Artemis
New Member
*Sorry this is gonna be long, I had an epiphany just now 
*
Ok...I have to bump this thread in light of some recent events. I've been chronicling my salon visits with my new stylist who is one of the nicest, coolest ladies in the hair game. I say that because she has been in the hair game for a long time. Teaching professional for Clairol and I think Wella, too. And on her second salon in the Atlanta area. All about healthy hair for real, to the point where she is getting on my nerves
Anyhoo, so I've gone to her for a few shampoos here and there, and let me tell you the very first time I went she touched my hair and said "Ooh! Your hair is very fine. You need a protein treatment."
I'm thinking to myself, "No I don't I use k-pak every 2 wks, and PM Hair Repair weekly".
Ladies, she put DRC 28 on my hair, and then followed it with Affirm 5n1 as the dc
My hair turned out so soft and strong, no broken hair on the floor. The next week she relaxed me with Design Essentials (I think it was the lo-lye b/c they don't have a mild) and I was maybe 80-85% straight. She used Affirm 5n1 as the mid-protein step...Two weeks later, she dc'd me with Dudley's Hair Rebuilder. Strong, soft hair, no broken hair on the floor. And this past weekend (4wks post) she touches my hair and says I need a protein treatment--so we do another DRC 28. This time I let her flat iron my hair and it was 
. Again. Soft, strong, no broken hair on the floor.
Now mind you--I did not change my routine and do more moisture. In fact, I sought out stronger conditioners. I'm back to my Joico K-pak shampoo and conditioner, mainly because I cannot use the "moisturizing" shampoos (the k-pak has a good balance). My hair gets too stretchy from Kenra, etc
Which sucks b/c I just bought that Lanza Healing Moisture line 
So...thanks to Michelle, a light bulb finally came on as to why I haven't seen more results in the two years I've been on my hair journey. I was not in the moisture/protein "pocket". I followed everyone's general rule of "when in doubt, err on the side of moisture" and it stifled me and sabotaged all of my length goals. Go to my fotki, look at my pics from 2007. That's from too much moisture, not enough protein. I have not updated my progress pics yet, but I did post some new rollerset pics--you will see the difference. My old stylist (the last 2-3 updates) did not deep condition and only did protein at relaxer time, and my hair thinned out. So what I was doing clearly wasn't enough, because I didn't know.
Bottom line: If you have fine hair, by definition, you have less cuticle layers than our coarser haired sistas. So what must you do? Reinforce what natural strength you do have and protect those cuticle layers from damage. How? Protein. Regularly
Now don't freak out please, and say "Heck naw! My ish will dry out and break off" b/c what you need to do is mix and match protein with your moisture. Here are some combinations I have come up with so far:
*One way is to use your moisturizing shampoo, and then a deep conditioner that is balanced with protein and moisture. And example of this is Affirm 5n1, or ORS Hair Mayo. Yes is known as a "creme reconstructor" or "mild/medium protein treatment" in some arenas, but that's the kind of stuff our hair needs. That product has enough moisture in it that you don't need a moisture conditioner afterwards (esp. not an additional one w/heat). Read the bottle/packaging; it adds both moisture and strength.
*Another way is mix to medium level proteins with moisture and use them all at once as your DC instead of doing protein, then moisture. If you dc w/heat too much it will swell those cuticles and then your hair will break. This is that inevitable breakage that we assume we are going to have b/c we have fine hair. Yes, we will have some, but really look at how much you have. Trust me, you can have even less if you just look at this from a more centralized point of view.
*Another way is to use a protein/strengthening shampoo (like Joico K-pak, Lanza Protein plus or Redken Extreme) and then a moisture conditioner for 1-5 min, followed by a balanced leave-in spray like Motions Nourish. If you find that is too much for you, then go ahead and use a moisturizing leave-in like Kenra Daily Provision.
If you find that right before you begin styling your strands are off (too stretchy or not stretchy enough) then resolve it right then with either an appropriate leave-in or moisturizer that can fix it. Don't wait until after you've dried/styled your hair. It'll just get worse afterwards and maybe harder to figure out which one you need.
Now if you have dry hair, then by all means, you need to resolve it. But how do you know you really have dry hair? Maybe its the products you are using making it dry, y'know? The amount of moisture we need compared to a coarse haired person is gonna be different too...Just a thought :scratchch Now that I've upped my proteins I retain moisture like crazy and I don't have to use moisturizer in between. I just apply a drop of Vatika oil to my hair as needed.
Seriously, if your cuticle layers are intact, your hair will style better, you will need less products
and your head of hair will be thicker and softer naturally. Also, we have to keep our products light. Our fine strands can only hold so much product. So let's make the best of our situation and grow some hair dagnabit 
*Ok...I have to bump this thread in light of some recent events. I've been chronicling my salon visits with my new stylist who is one of the nicest, coolest ladies in the hair game. I say that because she has been in the hair game for a long time. Teaching professional for Clairol and I think Wella, too. And on her second salon in the Atlanta area. All about healthy hair for real, to the point where she is getting on my nerves
Anyhoo, so I've gone to her for a few shampoos here and there, and let me tell you the very first time I went she touched my hair and said "Ooh! Your hair is very fine. You need a protein treatment."
I'm thinking to myself, "No I don't I use k-pak every 2 wks, and PM Hair Repair weekly".Ladies, she put DRC 28 on my hair, and then followed it with Affirm 5n1 as the dc
My hair turned out so soft and strong, no broken hair on the floor. The next week she relaxed me with Design Essentials (I think it was the lo-lye b/c they don't have a mild) and I was maybe 80-85% straight. She used Affirm 5n1 as the mid-protein step...Two weeks later, she dc'd me with Dudley's Hair Rebuilder. Strong, soft hair, no broken hair on the floor. And this past weekend (4wks post) she touches my hair and says I need a protein treatment--so we do another DRC 28. This time I let her flat iron my hair and it was . Again. Soft, strong, no broken hair on the floor.Now mind you--I did not change my routine and do more moisture. In fact, I sought out stronger conditioners. I'm back to my Joico K-pak shampoo and conditioner, mainly because I cannot use the "moisturizing" shampoos (the k-pak has a good balance). My hair gets too stretchy from Kenra, etc
Which sucks b/c I just bought that Lanza Healing Moisture line So...thanks to Michelle, a light bulb finally came on as to why I haven't seen more results in the two years I've been on my hair journey. I was not in the moisture/protein "pocket". I followed everyone's general rule of "when in doubt, err on the side of moisture" and it stifled me and sabotaged all of my length goals. Go to my fotki, look at my pics from 2007. That's from too much moisture, not enough protein. I have not updated my progress pics yet, but I did post some new rollerset pics--you will see the difference. My old stylist (the last 2-3 updates) did not deep condition and only did protein at relaxer time, and my hair thinned out.
So what I was doing clearly wasn't enough, because I didn't know.Bottom line: If you have fine hair, by definition, you have less cuticle layers than our coarser haired sistas. So what must you do? Reinforce what natural strength you do have and protect those cuticle layers from damage. How? Protein. Regularly
Now don't freak out please, and say "Heck naw! My ish will dry out and break off" b/c what you need to do is mix and match protein with your moisture. Here are some combinations I have come up with so far:*One way is to use your moisturizing shampoo, and then a deep conditioner that is balanced with protein and moisture. And example of this is Affirm 5n1, or ORS Hair Mayo. Yes is known as a "creme reconstructor" or "mild/medium protein treatment" in some arenas, but that's the kind of stuff our hair needs. That product has enough moisture in it that you don't need a moisture conditioner afterwards (esp. not an additional one w/heat
). Read the bottle/packaging; it adds both moisture and strength. *Another way is mix to medium level proteins with moisture and use them all at once as your DC instead of doing protein, then moisture. If you dc w/heat too much it will swell those cuticles and then your hair will break. This is that inevitable breakage that we assume we are going to have b/c we have fine hair. Yes, we will have some, but really look at how much you have. Trust me, you can have even less if you just look at this from a more centralized point of view.
*Another way is to use a protein/strengthening shampoo (like Joico K-pak, Lanza Protein plus or Redken Extreme) and then a moisture conditioner for 1-5 min, followed by a balanced leave-in spray like Motions Nourish. If you find that is too much for you, then go ahead and use a moisturizing leave-in like Kenra Daily Provision.
If you find that right before you begin styling your strands are off (too stretchy or not stretchy enough) then resolve it right then with either an appropriate leave-in or moisturizer that can fix it. Don't wait until after you've dried/styled your hair. It'll just get worse afterwards and maybe harder to figure out which one you need.
Now if you have dry hair, then by all means, you need to resolve it. But how do you know you really have dry hair? Maybe its the products you are using making it dry, y'know? The amount of moisture we need compared to a coarse haired person is gonna be different too...Just a thought :scratchch Now that I've upped my proteins I retain moisture like crazy and I don't have to use moisturizer in between. I just apply a drop of Vatika oil to my hair as needed.
Seriously, if your cuticle layers are intact, your hair will style better, you will need less products
and your head of hair will be thicker and softer naturally. Also, we have to keep our products light. Our fine strands can only hold so much product. So let's make the best of our situation and grow some hair dagnabit
Last edited:
erplexed
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