Hello!

CATalpa

Hi new girl here! Just wanted to say hi! Found the site thanks to Subbrock and her lovely hair. Just looked at a few other albums and all the hair is lovely!!! I dont want to say who incase i miss some but what i have seen is absoulutly stunning.

Anyways I dont know what my hair type is, is that important? Its very curly but some small patches are not- over here(UK) i get called coolie, not sure if you all use that expresion a lot??

My hair is in a very bad state- i dont really take an interest in it, im thinking to cut alot of it off and get it healtly from then, is that a good idea? It is currently on my shoulders, but length is not important to me cos more time i wear it up anyways.

I dont really do nothin special with it, just slick it up with what ever i can find and go(grease&water, any mega hold gel- all the things that i have now read on here that are bad :shock: in a desperate attempt to smooth it back when i was caught without gel ive even used vaseline
:shock: :shock: :shock: ), i wash/condition it every week or every two weeks, am i missing anything?


I would like to do a photo album but im at university right now so i wont really have the time to do all that, maybe i post a pic of my progress from time to time?!?

Anyways im off to learn more from you guys! Any tips and recommendations will be appreciated
C

bubbles76

I don't think you necessarily have to cut it off first. Maybe what your hair really needs is moisture. I would first condition it more often, after every shampoo and maybe deep condition every week. You say your hair is in bad shape, but what does that mean really? Is it dry? Breaking off? Shedding? Split ends? Dandruff? Are you relaxed trying to transition? Never been relaxed? What exactly are your hair issues and what products are you using?

I don't think we use the term coolie over here, at least I haven't heard of it. What does it mean?

CATalpa

bubbles76 wrote:

I don't think you necessarily have to cut it off first. Maybe what your hair really needs is moisture. I would first condition it more often, after every shampoo and maybe deep condition every week. You say your hair is in bad shape, but what does that mean really? Is it dry? Breaking off? Shedding? Split ends? Dandruff? Are you relaxed trying to transition? Never been relaxed? What exactly are your hair issues and what products are you using?

I don't think we use the term coolie over here, at least I haven't heard of it. What does it mean?

coolie-Its like black and indian (i think)
My hair, is splitting nuff, and a few areas are breaking off, this is specifically the areas that are not as curly, my hair is not relaxed. My hair feels quite dry, but doesent look it, i use grease grease and more grease- the ultra sheen ones and water, a few oils (jasmine, castor) any and every type of gel and thats it!!!
I use any shampoo and conditioner- no special ones they have some of the bad ingrediants, ive just been reading on the 3c information thread and a few others about the shampooing with conditioner- i might give that a try tonight but the conditioner i have has mineral oil in it so im going to go to the shop now!
Any other suggestions or questions, please let me know???!!

Amneris

Welcome!

First off, coolie can be seen as a rude word sometimes - who are these people who go around saying it? Trinidadians say it to mean people of Indian descent and it connotates being "country" usually. It doesn't mean black and Indian, because the word for that is "dougla." It means straight Indian.

As to the rest of your questions, ultra sheen and castor oil didn't moisturize my hair that well. Different hair reacts to different oils differently - mine loves olive oil, hates jojoba oils, so you might want to try different ones.

As to split ends, every month I "seek and destroy" and trim off any splits I see - the longer you leave them, the worse they get. And be careful about slicking your hair up tightly all the time - that can cause breakage and a receding hairline - it puts a lot of stress on the hair. Try to pull it back loosely and vary the part and the position on your head.

CATalpa

Amneris wrote:

Welcome!

First off, coolie can be seen as a rude word sometimes - who are these people who go around saying it? Trinidadians say it to mean people of Indian descent and it connotates being "country" usually. It doesn't mean black and Indian, because the word for that is "dougla." It means straight Indian.

.

My bad sweety, that word gets used on a regular on the ends- not as a negative, i am of indian decent, my parents are part indian hence why i said black and indian in my original post- didnt mean to cause offence (saying that though my mum hates the term, especially how all the youngers are saying it now like its nothin) As i have been born and bred in london, the [i]real [/i]meaning of such words are lost on me and alot of the people who use it, in england we talk alot of slang, (well a lot of the black youths in london) like jamaicain pigeon. Once again no offence ment :P :P :P :P i hope none was taken!

Reading on here i feel like an idiot, all of the things i use on here would be frowned upon- :? Well, im learning i suppose!!

Amneris

Catalpa, I'm not offended, don't worry. I was born and grew up in London too - and in North America we have our own issues, like people using the N-word as a slang (you hear it all over Toronto and I heard it constantly in NYC as well.) So, your parents are Indian and Black? Where are they from, Trinidad? Or Guyana? I am a Trini.

CATalpa

Amneris wrote:

Catalpa, I'm not offended, don't worry. I was born and grew up in London too - and in North America we have our own issues, like people using the N-word as a slang (you hear it all over Toronto and I heard it constantly in NYC as well.) So, your parents are Indian and Black? Where are they from, Trinidad? Or Guyana? I am a Trini.

Cool. My family are mixed up!!!! Guyanese, dominican, english/irish a lot that i cant even be bothered to type. I just say black unless someone asks, its easier that way

So you were bought up on the ends!! Where abouts did you live? I live in South London.

Your hair is lovely by the way!!

Amneris

CATalpa wrote:

Amneris wrote:

Catalpa, I'm not offended, don't worry. I was born and grew up in London too - and in North America we have our own issues, like people using the N-word as a slang (you hear it all over Toronto and I heard it constantly in NYC as well.) So, your parents are Indian and Black? Where are they from, Trinidad? Or Guyana? I am a Trini.

Cool. My family are mixed up!!!! Guyanese, dominican, english/irish a lot that i cant even be bothered to type. I just say black unless someone asks, its easier that way

So you were bought up on the ends!! Where abouts did you live? I live in South London.

Your hair is lovely by the way!!

Thank you! I lived in Wimbledon and in Bayswater when I was in London. And I am from a mixed Creole family too, on both sides!

CATalpa

Amneris wrote:

CATalpa wrote:

Amneris wrote:

Catalpa, I'm not offended, don't worry. I was born and grew up in London too - and in North America we have our own issues, like people using the N-word as a slang (you hear it all over Toronto and I heard it constantly in NYC as well.) So, your parents are Indian and Black? Where are they from, Trinidad? Or Guyana? I am a Trini.

Cool. My family are mixed up!!!! Guyanese, dominican, english/irish a lot that i cant even be bothered to type. I just say black unless someone asks, its easier that way

So you were bought up on the ends!! Where abouts did you live? I live in South London.

Your hair is lovely by the way!!

Thank you! I lived in Wimbledon and in Bayswater when I was in London. And I am from a mixed Creole family too, on both sides!

So you were a South girl aswell!

Anyways im off to buy a cheap conditioner without mineral oil, how do you all rate the v05 ones that smell fruity?? They are the only ones that i recognise on here that i have seen in a shop near me!
Well ill soon find out

subbrock

hey! its good to see you here....

i think you should get a good trim (or BC if youre bold enough), clarify, and do a deep treatment to start off with. look around the site for some good at home recipes!

CATalpa

subbrock wrote:

hey! its good to see you here....

i think you should get a good trim (or BC if youre bold enough), clarify, and do a deep treatment to start off with. look around the site for some good at home recipes!

Hey girl, i went to visit family yesterday, and a few of them have BC'd but they felt a way by having short hair.....so i chopped aswell yesterday so we can all experiance this together!!
I dont know what came over me but i just well, cut :?: , i like it, it looks instantly healthier, curlier an fuller. 8) I just hope i can maintain a head of healthy hair propperly.

I did a co wash yesterday, but im not sure on if it made a difference, i used vo5 blushin apples conditioner, it was the only one that had moisurizing written on it so i bought it- i sprayed my hair with a mixture of water and olive+castor oil as these are the only things that i have that dont have any of these bad ingrediants- Im going to go out shopping for hair products propperly tomorrow, im going to look out for that cactus leave in from shygirls post, i hope i can find it!!!

bubbles76

Congrats on the big chop girl!! It seems that you are doing well so far with your hair. If you are still going to shampoo, stay away from shampoos with sulfates. Also, don't just go by what the advertising says. Check out the ingredients, and make sure there are moisturizing ingredients there. Cheapie conditioners that have worked for some people are Suave Aloe, VO5 Strawberries and Cream, Suave Peaches and Cream, basically any Suave or VO5. If you are trying to avoid proteins, though, steer clear of the Suave Milk and Honey and Suave Coconut. And make sure you keep those ends extra moisturized!

HTH.

subbrock

yay! good for you catalpa! youre well on your way to being a healthy curly girl!