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happy 4b
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Topic: no progress Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 2:06pm |
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I have been natural for 3 years and my hair is just shoulder length. I know everyone's hair grows differently but I am way behind. There is nothing going on internally. I am always protective styling mostly cornrows under wigs. I have been doing a weekly regimen for most of my regimen. Shampoo, deep conditioner, leave in. Protein when necessary. Recently i started doing acv rinses because my hair is high porosity. (soaks water, drys quickly) helped a little bit. Right now I use diluted tresemme natural shampoo with aritha powder. I deep condition with crece pelo, and moisturize with donna marie buttercreme.
I never get that feeling that my deep conditioner worked even though I have tried so many different brands.
Sorry for the long post.
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momentoindigo
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 2:17pm |
Try Aubrey Organics conditioners. I love them. The white camellia ultra smoothing one and the gpb one. My hair is always the softest and smoothest when using those and the ingredients are awesome.
My hair is the same way. It just grows incredibly slow. I think it's just my grow rate. I have been natural for 11 years now... and my hair isn't even MBL. It breaks if you just look at it wrong. And only grows about 1/8 inch a month or less. I only have a third of an inch of growth after 3 months based on my temp dye line this time last year.
Sometimes that's just how things are.
Do you eat a well balanced diet and exercise often? Drink lots of water? Take supplements/vitamins? Protect it at night with satin cap/bonnet?
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maysay1
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 2:42pm |
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I know you said there's nothing going on internally, but if you eat a lot of processed, sugary, or otherwise "unhealthy" foods, your hair may not be growing at its optimal rate. Vitamin D is also an issue for a lot of people. And, if you're on any medication, that could be an issue.
Your products...shampoo mixed with aritha...aritha is really strong. I would only use a mix like that rarely, certainly not every week. I don't know what's in crece pelo but I know most dominican conditioners have silicones in them and your hair may be the type that can't handle them.
You should also look at your techniques so that you are retaining as much as possible. Are you really gentle when handling your hair? Are your tools good quality? Do you use enough conditioner/moisturizer to make your hair slippery and easy to detangle? (I find a lot of people are stingy with product...but I think if it saves me from breaking my hair, I'll use a whole bottle of something if necessary) Do you keep your hair stretched in order to avoid tangles? Do you remove shed hair before washing to avoid tangles? Wash in sections? Wash your hair while it's braided? Are you moisturizing often enough? Some people can go a week...some need to moisturize every day. Is your moisturizer really working for you? Are you using the right type of moisturizer for your hair? (For example, liquid moisturizers don't work for me and neither do lotions...I need something with viscous...almost like a gel but still liquid enough to spread easily.) Do you cover your hair at night? Some people don't need to, others do. Especially if you keep your heat or fan blowing.
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rell85
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 4:22pm |
im a slow grower myself been natural 5 years the longest my hiar was 15in that was in june of last year after the cut it was 9in last nite happen to check it's only at 11in kinda does hurt when you see people that only been at for 2 years and thier hair is way pass yours. to get better results with your deep conditioning use heat it works wonder hang in there it'll grow takes time but worth it when you reach your goal.
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happy 4b
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 5:00pm |
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There is so much information here.
@maysay this week would be my first time using aritha. I finger detangle on dry hair,maybe I will start prepooing.
My strands are also extremely fine. I always wear a silk scarf at night.
As far as moisturizing I have to admit I wasn't great with that. But I am going to start doing it twice daily.
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momentoindigo
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 6:07pm |
i deep condition and pre pooing with my heating cap. it helps my hair, which is super fine too. it's felt stronger and thicker since i've been using it once/twice a week now. i also do black tea rinses to keep my hair strong.
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happy 4b
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 7:08pm |
momentoindigo wrote:
i deep condition and pre pooing with my heating cap. it helps my hair, which is super fine too. it's felt stronger and thicker since i've been using it once/twice a week now. i also do black tea rinses to keep my hair strong.<div id="isChromeWebToolbarDiv" style="display:none">
| I use a hand dryer attachment to deep condition. I think I will change my deep conditioner.
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maysay1
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 7:11pm |
happy 4b wrote:
There is so much information here.
@maysay this week would be my first time using aritha. I finger detangle on dry hair,maybe I will start prepooing.
My strands are also extremely fine. I always wear a silk scarf at night.
As far as moisturizing I have to admit I wasn't great with that. But I am going to start doing it twice daily. |
If you're going to prepoo I suggest doing it with coconut oil. Coconut oil penetrates the strands and helps the hair retain protein which means 1)your hair will retain its strength and 2)your hair will be able to retain moisture much better. I suggest you continue finger detangling but with conditioner. My surefire way to detangle is to take a small section, drench it with conditioner, and then detangle. When I say drench with conditioner, I mean DRENCH. Sometimes I use a whole bottle of V05 (one of the best for just detangling). Remember to go slowly. Also, if you already have coconut oil on your hair, that mixed with the conditioner will make your hair slippery. For moisturizing, the hard part is figuring out what kind of moisturizer works best for you. One of the reasons I don't like lotion or butter type moisturizers is because they don't spread as easily and are too sticky which causes my strands to break while I'm trying to cover all of them with the moisturizer. And don't be stingy here either...use more than you think you need for a while and see how your hair feels.
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happy 4b
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Posted: Jan 31 2013 at 8:36pm |
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Thanks so much everyone. I got a tip on youtube to use ph balanced leave in going to try that this weekend. @Maysay I just ordered some coconut oil. Also going to try yogurt as a DC because I have literally tried everything else. Will report back.
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modelbusiness82
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Posted: Feb 02 2013 at 1:23am |
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How is your water intake? And are you taking any vitamins?
As
someone else said, if you're not noticing breakage or high shedding,
then you might want to think about what you're putting in your body as
well.
Also are you moisturizing regularly? I use the LOC method.
It's easy for my hair to get dry - especially because for at least half
of the year, I'm PS'ing. So I keep a moisture mix of aloe vera
juice/water/MSM/essential oils and I spritz my hair throughout the day
as needed. I also seal with my homemade shea/mango butter mix as well.
I
also do the GHE/baggy method as well since moisture retention is the
biggest issue. Dry brittle hair = hair that doesn't grow.
I
can't really speak to product as I tend to only use all natural products
on my actual hair. I use bentonite clay (Terressentials) to wash,
natural oils to moisturize and homemade flaxseed gel to set my twists
when I do wear my hair out...plus monthly henna rinses. I found my hair
began to thrive when I switched to natural products.
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