[La Trampa]

(Original post by Rokit)
I am going to be blunt. You either have to ensure you retouch any new growth or you dont use relaxers at all. If you leave your hair for that amount of time it is going to break pretty badly because you will be trying to do the same thing to processed and unprocessed hair

If you are unsure of what you want to do with your hair for the meantime and debating whether or not to stay relaxed or go natural then I suggested you put your hair in micro braids/twists

I have to disagree with the first bit. I only retouch my hair once in 3-6months, more 3 months and it doesn't break at all. Since I've started doing this my hair has been better.

[DancinBallerina]

Does anyone know of any websites that sell afro hair products that are reasonably priced and have a reasonable p&p price?

Im finding the websites that so say they are cheap, but when I go to check out - p&p is £4+ . . bumping up my bill to sometihng ridiculous.

Where I live getting hair products is like gold dust and when they are available, they are over priced - if i go to Birmingham or London its cheap as chips!

[La Trampa]

where do you live?
if you like, i can get you all the stuff from my local market and post it to you or i could go search for websites..wouldn't know where to start though lol
did you check the nappturality website? their product list isn't made up of afro products only, some of the stuff you can get in boots/supermarkets and work great.

[Millie B]

My mom grew out the relaxer in just about 2 years, she kept canerowing it, and now she has it pressed. Pressing last for a month with my moms hair, but then again her hair is really pretty and could pass as jamaican indian as it's really limp and long. My hair is of a similar quality, but thicker and has a lot of movement when i put it in one, however having natural hair which i recently bleached (streaks) can be a pain in the mornings. I do recommend twisting it though.

[Indigo_Water]

(Original post by DancinBallerina)
Well I just want to stop relaxing or increase stretching time in between - Im currently relaxing every 6weeks. I treat/steam my own hair because my hairdressers costs too much and I dont think what they are charging is worth it - all they do is scratch the scalp, put hair mayonnaise on it and shove me under the steamer for 20mins, take me out, wash and style.

Im currently in the process of changing all my hair products as the current one's I have, all have that petrolatum rubbish which actually apparently clogs the hair follicles and it makes sense why im suffering so badly with the dandruff and why my hair won't grow.
I have decided to try the Organic Africas Best and Organic Roots Stimulator products and so far, a product which I found in the hair stash has been alright and a green oil my mum applies to my scalp - both have been good.

As for the braids - am afraid after watching Jamelia on her travels as to where false hair comes from, that option is off my list, the buns - I have my hair in a bun now and then due to dancing (Ballet), but not often - I usually have it up if I have my dandruff problem or I have it down when my hair is nice and clean.

What products are you using? . . .

Protective hairstyles vary greatly and they're very good for the hair, as it means you're not putting too much stress on the scalp. By using them more often, you should see growth. I use sulphur spray (it's a spray in a yellow container) which is meant to be good to avoid flakes and dry scalp; I also use Castor oil (great for thickness, even though my hair is pretty thick). I would suggest relaxing your hair every eight weeks to prevent over-processing. I think six is a little too close for touch ups.

By the way, whilst the petroleum may be a factor as to why your hair doesn't seem to be growing, take into consideration things such as friction. If you wear your hair down, it will rub against your clothes causing breakage; I also recommend, moisturising the ends of your hair well and placing it in a bun/ponytail and wrapping a plastic bag over it, at night. It locks in the moisture well and protects your ends. Also, protein treatments are great for relaxed hair.

[DancinBallerina]

(Original post by Indigo_Water)
Protective hairstyles vary greatly and they're very good for the hair, as it means you're not putting too much stress on the scalp. By using them more often, you should see growth. I use sulphur spray (it's a spray in a yellow container) which is meant to be good to avoid flakes and dry scalp; I also use Castor oil (great for thickness, even though my hair is pretty thick). I would suggest relaxing your hair every eight weeks to prevent over-processing. I think six is a little too close for touch ups.

By the way, whilst the petroleum may be a factor as to why your hair doesn't seem to be growing, take into consideration things such as friction. If you wear your hair down, it will rub against your clothes causing breakage; I also recommend, moisturising the ends of your hair well and placing it in a bun/ponytail and wrapping a plastic bag over it, at night. It locks in the moisture well and protects your ends. Also, protein treatments are great for relaxed hair.

I use to use that sulphar medicated stuff in my hair . . felt like my hair was on fire lol, the medicated stuff clearly working! lol
I was on a forum last night and the advice of glycerin and coconut oil and some water, apparently is good!

There are sooo many things to try. lol spoilt for choice.

See I always use to have my hair up, but then I was told to not wear it up all the time because it breaks! . . . , but I can understand why though its best up, to avoid the friction from clothes when the hair is down, like you said.
My ends are quite dry and brittle too, they are awful in fact , just really straggly and not soft at all. I was thinking of trimming the ends and starting the whole growing process from then . . . . hmmmm.

Will definately take on board what you've suggested though - infact I'll stake on board everyone's methods/advice and see how I get on.

[Indigo_Water]

Yeah, the sulphur spray is really good I like the smell too, strangely enough! I say it's trial and error... experiment and see what works best for you. Give your ends a trim and try the method with plastic bag, I mentioned and your ends should look healthier

[Indigo_Water]

(Original post by Rokit)
It is no different for natural afro hair as it is to white hair. Constantly manipulating any hair type especially with pulling/yanking does not help the growth process at all. Afro hair is dry and using dryers/heat straighteners on it without proper protection is just going to cause it to snap and break. The number of my friends black and white who have thinning patches on their crowns due to overuse of GHD's is rather scary

Afro hair is the most fragile hair type, as durable as it looks. If this were not the case, there would be plenty of people with afro hair, walking around with hair to their backs. The reason why people with locks are able to grow their hair to such lengths is primarily due to the fact, they are not placing it under stressful conditions.

[DancinBallerina]

(Original post by La Trampa)
where do you live?
if you like, i can get you all the stuff from my local market and post it to you or i could go search for websites..wouldn't know where to start though lol
did you check the nappturality website? their product list isn't made up of afro products only, some of the stuff you can get in boots/supermarkets and work great.

Awww - well im going to Birmingham hopefully end of the month (after much nagging to my mum). If my mum changes her mind and I still don't get there, I will give you a shout

[Mutinta]

(Original post by La Trampa)
for relaxing/straightening: organic roots stimulator's kit and ghds.

Out of interest, which ghds do you use? I had the salon styler a couple of years back but I didn't really look after my hair back then (I don't have contact with my dad's family so I've had to learn how to care for my hair myself - and I'm still learning) so it didn't really do much. However now I've got much better so I'm looking for new straightners. Do you have the salon styler which is recommended for afro hair or the normal ones? And exactly how good are they? Are they worth the £100?

(Original post by DancinBallerina)
Does anyone know of any websites that sell afro hair products that are reasonably priced and have a reasonable p&p price?

Im finding the websites that so say they are cheap, but when I go to check out - p&p is �4+ . . bumping up my bill to sometihng ridiculous.

Where I live getting hair products is like gold dust and when they are available, they are over priced - if i go to Birmingham or London its cheap as chips!

I use rootsandsculpture for any products I can't get at the shop that's near my salon. They're P+P is £2.95 but that is the same, no matter how much you buy. I really like it because it was set up to deal with the problem of getting afro-hair care products in the UK. And if they're missing something you want, just tell them and they'll try to get it.

[gooner1991]

I don't know whether to relax my hair or not..
Has anyone had any severe problems with relaxing their hair? My mum tries to scare me out of doing it by saying my hair will fall out and I'll get really bad dandruff etc.

Any advice?

[La Trampa]

If your hair isn't manageable,and I used to have hair that broke combs, then I'd recommend relaxing, but only once in a while. It doesn't do much for your help except break it down and make it even more fragile.

Mutinta, I have the salon stylers - the big plates recommended for afro hair. I live away from family as well so don't do much with my hair. So once in 2 weeks, I use my ghds with thermal hair protectings spray and it leaves my hair straight and very manageable compared to if i'd just blow dried it or let it air dry.

[DancinBallerina]

(Original post by Mutinta)
I use rootsandsculpture for any products I can't get at the shop that's near my salon. They're P+P is £2.95 but that is the same, no matter how much you buy. I really like it because it was set up to deal with the problem of getting afro-hair care products in the UK. And if they're missing something you want, just tell them and they'll try to get it.

Ahhh I have browsed on there before, but it just appears that the hair products I want ie Kercare, ORS and Africa's Best are quite expensive. In terms of p&p its a lot cheaper than other websites I have been visiting.

How quick are they on their delivery? . .

[DancinBallerina]

Right - curious and tad random, but the Jamaican 200m Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell Brown has nice hair HOWEVER my mum seems to think its false/weave and I think its her own hair.

What do you guys think? . . . here are a few piccies of her

Picture one

Picture two
(she is the one in the middle)

Picture three

[La Trampa]

it's a weave

[DancinBallerina]

(Original post by La Trampa)
it's a weave

I'm going to sound really daft now, but how can you tell? . . .

4years ago in the Athens Olympics, she had bob hair, so I was thinking god that is some growing and then my mum says ''its weave, no black person's hair can grow so fast in 4years . . .''

Here's another few:

Picture one

Picture two

Picture three

[La Trampa]

picture 2, see how her hair line is receeding then all of a sudden you get huge hair?
you see her now, how her hair sticks out and the rest of it lays flat? (picture 3 is good for that)
the texture in the bob looks more 'afro' like than the texture of the long hair.
plus like your mom said, hair can't grow that long so quick,and if it did, it'd grow evenly.
also, the whole point of a good weave is so that everyone thinks it's natural and hers looks pretty close to natural.

[DancinBallerina]

(Original post by La Trampa)
picture 2, see how her hair line is receeding then all of a sudden you get huge hair?
you see her now, how her hair sticks out and the rest of it lays flat? (picture 3 is good for that)
the texture in the bob looks more 'afro' like than the texture of the long hair.
plus like your mom said, hair can't grow that long so quick,and if it did, it'd grow evenly.
also, the whole point of a good weave is so that everyone thinks it's natural and hers looks pretty close to natural.

Oooooo thanks for explaining.
Usually I can spot it straight away from people who I see in person - maybe if I had met her in person, then I could probably say yes, but its pretty convincing being a spectator (well it sure got me fooled lol )

[rye225]

Afro Hair FTW!!!

[nneka!]

(Original post by gooner1991)
I don't know whether to relax my hair or not..
Has anyone had any severe problems with relaxing their hair? My mum tries to scare me out of doing it by saying my hair will fall out and I'll get really bad dandruff etc.

Any advice?

im guessing your hair is natural, trust me when i say DO NOT RELAX YOUR HAIR! If you want your hair straight you should get it pressed, it looks proper slick and since you live in london you can get it done for £15-25. The press lasts for time and even when you wash your hair for the first time after you press it, it's still not as afro as it was before. And if you want to straighten it yourself just get a good straigthener; blow dry your hair then straighten it after. However, relaxing your hair isnt that bad, but if you don't now how to care for it properly it will break off; thats what happened to me

and your mum is right about the dandruff thing; it happens to some people with sensitive scalps