Dear HBS,PLEASE help me!! My hair is driving me nuts.. I have mixed curly hair -my dad brought the nappiness while my mom has softer s-type curls. My hair looks great while it's wet and is very long but when it dries it shrinks to tight small curls. The problem is that I have gone completely natural for these past years so my hair gets INCREDIBLY tangly. I've broken so many brushes, tried many products, and yeah they work for a while but my hair gets so
thirsty and dry two to three days later. I've resorted to wearing it regularly in a big curly bun and letting it be. Until I can solve this whole tangle dilemma I don't like doing my hair as much. I don't want to put a light relaxer in it, but I might because at least my hair was somewhat easier to manage. Oh and when I straighten it, it gets a bit puffy at the middle and ends.
Anyway, hope you are able to help me! :-)
Signed,
Curls R. Sad
13 comments:
My advice would be simply to slowly cut off all the tangled ends. I have recently discovered that kinky/curly hair needs to be moisturized daily. FYI, moisture = water, not oil. Spritzing is paramount. Also, you may need to spritz multiple times a day due to this uber-dry winter weather. If you live in a tropical climate, you can use glycerin in your spritz. If not use honey, yes honey. In an 8 oz bottle of water, you may want to use 1.5 teaspoons of honey or glycerin. If you use too much, your hair will get sticky. Too little and it won't work. If this is too complicated, try Leave ins by Carol's daughter, Blended Beauty, Oyin handmade, DevaCurl, Kinky-Curly or go old school with Sta-Sof-fro.
Since you are mixed, you may want to try Blended Beauty, Curls or Mixed Chicks products. They are made precisely for multiracial people.
I hope this helps!
Thanks Kinky Kandanke for the advice! I checked out both product lines' website and the Mixed Chicks line seems right up my ally.
I'll try something new again and hopefully this time my hair will be more manageable.
P.S to Wes-- the picture is RIGHT ON!! My hair looks very similar to the girl.
Firstly, I'm sorry your hair frustrates you so much. Do you twist and cover your hair at night? Do you use leave-in conditioners?
I've tried mixed checks, and it made my hair really hard. read some of the reiews on naturallycurly.com I dont think its a good product. I used it once, and basically have a whole big bottle left that will not be used.
I agree with Kinky Kandake about cutting the ends, having your ends free of tangles and splits will def make a big difference. I know my hair sound similar to yours and some things that have really made a difference are really focusing on my ends with moisterizer and sealing with oil on a regular basis and also I have started doing twistouts/twist n curls (the Curly Nikki/Wes way) and that way I avoid my hair being all tangled and I get nice uniformed looking curls. Like you said about your hair, my hair when wet is filled with such pretty long ringlets but as it dries it is a tangled shrunkin mess. I also love Kinku-Curl Knot today, it is a great leave-in and helped with detangling! Many blessings with your hair joruney!!
Hey Curls R Sad, Let's get them curls happy girl.
Check out Teri at http://www.tightlycurly.com/Welcome.aspx.
I think you'll like her style for your hair type.
I was just about to suggest the same thing as Kinky Rhonnie. Teri has a bunch of tips and tools for biracial hair.
Have you tried the crown and glory method? You basically section your hair into 4-6 braids prior to washing and wash your hair with the braids intact. Then take each braid down and apply conditioner and rebraid. Deep condition under heat then unbraid, detangle with Jilbere shower comb, rebraid each section, and then rinse with the braids intact. After that you can apply your styling creams/leave ins to each section and style as desired. I usually twist and curl the hair. I have been using this method on my sister and daughter for the past year and it really decreases the amount of tangles and hair loss.
I've discovered Elasta QP DPR-11 and unrefined coconut oil is the truth. I also use Jane Carter's Nourish and Shine. My daughter's hair is like the lady's in the picture so it gets dry and tangled without using this method.
There is so much knowledge out there. If you want to learn how to stay natural (and I mean learn!!) you have to take the initiative and go to sites such as naturallycurly, biracial.org etc. These are packed full of information for you to learn to style and manage your hair. I have to say that you also have to learn to like your hair, it shrinks, it always shrinks and it looks good
Hey all thanks for the tips. I've been doing reading and trying different products. The advice you all have given me is different for the most part and I'll try something new. I'd like to stay natural--my hair is healthier and fuller because of it. I think just having the tangles to deal with made things extra frustrating and painful.
And question what is this "twistouts/twist n curls (the Curly Nikki/Wes way) "? I was looking through the blog to find it. Haven't found the instructions yet. Sorry, but I need to be walked through doing hair stuff. My mom didn't like combing out and dealing with hair as much (she did it though) and I think I got her aversion to it too. :-)
Visit http://www.curlynikki.com/2008/10/as-promised-t-n-c-tutorial-is-here-d.html
She has since revised the products used but the method is still the same. She is actually answering Twist n curl questions all this week. Good luck and I hope you find something that works for your hair very soon :-)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
I have since taken the collective advice and my hair has not been the same!! The curls are more defined and seem healthier and happier. I can work my hair into different styles and am no longer considering a perm for right now!!
Thank you all SO MUCH!!
From Curls R Sad to HAPPY CURLY!!
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