HELP! Any one have this type of hair?

ziggystardust67

I have a major love-hate relationship with my hair. Sometimes it surprises me with a cute outcome and then other times I just don't want to walk out the door. I've been natural since around May or July last year so my one year natural anniversary is coming up. I've been looking on the internet trying to find others with my hair type and have been very unsuccessful. I can't wear hair puffs too much because my hair likes to stick up. I usually have to put it in twist outs and bantu knots to keep the thing down. Otherwise, I'll end up looking like "Bob" from The Simpsons.:banghead:. My self-esteem has been greatly affected by my natural hair. Perhaps, I'm not using the right products or something (the expensive products are out of my budget). I currently use palmers olive oil shampoo (great conditioning shampoo) and aussie conditioner.

After I wash my hair, I can usually pull off not putting leave-in conditioner in it because it is already conditioned and "tamed" with the washing conditioner. Usually after 3-4 days, I'll moisturize it with water, shea butter leave in conditioning repair cream, and seal it in with whatever oil I have hanging around. If I put it in twists outs and bantu knots, I currently style it with the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. Lately, I've just been doing no-product flat twist outs.My favorite hairstyles, so far, have been twists, bantu knot outs and flat twist outs with product. I haven't used any heat in my hair so far, other than being under the hair dryer for 5 minutes with an attempted roller set. I also use tea tree oil and coconut oil for my dry scalp. If anyone shares a similar hair type to mine or can offer any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, I'd love to know if anyone has any tips for a more smooth looking hair puff (because my hair likes to stick up as mentioned before) and any tips on how to keep my hair laying down.

The forum won't let me post any pictures or links so I'll try it this way. You can get any idea of how my hair looks at the following link.
thefrugalnaturalista.blogspot.com

Thanks in advance, everyone!

Blueblood

You need to embrace the fact that your hair defies gravity.

It actually sounds really cool I'm going on my laptop now to have a look at your blog.

Blueblood

Yep your hair is cool

I'm now seeing if I can find your product ingredients.

Blueblood

OK what I found is this -

Olefin Sulfonate is as harsh and as irritating as SLS. THE NATURAL HAVEN: Are sulfate free shampoos really gentler?

So you may want to change your regular shampoo to something less irritating and use the Palmers once a month to get rid of any build up from the products that contain shea butter.

This may explain why you have an irritated scalp and need to put oil on it.

BTW if you want your hair to stay the way you put it try using an alcohol free gel like the ecostyler gels with the stronger hold. Though you will need to use a leave-in moisturiser before using them.

ziggystardust67

Thanks for the reply, Blueblood. I used to use ecostyler but it dries my hair out (even when I put a leave in conditioner in it beforehand). I'm gonna do some research on some similar gels. :tongue8:

gagirl09

You may want to look into making flaxseed gel and you can add essential oils to it. Sheamoisture came out with a type of gel but go easy on how much you apply. Also sometimes you have to arrange you hair a little bit for that one errant hair that won't lay just right (or use a bobby pin). If you want a defined look most of the time, for me I have to use some type of butter or heavier or more oily cream. Lightweight puddings or lightweight leave-ins plus water I only use when I want a fluffy look. Also maybe a shaped cut will help with the Sideshow Bob dilemma. Many of us will bemoan how our hair does the mullet thing and what some ladies do is get their hair shaped to prevent this look.

gagirl09

Also with the straighter looking ends sometimes what i do is do a light mist of water on my hair and then do a little pat on the ends and it curls in.

ziggystardust67

I really like the flaxseed gel suggestion and will do some research on naturals shaping their hair.

JoJoFree

Regarding the shampoo, if you love near a Trader Joes, the Tea Tree Tingle shampoo and conditioner are great and both are less than $3.