so my hair is thick. when its not permed its almost too thick to comb. how do u take care of it? any short hairstyle suggestions?
African american hair question? Relax your hair every 6 to 8 weeks depending on your hair's needs. Do not relax your hair every time new growth appears. For one week following your relaxer, use a reconstructor instead of your regular conditioner when you wash your hair. Aphogee makes an excellent reconstructor and shampoo. After a week return to your regular shampoo and conditioner.
Wash and condition your hair every 4 to 5 days and at the most once a week. Try to use shampoo and conditioner designed for dry hair. Ultra Black Hair and Tresseme for damaged hair are excellent conditioners. Rarely if ever use a towel or a blow dryer to dry your hair. Instead, to prevent damage, air dry the hair, separating it with your fingers as it dries. Or you can allow it to dry undisturbed then comb with a large tooth comb (this will keep the volume down).
It is best to avoid using heat to dry your hair, however, if you prefer heat, then avoid hand held dryers. Use a hood dryer instead. With repeated usage, all hair dryers will damage and dry-out your hair, but the hood type will not damage it as quickly. The hair should be completely dry before you use a curling or flat iron on it.
When using a curling iron to style your hair, do not allow the barrel cover to clamp down on your hair. Hold the barrel cover slightly open and allow the hair to move over the curling iron barrel without the tugging and pulling caused by pressure from the barrel cover. Whenever the barrel cover clamps down on your hair it creates a weak point at which breakage is inevitable.
Never use hair oil on relaxed hair. Hair oil was designed for natural hair, and its usage on relaxed hair is the major reason African American hair breaks off at such an alarming rate. If your hair is well conditioned you won't need any oil at all. If you do prefer some oil, rub a small amount in the palms and spread lightly through the hair. Keep in mind excessive oil will make your hair stiff and because it cannot move naturally it will break off (especially if you do not wash it frequently). If you choose to use oil, it is best to wash it off within a few days.
Use as little heat as possible with your hair as heat can only do more damage. Its ok to style your hair with a curling iron, however a rollerset is the best method with either a large or small curler depending on the size you want. If you use curlers at night be sure to tie them down to keep them from moving as you sleep. If the curlers are allowed to move as you sleep, it will weaken the roots and the hair will fall out from the roots.
Alternate between cold and heated styling. If you use a curling iron one day, set your hair with rollers the next day. This will help to minimize heat damage.
Although water based moisturizers are best for relaxed hair, never apply them close to the roots. If you have longer hair, leave about 4 to 6 inches of clean hair between your roots and the moisturizer. For shorter hair apply it at the ends. This will prevent the hair from becoming tangled at the roots. Ultra Black Hair Lotion Creme is an excellent moisturizer. You can also try Dudley's PCA Moisture Retainer to see if it works for your hair.
Drink plenty of water daily and check your hair's moisture level every day. To test your hair's moisture level, follow these simple steps:
First, Gently hold some of your hair in your hand. If your hair is cool to the touch and feels silky, it is clean, well conditioned and you are drinking adequate amounts of water. If your hair is warm to the touch, oily or dry like paper it is in need of cleaning, conditioning and you should increase your water intake.
Second, shake your head gently. If your hair bounces and moves easily it is clean, well conditioned and you are drinking enough water. If your hair does not move at all, the moisture level is very low. It is time to wash and condition your hair and increase your water intake.
Third, comb your hair gently. If there is no hair on the comb or on your clothing the moisture level is good. If there is hair on the comb or on your clothing, your hair's moisture level is very low. Wash and condition your hair as soon as you get the chance and increase your water intake. You might also want to avoid using heated styling instruments for a few days.
It is important to condition your hair often, however, when it is close to the time for you to get a touch up of your relaxer, the roots or your hair will be very dense and it will be difficult to properly rinse the conditioner out at the roots. Because hair will break off if conditioner is not properly rinsed away, you can do the following when your roots are very dense. Place 50% conditioner and 50% very hot water in a container and stir it until it becomes the consistency of shampoo. Once the mixture cools use it as you normally would. It will easily rinse from your roots. Do not use the diluted conditioner more than once or twice as it will not properly condition your hair. Get your touch up as soon as you get the chance and once your roots are straightened, return to using the conditioner full strength.
Find a good moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Use the one particular to your hair type. For instance, if your hair is dry...choose a dry hair brand. If your hair is colored choose a brand for color care. Choose products with alot of natural ingredients. On African American hair, mineral oils and synthetic materials weigh the hair down and cause it to be brittle. Aphogee shampoo and and reconstructor are excellent about $9.00 a bottle. #Black hair can get very dry, so moisture is key when nursing your hair back to health. Try Elsta Mango Butter, Profective line, or Organic Root Stimulator products, all of whcih can be found at your local Walmart or pharmacy. If you have a little more money to spend you could either try the Ultra Black Hair, Cr猫me of Nature line or the Mane and Tail Deep Moisturizing line.
Decide how often you are going to shampoo and deep condition your hair. The once a month myth is sure to make your hair break off. You will want to shampoo and condition every 2 to 4 days, your hair will like that. If your hair is ok with that and you want to try every day, go ahead and see if that works for you. But 2 to 4 days is ideal. But you must listen to your hair!
Decide if you want to use "grease" in your hair. If it鈥檚 oily it could affect your skin and break you out, if it's heavy then your hair won鈥檛 hold whatever style you are planning on wearing because the oil is weighing your hair down. You could also use Virgin Olive Oil. This oil is a great product for your hair because it鈥檚 natural and doesn鈥檛 have all those sulfates, sodium鈥檚, and preservatives in them that some people鈥檚 hair can鈥檛 handle too well. It also gives your hair a nice shine with out it being too oily.
Moisturize your ends and keep them moisturized so they don鈥檛 split.
If you use heat on your hair, try and cut it down to once a week if you can and make sure you use a heat protectant on your hair before flat ironing or curling. Hold the barrel cover slightly open so the hair simply passes over the barrely without being tugged and pulled by the barrel cover when you use the curling iron. If you absoulutly must use oil when you use your curling iron, dab on a very, very, extremly tiny amount of Optimum Oil Therapy 3-in-1 Crem茅 and it won't leave your hair oily. A picture of this is also attached.
Make sure you tie your hair up before you go to bed with a Satin or Silk scarf. You can get them at Wal-Mart for cheap. You can also get a satin bonnet for when you have curls in your hair. Satin pillowcases are good for those nights when you just don鈥檛 feel like putting your hair up in a scarf. This prevents the hair from tearing and snagging and ultimately breaking off while you sleep. Also use jojoba, tea tree, olive, castor oil etc.
As for short Hair styles there are bobs, spiral curls with twists in the front, or possibly a weave that is cut short.
African american hair question? We use relaxers not perms, there is a difference. This is what you can use BB mositurizer, S Curl, Carefree Gold, Surge 14, those are moisturizers and then oil your hair, with wildhairgrowth, jojoba, tea tree, olive, castor oil or anyother.
Avoid products lanolin, mineral, petroleum.
You can wear braids, bantu, two strands twists, coils or afo puffs. Embrace your natural and watch it grow if you take care of it.
After washing do all the treatment then do about 5 or 6 braids for that night and undo in the morning. No brushing and try not to comb your hair. Do deep conditioning with olive replenish pak or mayonnaise.
Your hair loves to be moist. I wash my hair sometimes 4 or 5 times a week.
