Official Thread for Those with Afro-Hair Only - Ladies and Gents . .

I haven't found any answers chick. Hmmm maybe see how your hair feels, if its really horrid, then give it a good wash I say.

Had my hair done today and to my surprise my hairdressers were quite nice about me using my own stuff and etc. They also commented how thick my hair is and I asked if I had much breakage and one girl said nope none, apart from the usual dead/shed hair.
Going back Monday for a trim as not had it trimmed since April (I have a phobia of scissors and hairdressers) so I thought I better had.
And to my surprise - no burns! first time in ages - feels nice. Kinda proves to stretch the relaxers and use less products on the hair.

ORS olive oil sheen spray- would that count as braid spray?

Did mine on thursday and it didn't burn em either this time, it does 90% of the time especially as I have psoriasis. I was so surprised! The lady who does my hair only uses all the olive oil products though and I think they're pretty good, gonna buy myself some to use at home. She's the only person I trust with scissors next to my hair, i've worn it down everyday since thursday as it's so smooth and silky but still has just enough volume (the only time i'm glad to have really thick hair is when i've had it relaxed lol). Might do my first proper prepoo next week . Oh and I hadn't relaxed for about five months, which is probably pushing it a bit lol.

Hi everyone,

Why hadn't I seen this thread sooner?! Anyway, there's a really good discussion going on and loads of tips so thank you DancinBallerina for starting up this thread . I need to go back over this thread properly in my free time so I can pick up on all of the tips properly.

I'm a black girl of African origin and I love experimenting with my hair through different hairstyles. I've always been known as the girl since primary school who always changes her hairstyle. While I do understand the importance of looking after my hair whilst doing so, I feel as though I haven't been as careful over the past few years. My hair is fine though at the moment but I need to find definitive hair products which are suited for my hair because I do tend to change hair products now and again. And I would like a bit more growth rather than more thickness lol.

My hair is naturally incredibly thick and is currently just past my shoulders. I relax my hair because it makes it more manageable and if I didn't, I probably won't be able to run a comb through it properly lol. Although I could straighten my hair, it probably won't last long at all because even relaxing my hair doesn't last as long as it should do. I do go through long periods of not relaxing my hair. I'm actually going to do my hair tomorrow and it's approaching 4 months since I've retouched my hair. Over the past few years, I usually relax my hair or put my hair in cornrows or put my hair in a ponytail or put in tracks (tried a full hair weave and that was so uncomfortable, really doubt I'll ever be doing that again!). I haven't had single braids done in years and I don't plan to do so anymore because of the thick nature of my hair and it feels like a huge weight on my head.

I saw a few posts which don't recommend Dark and Lovely products. Does this refer to all products, the relaxer, hair creams etc? What exactly does the petroleum content do? I've always used Dark and Lovely relaxer and I've kept to it since I haven't really had any problems with it. And I started using the hair moisturizer for a little while. Products I usually use at the moment are African Pride Braid Sheen Spray, Pink Oil (sometimes), Ultra Sheen, Olive Oil products. I'm not too clued up on what to use exactly though so I'm hoping to do more research into different brands.

Does anyone have any recommendations of any really good hair moisturizers or creams for the scalp that they usually use or have discovered lately?

Hey Hey and welcome to the thread

No worries about the bit of info I have been posting - im still learning myself, so what im learning im offloading on here lol, but also do your own research too.

Right - Dark and Lovely hair products I don't use anymore as I found the so called moisturiser to be filled with this petrolatum rubbish which is no good for the hair (roots) or scalp. Why? because petrolatum is more like a product filler, hence why its soo glupey and greasy - instead of it actually oiling the scalp/moisturising, it in fact just sits on the scalp doing absolutely nothing.
I have a dandruff condition which doesn't like such products, infact my hair looks like I put salt in it (due to the big flakes), if I use products which have this crap in it and makes the condition on my scalp a lot worse.
So I basically started again from scratch, products wise and went with the brand ORS (Organic Roots Stimulator). So far I have noticed a big change in my hair and scalp, my hair doesn't feel horrible and heavy, the products aren't greasy and they also smell lovely. I however dont oil my scalp with any of the produts, I either use coconut oil, olive oil or castor oil to oil my scalp and my scalp loves this. The dandruff problem I have isn't as bad as before and I no longer itch my scalp til my head is red raw!

I was relaxing every 6weeks and I came to realise from reading forums and researching, that that infact was too soon after the previous relaxer. Everytime I went I also would get burnt very badly.
So I decided to stretch to 8-9weeks and the first time in a longgg time, my scalp didn't burn. The relaxer came out a lot better than it has done previously.
Are you experiencing any breakage since you've not relaxed for a while?. . . .

I have only recently started this new hair care routine and already I have had some good growth and my hair is nice and thick. Getting a trim tomorrow (as I havent trimmed since April), but im determined to look after my hair now and stop neglecting it.

Suggestions as to what products to use - the best thing I can suggest is do some research, look at the hair products that are on the market today and see what your hair condition is in, ie discovering whether your hair needs protein or moisture and so on. My recommendation is definately the ORS range, but that is what works for me, what works for me may not necessarily work for you so do take that into consideration.

I hope what i've said makes sense (I have a tendency to not make sense), but I have tried and do feel free to post anymore questions.

DB

Back from my travels. Loving the haircare shops in NYC but they weren't as cheap for everything as you'd think. The hairdressers were ridiculously cheap though. I was staying in Harlem so maybe thats why I got to see so many hairdressers!

I say we organise a TSR trip to NY for a hair pampering sesssion..