What do you do when you're stuck??

[yuhlovevybz]

Thanks all of you ladies soooooo much for all the advice and product recommendations! I definitely have a lot of things to try.

SmilingElephant how did you do your wash and goes when you did them daily? Did you use a shampoo or co-wash and did you do the moisturizing and sealing thing afterwards?

I've never tried using a conditioner as a leave in since I've been natural, I'll def give that try since already have suave conditioner at home.

 

[SmilingElephant]

Thanks all of you ladies soooooo much for all the advice and product recommendations! I definitely have a lot of things to try.

SmilingElephant how did you do your wash and goes when you did them daily? Did you use a shampoo or co-wash and did you do the moisturizing and sealing thing afterwards?

I've never tried using a conditioner as a leave in since I've been natural, I'll def give that try since already have suave conditioner at home.

yuhlovevybz I co-wash most of the time...i only shampoo one day out of the week.

I use Suave Naturals conditioner, co wash with it. Then when i get done washing i just take my Oyin Hair Dew and rake that through my hair...i'm kinda heavy with my leave in as this has helped with stopping ssk's....and then i either put my oil on top of that or sometimes i put my styler in before the oil....my styler being a gel or a curl cream.

I still wash n go almost daily....but you have to make sure your hair is well moisturized before you put in your styler.

Sometimes i use just my co-washing conditioner as my leave-in too...but im hooked on Hair Dew now. I used to find issue with it being "white" afterward...but i gently scrunch with an old t-shirt and continue to let it airdry...the whiteness goes away after it dries.

 

[HanaKuroi]

You also might want to check your porosity.

Oyin Hair dew is $12.00 for 8 oz. I buy the big 32oz bottle because I have 3 different people using it.

 

[Arian]

Kinky curly knot today, oyin hair dew and brown sugar pomade, my honey child products, Quemet biologics, aloe Vera gel or juice, etc.

There are so many recipes and regimens here.

Try yes ti carrots to cowash use Aubrey organics hsr conditioner and leave in all at under a plastic bonnet. Use Chicoro's prepoo method.

Basically you need to stop everything you are doing, use a regimen you see on here. Be consistent. You are causing the dryness by washing too much and not moisturizing and sealing.

Read Grow It! By Chicoro.

Read The Science of Black Hair by Audrey Davis-Sivasothy

That shampoo is not right for our hair. Oyin handmade makes a hemp shampoo that people use.

Agree with everything here,especially the bolded. I know people say that products don't matter, but for some, the quality of the product does matter. Dump the V05 and get some Yes to Carrots or AO Conditioner. Will make a world of difference.

 

[ecornett]

You said you have suave 2 in1 doors that mean shampoo and conditioner in one product if so if recommend not using that at all. Too drying for us especially is type 4s

 

[yuhlovevybz]

You said you have suave 2 in1 doors that mean shampoo and conditioner in one product if so if recommend not using that at all. Too drying for us especially is type 4s

It was actually V05 2-n-1 I used cuz sometimes I get so lazy I just wanna do one rinse and be done with it, guess I gotta sideline that one too though thanks

 

[HanaKuroi]

It was actually V05 2-n-1 I used cuz sometimes I get so lazy I just wanna do one rinse and be done with it, guess I gotta sideline that one too though thanks

Buy the moisture milks if you really want v05. It is okay to rinse with it before you apply a more moisturizing conditioner.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

You seem to have a very simple regimen, which I think is good. Try not to get overwhelmed with all the info on this board, which can make you feel like you need to add 17 more steps to get your hair to grow. You really just need a couple of tweaks.

I would stop using the 2-in-1 definitely. You don't have to shampoo every time you wash. You could co-wash with suave or vo5 a often as you like and then shampoo only once or twice a month.
For moisture can try adding water to whatever creamy moisturizer you buy from the store. That worked for me. Or you can take a little bit of your conditioner and mix it with water in a spray bottle and use that as a leave in.

If you don't tie your hair up at night you should, or at least get a satin pillow case.

DCing more often helped me also. My main problem was dryness so all these things helped fix that and I haven't had any issues with retention.

Good luck on your hair journey!

 

[Evolving78]

that heat you are using to flat iron is too high. and it sounds like you may need to clarify at least once a month. i believe those Suave products contain some form of protein and will cause coating over time. don't use that shine spray until after you have finished flat ironing your hair. you are cooking your hair when you do that. use a good moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner. detangle with an oil or detangling spray before you wash your hair. and try the greenhouse effect. no more wash and gos. wash in sections.

you may need to spend a little money on products to get the best results. but you want quality products.

moisturize and seal daily.

you are natural right?

 

[yuhlovevybz]

that heat you are using to flat iron is too high. and it sounds like you may need to clarify at least once a month. i believe those Suave products contain some form of protein and will cause coating over time. don't use that shine spray until after you have finished flat ironing your hair. you are cooking your hair when you do that. use a good moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner. detangle with an oil or detangling spray before you wash your hair. and try the greenhouse effect. no more wash and gos. wash in sections.

you may need to spend a little money on products to get the best results. but you want quality products.

moisturize and seal daily.

you are natural right?

Really? The shine spray I use doesn't have any oil in it, it's mainly cones (i think?) and I thought it worked as a heat protectant. It never sizzles or anything. I had no idea about the suave products having protien either. *sigh* What is the greenhouse effect? My hair is short when shrunken, barely nl, idk how to even GET it into sections let alone sections I can wash.

Yes I'm natural

 

[yuhlovevybz]

Also, small update: I used to notice a lot of mid-shaft splits, haven't been noticing them lately, I think maybe because I lowered my frequency of combing? Anyways, I still get a lot of split ends, I trim almost obsessive compulsively which is another reason I haven't been maintaining much length, but it seems like right after every trim there are more split ends.

 

[Lilmama1011]

Also, small update: I used to notice a lot of mid-shaft splits, haven't been noticing them lately, I think maybe because I lowered my frequency of combing? Anyways, I still get a lot of split ends, I trim almost obsessive compulsively which is another reason I haven't been maintaining much length, but it seems like right after every trim there are more split ends.

You and me both because soon as I spot one I have to look for scissors ASAP but I have been trying to no look at my ends tho and I like for my hair to be even but I saw someone on here let her hair grow without keep evening up and her hair ended up evening out because some parts of your hair grow faster than the other, still going to be hard not to have even ends

 

[Meritamen]

Also, small update: I used to notice a lot of mid-shaft splits, haven't been noticing them lately, I think maybe because I lowered my frequency of combing? Anyways, I still get a lot of split ends, I trim almost obsessive compulsively which is another reason I haven't been maintaining much length, but it seems like right after every trim there are more split ends.

Make sure you have good quality shears to trim with. Bad scissors can cause your hair to split more. Also instead of trimming maybe try doing a little search and destroy or dusting. I trim about every 5-6 months with search and destroy sessions in-between, it helps in retaining length. I only trim when the amount of splits or knots are causing harm to the rest of my hair. Like when it becomes harder to detangle, healthy hairs becoming entangled with split/knotted hairs, ends becoming brittle, etc.
A good way to combat splits is to coat the ends of your hair with an oil or butter. I find coconut oil is awesome for this but you can use whatever you like. Since you work out, you can keep your hair moist and scalp relatively clean by rinsing with water or cowashing after which simply moisturize and seal making sure to focus on your ends.
HTH!

 

[HanaKuroi]

Do combs with seams cause this? The tangle teaser did this to my hair last year.
I had midshaft splits and breakage. I really regret that tangle teaser.

I mostly finger detangle and use a bamboo/wood comb every once in a while. I detangle in the shower with the help of the shower head and the conditioner. Combing my hair wet is a no-no for me. It has to be damp almost dry.

 

[fairyhairy]

great thread with lots of advice

 

[HanaKuroi]

I am heavy handed. I handle my hair too roughly. I have to remember what someone said on lhcf. Treat your hair like fine, antique silk. Be gentle and don't rush when handling your hair.