01 September 2010 ~ 148 Comments
This roll call serves is a check-in.
How is your natural hair journey coming along? Are you stumped by a certain issue? How are you trying to overcome it?
Let’s compare notes, and share advice.
My journey is not going so good. I’ve been natural for quite some time. I just had to get a hair, due to massive split ends and knots. I don’t know what what happened. My hair was pass my shoulders. Now it’s to my neck….it’s hair it will grow back. I just have to figure out what works for my hair.
My problem is finding the right products to take care of my baby locs (starting loc’ing back in May)and just how to take care of baby locs in general. I find lots of info on taking care of older locs, but not a lot of info for when you are first starting off. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
My hair problem is dryness. I haven’t founnd anything that makes my hair really soft and easier to manage. I have the coarsest/kinkiest hair on the planet (whichever letter is the last 4 type). But I’m still looking for ‘better’ products though. The only thing that even helps my hair get somewhat soft is this hair food product. But I don’t really like it. I also regularly use ORS Olive oil cream which works well for moisturizing my hair, but not to the effect that I want it too.
Also, my edges haven’t grown much. The front of my hair grows slow and the middle grows a lot, making my hair severely uneven. My afro has the weirdest shape ever. Trimming wouldn’t help, but I eventually will.
I’ll read through these comments to see if others can help me. Yonnie, thanks for sharing that tip.
I see a lot of ladies have an issue with dryness. There are a quite a bit of natural ingredients that can help with that. I’ve found them better than packaged products for keeping my hair moisturized without causing or worsening acne.
I have used all these as a moisturizer with good results (I frequently mix them all together):
coconut oil jojoba oil shea butter vegetable glycerin
I might also mix them with:
vitamin E oil rosemary oil wheat germ oil
I use these to deep condition regularly:
honey eggs avocado
If all else fails maybe the problem starts at the root. Ask yourself this question: are the products you use to clean and style your hair doing more harm than good?
Hey, i hear a lot of people say they create mixtures with shea butter. What type of shea butter do you use? The raw african shea butter that comes in the plastic container that’s very thick and not liquified at all? Do you melt it down? Guess I’m trying to figure out what consistency of shea butter I should have to make it easily mixable with other products.
I’ve been battling extreme dandruff for over 10 years. Mostly the cause of my scalp issues came from burns and scabs post-relaxing. I’ve been natural for almost a year and when my hair was practically shaved off, my dandruff diminished considerably. But then again, I used anti-dandruff shampoo everyday on my 1/8 inch hair.
Now that my hair has grown, I don’t wash it everyday but I see the little flakes and I tend to scratch my head about 4 days after washing. I’m going to continue to use my scalp oil concoction with a few drops of pure neem oil for the next month to see if there’s a difference. Most people say it takes about 30 days of a new regimen to notice a difference. I will try co-washing at least once a week because I do need to rinse out the flakes that I scratch up.
I used to always have dandruff after a few days but I never get it now. Not even a little bit. I changed to a non-sulphate shampoo, occasionally use oil on my scalp, and also always put either a few drops of Tea tree oil and Lavendar in my water spray bottle, or a cap of cider vinegar. I spray the scalp as well as the hair. My guess is that for me the dandruff was caused by microbes that were killed by the vinegar/tea tree. I hope this helps you too x
I would suggest that you read up about the difference between dry scalp and dandruff. They aren’t the same thing. If you are using shampoo, the problem may be dry scalp. I tend to have the same problems. I use Shae Moisture’s organic raw shae butter shampoo every 7-10 days (I can’t do co-washes exclusively because of my scalp issues and thin hair that is prone to product build up), spritz with water or aloe and water daily and never ever ever put oil directly on my scalp. As the other poster mentioned using sulfate free products makes a huge difference. I also use tea tree oil mixed with water or olive oil if I ever apply oil to my scalp. Dry scalp is caused by having skin on the scalp that is exfoliating quickly and flaking off. Heavy oils will build up and clog the pores. Also, drink lots and lots of water!! Good luck
Finding shampoo & hair products that doesn’t make my scalp itchy & scaly…(I’ve tried EVERYTHING- Even prescription formula stuff)
Finding conditioner that moisturizes my hair but doesn’t leave build-up…(The last conditioner I thought worked took MONTHS *and gallons of ACV* to get out of my locks).
Cecily, If you are looking for slip you can def. find it in Yes to Cucumbers (its one of my favs).
@all the frizzy ladies out there, I sprang for a jar of Ojon oil restorative treatment and I got great results. It’s pretty expensive so I use it sparingly but every time I do I notice my hair is super smooth. The closest I have come to duplicating these result is with coconut oil. This is like coconut oil x 5.
I use that too. It’s brilliant my hair is so soft afterwards with practically no shedding. I don’t mind paying for stuff that works. Smells funny though. Honestly speaking it smells a bit like cocoa beans with a hint of stale cigarettes but if you use it as a prepoo the smell fades
I’ve been natural since early 2006. My problem is my hair is not the same length all over. The front and back are quite long, in the middle there is a portion that is very, very short. I think that hair was cut accidentally when I was taking a weave I did out. It just irritates me so much to have long hair, but this section in the middle of my head that is short. I’m thinking of relaxing my hair, and then starting over again to make it natural…
Naomi, I wouldn’t do that if I was you cause it will on make things worse. I’ve been trying to go natural since last year and am experience a lot of difficulty and every1 keeps saying its the perm that’s still coming out my hair 1 year and a half later, but I guess I will go bald completely b4 I definately start 2 get results. Good luck
Knot problems –
How do you wear your hair daily – if your hair is prone to single strand knots or general tangling then try protective styling. Loose hair encourages knots and tangles.
Knotting and tangling mainly at the ends? You could be due for a hair trim. Be sure to always use your fingers to untangle the ends first before even looking at a comb.
How do you detangle? You can be contributing to tangling by not taking your time when detangling, rushing will encourage knots.
Do you play in your hair? Playing in your hair – twirling and winding already coily strands can encourage them to wrap around each other causing you one/multi strand knots. Protective styling helps you to keep your paws out of your hair and lowers the risk of mechanical damage caused by busy hands.
How do you wash your hair? Some people can wash their hair loose with no problems – those with shrinkage (50-75%+) risk single/multi strand knots and tangles if they wash their loose hair. Many naturals wash and condition in sections either by twisting in large sections, plaiting in large sections or banding (your choice of band, no metal, wrapped around each section). You take down sections one by one, wash them etc and put them back in. You then allow your hair to be moisturised in these sections. Depending on your shrinkage, you may need to dry to damp in sections and style. Live by the shrinkage club natural rule of never wet and loose hair at the same time. Washing loose hair under the shower stream could also be causing you problems.
How do you moisturise? Do you moisturise your hair throughly? Many people report single strand knots (fairy knot/pixie knot) when their hair lacked major moisture which was corrected when they began DILLIGENTLY moisturising and SEALING their strands with oil. Too many people skip this, maybe because they don’t see the need, hate oils or are just lazy with this step. Try it.
How do you detangle? No need to comb your hair into oblivion but finger combing to rid the hair of loose shed strands before you begin to apply water/conditioner etc on wash day can seriously reduce a risk of single strand knots and tangles from shed hair mixing with strands which are still very much attached to the follicles. Some people do this with oils in their prepoo stage but this can be done without oil. Just go gently and do not tug. You’ll be surprised at what your fingers can remove before you begin to apply conditioner and comb. TWAs especially can do finger combing up to 2-3 times a week without it taking too much time.
Diet and water intake must also be looked at – internal moisture means less dry hair which means less knots/problem hair. Same goes for those experiencing dryness.
Other ways to reduce ssks - May be controversial to some but some naturals use the blowdryer on low to lightly blow out the hair so it is stretched to style and they report a lessening of knots. Dusting – involves lightly trimming the ends of your hair if they start to feel tangly or appear frizzy. Some people do dusting two monthly or on their own schedule to prevent the problem before the tangling and frizz starts. Some people find Kimmaytube’s methods of washing and her leave-in useful. This may be because all the smoothing of strands that she does help to close the cuticles. Raised cuticles from a change in PH when you wash will cause strands to catch onto each other more readily. All that smoothing may lessen this along with moisturising and sealing. Some people find that low or cone usage means less chance of single strand knots but this is at your discretion and imho could cause you other problems – moist and seal are a good alternative.
Tightly coiled hair and curly/coily hair are naturally prone to single strand knots but by keeping hair stretched with protective styles and in sections when styling & washing you can reduce the risks
In Summary – to stop the knots today
Accept that it’s the nature of coils and curls. Moisturise and seal with oil regularly. Stop playing in your hair. Get hip to protective styling. Loose hair encourages coils and curls to engage which means knot city. Drink more water for internal moisture. Do wash day with hair sectioned. Try fingercombing twice or once weekly to remove shed hair. Try dusting. Due for a trim? Tangly ends could mean yes. Check out Kimmaytube’s method for washing and smoothing and her leave in. Consider a low heat regimen.
Good luck to you all.
i just got a wash and set with 2 months worth of new growth (im transitioning), upon exiting the dryer (45min of brain frying), my new growth was aggressively shouting power to the people. i had to request a blowing out of the roots. upon leaving said dominican spot, my hair looked like it was just permed, which begged the question, have i ever needed a perm??????
HEY! My name’s Joelle. I’m new here. I’m working on transitioning my hair to natural (started in like June or July; decided to chop off the relaxed ends for my bday – Nov. 17)! My BIG problem is… I don’t have ANY KIND OF REGIMEN! I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing AT ALL. Can some one PLEASE help!? If anyone has any suggestions, please my email is jojobfly@sbcglobal.net. I don’t even know where to begin. I wear a straw set or curls from a curling iron to blend it but I don’t know about moisturizing, washing, etc. Please, please help so I can have some healthy, beautiful natural hair! Thanks so much! Have a GREAT day!
@Elle – please read this it’ll help you start out:
Regimen Building For Newbies by Audrey Sivasothy.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/288340/hair_regimen_building_for_newbies.html?cat=69
Her tips on transitioning:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5563406/relaxed_to_natural_6_survival_tips.html?cat=69
I’d also be careful with that curling iron.
For other users – she has great articles on hair care from porosity to protein and moisture balancing.
Good luck.
@ Hey You. Thank you so much!!!!!
@ Hey You … THANK YOU SO MUCH! That was soooooo helpful! I’m pretty sure I’ll give myself an early birthday present and chop it off because I’m falling in love with my curls every time I wash my hair and see the many different textures I have lol (seriously, I see like 4b at the top, 3c/4a at the sides and back and 4a in the middle…ridiculous) and I can’t WAIT to see my lil beauties! However, I am facing another problem… My last perm (The Devil’ssweat, I tell ya…) burned out the left side of my hair very badly. I cut off most of the burned ends but now, when I wash my hair that side feels sorta “dry while wet” or like how it was when I used to shampoo my hair with cheap poos… Even after a deep condition, moisturizer, and sealant (no leave-in yet, but working on it) it still feels drier and coarser than the rest of my hair. What gives?? Any way to fix it?
I have been having issues with lint getting stuck in my locs.
This post may be late but i hope someone can help me. I did a huge No No!!! After so much frustration of my kinky coils and anxiety of wanting my hair to grow faster or look longer than my normal shrinkage, i decided that it would be okay to get a texturizer to loosen the curl pattern. It did just that but way too much. Now that i want my curls back fully, my hair looks partly straight and partly curly. I’ve tried deep conditioning and everything. Nothing seems to work. Should i just cut the ends off or would that even help?! Someone, anyone out there….please help!
I am a student at Aveda Institute and they have great nautral products that will not leave a residue of film that most products leave. I didn’t think any of the product would work on my natural african american hair and thought like many others they were for caucasian only…wrong. I am currently using Damage Remedy which has a shampoo, conditioner, reconstructing conditioner and a daily hair repair. I also use their Brillant Damage Control that helps when I am blow drying and pressing my hair (which tends to hold alot of heat). It has made my hair softer to the touch and I can also comb though it with little to no resistance. They also have a Dry Remedy (which I will try next) for dry hair and many other products. Some of the ingredients used in Aveda products are quinoa protein, wheat protein, soy-derived oil, jojoba, bergamot, mandarin, ylang ylang, alfalfa, linseed, olive, fruit oil, sunflower seed oil, just to name a few. Hope this helps anyone who are looking for quality natural products.
keeping my hair moisturized… im newly natural. my hair is a lil over two inches. and im struggling with not knowing enough about black hair in general. I think its sad really. that as a society we know so little about our hair as it grows out of our hair. i think i have 4b hair with a few 3b/4a tendencies. I just feel like… I cant watch enough youtube videos. and most i find are not my hair type. and the ones i do find with my same coil size have dif textures.so idk if i can use the product still.
KNOTS!!!
The Left Rear Section of my hair gets SOOOO tangled. It’s the side that my Hand in Hair Disease pulls and damages.
My other side is so soft and healthy while this section looks a mess. I think I need a trim; it’s been 18mths.
But I wait until Nov - when I plan to flat-iron my hair for the first time in 2 yrs.
Been fighting the good fight with single strand knots and now really winning, I have been doing it right but maybe its going to take a while, I don’t know. Anyway, my other issue is that my hair is really fuzzy. Its like I have lots of shorter new hair growing all over. I just realised that its not that my hair is breaking that much, but that the little hairs I have been seeing are these small (and quite thin) new hairs that have been shed. My protective style of choice is 2 strand twists and I cover my hair whenever I can. I have realised that these small hairs are too short to twist and as a result not that well protected by the twists and get single strand knots and such. as of now I am trying to tackle this problem with making smaller twists, with castor oil to help keep them together. If you have any suggestions let me know. Wish me luck.
Yikes! I meant NOT really winning with the ssks!
My challenge is growth. I did the big chop at the beginning of May and I feel as if it has only grown maybe an inch. I thought I would have a big fro by now, but that’s clearly not the case. Is there any products I need to use or just learn simple patience?!?…lol
I have post baby hair and whenever I wash and style I shed like CRAZY… I think my hair is falling out. Any recommends on products that will strengthen my strands.
I have an issue with knowing whether I have split-ends or not. I also need assistance on how to chop them properly with out chopping more than needed.
I have an issue with knowing whether I have split-ends or not. I also need assistance on how to cut them without chopping more than necessary.
I’ve been a natural on and off since the late 90s. But I’ve always worn wigs and weaves (w&w). Now that I’m inspired to wear my hair out, I realize that I have thinning areas. Particularly around the edge and in the middle of my head. Therefore I’m not very comfortable with wearing my hair without a wide headband for coverage. Please ladies, help. Give me some sound advice. Thanks.
the natural journey is over for me and the length journey has begun! Now I want more hair. I am 3 years 8 months natural. I want BSL now. I am taking Hair, SKin, nail vitaminis(prescription quality) for vegetarians, mixing aloe vera juice/aubrey organics protein conditioner, BLACK TEA RINSE EVERY WEEKEND, CAROL’S DAUGHTER BLACK VANILLA for extra moisture, and my hair stays in braid extensions as a protective style throughout the school year.
Ok so her is my problem i have combed the great world wideweb and to find priducts that work best for my hair. Founds some Great products by darcy’s Botanicals and Alicay naturals @ blackonyx.com. But now i have all this product and have get to find a truley staple hairstyle. right now i am rocking three strand twist and these i really like because they have staying power in my 3b 4a hair. I guess I have to keep trying styles but it would be great if there were a sight that had all the different hair style instructions people would send in, so i could get ideas.
I’m getting super frustrated with my length!!! Im in the in- between stage. I’m no longer at twa length but it’s not really very long. to top it all off my hair is super coily . I mean even putting braids in freshly hairdried hair my braids still curl. I’m in mad search for something inexpensive and natural to wash with. I’ve been using Oyin hand made products am in love. But i’m getting so frustrated with how coily my hair is when will I finally achieve CL! I also have serious frizzy ends! I’m still in search for a great DC as well. i just bought this hair maasque stuff from butters n bars and that had several good reviews. So we shall see how that works!
Don’t know what to do with it anymore, so it’s in twists all the time.
@MsOverproof: i had the same problem, i am now 8 months post-partum (in a week), and my crazy shedding started at 3 months. I found that doing bi-weekly black tea rinses helped, you can look it up on youtube. I also used Komaza Care products exclusively (Moisture Instense deep conditioner, and a mix of the coconut and califia lines), and i don’t know what really helped in the end, but at 5.5 months, the shedding stopped, back to noemal shedding rate now. I also use Qhemet Biologics moisturising creams (both). Hope this helps a little?
Im going to start doing co-washing, but is diffusing(blowdrying)the hair EVERYDAY safe for the hair??
Trying to make my hair grown in the back nd running out of things to do with it
I just recently BC’d in April 2011. My struggle is.. I have a 4b/4c twa, fully stretched i have about two inches of hair. I have extreme shrinkage..The kiker is..im in the armed forces and wear a wool beret everyday to work and i live in hot humid Florida. Whatever style I leave the house with (which is always and afro (or coiled fro) is already frized, dry and out of shape by late morning.. My edges were really damaged two months ago.. and they are now growing in slowly. What protective style can i do.. that is feminine,( right now the only feminine accessory i can add is lipgloss and diamond earings. professional and can fit under a beret while maintaining the healthiness of my natural hair.. ?? any help/encouragement would be greatly appreciated :)
i have been on the transition for about 9 months now, and it has grown alot since i stop using a perm in december 2010, but my problem is my edges in the front, its not as bad a it looks but i can tell its little hairs breaking off, i dont have the naomi campbell look n i wud hate to have that, also its breakage in the back of my hair, i no hair is not perfectly even but i hate the fact that my right side of my hair is fuller n longer than the left side..the left side is a thin n short..what shud i do..i have it in braids now, should i continue with braids to grow it out or is there sumthing else in mind.. please sum good advice would help..
Have you considered cutting off the relaxed parts and growing your hair completely natural? I’ve never transitioned but I know a lot women go through the confusion stage during transition when their hair starts to do crazy things… it has a lot to do with dealing with two different textures at one time.
Is there an alternative to two strand twisting a twa EVERY night? It just feels like twisting every night and taking down twists and fluffing in the morning is too much manipulation, like i can feel my ends shredding between my finger tips. I do moisturize and make sure my hands are lubricated with oil during twisting and taking the hair out of twists. I can’t just sleep with my bonnet on and have my hair loose because, no matter how much i moisturize and seal, my hair will become really tangled.
I am starting to lose my hairline. i have locs. What to do? thanks
well to be honest i’ve just realized that flat ironing my hair works for me, that i’d managed to reach nape to armpit length in a year while flat ironing it often actually worked for me- i never had tangling issues, my hair had body and life and the color looks most vibrant when straight. since reading hair care forums i tried to see how life with my hair would be without heat, and realized nothing works for me short of wearing braids or twists. i actually ended up LOSING hair due to trying to find alternative ways of stretching it. because nothing keep my hair detangled as well as straightening it does. so i’m back to flat ironing once every week or two, and wearing my hair up in a french braid or butterfly clip or down. i actually don’t get bad split ends from wearing my hair down. strange.
Currently I’m having an issue with a short patch in the middle of my head. I’m keeping it under control by moisturizing, but darn it all if it isn’t annoying. >:\
Of all the areas of my head that itch, the middle is the worst so I have to unlearn to scratch my head when it itches. I stay on my usual washing regiment, but with the advice from a few people here I keep that patch comfy with glycerin.
It’s not a huge issue anymore, but I’m still worried that the patch has ruined my progress as I can’t wear my hair in any other way than a wash-and-go afro.
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