Hola Chicas!
I just came from hanging out with FrizzCurls427 and we realized that we’ve been battling the same problem lately… unforgivably dry curls! My hair is so friggin’ dry! I mean parched, dried out, crunchy…just plain icky. Granted, I’m not wetting it much these days, mainly due to boredom and laziness, but I mean, DANG, it’s DRY. I figure it could be from 1 of a few things:
1. Fewer co-washes- Which also means fewer deep treatments
2. Winter winds- I wear my hair out 99% of the time. Maybe there really is something to that protective styling that long haired naturals speak so highly of.
3. The wrong products- I’ve strayed from my faithful products lately and maybe I need to go back to what I know (DevaCare).
4. Protein laden products- I’ve been experimenting with products that contain light, naturally derived proteins. In the past, protein play resulted in dry, crunchy curls. Which brings me back to number 3… if it ain’t broke…
Dryness left to fester results in split ends and breakage. I’ve tried to stave off splits by doing a trim, but I need to get proactive!
This dry styling routine has resulted in less shedding, and my hair seems to be doing good overall. The dryness is just so annoying… it’s up in a bun today, and I plan to rock it out like this for the next few days. Blah.
Later Gators,
Nik
I got myself a steamer and my hair is no longer dry nor shedding! I highly recommend it. I'm thinking of doing a youtube video on it, if I do I'll share with you ladies!
Hi ya all !!! I straightened my chin length Bob for the past 2 years {everyone said it always looked great} well a month ago I stopped the "the great straight look" went back to the curly frizzy look & I HATE IT !!! I actually wanted to jump out of my 15 th floor apartment !!! HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know this is going to sound crazy, but how do I do a bun, professional looking for work? Is there a tutorial on the web or a link? Thanks!
You've probrably strayed to benefit your audience & your hair has suffered for it. Trust & believe we appreciate your sacrifice. Hope it recovers soon.
"baggying" means to condition your hair, apply a sealing product (oil or aloe/glycerin based?, pull it back into a bun and wrap a sandwich sized baggie aroun the bun. The baggie can be concealed with a scarf wrapped around it or a phony pony. Great protective style. Further info can be found on longhaircareforum.com or in Chicoro's book Grow It: Growing Afro-textured Hair Long.
what is baggying people of America?
TGIF ladies! My hair was getting a bit dry also recently, especially my super coily crazy ends. I live in Houston and we had a severe freezing cold snap. I had been wearing my hair stretched over the holidays, in big updo's for the last month(I either roller set it, or comb & clip it all back & air dry). I realized I need to give that a rest and wear a more protective style for a while. Right now I'm wearing it in one-strand twists/coils. (My hair only likes 2-strands when it's already stretched) I tried Rhassoul Clay for the 1st time!! It is WONDERFUL! I mixed the Rhassoul clay with my fave Aubreys GPB conditioner (my fine hair loves protein) and added some Sweet Almond oil and Avocado butter. I left it on with saran warp for about 3 hours, no heat. My hair LOVES this combo. FYI, my hair is cottony & fine, 4-type pen spring coily, dense but not especially thick. I will def be doing a Rhassoul Clay deep conditioner often. After I DP's, I rinsed it out and cowashed with Giovanni 50:50 conditioner. Then I put some of Darcy's Nolitica Shea Butter (a creamy fantastic lighter shea butter) in my hair and one strand twisted/coiled it with Darcy's Coiling jelly. My hair also likes Molasses added to my deep conditioners… not so much honey. I use Quemet Burdock butter cream a couple times a week, as well as Oyin Whipped butter, and a aloe and water spritz I make. I coiled it on Monday when it was wet using Darcy's Coiling Jelly for strong old. I'm gonna try and keep it in this style at least for another month, but it's growing to it looks so cool stretched out!!
Since I live in a dry climate I am always SO scared of my hair getting dry…I do a lot of treatments with honey, minimize protein use when I can, and use an oil or butter nightly to seal in moisture. I also like cowashing daily because my hair loves water.
The dry indoor heat is a likely contributor to the dryness of ur hair. I have been opting for a plastic shower cap and a headscarf instead of my sating pillow case at night…that has helped a little.
ladies you may want to try crisco. it sounds crazy but it works. also, buy your coconut oil from walmart. it is way cheaper and works just as good. currently, i have braid extensions. in the past, i have gotten loc extensions in the winter too. both work great-my hair grew and it was nice to take a break and have more time in the morning. when i took the extensions out, I deep conditioned like crazy and my hair was the best its ever been. one more tip-wear satin lined hats. if you can't find them, make your own.
I totally agree with anonymous104. I was actually going to post about this. I sleep with a humidifier in my bedroom and my curls are sooo soft and moisturized, in fact i have to be very careful because i can overmoisturize very easily.I have sinus issues and had to buy a humidifier and i noticed that my curls were sooo soft! Try it you can pick one up at walmart!
yeah I had a problem at the beginning of January when I was still using wave noveau I realized products with glycerin in the top ingredients seem to not work with my hair in the winter at least. I dried my hair out!!!!
Here in Eastern NC we had a cold batch of days but I never have moisture problems. I drink 4-6 bottles of water everyday and use Qhemet Biologics (I have the whole line). Because it takes so little of the product and I'm not a product junkie, I figure I spend a lot less than someone who has to repurchase every other month. I only need the products in the winter so basically one purchase a year and I'm set. I twisted last Friday, wore the twists til Monday, rocked them out Tues. & Wed. Shingled with Eco Styler with Olive oil this morning and my hair is still moist. I plan to do an Avocado & Coconut Milk treatment this weekend. I have such hard water that I try not to wash more than once a week. Also, I think they're on to something with that humidifier idea. If my hair were dry I'd try it, it couldn't hurt.
One word: HUMIDIFIER…has done wonders for my hair, skin and breathing ;0
Hello All! I live in upstate NY. Qhemet products do wonders for me- no dryness or frizzies. Try Heavy cream/gel or burdock/gel mixed for definition and moisture. Also love either of the creams mixed with honey balm for shine and moisture. A tiny bit of detangler on dry hair helps with tangles…like a dream. Products are expensive but a jar of product lasts me at least six months.
My hair was feeling quite dry and straw-like after I think I overdid it with the protein. I just sprayed lightly with my oil/water mix, put my shea/oil mix on my ends and covered with a plastic cap for a few hours. Now it's back to normal and I've decided to fall back on the protein…it ain't for everybody!
Hello Everyone! Glad to report a new product that should produce rave reviews: it's BEE MINE's Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer. With the winter months approaching I was very anxious to find a moisturizer that was rich enough to moisturize without leaving a heavy residue, one I could use every other day, and use with olive, or avocado oil without the beading (those white balls). Gals, I caught my husband checking out my fro's softness and taking in the wonderful coconut scent of this whipped concoction(it actually looks like whipped cream but it's slightly thicker). It left my hair light, fluffy, and moisturized. After co-washing, I apply my leave-in of the day (love Aussie Moist with this combo), EVOO, then this moisturizer. Every other day, I spray with water and apply a small amount before going out into the frigid temperatures. It feels like your hands feel after using Nivea's creme. Hope this helps Chickiditas!
I found that utilizing protective styles this winter has really helped my hair combat dryness and contributed to significant growth. I found some great ideas for protective styles on you tube. hope this helps someone.
Girl, I use to have that problem on a regular, then….I just cut it off…LOL! Really though, it was a very hard decision to come to because my hair was also unhealthy (breaking, shedding excessively). I started doing regualr Henna's and when I cut it I ended doing braids so I wouldn't manipulate it as much. If you get back to your weekly wash and deep condish, you really should be fine, oh and add a henna app to that…lastly….TWIST YOUR HAIR UP FOR A FEW DAYS….DO AN UPDO, and wait until summer to wear your hair out! Hope this was helpful…this is the funny, the hair guru possibly taking advice from the likes of me…HA! 🙂
I'm just like you CN, I wear my hair out almost everyday..the occasional 3rd day hair may go in a bun, but for the most part my hair hasn't been to dry until the last few days. I ran out of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I was putting olive oil on my hair FIRST thing out the shower before any other product, and my hair was so moisturized it wasn't even funny and even better it didn't have an oily feeling or look, just shiny and nice. Thats my recommendation to yall!! OLIVE OIL!! I need to go get a new bottle ASAP b/c I hate dry, frizzy curls too…and to reduce frizz and dryness from sleeping, I apply a little on my hair before I go to bed! Hope this helps some!
Would you revise these recipes
http://hubpages.com/hub/Best-Hair-Masks
I love Miss Jessie's Curly ButterCream for moisture, nothing beats it. I two-strand twist my hair under a dryer, netx day retwist and then add rollers using the curly butter cream, which gives me a two-strand twist with a style.
I was very dry, too, until I started experimenting with more oil-coconut, jojoba and EVOO. I added a little extra oil to my conditioners and it worked. In the winter I also cut out most protein. I do one co-wash a month with a conditioner containing protein. All cones, no matter how far down they are on the ingredients list, eventually give me straw-like hair during the cold winter months. I shelved those, too. But I can't praise oils enough for battling the winter dryness problem.
To the person who suggested more prayer for Haiti. I don't know about you, but most people can do more than one thing at a time.
Hey Nik,
have you ever incorporated the Afroveda butters into your routine to combat the dryness? I find that using it daily prior to styling has helped me considerably. I also have eliminated the use of glycerin products for the winter and have noticed a drastic change. Steaming my DCTs has helped too. Incorporating oils (castor, argan, baobab, hemp, jojoba, shea, olive, coconut, sapote, etc) in my DCTs has also been a marvelous addition, and I am seeing great results. I think the key here is moisture moisture moisture, by any means necessary, esp. during the windy wintery days!!! I'm so sure you already know this though. Although I rock my hair out 100% of the time due to the fact that I have a growing TWA (that I love BTW), I really have to make sure that my hair is super soft and manageable!!! I use a satin bonnet under my wool hats, and this has been helping tremendously. I have less shedding, don't notice any breakage… however, those fairy knots always seems to find their way on the ends of my hair. HTH
Oh sweet anonymous, just because we are taking care of our hair doesn't mean we are slacking in life. Not only have I prayed for Haiti, but I have donated to SIX different organizations working to relieve the suffering in Haiti in the past week. And I also found time to co-wash and water rinse more often as well and my hair is loving me for it. That winter dryness that we're supposed to be discussing has been beaten back.
The challenge will be difficult for me, but I am trying. I think less is more in the long run anyway, but I have always paid such great attention to my hair. I am going to find a good protective style and let my hair just be.
i offer a challenge ladies….please use more than half the time spent on your hair daily to instead pray for the earthquake victims in Haiti. i ask only that our focus change for the next several weeks to focus on what is really important. thank you
Yes, me too. I haven't washed in a few days probably a little over a week. I have been doing roller sets and it seems to help! I bought some more headbands and OLIVE OIL at Last!! so I can't wait to try it after I henna tonight!! Hopefully not too dry after 🙂
maybe it's time to clarify? I went home(Northern NJ) and left most of my hair stuff in my dorm. My hair was getting really brittle (like I can hear the crunching) I did a homemade clarify rinse (shampoo + baking soda) and conditioned with my normal AOHR (I was trying a product with a lot of cones at the time), used some shea butter and now its back to normal.
I think it's the weather causing the dryness. I am newly embracing my curls(I've been natural for like 2 years but was hiding under braids and then was a frizz mess until I discovered the christo salon and curly nikki! Turns out I have curly hair. Who knew?!) I am so thankful for this website. My hair has improved leaps and bounds and is growing quickly. 🙂
I live in NYC and it had been painfully cold here for the last month and change. I was piling on the shea but figured I just needed more practice to be moisturized and not greasy. I never quite get it right until… it was inexplicably warm and humid for like 5 days. Sooo nice. And so was my hair. It was full, defined, and fluffy. I didn't put anything in my hair other than Devacurl One Condition (loving this stuff!) and the christo lotion and gel I think it's been a harsh winter everywhere and it's drying everyone's hair out. I honestly don't think it's something we're doing or not doing. Especially since warmer weather made for moisturized hair with way less of my coconut oil/shea mix. But I could be wrong I thought my hair was the most tangled, erratic mess for 28 years and as it turns out the erratic mess was my mindset and bad hair practices. So… I've been wrong before could definitely be again. I hope it gets better for everyone.
When I do my flat twists (or whenever the hair is looking a little dry) I spay a mixture of Infusium, filtered water, an almond/mango oil mixture with a little bit of HE Totally Twisted on my hair using a spray bottle. My hair loves it, and the TT makes my hair so soft and fluffy!! We'll see how long this one lasts, but so far so good.
If you're moisturizing and your hair is still dry, I would definitely try a humidifier. I swear by mine because it does wonders from my hair and health. If you've ever boarded a plane with moisturized hair and then landed with dry brittle hair, you know how much the air affects your hair. It's a good investment. 🙂
As a recently initiated member in the BMAA (Baggy Method Association of America) may i recommend the baggy method. I regularly protective style, but when I baggy at night my hair is a cottony fluff of moisturized deliciousness. 🙂
Same problem here. I'm glad that I don't feel so alone. I've been neglecting moisturizing during the day. I co-wash every other day and I use that as my excuse. I also blame my two under two (what I call my daughters.) I can't even pee without someone yanking my tail. I'm transitioning and I've got to get proactive again before I begin to experience breakage!
Yeeesss! I am going through this too. I'm getting fairy knots even though my hair is stretched so I know that it means that my hair isn't as moisturized. I'm going to add baggying before bed back to my routine. And I've been wearing my hair out all the time too. Guess protective styling is all it's cracked up to be aftertall. I'll be bunning with a phony pony and rocking different up-do's where my ends are tucked away.
Protective styling has been great for my hair as well. It's so cold in Michigan that I rarely wear my hair out. I've been wearing my hair in twists pulled back into a bun, and have been baggying my bun at night. I spray it with rosewater with aloe and glycerin, then seal with a mix of an Afroveda butter and Qhemet Biologic olive and honey hydrating butter. My hair stays soft and moist all day.
My hair has been doing really well with a water and glycerin mix and coconut oil to seal the ends. I also wear my hair in braids or twists most of the time and out only on special occasions. I use Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle as a co-wash and sometimes put a little in my hair as well. Protective styling has been my best friend against dry brittle hair.
winterr weather takinn a toll' on myy haiirr i moisturize like 3 times a day in the moring,(coconut oil& spritz of water) night(coconut oil and leave in & spritz of water), and when i get home from school(coconutoil& a lil leave in&spritz of water). I plant to buy somme shea butter tomorroww… and use it over the weekend and see if i can gain more moisture with that. I just started to wear my hair out cuzs i was coaxed into it by my peers andd let me sayy my i am about to go back to my standard ponytail. aahh !! i hate the winterr..i need to move to florida.. sighh.
srry for the biography…lolll =)
I was dealing with annoying drying for the first part of winter. It included dry feeling and way too many knots and tangles. I've started cowashing more often when I wear wash'n'go's as I was going a week. I think that was part of the problem with the tangles. Then I gave in and started twisting my hair. Not a big fan of twists because I can't wear them to work and I feel like I'm tied down until my hair is presentable. Well I ordered some Qhemet and I love it on my twists. However, I still had issues with knots and tangles, but to a lesser degree. And finally, this week I cowash with V05, used a mixture of aloe and glycerine under Giovanni 50/50 for the conditioner only method, but I sealed my ends with a mixture of olive oil and castor oil. My hair loved it. A lot less tangles and its super duper soft. Its time to cowash again, but my hair still looks really good 😉 SisterBoyd
I just recently purchased Qhemet's Burdock Root Butter Cream and I do believe my hair is in love! I live in the coldest of cold state Connecticut, and I am happy to say that my hair has not been doing the big dry ball of mess that it usually is if I don't cowash for a few days. So far, I'm impressed!
Dry as a desert…I have suffered with dry hair and breakage for a while. After reading an interview from your website and actually purchased a book on how to maintain black hair growth. In the book recommends to moisturize our hair everyday. Which now became a habit, I moisturize my hair every night and every morning.
At night I spray my hair with a concoction which contains water, Vegetable Glycerin and African Glory hair oil. Then seal my ends with raw shea butter.
In the morning I use Carols Daughter Hair Milk and Khoret Amen hair oil.
So far no breakage or dry hair.
A little olive oil on dry hair (or even before styling on wet hair) is great applied after a water based leave in. Start off with a small amount as you can add. Love it. My hair is soft, shiny and moisturized. You don't end up smelling like salad dressing which is what I was afraid of before trying it.
I've been having the same problem! My hair was loving the Trader Joe's Tea Tree condish as a leave-in at first. I didn't think the low protein amt would hurt but after a few weeks I noticed that my hair was like straw! I went back to my faithful Aussie moist mixed with oils (olive, avocado, sweet almond, jojoba) as my leave-in and noticed a HUGE difference almost immediately.
Savannah is there a SF BAY area curly meetup?
YES, my curls could probably start a brush fire if i move my head too quickly! I have been rocking roller sets the past couple of weeks and it has helped me retain moisture, but I miss my twist outs.
Saturday night I did an overnight Honeysuckle Rose DC and used shea butter to flat twist my hair and I've also been slapping shea butter and coconut oil on my ends and edges so I'm gonna have to say no, quite the opposite actually lol
My hair is parched too! It's been extra cold and wet where I live (SF Bay Area)and I'm in the 2nd week of two strands. I'm planning a mini pj run this weekend to pick up some vatika oil for a DC and cowash this weekend. I was planning to rock a twist-out this nest week but the weather this way I don't know how she'll hold up.
avocado oil helped me a few weeks ago when i was dry. a trim and maybe some of your favorite hair butter and a bun a few days per week 🙂
I was going through the same thing with the extreme dryness and had to break down and get it pressed. My hair is doing great and not having any issues at all with dryness. It actually has grown quite a bit in a month.
I was mosturizing my hair every night and it still remained dry by the next day like I hadn't done anything to it.
very appropriate topic my hair is very dry today and I can't wait to put some olive oil on it.
I use two conditioners one for detangling who dries my hair out and another one great for moisturizing but containing proteins.
I'm thinking my hair would do better without anything in it. I might try a homemade honey mixture because I have the hardest time finding a conditioner without any protein in it.
Wearing your hair out 99% of the time is a lot!!