Any Relaxed Heat Stylers w/ Healthy Hair??

[planodiva]

Now I gotta say this about bunning.

This is nothing simpler to do. If you're having a bad hair day it's quite simple to put into a bun...which leads me to ponder....bunning half a year COULD be just because it's a lazy, easy thing to do. Me...I understand lazy. Hell...I'm lying on the sofa dozing in and out now...BUT...I love being cute, looking cute, and dressing jazzy. Imagine me in some fiya heels, with a mad cute *** top...some jazzy jeans fitting just right...a SUPER cute cropped jacket...gorgeous, supple, purse....and a damn bun. Yeah right.

I think this hair thing needs to be realistic. Sure...I want to learn how to keep it healthy and maintain it...but if I have to look a hot damn mess to achieve this...then...uh...no. Because I never looked a hot mess before and my hair was good and healthy. I'm cutting back on the heat....but by no way will Monica Mingo aka CreoleInDC walk around bunning for 6 months.

That might work for some...but...as I have said before...I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too cute for all that. If I offended anyone...sorry...but hey...it was bound to happen eventually so it's good that we get it out the way.

Bunning for 6 months (shaking my head...just shaking my head.)

Chil please I not studding you

I think I am being impatient right now. I notice my hair grows like crazy in the spring/summer and is dormat in the faux winter here in Texas.

My SO hates when I do bun challenges. Right now my bun challenge is to avoid my ends rubbing against my clothes and resting right on my shoulder. But I am so use to wearing buns and french twists ( did you think I was joking about my heat phobia) and don't want to expose my ends to the elements

Also wearing braid-out and twist sets and bunning helps me to stretch my relaxers.

 

[lonei]

I rollerset my hair and then flat iron some sections lightly to tame any frizzies as my hair is texlaxed and doesnt come out entirely straight. I do this once every 2 weeks and have had no breakage at all or very very very minimum. I dont do protective styles but I dont comb my hair much if not at all until wash days. Styling without heat (airdrying) causes major breakage for me. Saying that, so does blow drying, look in my lonei3 album in February and you will see that blowdrying makes my hair shed so much more than rollersetting/flat ironing. Thus, I feel like heat styling in moderation is a good thing for ME but through much trial and error I have learnt that the type/temperature/amount of heat styling makes a big difference.

 

[devin]

i have been bunning and i relaxed on thursday and i can definitely see growth. before i came to the hair boards in November i would go to beauty shop every other week and relax every six weeks and i saw my hair get thinner and thinner. now that i have been keeping my hair moisturized and trying to find the balance between moisture and protein and keeping my ends protected i have definitely noticed progress. While i do understand that the bun is not the cutest style and it does depress me sometimes, i know it is a means to an end. i plan on going to the salon soon and getting my hair trimmed and flat ironed and then i can post pics for comparison of where i started and where i am now.

 

[CreoleInDC]

Chil please I not studding you

Good you know by now that I'm crazy. LOL!

You're okay with still bunning it that often if your husband hates it? Mine hasn't said anything (other than my fake bun looks like an ape's ***...*sigh*) and probably wouldn't...but if he did...I'd really have to take that into consideration.

We went to a nice dinner the other night for our anniversary and my hair was down...After getting out of the truck we paused for him to click the alarm thingy....the wind was blowing and I was talking and he reached over and tucked the hair out of my face and behind my ear. Then he told me I was beautiful and that he's a lucky man. (Yeah I know...pretty sappy for me...I can be soft too hell!) Imagine that moment if I was in a bun looking all matronly. He might've been looking at me wondering what happened to his beautiful sexy wife. LOL!

*sigh*

 

[Southernbella.]

Even though I had no problem and pretty quick growth while blowdrying straight, I've had the best results with a rollerset and only using heat on the roots.

Same here! I wash every 1-2 weeks, deep condition, then rollerset (with magnetic rollers). I texlax now, so I have to flat iron the parts closest to the roots (using a ceramic iron and heat protectant). My hair get silky smooth that way. I use my curling iron maybe 2-3X per week. I think the reason I haven't seen damage is because I have layers. I can lightly curl 3-4 sections of my layers and look like my whole head is curled. I never put heat on my bottom layer, and I haven't had to trim it in as long as I can remember.

I'm going to continue using moderate heat. I'm like others here who love to wear their hair out all the time. I'm happy with my length right now, so if my growth slowed down, it wouldn't bother me too much.

 

[ibm girl]

Now I gotta say this about bunning... I think this hair thing needs to be realistic. Sure...I want to learn how to keep it healthy and maintain it...but if I have to look a hot damn mess to achieve this...then...uh...no. Because I never looked a hot mess before and my hair was good and healthy. I'm cutting back on the heat....but by no way will Monica Mingo aka CreoleInDC walk around bunning for 6 months.

Why are you so crazy, and yet so entirely on the money? You would think I'd be all about the bun 'cos they're so easy, but not every day for SIX MONTHS. Nuh uh. I like when people ask if I have a weave (it's happened!), and I'm all for trying to develop and maintain a healthy attitude towards my hair as well as my body...er, at least in theory. (The working out thing isn't really fun for me) My husband doesn't mind the walking around in rollers, the heat conditioning, the product madness (Paolo: "Didn't you just buy a blow dryer?" Me:"Yes, but this one is IONIC...it's a totally different thing. Really." Paolo: "Grrrrr...")
but a bun for six months? the honeymoon would be over 'fore it even gets started good!

Plano Diva...tell me your secrets to heat avoidance! I don't think I can go cold turkey, but maybe I can cut down a teensy bit more. Maybe.

 

[Honi]

OT: Your hair is gawgeous! That color is your hair is beautiful. What is that? Can I find it in the US? I soooo want to do a color this year but I'm afraid of damage.

I rollerset my hair and then flat iron some sections lightly to tame any frizzies as my hair is texlaxed and doesnt come out entirely straight. I do this once every 2 weeks and have had no breakage at all or very very very minimum. I dont do protective styles but I dont comb my hair much if not at all until wash days. Styling without heat (airdrying) causes major breakage for me. Saying that, so does blow drying, look in my lonei3 album in February and you will see that blowdrying makes my hair shed so much more than rollersetting/flat ironing. Thus, I feel like heat styling in moderation is a good thing for ME but through much trial and error I have learnt that the type/temperature/amount of heat styling makes a big difference.

 

[lonei]

OT: Your hair is gawgeous! That color is your hair is beautiful. What is that? Can I find it in the US? I soooo want to do a color this year but I'm afraid of damage.

Wow yours is super long and lovely!! The colour is semi perm its by Rage and React and its called Sienna. It comes in a yellow or sometimes red bottle. I'm not sure if its in the US but I have seen it on line, its only £2.99, not sure what that is in dollars. No damage whatsoever, it actually fills in any cracks in the cuticles, do a search online and pm me if you have anymore q's.

 

[Honi]

Thanks! I'm gonna do a search rite now!

Wow yours is super long and lovely!! The colour is semi perm its by Rage and React and its called Sienna. It comes in a yellow or sometimes red bottle. I'm not sure if its in the US but I have seen it on line, its only £2.99, not sure what that is in dollars. No damage whatsoever, it actually fills in any cracks in the cuticles, do a search online and pm me if you have anymore q's.

 

[CreoleInDC]

Why are you so crazy, and yet so entirely on the money? (Paolo: "Didn't you just buy a blow dryer?" Me:"Yes, but this one is IONIC...it's a totally different thing. Really." Paolo: "Grrrrr...")
but a bun for six months? the honeymoon would be over 'fore it even gets started good!

Me gotta get me a new dryer. Ionic you say?

 

[planodiva]

Why are you so crazy, and yet so entirely on the money? You would think I'd be all about the bun 'cos they're so easy, but not every day for SIX MONTHS. Nuh uh. I like when people ask if I have a weave (it's happened!), and I'm all for trying to develop and maintain a healthy attitude towards my hair as well as my body...er, at least in theory. (The working out thing isn't really fun for me) My husband doesn't mind the walking around in rollers, the heat conditioning, the product madness (Paolo: "Didn't you just buy a blow dryer?" Me:"Yes, but this one is IONIC...it's a totally different thing. Really." Paolo: "Grrrrr...")
but a bun for six months? the honeymoon would be over 'fore it even gets started good!

Plano Diva...tell me your secrets to heat avoidance! I don't think I can go cold turkey, but maybe I can cut down a teensy bit more. Maybe.

Well it's really easy for me because I was natural for 3 years then I decided to relax my hair post college. So to avoid temptation of heat I threw out all curling irons and that hateful blow dryer and simply have not looked back. It was hard going cold turkey but I did it. Some days I was like Pookie from New Jack City (we all know the scene...it be calling me man...) Plus I don't really like the str-8 look and I would do twist sets and braid-outs all the time. Still sometimes I think I am relaxed sistah still wishing for natural days.

. But let me tell you stretching relaxers is rough when I know a flat iron will solve all my relaxed new growth woos.

I encourage you to read a book titled Tenderheaded. This book and this forum really encourage me to not damage my hair any more than the relaxer already has.

 

[CreoleInDC]

This is me...two months of growing using heat once a week. Proof that it can be done...it might not be much...but it's enough for me to continue on with my regimen of once a week heat use focusing on moisturizing every morning and every evening and wearing my hair down on the weekends to keep my cute on while hanging out with my Robinator:

 

[NeeSee]

Great progress Creole. Looks good.

 

[MizaniMami]

This is me...two months of growing using heat once a week. Proof that it can be done...it might not be much...but it's enough for me to continue on with my regimen of once a week heat use focusing on moisturizing every morning and every evening and wearing my hair down on the weekends to keep my cute on while hanging out with my Robinator:

LOL, I forgot all about this thread. I guess it wasn't convincing enough because I am now on a no heat except once a month challenge for my self.

Thanks so much for those pics! Your growth is going very well! I am glad that you posted this.

 

[CreoleInDC]

Thanks Chicas. I just couldn't continue with the no heat regimen. It was killing me. No...really...I would be DEAD.

I do wash my hair twice a week and I keep it well moisturized and deep condition once a week. So it's been simple using common sense and still being able to have style.

 

[inthepink]

When I was relaxed, I used heat (airdry mostly, a little blowdrying, and curling with curling iron) twice a month. My hair was healthy and waist length. I think it is a matter of knowing your hair. I did find out after I stopped using heat all together that I retained much more length.
Now as a natural, I am trying to figure it out all over again. It seems my hair doesn't like heat much at all or the heat to get natural hair straight is just too much.
Good luck with finding what works for you!

 

[Miss*Tress]

Imagine that moment if I was in a bun looking all matronly. He might've been looking at me wondering what happened to his beautiful sexy wife. LOL!

*sigh*

Buns can be sexy too! Imagine you've got it up with just a hair stick and he gently tugs it as your hair tumbles down....

Seriously, though buns "saved my life" last year. I was shedding like crazy last August. Instead of worrying over lost strands, I just put my hair up for the rest of the year. By January, my hair had reached BSL and the shedding had stopped.

That was an extreme moment in my hair care journey, but the bunning wasn't bad and people (even guys) liked the style. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting used to seeing one's self differently.

 

[CreoleInDC]

Buns can be sexy too! Imagine you've got it up with just a hair stick and he gently tugs it as your hair tumbles down....

Don't be re-writing my story woman!