me and this hair of mine!

heyitsmefe

I’m 5 months into transitioning and I need some major help. I’m starting to get a lot of shedding hair and my hair is CONSTANTLY dry. Truthfully, I believe the shedding is because I not sure what kind of products I should be using moisturize my hair. My normal hair routine usually consists of me washing my hair every other week and on off weeks I have been condition washing it. Beyond washing I have been using natural shea butter, miss jessie’s [buylink=http://www.curlmart.com/Miss-Jessies-Baby-Buttercreme-p-575.html?utm_source=naturallycurly.com&utm_medium=text-link&utm_content=curltalk-post-text&utm_campaign=miss-jessies-baby-buttercreme]baby buttercreme[/buylink], Infusium 23, and Let’s JAM to smooth down my edges. I have not doing a lot of styling to my hair. I may flat iron once or twice a month but my normal styling routine is to either wrap it up at night (when flat ironed) or smooth my hair into a bun. I’m really not into braids—I tried about a month ago and I couldn’t stand it. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do to make this transition easier?

T_Curly08

I'm transitioning too. sorry to say, it may not be shedding, it may be breakage. I stopped chemicals, and then cut all my hair off shoulderlenght 8 months later. It still left some processed hair, but the overall condition was a lot better. It has not been easy to get used to the short hair, but it's worth it. So my advise. Big Chop. You'll see a difference.
One more thing, I find that the all natural products do not work well for processed hair. I've tried products both ways, and you can see their true worth when there are no chems in your hair.

cysyca

heyitsmefe wrote: »

I’m 5 months into transitioning and I need some major help. I’m starting to get a lot of shedding hair and my hair is CONSTANTLY dry. Truthfully, I believe the shedding is because I not sure what kind of products I should be using moisturize my hair. My normal hair routine usually consists of me washing my hair every other week and on off weeks I have been condition washing it. Beyond washing I have been using natural shea butter, miss jessie’s [buylink=http://www.curlmart.com/Miss-Jessies-Baby-Buttercreme-p-575.html?utm_source=naturallycurly.com&utm_medium=text-link&utm_content=curltalk-post-text&utm_campaign=miss-jessies-baby-buttercreme]baby buttercreme[/buylink], Infusium 23, and Let’s JAM to smooth down my edges. I have not doing a lot of styling to my hair. I may flat iron once or twice a month but my normal styling routine is to either wrap it up at night (when flat ironed) or smooth my hair into a bun. I’m really not into braids—I tried about a month ago and I couldn’t stand it. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do to make this transition easier?

Hello and welcome to the challenge of transitioning. I'm also transitioning (almost 7 months) and my advice is to give yourself a mini-chop (I cut about 4 inches of my hair). Also, you may want to check the products you're using but shea butter is a plus. For example, many NC's do not use products with mineral oil, petroleum, or silicones. Read forums 4a, 4b, and 3c for suggestions on products and tips.

Since my transition, I decided to do the no-poo method (but you have to clarify to remove cones, mineral oil, etc). Read the forum on CG (no shampoo). How long do you plan to transition before your big cut?

heyitsmefe

My last relaxer was in June and I'm trying to avoid doing the BC at least until the end of June '09.
Do you have any recommedations on conditioners I can use? Lately all I've been using is Pantene R&N shampoo and conditioners...along with the other products I mentioned. My biggest problem just tends to be how dry my hair gets especially around the crown area.

Is anyone running similar situations with dryness?

Naptural9ja

I agree that maybe you need to just cut a few inches. And maybe incorporate some kind of oil into your routine to seal the moisture in.

Suburbanbushbabe

If you're washing just every other week, then the shed you see may be normal. It's just been building up for 2 weeks.

Black Hoya Chick

All I have had in the 8 months I have been transitioning so far is a trim (about 1-2in.) once. Your hair just probably needs a bit more TLC. Have you tried cowashing more often? Are you using protective styling? I bun 99% of the time to avoid manipulating my hair in between cowashes (I cowash every 3 days). With all of this additional moisture my hair has been thriving. Oh and maybe you can take a multivitamin for overall health (hair included). I take One A Day Women's. In the last 2 months I have went from past shoulder length to APL. :toothy7:

sorry its so long...HTH!

heyitsmefe

Thanks everybody for the advice. I'm definately going to look into co-washing more often. As of lately I've only been doing it once a week- increasing it to 2 to 3 times a week will probably make a world of difference. Also, I've been trimming my hair (about an inch a month)...but seems like as soon as I trim it grows right back...LOL. I guess that's a good thing though

Thanks again everybody!

raven721m

Naptural9ja wrote: »

I agree that maybe you need to just cut a few inches. And maybe incorporate some kind of oil into your routine to seal the moisture in.

Yeah,ITA.
I heard that it's always good to trim your ends as you go.Also, you should think about cowashing with cheapie conditioners.I heard that Suave is a good brand to use too,btw.

Black Hoya Chick

raven721m wrote: »

Naptural9ja wrote: »

I agree that maybe you need to just cut a few inches. And maybe incorporate some kind of oil into your routine to seal the moisture in.

Yeah,ITA.
I heard that it's always good to trim your ends as you go.Also, you should think about cowashing with cheapie conditioners.I heard that Suave is a good brand to use too,btw.

I use 3 suave conditioners: suave naturals aloe and waterlily (leave-in conditioner), suave naturals daily clarifying conditioner (cowash-cleanse), and suave professionals healthy curls (cowash-detangle). they are inexpensive yet work just as good as the expensive brands. HTH