do low-manipulation styles (twists, twist-outs, braid-outs, loose buns, etc.). And I only detangle when my hair is damp and conditioned. But I can't over-condition cause then the strands seem to fall out. I use henna once a month or so to strengthen my strands and add protein.

Oh, and whenever I straighten my hair I have to be sure the ends stay lubricated and I wrap my hair at night, otherwise my hair gets dry really fast and I have a lot of shedding/breakage.

 

[misspriss]

I also just tried wet-to-dry straightening, and it worked SO much better for my hair. I do not think I will ever blowdry again. Skipping the blow dryer helps my hair retain a lot more moisture. After washing, deep conditioning (under hooded dryer) and combing in the shower, I gently towel dried my hair until it was just damp. Then I worked in sections, quickly running the flat-iron along my hair shaft until dry. I used the iron at a lower heat than normal. When I was done, I turned up then heat and flat ironed in larger chunks to smooth. The picture is in my profile. I used to roller set my hair when I was relaxed completely straight, but it does not work so well for my curly hair. At least not with me doing it
I don't think I have the patience. I may try it again though.

Wet-to-dry straightening sounds interesting, what brand of flat iron do you use?

 

[Arcadian]

I have dense hair with thin/medium strands. My hair loves protein more than moisture in the summer, moisture over protein in the winter.

I relax whenever I think I need to. I'm not on a schedule. For me, stretching is better. In march I'll be 20 weeks, I'm trying to get to April(we'll see).

I always comb while wet. Never ever dry. I also only comb my hair 2 times a week (on wash day). I also detangle while wet because if I did it dry, I'd be bald.

My denman is my friend. Its all in how you use it. I use it on damp hair I never use it on dry.

I wash my hair in one direction. This helps me minimize tangles. I've reverted to useing cheap cons... Garniers is awesome. (I still have to spend money on Giovanni shampoo though)

For my hair, less is more. I use the smallest amounts I can because my hair can get really weighed down. After the shower I use a squirt of sleek and shine and a squirt of jojo oil. I do not put oils on my scalp...it makes enough without me adding to it.

I bun nearly every day. Sometimes I switch it up with pony tail. I make sure I use enough oil at the ends no matter what I do so that little squirt has to really count!! So when I bun and I'm very careful to wrap the hairs so they don't get all bendy and crazy looking.

Shout out to Chiroco because if it wasn't for her I would have cut them bad boys off. She helped me save them.

Oh and I did try the henna thing. Meh, I can take it or leave it. its pretty messy and dosen't last as long for me. I'd rather just do a rinse every 6 weeks and be done with it.


-A

 

[songbyrd517]

Wet-to-dry straightening sounds interesting, what brand of flat iron do you use?

I used a CHI iron. I think my is 1/2 inch thick. I got the idea from Irresistible, and seeing many of the ladies here try it lately

 

[misspriss]

I used a CHI iron. I think my is 1/2 inch thick. I got the idea from Irresistible, and seeing many of the ladies here try it lately

Thanks! I'll have to investigate this further

 

[GodsPromises]

I truly belong here.

My problem like many has stated my hair gets weighted down with too much product. It gets dry and brittle if I put too much on my hair during the week. What I have been doing lately is washing my hair and while still wet I put all of my product on and then rollerset my hair with small rollers. When dried my hair is moisturized and curly. I don't put anything else on my hair when dried and I co-wash mid week and start over. This has been working and I do a "dry roller" set to get the curls. The problem that I have is even though I don''t put anything on my hair between washing I need to put something on my ends so now this is what I am working on now.

I have also upped my use of protein which I am now using protein weekly along with a moisturizing conditioner

 

[ebonylocs]

do some of you find that it's better to comb your hair when dry, rather than when wet? I find that my hair is much stronger when it is dry, and a lot more come out when i comb while damp.. so, do i fit in this category. because over all, my hair looks thick, but i have mostly fine strands in there. then i sometimes find thick strands. (BTW, I know some of that comes from having split ends).

You have to do what works for your hair. I have found that "soaking wet and drenched with conditioner" doesn't work for my relaxed hair the way it did for my natural hair. My relaxed hair is too stretchy and weak when soaking wet. So it works better for me to let it air dry a little bit before combing - so that it has just enough moisture to give me some slip. I couldn't comb it absolutely bone dry though. My hair is just too thick, textured and brittle for that.

 

[GeauXavi]

this is ME all the way! my hair is very dense/ thick but my strands are sooo fine! It's frustrating because I want to wear straight styles,but I have noticed that even with moderate heat (blowdry/flat-iron every 3 weeks) My strands get those little weak spots from heat damage. So now, that's what I'm working with...

I'm doing once a week roller-sets with mid-week co-washes. I comb out on wash(rollerset) days... it keeps my moisture up without having to use much oil. I also pre-poo with hair-mayo and dc with cholesterol.... sometimes i use egg as a pre-poo for extra protein as one of the other ladies said...

My hair is in AMAZING condition when I rollerset/ low mani/ or airdry/LOW heat flatiron... back to the basics i go!

 

[kblc06]

this is ME all the way! my hair is very dense/ thick but my strands are sooo fine! It's frustrating because I want to wear straight styles,but I have noticed that even with moderate heat (blowdry/flat-iron every 3 weeks) My strands get those little weak spots from heat damage. So now, that's what I'm working with...

I'm doing once a week roller-sets with mid-week co-washes. I comb out on wash(rollerset) days... it keeps my moisture up without having to use much oil. I also pre-poo with hair-mayo and dc with cholesterol.... sometimes i use egg as a pre-poo for extra protein as one of the other ladies said...

My hair is in AMAZING condition when I rollerset/ low mani/ or airdry/LOW heat flatiron... back to the basics i go!

This has been working GREAT for me too