Y.M. Heard writes:
A few weeks ago I decided that 3 months after my BC, I was ready to try straightening my hair. I’d been thinking about it for awhile and my engagement party was coming up, so I decided it was the right time to try it. I gathered all my natural hair friendly products, stopped by Sally’s to get a good heat protector, and took everything to my stylists house. After 2 hours I had a lovely style. A flat twisted front and a flat iron flipped back. I loved it! I loved it for exactly 5 days before I missed my curls. So I wet the back in an effort to bring my curls back. My hair curled on cue, only my curls didn’t pop like normal. I was a little concerned but figured they’d bounce back after a good wash. A good wash came and went but my natural spiral curls didn’t return. I panicked. I wondered if I’d done permanent damage to my lovely coils. I read that using a flat iron on your curls could alter the curl pattern but I assumed it was after repeated and extreme straightening. I was scared that my spirals would never return. Luckily after a second, better wash, my coils returned! *Sigh of relief* While I haven’t sworn off straightening my hair, it definitely won’t be a part of any regular routine! My question to the Curly Nikki family is:
CN Responds:
Mirco to medium sized twists, worn as a protective style. My hair tangles like none other and calls itself locking after only 6 or so days. Putting them in takes forever, and take down is hellacious. Plus I have naturally thin hair and the style can look a bit ‘twiggy’ at time.
minitwists. never again. i washed my hair in them after four days, and my roots got matted. further, i could NOT take those tiny things out. ended up having to chop off 4 inches, which sent me spiraling right back to Shoulder length. I'm NEVER wearing minitwists EVER again.
Never again will I use Kinky Curly Curling Custard. Left my hair hard and very pointy. Sigh. Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding seems to be doing the job, though. I'm also never straightening my hair again.
My hair has always been thin, dry and brittle. I had the Keratin treatment done professionally by a male hair stylist. My hair was amazing and had never been as straight and bouncy ever in my life. My hair seemed so much longer. However, my hair is now falling out. I will admit that I did not get a trim of the earlier processed hair. This was in November. I have not gone back. I am very nervous about going back. My hair is so brittle and dry. What do you recommend?
Will never use banana as a deep conditioner again…without straining it first. had banana in my hair for weeks!
Kenra Moisturizing Shampoo – Don't get me wrong, this is a good product. It made my hair very soft and manageable. However, have you ever read the warning on the back of this bottle? "In case of reaction, discontinue use immediately and consult a doctor". I have never read that on a bottle of CONDITIONER before!! After using this conditioner for awhile, I began shedding quite a lot of hair. Foolish me, I thought it might be due to other factors (hormonal, environmental, wearing caps too much). I tried EVERYTHING to make the shedding slow down but after three months of using this product, I was losing HUGE GOBS of hair after each washing. My hair became so thin so quickly I eventually had to see a doctor, it was ruining my life! I look like a cancer patient almost overnight! The doctor could find no evidence of a scalp infection and the loss didn't seem to be concentrated in any particular pattern. He told me that an allergy to parabens was not at all uncommon, and that it can cause severe dermatitis. Guess what? Two of the strongest, most "toxic" parabens, Isopropylparaben and Isobutylparaben, are high up on the ingredients list for this conditioner! I've stopped using it and switched to all-natural, paraben-free shampoo and conditioner, and though that was only a week ago, I'm already noticing reduced hair loss. This product may be outstanding for most people, but if you start shedding suddenly, IT'S PROBABLY THIS CONDITIONER. Honestly, if you have the extra cash to spend on this expensive conditioner, you might as well buy something all-natural. Even if you are not allergic to parabens, why use a conditioner with such strong chemicals in it? My previously nice long hair is totally destroyed now and I can only pray the damage is fully reversible. I urge anyone reading this not to take the chance on using this product, buy something natural from Aubrey Organics or Lamas Beauty instead.
I'll never use Organix products AGAIN. Overrated, no slip, and the shampoo left my hair like straw. (The coconut kind)
rush while taking down my mini twists
or wash or *attempt* to detangle my hair while it's not in sections.
Wash my hair while it's twisted. That was one of the worst experiences of my natural days. My hair matted and it took me almost 2 hours to detangle half of my head. I was near tears with the amount of hair I lost.
I was surprised to read the Cherry Lola comment above – I thought I was the only one who lost some hair using that foolishness! LOL!
I'm leaving you, Denman – O denny boy, you treated me so cruel. You gave me mid-strand bubble splits that I'll never recover from 🙁
Perm rods and bobby pins – you go "in the box to the left" also!
My resolution is to finger detangle my hair – If that's what it takes to grow it long like Sera2544!!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sera2544
I won't be straightening again any time soon either. I also straightened this summer "to get a trim". My hair dresser (who knows nothing about natural hair, so that was my #1 mistake) tried to comb my hair with a teenchie rat tail. She then blow dried, hot combed, flat ironed, and hot curled my hair all without using a heat protectant. The style (turned out quite nicely) lasted all of 12 hours and my curls would not revert the next day. I snipped out my last straight piece about a month ago. NEVER AGAIN
i got my hair straightened (blow dry n flat iron) in order to get a trim…since i had BC'ed myself n thought i should get a professional trim… Big mistake! After more than 6 months i had to BC again bc my curls just would not come back. It would curl when wet, but once dry it was busted again. needless to say i just had to BC again…
I will NEVER twist my hair with raw shea butter again. It dried my hair all.the.way.out….and tangled it so bad that it scared me….
As a side note. Raw shea butter is great for my face and body-especially in winter.
Never:
going back to the creamy crack
going to a salon (except for braiding)
use Pantene (makes my hair fall out)
use mousse (shrinks my hair ugly)
fingercomb (lost too much hair)
use "ethnic" products (petrolatum, etc…)**
**Except Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal oil
There are more, but I can't remember them right now- LoL!
I will never perm again and give out on transitioning. I transitioned for 1 year, wore my hair natural for six months, and then for a job I went back to the creamy crack for 3 months. Never again! Now I am long term transitioning again.
I will NEVER EVER do the BAKING SODA treatment
ever ever again. OMG! My hair is just now starting to recover from it. It was supposed to infuse my hair with conditioning, "can you say WRONG, Baby girl"! My hair instantly went thinner and the cuticle seemed to be going the wrong direction. My Curly sistas, believe me when I say, NEVA AGAIN!! (LOL)
Allnatural1 (Michelle in TX)
I will NEVER:
flake out on transitioning again!
The first time I transitioned for 8 months and after all that hard work, let the creamy crack urge take over me.
4 years later this is my 2nd (and last) time transitioning and I'm now almost a year strong (BC to come in June 2011)
I will also never let a stylist talk me out of growing out my relaxer. My old stylist kept trying to convince me that I should stay relaxed and I believe this was a huge part of the reason why it took me so long to transition again. So once I decided to get rid of my relaxer, i rid of her as well!
Laziness is a never again for me. If I go even one night without twisting or braiding my hair, I have a smashed down, dried-out hot mess on my hands the next day. I'm not creative enough to turn a hot mess into a presentable hairdo, so it's better for me to take the time the night before so I won't have hair that is so crazy-looking that I won't leave the house.
To the lovely lady who tried the avocado banana deep treatment:
If you blend the banana up really well & then strain it before adding it to the avocado, you will get the softness without the residue 🙂
Had my friend do the cutest cornrow style on my hair once, very cute, but gave me MAJOR dandruff. Cornrows are a no no for me.
Also, going too long without trimming my ends lead to serious breakage.
No more ACV rinses. It did nothing for my hair. Plus, a couple days later, I had a painful, irritated scalp. I'm just glad I didn't have scabs on my scalp which I've heard has happened to a couple of ladies here. I'll just get a clarifying shampoo.
Aside from being dependent on someone else for my hair care I can't think of anything I can absolutely 100% for certain say I'll never do again. The one thing that lets me come closest to saying "I'll probably never do this again" is color (because I really do love my silver hairs and hope to grow a full head like my mom — and yours, Nikki)…but depending on the type of color and the skill of the colorist I could be persuaded to try it again. Same thing with cornrowed/flat-twisted styles: The ones I've worn in the past make me look like a kid but with the right style and stylist I'd be open to trying them again.
A relaxer for sure but detangling when tired was a big no no for me, I did such damage in one night that I've decided if I don't have the time to be gentle I need to wait till I do.
I will never bleach my hair again. I wanted to have a very vibrant pop of color in the top of my head. I knew better but did it anyway ( nothing can happen to my hair). I ended up basically straighten my hair with bleach. I am so incredibly hurt. NEVER AGAIN will I bleach, color, or use heat. I was so happier then. Henna is my new best friend
Relaxer, Perm or Whatever Chemical Process for hair known to man! I BC in July due to serious DAMAGE and when new growth appeared the chemical hair had to go. I didn't care that I only had maybe two inches new growth, I just wanted the chemical gone. Cantu Shea Butter leave-in did the job once! The mixture was changed somehow and ewwwwwwwwww what a mess.
Never again to Kinky Curly Curling Custard, unless I want to smell and look like a candy cane. The Knot today is okay as a leave in, but that KCCC, ugh!
And like most of you, a big no to relaxing. I don't care if it has love potion #9, it "ain't" touching my scalp. Happy 2011 all.
On the advice of a friend, I got the Brazilian Keratin treatment one year into my transition….needless to say, BIG MISTAKE….lots of breakage, and while my roots are growing in nice and thick and strong, I have lots of heat damage in the hair that was treated and I'm now trying to hold on to my length for dear life while I try to get both textures on my head to co-exist peacefully and play nicely together until the damage grows out…I'm basicly trying to avoid a BC at all costs….
Fell for the Brazilian Keratin Treatment, big mistake, was natural for seven years got bored and tried it. Long story short lots of breakage will do the BC in April 2011, Never, Never, Never again!!!!
I will never get my hair done at the dominican salon again. Too much heat and very painful! I had went on vacation in nyc and I just had to have it done, never again! I am still cutting off the damage from the heat!(a year ago this past july)
Wash and go's burn me every time, I must say. As much as it pains me to admit, my 2b-4a hair kind of looks… how do I put this… CRAZY AS HELL when I wash and go. Typically I glance at my reflection in the mirror from 10 ft away with squinted eyes, but when confronted with pics that friends took and posted on facebook of me with a wash and go I finally accepted the hard, hard truth- my hair don't "wash and go", lol!
Any suggestions from you lovely ladies on how to get my hair back and growing. I decided not to BC again after the color/bleach damage. any advice would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.
color! i tried to get rid of black color and eneded up with damaged ends and dry brittle hair. I am just now after months of deep treatments and lots of tears getting my curls to pop and my hair to look/feel better. no color, bleach, hi-lites for me ever!
Wash and go=no no for me. Just one huge matted mess. Such a shame as I am lazy about my hair.
I was in the mall and a lady called me over to her kiosk to demonstrate clip-in weaves. She flatironed some sections of my hair and attached the clip-ons. After she took them out, I had to walk around the mall with half of my hair straight. Lookin' crazy! LOL
That night, I washed and conditioned. My hair did not curl back up! I did it a couple more times. Still barely a curl. For the next couple of months, I had to keep trimming until the damaged hair was gone. I will never straighten my hair again!
Never again:
Co-washing; led to build up city
Olive oil; hair shed out like crazy
Demman brush; snatches my hair out. But its great for my wigs!
I will never again not comb my hair in between protective styles all in the name of minimal manipulation. My hair does not agree. And in still figuring out what my hair likes..not a plan.
I will never again not use moisturizing conditioners and only thin leave-ins. My hair loves moisture and stand alone thin condish don't work.
And I will never again use Totally Twisted. Don't like the smell of it and it did nothing for my hair. Sort of felt and smelled producty (if that's a word) to me. So I will be gifting that product for sure.
Shea butter/Products with shea butter is a no no for me my hair just doesn't respond well to it, co-washing regularly and relaxing for sure
I haven't had many "never again!" moments, but I will never again flat iron my own hair!
My "Never Again!" moment was raking Eco Styler through my hair. *shakes her head* *face palm*
i thought it was a good idea to try the avocado banana deep treatment *sigh* never the F again!! LOL my hair was moisturized…until i had to shampoo three times to get the residue out of my hair! i was left with straw!!! smh
I can not imagine relaxing my hair again. I have lost count of the number of times that I cut my hair due to the damage from a relaxer. I finally realized and accepted that my hair does not like relaxers. I big chopped in June 2010, and I love my hair. No more relaxers for me.
The other never again for me is shea butter. Products with shea butter make my hair feel very dry and hard. It always take a couple of shampoos and deep conditioning for my hair to recover after using a product with shea butter.
Yes, I used Paul Mitchell foaming pomade along with the Paul Mitchell conditioning mousse. Those products dry my hair out something terrible. My hair looks so pretty, but my hair rebels by not behaving properly for the next one or two washes.
I'll never use amla in my henna again. I was an idiot and took far too long to realize I was having an allergic reaction to it. I really was concerned about curl loosening side effect of henna, but I'm pretty sure the amla caused me to shed an excessive amount of hair, which resulted in thinning, especially around the hair at the nape of my neck. Never again. Just hoping that the damage isn't permanent.
Shelli
cowashing- more often than not leaves me with buildup on my scalp. The only time I do it is after I henna, and I'm doing it like 3-4 times with rubber gloves, which for some reason helps me get my scalp clean. *shrug*
my last flat ironing attempt- I decided to try someone else's method and wound up in a WORLD of trouble… I now have split ends, which is annoying, but also those darn bubble spits all the way up the hair shaft (except for the 1st 4 inches of hair)!! WHAT??? I don't know how long it's going to take to grow out all THAT damage.
cowashing… not for me -____-
straightening, i've only straightened my natural hair 3x but a section of my hair waves instead of curls and straightening loosened up the waves ALOT!
Bantu knots that was a huge fail for me!
With much sadness, I won't be doing a TNC anytime soon. After waiting patiently for 1.5 years after my BC, I tried it. My hair was cute the first day, but the second day, my ends were stick straight…NOT a good look.
cowashing! this led to buildup and to a VERY angry scalp…sweet lord, never again will I try that. My hair was fine with shampoo, i just thought that i "should" cowash only since that was what I heard was best. no no no, my scalp needs some gentle shampoo for sure
Vonnie
http://www.socialitedreams.com/
I jumped on the Dominican blowout bandwagon last month….BIG mistake for my curls. I'm STILL waiting for them to come back. I will never do it again. If I want straight hair, I'll just buy some.
Mini twists – I don't have the density/thickness to make this style work for me. Plus, as CN mentioned, it takes too damn long.
Braidouts – I tried again earlier this week just to be sure I wasn't blaming my first bad braidout on a bad product. My hair looked wonky, yet again.
Cowashing my scalp – Over time, this led to buildup, which led to flaking. I never really had anything against shampoos to begin with; I just wanted to hop on a bandwagon and joyride.
Cut my own hair – When money is tight, you do what you have to do, but it's not desirable.
I did the Cherry Lola Protein Treatment with Amino Acids. It dried out my hair like straw. I have thick curly strands that probably didn't need to protein boost, and the amino acids were just too much for my hair. That was 2 months ago. My hair still has not completely recovered, but it's well on the way to being moisturized again. It will be a loooooong time before I do a protein treatment again. I doubt I will ever use the Cherry Lola Method again.
This may sound cliche', but a relaxer. Not just any relaxer, though, but a bad relaxer that left me less than an inch of hair, scabs on my scalp, and thinning edges. I took the hint, rather the loud scream, and swore to never perm my hair again. That was in middle school, almost ten years ago. I have grown to love my natural hair. I also have seen the damage that heat can do to hair, and have said not ever, because I have not straigtened my hair, but have no plans to either.