Newbie here and Moisture Questions

dezinediva · 05-06-2012, 08:33 AM

I have been natural since 2008. I have mixed textures in my head, mostly 4a, but the back is a weird random 3c and you can even see the looseness of the curls there. My hair has been mostly braided under wigs but now that i live in the Middle east and dont go out too much (its hot here dangitt and I am 6 mos. pregs, not here for Army or anything).

Since i am in the house, and styling is no longer an issue (when i do go out it's with a wig or with a headwrap/scarf), I can actually stop sabotaging my hair and start actually working on it, which is high time i did anyway since i am going to be 31 this August!)

My questions are as follows (i know everyone's hair is different but i want to try anything and see what works)
1. finger detangling, who does it, and whats the best way for mostly 4a type hair (in your opinion)
2. Leave in conditioners, all natural homemade, any good recipes?
3. Co washing, is shampooing really ever necessary?
4. Curl definition, how to get it
5. Henna, how do you do it?

Any information would be helpful. It seems like for this hair texture its hide and go seek for answers.

I am starting a challenge with myself to cowash about 1-2x a week with Garnier fructis 3 oil (its available here but it kinda sucks but i am going to finish the bottle out then get something else), then Deep conditioner (last night i did EVOO, natural plain yogurt, and Depth Conditioner and the Fructis left it over night with a plastic cap rinsed this am results: OKAY, still pretty dry, lots of shedding, i did have a sew in and i think it may be not shedding but me having cut some hairs out but my hair is so thick you cant tell) and then i did pantene oil replacement (its a creamy leave in type substance, not as oily as pink lite but kinda thick and creamy does make it feel softer) and then i sealed in the moisture with castor oil, EVOO and tea tree oil, and braided my hair in like 10 big box braids and let it air dry. I plan to do this for a month and evaluate my hair's health. I also plan to rub castor oil in my scalp 3x a week and spritz my hair with water and then rub the EVOO on my hair a few times a week.

My hair is dry, brittle and it's about 5-6" long. Edges are great, but i have a dime sized bald spot on the nape of my neck (i kept in yarn braids for too long).

thanks so much
Dani
PS the pics are one of me with a Bohyme sew in last year and the other is me with Kinky twists last year

itsKelCeeEee · 05-06-2012, 11:29 PM

I finger detangle, but my hair's so dense that I only do it after I detangle with a comb, so I'm basically just doing it to get the loose hairs that the comb didn't get out for whatever reason. I just rake my hand through the section of hair I combed (and I only do any of this when my hair's wet) and start at the ends like with a regular comb. I don't know what to tell you about homemade recipes but there's threads about it up here and a lot of people know a lot of them, so I'm sure someone will tell you quick.

I know everyone's on their co wash thing, but I just can't. I might do it in the summer when I'm swimming a lot and I need to rinse out my hair more but even then I use shampoo more than I don't. It depends on your head. My hair's highly porous so I use a lot of heavier products with shea butters and a lot of oils, so even though I don't use many silicones I still need to clarify once in awhile. I do use sulfate free shampoos a lot though, so those are an alternative to someone who doesn't want to completely cut shampoos.

I can't even tell you about curl definition because I don't do crap for that. I find that when my hair's moisturized like it's supposed to be it'll curl more on its own. I don't use gels or mousses because it's just more gunk I'm gonna have to wash out my hair, and I don't do wash and gos, so I'm not much help on that. And I've never used henna, so I wouldn't be able to tell you. Sorry

And your pictures are gorgeous btw

Jo Somebody · 05-07-2012, 04:43 PM

You are beautiful. That is all.

(I guess this is a bump!)

adthomas · 05-07-2012, 05:05 PM

I suggest you check out the search engine to get some information. I looked at your post but it is kind of hard to respond to so many questions at once. After doing some searches I think you'll be able to focus your question a little better instead of "tell me everything."

From finger detangling to henna recipes, almost nothing hasn't been discussed at some point. There is an active thread in 4a right now where people are talking about recipes for homemade deep treatments. Also in 4a there is a monster size henna thread. The All natural hair care section is nothing but recipes for all kinds of stuff.

Good luck with your journey.